The merchant, painter and founder of the Aspanadif Association, Antonio Prats Calbet, died yesterday in Ibiza at the age of 94. Prats Calbet, father of two children, one of them the former councillor of Social Welfare Mercedes Prats, also founded the Cruz Roja del Mar.
In the 1970s, Antonio Prats promoted the Asociación de Padres de Niños y Adolescentes Discapacitados de Ibiza y Formentera (Association of Parents of Disabled Children and Adolescents of Ibiza and Formentera), whose purpose was to provide schooling for children with special needs. In 1974, after setting up the first classrooms for this purpose in Cas Serres, he went to Queen Sofia to ask for her help, which would later materialise in the construction of a centre in Can Sifre.
He was also the promoter of the Patronato para la Salud Mental y el Bienestar Social de Ibiza y Formentera (Mental Health and Social Welfare Board of Ibiza and Formentera) and, from its inception, he was the president of the Mental Health and Social Welfare Commission. In that position, he promoted occupational workshops and other activities for disabled youths and adults.
A man of the sea and a self-taught painter, in 2004 the Consell awarded him the Medal for Social Work. He had also received the Silver Medal of the Red Cross in 1976 and in 2006 the Govern awarded him the Premi Ramon Llull. The City Council of Eivissa awarded him the Medalla d’Or in 2009.