development
Finland: Catalonia's universal basic income project is 'valuable opportunity to learn'
Catalan foreign minister proposes increasing development aid budget by 30% to €45m on Helsinki visit
PODCAST: Saturation point? – Development versus conservation on the Catalan coast
From the Costa Brava to the Ebre Delta, how are environmental concerns shaping urban planning?
Catalonia’s future coast in the hands of the government, builders, and society
Three urban development plans to review and regulate housing projects
How close is Catalonia to eradicating poverty?
With only 10 years left to meet the UN's sustainable development goals, poverty has increased rather than decreased
Foreign minister tells UN official of government's 'full commitment' to global goals
Alfred Bosch meets with chief of UN's Global Campaign Center, expressing concern over what can be done for the planet
The slippery slope of property development on the Costa Brava
Hectares of woodland and dozens of species could be lost following the latest swathe of building projects to supply tourists
Catalonia earmarks 15.7 million euros for cooperation grants
The Government’s main priorities are the refugee crisis, Middle East and Central America
Catalonia supports Lebanon's efforts to tackle refugee crisis
Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, traveled to Lebanon to assess the Catalan cooperation projects which are being carried out there. Indeed, the Government is involved with 17 projects in the country in cooperation with several NGOs, the UN, and the Lebanese authorities. “We want to collaborate in building the necessary response to tackle the crisis in the Mediterranean,” said Romeva and added that “society is demanding” that Catalonia reaffirm its commitment with the refugees. Romeva made these statements after visiting the refugee camp and medical center in Halba, a village located in the Akkar area, next to the Syrian border, where 35% of the population are refugees.
Catalonia seeks to be the first territory to implement the New Urban Agenda
Catalonia wants to be the first region to implement the New Urban Agenda, a document to be adopted this week at Habitat III, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development in Quito, Ecuador. The aim of this meeting of local and regional leaders is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable urban development, assess accomplishments to date and provide guidance to states, city and regional authorities, civil society, foundations, NGOs, academic researchers and U.?N. agencies in this field. The Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability, Josep Rull, has offered to the United Nations that Catalonia be the first territory to implement the conclusions of the New Urban Agenda and stressed that the Catalan model "is inclusive, cohesive and committed to sustainable development".
Catalan Minister at the UN headquarters: “I am a member of a government working to become an independent state”
Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability Josep Rull is at the UN Headquarters in New York, together with over 100 representatives of local and regional governments from around the world, in order to prepare ‘Habitat III’, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, which will be held in Quito, Ecuador in October. In his intervention, Rull emphasised Catalonia’s push for independence and the legitimacy of such a process in front of the international community. I am a member of a democratically elected government that is working to become an independent state. Earlier, Rull greeted the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon “on behalf of Catalonia”. The Catalan Minister also expressed the Government’s point of view regarding the draft of the New Urban Agenda, a compilation of pledges and new obligations which set in place a new global strategy on urbanisation for the next two decades and which is expected to be approved at the Quito summit.
Catalan diplomacy participates in election observation mission in Costa Rica
The Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (Diplocat) has participated in a short observation mission in Costa Rica for the presidential and parliamentary elections which were held last Sunday. According to a press release, Diplocat deployed 8 electoral observation experts on the ground to visit 50 polling stations across Costa Rica. In their report, Diplocat congratulated the people of Costa Rica and the Elections Supreme Court for the peaceful and well-organised electoral process. However, they also uncovered the existence of inequalities between political parties during the campaign, especially regarding access to the media. By participating in such missions, Catalonia reasserts its commitment to promoting peace and strengthening democracy worldwide.
Catalan Government approves its first International Protection Plan for refugees
On Tuesday, the Catalan Government approved the International Protection Plan of Catalonia, which aims to protect people forced to leave their country for being persecuted. It is the first time Catalonia has its own legal instrument to face the issue of asylum seekers, displaced people and human trafficking victims. This new tool establishes the principles, measures and funding schemes to host and offer protection to people who fled their country due to a grounded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, membership of a social group, gender or sexual orientation. Among other things, the Plan encourages issuing new proposals to improve the legal status of these people, offer them better training, improve their reception, integration and participation.