Talent is the new center of gravity. This is the new motto that Barcelona Global, an association that works to "make Barcelona the best city in the world for business and the attraction of impact talent," according to its energetic president, Maite Barrera, confidently stated this Friday. During the traditional annual partners' meeting, held this year at CosmoCaixa, Barrera explained that "the world has changed" and that today it is no longer people who go where companies are, but rather companies that move and settle in those cities where talent has chosen to reside.
For the president of the entity, the Catalan capital is clearly a winning city in this new dimension, which is why she advocates for "making Barcelona the world center of talent," a talent that must be impactful, in the sense that in addition to being innovative, leading, entrepreneurial, and creative people, they are also citizens who contribute to "making a better city and world."
"All Barcelona Global partners are very generous partners; when you join this entity, you do so to give, not to receive. The most beautiful thing in life is to give," Barrera reflected, convinced that thanks to this philosophy, and in only twelve years of existence, Barcelona Global has managed to become "the most influential association in the city." "Our motto has always been to make things happen, and we have achieved it, because we are behind many of the positive things that are happening," she emphasized.
In this regard, Barrera highlighted Barcelona Global's contribution to the project to install a chip prototyping plant in Vallès, an initiative led by the Generalitat that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has just blessed this week. In his meeting with President Pere Aragonès, Sánchez committed to allocating 300 million euros from the PERTE Chip to the construction of this clean room in Cerdanyola del Vallès. These facilities will allow scientists, startups, and research centers to prototype new chips and semiconductors before their mass production.
"That the construction of this cleanroom has been approved is very good news, because it helps us advance in the objective of placing Barcelona at the forefront of Europe in semiconductors," stressed Barrera, who aspires to achieve that, in a second phase, a foundry, that is, a series semiconductor factory, will also be built in Catalonia, a project that may require an investment of more than 17,000 million euros.
Barrera: "That the construction of this cleanroom has been approved is very good news, because it helps us advance in the objective of placing Barcelona at the forefront of Europe in semiconductors"Barcelona Global's participation in the cleanroom project has been channeled through its investment attraction agency, Barcelona & Partners, led by Montse Puig. This entity has so far managed to attract 19 companies to the Catalan capital, in addition to a major event such as the America's Cup sailing race.
Barrera has also announced that the entity will get deeply involved to try to retain the celebration of the F1 Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya. In addition, she has boasted about other initiatives carried out by the association in the last year, such as efforts to find solutions for the airport expansion, promote mobility, or to increase the supply of affordable housing in the metropolitan region.
"Our goal is to find solutions to the city's problems. We do it from a pragmatic point of view, uniting the public and private sectors," she stated. "Of all the solutions that have been proposed to expand the airport, Barcelona Global's is the only one still standing," she considered. The amendments presented to the new Startups Law and the contributions made to improve the Universities Law are other achievements Barrera has noted. "We don't stop working; we are in a thousand battles because everyone calls us, we are a good partner," she expressed, concluding that the goal is to continue channeling all the strength of civil society to "make Barcelona shine."
Talent is the new gravity
In addition to launching the slogan Talent is the new gravity,as a novelty, he explained that Barcelona Global has started to create sectoral chapters within the association. First the youth group was constituted and now theChapter Life Life Sciences, which brings together more than one hundred partners and directors of Barcelona Global linked to the medical, pharmaceutical and life sciences sector. Finally, Barrera announced that the association is working on a new strategic plan "with a long-term view" that defines how they should grow and develop to face the future challenges presented by the city.The next challenges or group works led by Barcelona Global partners will focus on five sectors: Advanced Manufacturing, Digital Tech, Life Sciences, Smart Mobility and Climate Tech.
CaixaResearch Institute, the city's new jewel
At the Christmas meeting held at CosmoCaixa, attended by more than 300 partners, the newthe CaixaResearch Institute construction project, the initiative of the La Caixa Banking Foundation that aims to become a world reference center in immunology. "This project is the most important thing that will happen in Barcelona this century," Maite Barrera said before giving the floor to Dr.Josep Tabernero, scientific director of the CaixaResearch Institute, director of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) and member of the executive committee of Barcelona Global.Accompanied by the architect of the research complex, Eduard Gascón, Tabernero explained the reasons that led La Caixa to bet on a center specialized in immunology, highlighting the vision of President Isidro Fainé. "The immune system is the most important internal central hub we have; knowing it better is basic to be able to prevent diseases," Tabernero pointed out. The research center, already under construction, will involve an investment of 60 million euros and will begin to be operational at the end of 2025, although its "maximum performance" will be reached in 2033, when 600 researchers are expected to work in the complex, who have already begun to be recruited. The CaixaResearch Institute will rise in front of CosmoCaixa, on the land that had been occupied by the old sports club that La Caixa had for its workers.
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