An architectural project drawn up by teachers, ex-teachers and students at the University of Girona (UdG) got the third prize in the ‘Living Aleutian Design Competition’, one of the most prestigious sustainability competitions of the world. The test consisted in making a house of 150 square meters which was 100% sustainable in Alaska, a place that must stand extreme weather.
Catalan-singing band Antònia Font is preparing a new album. According to band sources, the group has all the material ready and is aiming to record it before the end of 2012. Antònia Font is continuing to tour with their last album, Lamparetes, but they are currently combining stage-shows with the task of creating another outstanding album.
The tribunal declares null and void the 2008 Catalan government decree which stated that Catalan “should be used as the language of instruction” for pupils between 3 and 6 years old. The Supreme Court also overturned the article that banned the separation of pupils for linguistic reasons and the one that established that teachers should guarantee that foreign pupils learn Catalan in order to achieve “rapid integration”. The Catalan minister for Education, Irene Rigau, says “all stays the same” because the education law is newer than the decree affected by the ruling and also states that Catalan is the language of instruction in Catalonia.
The Catalan company has promoted its presence in BRIC countries and has achieved two consecutive years of profits therefore recovering from the effects of the explosion of the property bubble
The cork corresponds to a jar from a sunken ship at Port de la Selva, on Catalonia’s Costa Brava. The Catalan Center for Underwater Archaeology (CASC) and the Catalan Cork Institute (ICSURO) have carried out a research project that has compared the composition of the old cork with a current one. The cellular structure of the old cork remains, despite erosion by water over 2000 years.
Catalan citizens will have to pay €1 for every medical prescription, with a maximum of €61 per year. 127,000 people will not have to pay the tax for social reasons. This measure approved by the Catalan Government aims to reduce healthcare spending by moderating the purchase of medicines, the final goal being reducing the public deficit.
The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, travelled to Massachusetts and New York to promote Catalan businesses and present Catalonia as one of the main biotechnological clusters and tourist destinations in Europe. In addition, Ernst & Young presented their report on life sciences companies and research centres in Catalonia, which indicates that almost 30% of this sector’s turnover in Spain comes from Catalan businesses.
The leading company in Spain for online entertainment sales, born in 2000, has not stopped expanding over the past twelve years. What began as an idea among four friends to get the theaters filled, today is a leading Internet company with more than 350 employees, a presence in six countries and a turnover of €210 million a year.
The Castellers de Vilafranca are touring in New York, where they have shown the Catalan human tower tradition. On Wednesday, the group offered three performances in the heart of Manhattan. It was the first time ever that Catalan human towers were built in the United States.
The Catalan Government’s debt represents 21% of Catalonia’s GDP, and it is in charge of almost half of public spending and manages healthcare, education and other basic services. Catalonia’s debt continues to increase because of the public deficit, but slows down its growth significantly. Over the first quarter of 2012, the Catalan Government’s debt increased by €222 million, while it had grown by €2.34 billion over the same period in 2011. With this last increase, the Catalan Government’s debt reached €42 billion at the end of March 2012.
The world-renowned business school has invested €1 million in a new building located at its Sant Cugat campus, in Greater Barcelona, where the International MBA programmes will be taught. In fact, the Barcelona-based business school wants to turn its Sant Cugat campus into an international hub for education, innovation and entrepreneurs.
On Tuesday the Catalan Council for Constitutional Guarantees (CGE) declared that the Spanish Government decree cutting €3 billion in education does not respect 2 Constitution articles and 5 other articles from Catalonia’s Statute of Autonomy, being thus unconstitutional and going beyond Madrid’s jurisdiction. The Catalan Government following the CGE’s unconstitutionality assessment decided to bring the education decree to the Constitutional Court(TC), as it did last week with Rajoy’s health decree. However, after the Spanish Government threatened to bring approved initiatives from the Catalan Executive to the TC, the Catalan Government decided to modify the decrees through dialogue and bring the decrees to the TC as a last option.
On its 75th anniversary, the company has demonstrated the keys to its success: innovation and the study of the healthy properties of food. The President of the Catalan Government has said that Gallina Blanca is an example of solid-working practices which fight speculation and help to improve the economic situation.
This weekend, 14,500 people rocked at the Palau Sant Jordi, in Montjuïc, in a charity concert that brought together the most famous Catalan singers and bands. Singer songwriter Lluís Llach interpreted a poem with former F.C. Barcelona Manager, Pep Guardiola, who finished with the verse: “Everything is to be done, and everything is possible”. 20 more artists participated in the concert, which turned into a cry against AIDS and for the independence of Catalonia.
Compared to the rest of industrialised countries, Catalonia’s industrial sector improved its competitiveness index by 0.7% between October and December 2011, compared to the same period a year earlier. Catalan industrial prices have been improving their competitiveness since 2009.