The revolving door that gives access to DFactory Barcelona registered a constant coming and going of people this Monday to attend the third edition of the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW) and access a compendium of debates, exhibitions and business meetings to get closer to industry 4.0 and the new economy. A string of proposals that can also be followed online and that will fill Barcelona until October 6.
This innovation center, promoted by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, has become the meeting point for industry and emerging companies, for experts in various fields and, at the same time, a point for exchanging experiences and accessing the most disruptive talent and innovation.
Attendees from all over the world sought to meet other participants who, either through the event's digital platform or in the building's corridors, shared their aspirations "to access new knowledge, know what is happening in our sector and where the economy is going, have information about future challenges...", recognized the heads of the real estate companies Ibrava Homes and New Developer Standart, first-time visitors to BNEW.
Their questions revolved around sustainability and real estate legislation "excessively changing and that forces us to be up to date because the important thing is to know what is being done in the most innovative segments of the sector in which hybrid business formulas are the ones that are being imposed, because they are more resolute and effective," they recognized while reviewing the general program of the conferences.
This year, the annual meeting emphasizes, with 180 hours of content, the main transformation sectors of industry 4.0: Digital Industry, Invest, Sustainability, Mobility, Real Estate and Talent. The debates, led by prominent experts in their respective fields, specifically more than 600 speakers who will be distributed in 130 sessions over four days.
Local and international speakers share their knowledge openly and transparently and give rise to debate among participants. However, their competencies go beyond personal contribution "because we also take advantage of attending other sessions that broaden our vision, especially if, as in my case, we are foreign visitors," explained the head of CINEX - Curaçao Investment & Export Promotion Agency. "I have made a choice ---she added-- of the debates and other speakers because I want to know how our responsibilities are carried out in other parts of the world because I have to compete with them, but at the same time they are a source of knowledge and information that we can share and create synergies. In short, everyone benefits."
The three representatives of the startup Jota Virtual, a platform for designing immersive virtual tours, which uses Matterport technology to build spaces in 3D technology, with the aim of virtualizing a natural route to make it immersive, intuitive and informative, also sought synergies and meeting points. "We are a very young company, created in 2019, and we have come to BNEW for the first time to get closer to large companies, from large stores or shopping centers, to educational centers and cultural and heritage spaces, among others," they explained to The New Barcelona Post, taking a first tour themselves of the DFactory facilities.
Their observation was directed at a fashion exhibition, with 20 designs by recently graduated students from the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Barcelona, which crown the entrance to DFactory these days. One of the many complementary activities that BNEW participants find in the research and technology center of the Consorci de la Zona Franca, as there are art workshops, drawing, culinary experiences...
Both they and other attendees had arrived coinciding with the official inauguration of the conference, in an act presided over by the Government delegate in Catalonia, Maria Eugenia Gay; the third deputy mayor of the Barcelona City Council, Laia Bonet; the Secretary of Business and Competitiveness of the Generalitat, Albert Castellanos; the special delegate of the State in the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, Pere Navarro; and the general director of the entity, Blanca Sorigué.
The third edition of the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW) aims to be a "platform" that facilitates "innovation" in the "most cutting-edge" sectors of the economy, said Sorigué, assuring that the goal is to position Barcelona as the "world capital" of the new economy.
A role that Pere Navarro has also defended, stating that "since its first edition, we saw that BNEW was necessary for economic reactivation, generating proposals and relationships among people linked to this environment."