catalan delegations abroad

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One of Catalonia’s most beloved festivals, Sant Jordi, will be celebrated in a record 50 countries worldwide this year. Although Catalonia’s Patron Saint Day is on the 23^rd of April, there are activities related to books and roses—the main protagonists of the day—scheduled over the course of a few weeks in New York, Bogotá, London, Melbourne, Johannesburg, and many others. The Delegations of the Catalan Government abroad play a key role in exporting Sant Jordi around the world. Also active is the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL), which is a public institution in charge of promoting Catalan culture and language, and the University Network of Catalan Studies Abroad. Thus, exhibitions, public readings, stalls selling books and roses, and elements of Catalan culture, such as traditional human towers (Castellers), will deliver the spirit of Sant Jordi all over the globe.

Catalonia will have three new delegations abroad and their directors have already been appointed. Manuel Manonelles, International Relations’professor at the Universitat Ramon Llull, will be the Catalan Government delegate in Geneva, one of the cities that boasts the highest number of international institutions. The relationship between Catalonia and Poland and with the Baltic countries will be strengthened with a new delegation based in Warsaw led by Ewa Adela Cylwik. Specializing in Constitutional Law and Human Rights, Cylwik was born in Warswaw and speaks German, Russian, English, Spanish, and Catalan, in addition to Polish. The Catalan delegation in Scandinavia will be located in Copenhagen and will be led by Francesca Guardiola who has more than 30 years experience in public administration. Counting these new delegations, Catalonia will have a total of ten offices abroad; in the UK and Ireland, Brussels, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Portugal, the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs wants to open ten new offices abroad before summer 2017. The aim is to have delegations of the Catalan Government in Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Croatia, Vatican City, Portugal, Morocco, South Korea, Mexico and Argentina. This will be added to those currently existing in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Austria and the United States. However, the deployment of the plan depends on pro-independence radical left CUP’s support for the draft budget for 2016 presented by the Catalan Government. So far, the anti-capitalists have kept their veto on the bill on account of it being “too autonomic” and “not reflecting” the pro-independence proposal approved by the Parliament on the 9^th of November.