The young people who have participated in the 5th edition of the Barcelona 2040 program, promoted by Barcelona Global, have presented this Monday their proposals for the future of the city to the Deputy Mayor of Economy, Finance, Economic Promotion and Tourism, Jordi Valls. The objective is for these initiatives to become new improvement projects for Barcelona. The meeting was also attended by Albert Dalmau, manager of the city council, and Maite Barrera, president of Barcelona Global.
A total of 36 young people have had the opportunity to get to know in depth, during the nine months of the program, ten sectors guided by executives from companies and institutions, and to exchange ideas with the main protagonists of the city: 44 business, science, culture, knowledge, industry, and journalism leaders. The ten sectors around which the program has revolved have been Culture, with Penguin Random House; Medicine and Pharmacy, with Grifols; Tourism, with La Roca Village; Entrepreneurship, with Wallbox; Sports, with FC Barcelona; Technology, with HP; Design and Architecture, with IED; Science, with the Biomedical Research Park (PRBB); Industry, with Mango; and Mobility and Infrastructures, with the Consorci de la Zona Franca Barcelona.
According to Barcelona Global, the participants of this 5th edition, called Barcelona 2044, are between 26 and 35 years old, have more than 5 years of work experience and a strong interest and commitment to the city. In their visit to the Barcelona City Council, they have grouped their proposals into four subjects: science, medicine and pharmaceutical sector; entrepreneurship, technology and industry; mobility, infrastructures, design and architecture; and tourism, culture and sports.
The culture and sports group has proposed the remodeling of the Teatro Arnau, through public-private collaboration, as a state-of-the-art center that merges the theater and audiovisual industries, and that allows major producers to innovate and attract musicals that drive and position Barcelona in this sector.
For its part, the mobility, infrastructure, design and architecture group has proposed a project for the regeneration of public spaces with nature-based solutions and water reuse in existing buildings. It is a system to avoid discharging water into the sewage network and manage it self-sufficiently within the same public space, in addition to re-naturalizing and promoting the city's biodiversity, thus contributing to the reduction of pollution and the heat island effect.
The science, medicine and pharmaceutical sector group has proposed the design of a campaign open to all citizens to offer the possibility of providing medical data for research, while the entrepreneurship, technology and industry group has advocated for the creation of a web repository of successful technological transformation case studies, where large companies and SMEs explain the measures implemented.
"Today we listen to young people who have dedicated their time, energy and passion to imagining and designing the Barcelona of tomorrow. This program is not only a testament to their talent and creativity, but it is also a sign of our city's commitment to innovation and progress. In a constantly changing world, it is imperative to recognize and support the fresh ideas and energy that young people bring," said Deputy Mayor Jordi Valls.
For her part, Maite Barrera, president of Barcelona Global, highlighted that the young people of Barcelona 2040 represent the talent that the association wants to attract and retain, "impact talent, which is not selfish, which undertakes, which researches, which creates and which in turn seeks to have a positive impact on society and help build a better, more prosperous, sustainable and inclusive Barcelona."
Barcelona 2040 has consolidated itself as a unique program on city leadership and talent in which, in its five editions, 150 young people have already participated who in the future will probably be those who occupy positions of responsibility and leadership in companies and entities in Barcelona and its metropolitan area. The sixth edition of the program, in this case Barcelona 2045, will begin in September 2024, after a selection process carried out by an acceptance committee formed by the honorary presidents of Barcelona Global and professionals from the business world.