The new economy meets again in Barcelona with Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW). From this Monday until Thursday, the event organized by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) will bring together more than 350 speakers at DFactory Barcelona, the innovation center for industry 4.0 in the Zona Franca. Three sets will be located there for the hundred panels that have been programmed, with the forecast of adding some 140 hours of content.
The fourth edition of BNEW will incorporate two new thematic axes this year, opening its debates and round tables to sectors such as health and proptech, after having previously focused on real estate and not so much on its more technological and digital part. A total of seven areas will be emphasized, completing the list with digital industry, talent, sustainability, mobility, and experience.
Activities corresponding to the Digital Industry, Mobility, and Sustainability verticals will take place on Monday and Tuesday, while Proptech, Health, and Talent will be held on Wednesday and Thursday. The only vertical that will run throughout the four days will be BNEW Experience, designed for attendees to discover Barcelona's leisure, cultural, and gastronomic offerings.
The inaugural event will feature the participation of the Government delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto; the fourth deputy mayor of the Barcelona City Council, Jordi Valls; the Secretary of Business and Competitiveness of the Generalitat, Albert Castellanos; the special delegate of the State in the CZFB, Pere Navarro; and the general director of the CZFB, Blanca Sorigué.
For Navarro, "BNEW reaffirms itself as the world's leading event for the new economy, being a space for debate among experts from various sectors who will connect with each other during the four days of the event." For her part, Sorigué argues that, as in each edition, the event "has adapted to new trends and launches two new verticals, Proptech and Health, which will delve into the challenges and opportunities represented by new technologies and innovation in key sectors such as real estate and health."
The new economy meeting will maintain the hybrid format that has characterized it since its first edition, in 2020, when the pandemic still prevented large in-person gatherings. The online option is designed to facilitate the attendance of listeners from anywhere in the world, with the possibility of registering for free. The forecast is to attract some 12,000 attendees, with more than 7,000 people participating in person.
A program with 140 hours of content
With a program consisting of a hundred talks and sessions, totaling 140 hours of content, some of the most notable sessions on Monday will be Smart cities and future mobility: the key role of public transport, with Pere Calvet (Alsa), Cristina Güell (TMB), Juan March (Indra), Míriam Plaza Gallart (B:SM) and Manel Villalante (Renfe); and The legacy of the America's Cup with Aurora Catà (America's Cup Event Barcelona) and David Pino (Port de Barcelona).
Tuesday will continue the program with talks such as Green algorithms, with Sergi Contelles (Dekra) and Alonzo Romero (The Predictive Company); Barcelona deeptech ecosystem, with Francisco Badia (Grow Venture Partners), Albert Domingo Vilar (UPF Ventures) and Víctor Canivell (Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech), and Tell me your story and the rest are tales, with writer Espido Freire.
With a program consisting of a hundred talks and sessions, totaling 140 hours of content that will address topics such as the digital industry, talent, sustainability and mobilityWednesday will be the big day for the startups in BNEW. During the four days, the event will feature BNEW Startup Innovation Hub, the meeting point where emerging companies will present the latest technological advances in industrial sectors and will be able to connect with large companies and investors.Around 80 startups will participate in this space.But, on Wednesday, the top fivestartupsof each vertical will perform apitchof five minutes before a specialized audience. The awards ceremony for the best will also be heldstartupsof BNEW 2023.
Finally, on Thursday, the sessions Barcelona, capital of the Mediterranean: hub for attracting international talent, with Mercè Conesa (Barcelona Global), Pau Solanilla (Barcelona City Council), Núria Soler (Alter Ego Relocation) and Jordi Díaz (EADA); Advanced therapies: from laboratory to patient, with Sonia Guedan (Idibaps), Joaquim Vives (Banc de Sang i Teixits), and Francina Munell Casadesús (Hospital Vall d'Hebron), and The revolution of 3D printing in medicine: from prosthetics to functional organs, with Daniel Eguillor (Asorcad), Toni Nadal (Hospital Parc Taulí), Albert Mangas Estany (Avinent) and Ayelen Fernández (HP).