Javea PSOE go digital

INTERNET for all, email feedback from the local council guaranteed within 24 hours, no endless queues to fill out official complex documents, regular medication automatically renewed without prescription at pharmacies and a fully equipped computer centre for public use – an impossible dream?

Not at all, it’s a dream that came true for the 3,500 inhabitants of the town of Jun in the province of Granada.

Thanks to the dedication of Mayor José Antonio Rodriguez, over the last ten years he has transformed Jun from a small town into a cybernetic laboratory, a perfect example of the optimisation of limited resources and effective administration unrivalled anywhere in Europe.

He has achieved this remarkable feat, without changing one iota of the charm or character of the picturesque town. During the 2004 Spanish national elections, the people of Jun were able to vote via their mobile phones or an electronic signature, guaranteed confidential and granted by the city council. Through the digital automatic renewal of prescriptions, numbers in health centre waiting rooms have fallen by 40 per cent leaving time and space for those requiring more urgent attention.

As a result of these remarkable achievements, José Antonio Rodriguez  is seen regularly on You Tube, has appeared on various Spanish TV chat shows and was the subject of a feature article in The New York Times looking at the origins of pioneering initiative in Spain and Europe.

He has also been invited to speak in Brussels and many towns in Spain including his latest engagement as a guest of the Javea Socialist party as part of a series of meetings entitled, Forum for Change.

PSOE leader Jose Chulvi said that Javea needs to be kick-started into the 21st century by re-energising the local economy through new technologies and that Snr. José Antonio Rodriguez was the perfect speaker for “New Technologies and Electronic Administration” scheduled for Friday March 4 at 8pm in the Javea Parador Hotel. This will be a Spanish language meeting

Footnote: When José does manage to take a break from his busy schedule, he can often be seen falling out of the skies following one of his hobbies – free-fall parachuting.

By Benny Davis