The young people who have participated in the third edition of the Barcelona 2040 program, organized by Barcelona Global with the aim of training and connecting young talent and making the city known from all areas, today presented the first deputy mayor, Jaume Collboni , their reflections and solutions to the challenges that they consider Barcelona will face in the next twenty years.
The 28 young people have had the opportunity, during the nine months that the program has lasted, to get to know companies and institutions in depth from their directors and to exchange ideas with the main protagonists of the city: 42 business leaders, from the field of science, culture, knowledge, industry, journalism and politics.
The participants in this edition, called 2042, are between 26 and 35 years old, have more than 5 years of work experience and a strong interest in and commitment to the city. They come from various companies and institutions, such as VHIR, NTT Data, Bayer, Fundació Joan Miró, Virificat or Cierto Estudio, among others.
The challenges that this promotion has shared with the City Council include the need for Barcelona to face more efficient and sustainable urban mobility, which involves a network of merchandise collection hubs. They have also proposed a pilot program to improve the accessibility and management of healthcare demand in primary care through the installation of automated examination booths and the creation of an app to connect city agents (artists, facilities, the public and investors) and increase the cultural offer.
To promote the attraction of entrepreneurial talent, the young people propose creating the "Barcelona Fast Track", a system that facilitates the creation of new companies and avoids bureaucratic procedures. Likewise, they consider that technology will be more present in the industry if it is included in training throughout the school stage, first through technological playgrounds and then with public-private campuses of experience in companies.
The first deputy mayor has pointed out that "as a city we have the challenge of generating real prosperity for all, and with the combined efforts of institutions and private initiative, we are making a new, more diversified, sustainable and equitable economic model a reality, to make Barcelona a city with more and better opportunities”. Collboni has highlighted that "the strength of our city lies in the talent, in our educational and research centres, in the start-ups and large companies that are betting on Barcelona, and for this reason the Barcelona 2040 programme, which values young talent is so relevant to us, because it gives us the security that the future of the city will be in the best hands”.
Lluís Torner, Vice President of Barcelona Global and General Director of ICFO, stated that this program gives the city's future leaders the opportunity to be part of a key moment for Barcelona. "The knowledge of the city acquired during these months has allowed them to be part of the city story and create proposals to meet the challenges facing Barcelona in 2040", he stated.
Barcelona 2040 has established itself with this third edition as a unique program on city leadership and talent in which a total of 73 young people have already participated who, in the future, will probably be the ones holding positions of responsibility and leadership in companies and organizations Barcelona and its metropolitan area. In this edition, the participants have known nine sectors from the hand of 42 experts in their fields. The nine sectors on which the program has revolved have been culture, with the Joan Miró Foundation as the protagonist; industry (Estrella Damm), science (Institute of Photonic Sciences), health (with a session at the Sant Joan de Déu hospital), and entrepreneurship (Barcelona Activa).
The sessions have also covered sectors such as technology (T-System has been the host), mobility and infrastructure (BSM), finance (BancSabadell) and tourism (Sant Pau modernist site).
The program has had two work dynamics organized by the Imagine Creativity Center, a disruptive innovation program promoted by the entrepreneur Xavier Verdaguer, and a member of the International Council of Barcelona Global, to identify and work on the challenges of each sector.
