Highlights

From April 2014, thanks to an agreement signed with the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL), the public body in charge of promoting Catalan culture abroad, the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) will offer a comprehensive course dedicated to the Catalan language and culture. The TUFS, one of the most prestigious institutions for language studies in Japan, will be the second university in the country to provide such training after the Hosei University - also in Tokyo - implemented a similar course in 2010. In the coming months, the TUFS will also host several events to strengthen the bonds between Catalonia and Japan, notably the symposium ‘Facts and fiction about independence, a plural view on Catalonia’.

With all tickets sold out months ahead, the audience which gathered Saturday in the Sadler 's Wells Theatre listened with much emotion to Barcelona Singer Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Guitarist Raül Fernández Miró, during the closing concert of the 11th Flamenco Festival London. The Catalan musicians have interpreted three Flamenco themes and performed songs from their latest album, still unnamed, which will also lead them to New York next week. The new album, the first common release after eight years of collaboration, includes songs in Catalan, French, English and German. The musicians will officially present it in a concert at the Tívoli theatre in Barcelona on the 25th of April.

The 16th International Festival of Short Films and Animation of Catalonia opened with a presentation led by director Roberto Barrueco. This year Barcelona’s festival received 5,300 projects from 110 different countries, of which 350 will be shown in 47 sessions and 80 hours of programming. Mecal is a festival held annually during the months of March or April in the Catalan capital. The festival is a review of short films and animations which takes place at different places in Barcelona, such as the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), the Institut Français, the Cinemes Girona movie theatre, l’Antic Teatre cafeteria, Arts Santa Monica cultural centre and the Fàbrica Moritz gastronomic space.

The Catalan President said that declaring independence unilaterally “is not the ideal scenario; neither the best nor the one that we want” but nonetheless refused to rule this option out. According to Mas, such a possibility should be considered if an agreement with Madrid for a referendum proves to be impossible and he is forced to call an early plebiscite-style election. “There is no way back”, said the President in a debate with citizens organised by the newspaper ‘El Periódico’. The leader of the opposition, Oriol Junqueras, who is an ally to Mas in the push for a self-determination vote, said that “the best” option is a referendum and therefore politicians should “not speculate with other scenarios”. However, he agreed with Mas in not ruling out a unilateral declaration in case negotiations with Spain were impossible. The co-leader of the Greens, Dolors Camats, said Catalans “do not understand” why Mas mentioned a unilateral declaration as this seems to suggest he does not longer believe a referendum or consultation is possible. The leader of the PP in Catalonia, Alicia Sánchez Camacho said Mas had “gone mad” while the socialists stated that considering a unilateral declaration was “a serious mistake”.