New initiative to open the Mobile World Congress to Barcelonans, tourists and companies

Barcelona (ACN).- The Director General of Fira de Barcelona and Executive Vice President of Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Agustí Cordón, presented on Wednesday the initiative ‘Mobile Ready’, a set of activities that will show citizens and tourists in Barcelona the potential transformations of mobile technology on their daily lives. ‘Mobile Ready’ will travel across the main architectural, commercial and entertainment points of the Catalan capital, while the activities it will offer will be accessible through a mobile phone application, available from next Friday. Moreover, coinciding with the Mobile World Congress, the Fira de Barcelona facilities in Montjuïc will host the event ‘4 Years From Now’ (4YFN), which will bring together international investors and major stakeholders in the ICT sector, such as Google or WhatsApp, with over 1,000 entrepreneurs and 200 start-up projects from over 40 countries.

Agustí Cordón stressed that the initiative is part of the Mobile World Capital Barcelona, a title the Catalan capital was awarded in 2011 and started to use in 2013, in order to act as an international platform for the mobile-related industry. Barcelona will hold this title until at least 2018, although it might be extended if the city continues to organise the MWC. Besides, Cordón underlined that the Mobile World Congress Barcelona, which is hosted each year since 2006, should not only be open to professionals in the sector, but also benefit all the citizens and tourists that visit the city. In this sense, the Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias explained that the Catalan capital had already begun to bear the fruits of organising such an event, notably in the field of mobile technology applied to education, health and ‘smart cities’.

Cordón also emphasised that the Mobile World Centre, which was unveiled a year ago in the heart of Barcelona city, acting as a permanent lighthouse for mobile technology, could follow through events taking place at the Mobile World Congress, for instance the conference of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg which is scheduled for Monday the 24^th of February at 6 pm.

4YFN will be “the largest concentration of entrepreneurs at European level”

The event ‘4 Years From Now’ (4YFN) is another innovation that will be launched for the Mobile World Congress 2014. “It will be the largest concentration of entrepreneurs at European level”, stated Cordón. The 4YFN will gather a thousand entrepreneurs and 200 start-up projects from over 40 countries along with international investors and major stakeholders in the ICT sector, such as Google or WhatsApp. The event aims to make offers and technology demands meet and encourage networking in the sector.

Barcelona and Catalonia are “ready” to be “an international showcase” in the ICT sector

The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig, participated in the presentation and praised Barcelona and Catalonia for being “ready” to receive the 2014 Mobile World Congress, thus becoming “an international showcase” for mobile technology. Puig stressed that the country has made “significant efforts” to improve its skill level in the ICT sector with one example being that Barcelona has become a leader in the field of ‘smart cities’.

The Minister said that the some sixty Catalan companies will be present at the ‘Catalonia’ booth at the 2014 Mobile World Congress, gathered by the Catalan Government. In addition the Executive will also participate in initiatives related to job creation in the ICT sector during the event. Puig explained that Catalonia was a “welcoming” environment for events like the MWC, not only for its climate but also for the business possibilities it offers.