Journalists and neighbourhood groups join forces to give Alicante a voice

22 October 2026

A meeting between the press and local residents

On Monday 19 October, through the Federation of Neighbourhood Associations of Southern Alicante, of which we are a member, we helped organise and moderate the roundtable ‘Journalism and social movements in Alicante’. The event took place in the Rafael Altamira room at the University of Alicante’s city centre venue, at 4 Calle Ramón y Cajal.

We joined journalists and members of the public to discuss the relationship between the press and local campaigns. The event addressed the difficulties social movements face in getting institutions to hear their demands and the role of journalism in bringing those demands to public attention. It was also an opportunity to recognise the work of those who cover these campaigns.

The speakers

The participants were writer and editor Rafael Balanzá, journalists Rafa Burgos and Pepe López Marín, Radio Alicante SER’s head of content Carlos García Álvarez de Arcaya, and INFORMACIÓN’s managing editor Carolina Pascual.

Lorenzo Pérez, president of the Federation of Neighbourhood Associations of Southern Alicante, moderated the discussion. Jorge Olcina and José Ramón Navarro Vera coordinated the event, organised by the Federation and the university venue’s Aula de la Ciudad programme.

Photograph from the University of Alicante’s city centre venue (Sede Universitaria Ciudad de Alicante).

Our thanks to local journalists

In our Instagram post after the event, we thanked the journalists for taking part and for the support they give to local campaigns. Much of what neighbourhoods achieve depends on someone listening to residents’ demands, checking the facts and making those demands public.

We came away grateful for that work and determined to keep working for the Alicante we want.

Media coverage

• Rafa Burgos devoted his column ‘Terapia vecinal’, published in Alicante Plaza on 21 October, to the event. He recalls Rafael Balanzá’s tribute to his father, the journalist Rafael González Aguilar, and reflects on the challenges of journalism, the renewal of the neighbourhood movement and its relationship with public authorities. We share it as one participant’s personal account of the discussion.
• Alicante Mag included the roundtable in its coverage of the university venue’s programme, published on 17 October.

Photo gallery