Facing the challenges of the present that will condition the future. FemCAT has reached its 20 years of activity looking at the next two decades and raising questions about the Catalonia of 2044. "Geopolitical instability, the great migratory movement and the development of AI will have a clear repercussion," said the president of FemCAT, Oriol Guixà. In this context, the also president of the La Farga group highlighted the need to guarantee social cohesion: "It should be based on language, on culture and on our spirit of innovation," he proclaimed at the XIII FemCAT Forum, under the title Catalan Legacies: Let's project the Catalonia of 2044.
In a day that brought together more than 500 representatives from the business, economic, political and social spheres at the Palau de la Música Catalana, Guixà advocated for strengthening public-private collaboration in the face of "the decline in productivity and industrialization" of Catalonia. In addition, he also focused on its capital and its role as such, as he believes that Barcelona has managed to generate its international image, but not by acting as the Catalan capital and projecting Catalonia as a whole. "If we achieved that, it would have a lot of power to project us outwards," added the president of FemCAT, which brings together 500 companies that add up to a turnover volume equivalent to 10% of the Catalan GDP. Guixà advocated for building a legacy from Catalonia for 2044: "We want the best country in the world."
To achieve this, the director of the World Cities Culture Forum, Laia Gasch, claimed that social cohesion is key: "If we want to have the best country in the world, we have to provide opportunities and make diversity visible, and prepare ourselves to have the best mosaic of colors in the world." She said this in a context in which one in four residents in Barcelona is of foreign origin. It is a diversity that is perceived in the city and its daily life: "It is seen in spaces like the metro and the market, but not in this room. Do we represent the diversity of Catalonia?" reflected Gasch, who invited to look at companies and institutions and to work to prepare them to reflect the real Catalan diversity.
"The inclusion of minorities is key to covering the lack of labor and talent," as well as to advancing social cohesion, according to Gasch. "If we want Catalonia to be a leader, we have to see the country's diversity as a richness for companies and governing bodies. The risk is to fall behind, with slow growth and a fragmented society," she warned, and concluded by addressing businesspeople: "I encourage you to do it: you have influence, use it to generate change."
In this way, the diversity of Catalan society represents a challenge, but also an opportunity. This is also the view of the director of the Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics, Albert Esteve. In a round table with Gasch moderated by the president of the Societat Catalana d'Economia (IEC), Ada Ferrer, Esteve defended that cohesion can be achieved materially and economically, but also more deeply, from a cultural point of view.
To delve into this area, the CED has analyzed the degree of knowledge of Catalan based on age and origin groups, using information from the INE. The data cross-referencing concludes that, although there is a gap in the knowledge of Catalan among residents in Catalonia born abroad between 40 and 49 years old, this gap is reduced and tends to disappear in the case of younger people. Specifically, children and young people between 10 and 19 years old born abroad speak, read, and write in Catalan in 80% of cases, and now "we must work so that in 20, 30, or 40 years there is no trace left" of these differences. In a society formed by very diverse origins both in terms of provenance and their participation in the labor market and cultural background, "language can be one of the ways of cohesion that reunites the population," Esteve concluded.
Dancing with AI for competitiveness
In addition to reflecting on social cohesion and addressing immigration, the conference analyzed the role of AI, which "has come to stay and will generate a great transformation," according to the Head of Generative AI Analyst Relations at Amazon Web Services, Albert Esplugas, who advocated working to "be able to embrace AI and manage fears." And it is that "the key factor for productivity is the human factor and AI, and especially how they work in symbiosis."
"We will have to learn to dance with AI, always holding the baton and control ourselves," added Esplugas, who has predicted that in five years, 20% of companies' clients will be automated agents that will operate end-to-end without any human interaction, the "machine clients." In this context, Esplugas has advocated for applying AI in strategic sectors where Barcelona and Catalonia in general already stand out, such as health and tourism, and combining it with attracting and retaining talent with measures such as improving remuneration.
This attraction and generation of talent is managed very differently in the United States, according to the general director of Ficosa in North America, Joan Cañellas. He explained this in a round table with Esplugas moderated by journalist Mar Galtés, where he stated that "one of the origins of entrepreneurship in America is education based on self-esteem and the belief that one can do whatever one sets out to do." In an American labor market marked by long hours and few vacations, Cañellas highlighted the importance of the alignment and collaboration that exists between universities and companies, and the role of investment. From the American perspective, "Europe is perceived as an over-regulator," although he defended promoting appropriate regulation in the field of Artificial Intelligence.
Human Rights expert lawyer Peter Sahlas also focused on Artificial Intelligence and the opportunities and threats it represents. "Our data has not only been compiled for advertising, but to feed AI," he warned. The also president of the board of the Pierre Eliott Trudeau foundation also reviewed the challenges embodied by the current geopolitical context, especially in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sahlas defended seeking solutions to current challenges and threats and that "Europe remains united and aware of geopolitical risks."
The FemCAT event also featured the participation of the President of the Parliament, Josep Rull, who opened the day by calling to think "Catalonia big," and that of the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, who closed the business meeting. At the event, which filled the Petit Palau auditorium, reference was made on several occasions to a concept also key to facing the next two decades: Catalonia's self-esteem, which must be boosted together with the business ecosystem, seeking social cohesion within diversity.