Last October 14 we experienced a new edition of the Nit de l'Empresa i la Cultura, an evening that demonstrated, once again, that when culture is at the center, society elevates. A special mention to the team of the Fundació Catalunya Cultura led by Maite Esteve and presided by Eloi Planes, for achieving not only an evening with a deep and at the same time entertaining message, but for working every day with purpose and passion for our society. Because, without culture, society is dead.
My participation as a jury member in the last edition was, for me, much more than an honor; it was a revelation. When I was tasked, along with my colleagues Aitor, Pere, Cristina and Jordi, with evaluating the projects in the categories of Large Company and Small and Medium-sized Company, I started with a preconceived idea: I expected to find valuable initiatives framed within Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The impact was immediate. I found not only good intentions, but a true ecosystem of investment in values, talent and innovation. I discovered companies, some without the media echo they deserve, with a real and strategic commitment to culture. It is not about supporting to look good, but about an authentic commitment: culture as the most powerful vehicle to generate genuine social and economic impact.
Companies must guarantee short-term profits, but also long-term competitiveness and sustainability. And today, this competitiveness is not only measured by the financial balance, but by their capacity for adaptation, disruption, talent attraction and positive impact on society.
This is where cultural talent becomes the true engine of transformation. Culture, in all its forms, from performing and visual arts to design or scientific dissemination, provides us with lateral thinking, critical spirit and creativity, three essential assets for business survival and evolution.
When a company invests in a cultural project, it is not making a donation, it is making a strategic bet on its future. It is incubating ideas, narratives and leaderships that will shape tomorrow. Business support for culture must be seen as an investment with return, in values, in reputation, in innovation and in disruptive capacity.
The message that the Fundació Catalunya Cultura promotes: that culture be a fundamental pillar of society, is not an idealistic aspiration, but a necessity for any advanced economy. For culture to act as a pillar, it is necessary that businesses treat it with the same rigor and ambition as any strategic business line.
The Nit de l'Empresa i la Cultura reminds us each year of the importance of supporting and recognizing cultural projects that generate real value. It shows us that, in our home, there are initiatives that, despite being born with few resources, are transforming society and the business fabric. It is these initiatives, visionary, persistent, committed, that feed critical thinking and innovation. Our social responsibility is not only to compensate, but to accelerate this impact. We must act as drivers of talent, identifying and financing cultural ideas that improve the quality of life in our city and our country.
Programs like Impulsa Cultura are essential: they convert talent into viable, innovative, and impactful projects. They are the point where business scale meets cultural depth, generating a virtuous circle of growth. After this experience as a jury, I leave with a clear conviction: the commitment to culture in Catalonia is much broader and more solid than we often imagine. We just need to make it visible and place it at the center of strategic decisions.
I invite everyone to change their lens. Let's stop seeing support for culture as an expense or a philanthropic action, and start understanding it for what it truly is: the raw material of creativity, innovation, and humanism that we need to maintain global competitiveness and build a richer, fairer, and more enlightened society.
May the Nit de l'Empresa i la Cultura continue to be the catalyst for this vision.