Second UAB Annual Festival with the Q de Festa! seal

Friday, 20 December of 2019

On 8 November, the UAB’s annual festival was held with this year’s slogan: ‘Climate Emergency: The UAB is acting!’. This festival has a longstanding tradition of more than 30 years and welcomes many people, along with student participation. The Bellaterra campus fills with stalls, musical performances and cultural, charitable and sports activities which attract more than 24,000 people.

This is the second year that this festival is being recognised with the Q de Festa! seal. This project is an initiative of the Deputy Directorate General of Drug Dependency of the Public Health Agency which recognises nightlife venues that are equipped with a series of resources and services related to health, wellbeing and quality in order to lower the risks associated with the consumption of substances like intoxication and road accidents. Catalonia currently has 65 venues and two university festivals which have been awarded the Q de Festa! seal.

The 2019 UAB Annual Festival, with the slogan ‘Climate Emergency: The UAB is acting!’, meets the criteria for the seal and has an informational stand on drugs and lowering risks, with free access to fresh water, food, earplugs and detailed, up-to-date information on the closest means of public transport. It also offers a purple point to attend sexual violence. As a new feature this year, it has also set up a free breathalyser service for drivers of vehicles. Furthermore, as an improvement in its environmental management, along with other initiatives (like having a dumpsite created specifically for the festival and points where glass bottles can be exchanged for plastic), this year’s edition has also handed out portable ashtrays to lower the amount of waste generated.

Likewise, 100 students (two students in charge of each of the 42 stands) have taken a two-hour training session on Responsible Alcohol Dispensing strategies, and a healthy cocktail will be offered at each stand. The session was provided as part of the four-hour training that the UAB provides for stall holders on health, safety, emergency and environmental issues.

The seal is also an aknowledgment of the efforts made by the Transversal Technical Committee, comprised of different units, areas and professional services at the university, which carries out its monitoring functions in tandem with specific ‘Festa Q!’ committee, where in turn the Community Promotion Unit, the UAB Solidarity Foundation, the UAB Equality Observatory and the Healthcare Service participate.

This avenue of action in university entertainment complements and expands the work done on the UAB campus for years via the Health Programme of the UAB Solidarity Foundation, which promotes healthier lifestyles and is targeted at students on campus. Last year, around 2,000 students participated in the programme’s training and awareness-raising actions.