The president of the republic, Gustavo Petro, in the middle of a press conference, surprised with the proposal to declare this Friday, April 19, as a civic day to save water and energy:
“Tomorrow we want to decree a civic day, a civic day so that people do not use electricity as much as possible and we can save the energy we need in the coming days”he said after in recent weeks, the level of reservoirs throughout the country are at a historic low and only two percentage points away from reaching critical levels.
Although this is not all, since this proposal is also related to the Creg affirming its proposal to promote energy savings.
But, What difference is there between a holiday or festival and a civic day as Gustavo Petro declared?
The truth is that while both have important meaning and may involve some special activities or measures, there are key differences that are important to understand.
What is a civic day?
A civic day is an ordinary work day that is declared as such by government authorities, usually in special or emergency circumstances, in this case due to the water and energy crisis facing the country.
Therefore, this measure has the main objective of promoting reflection, citizen awareness or participation in specific activities related to the reason for the declaration.
Likewise, it is important to explain that a civic day is not a mandatory day of rest: Unlike holidays, work, educational and commercial activities continue normally.