Barcelona Update 11 Contents

In the 20 years since Barcelona Convention Bureau (BCB) was set up, we have seen some pretty amazing times. This city has gone from being virtually unknown to enjoying worldwide fame. Its quality of life, go-getting spirit and cosmopolitan lifestyle make it truly unique. The Universal Forum of Cultures will undoubtedly mark a new colossal step forward for this city, as were the World Expositions in 1888 and 1929, and later the Olympics in 1992. But perhaps this Forum is even more significant because of its ambition to unite people and peoples. Now, with the new CCIB - Barcelona International Conventions Centre and the Forum Building we'll be ready to add to this success. The Forum is here and it's time to celebrate.

Airy Garrigosa
Directora BCB

BARCELONA CONVENTION BUREAU 20TH ANNIVERSARY

Barcelona Convention Bureau celebrated its first 20 years in business last February with a gala dinner pre-opening the city's latest congress facility, the 15,000-delegate Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB).
For BCB this was more than just an anniversary party for dignitaries. The event was also about rewarding those who had helped bring congresses and other events to the city. Guests of honour received the “Gràcies” (Thank You) award.
Barcelona's academic community, doctors, scientists and management professionals have helped Barcelona obtain many important international congresses. And BCB wanted to recognise their work.
Those garlanded were Dr Antoni Bayés de Luna, Dr Àngel Bellet i Cubells, Dr Jordi Casabona Barberà and Dr Josep Mª Gatell, Juan José Díaz Ruiz, and the Fundació Santiago Dexeus i Font, and the Col·legi Oficial d'Arquitectes de Catalunya, for their work having brought events like the European Society of Cardiology Congress (1992 – 1999 - 2006), the World Aids Congress (2002), and the 19th Congress of International Union of Architects (1994) amongst others to Barcelona.
“Their prestige and go-getting spirit has without doubt helped our meetings business,” claims Airy Garrigosa, director of BCB.

The fiesta was also a celebration of work-well-done. And the figures speak for themselves, with three million visitors coming to Barcelona in the last 20 years for meetings tourism, according to BCB.
In 1984 some 50,000 delegates came to Barcelona. By 2003 that number had risen to 281,000, slightly down from 2002's record- breaking 300,000 delegates.
The city has become a benchmark for international meetings events. Data from the International Congress and Convention Centre Association (ICCA) puts Barcelona at the head of the world congress league with the most events in its portfolio.
Twenty years ago Barcelona held 150 meetings. In 2002 that figure had risen to 1,363.
The sector has become huge. The congress, conventions, and incentive travel market in Barcelona now generates 620 M€s, representing a 25% slice of tourism incomes.

And BCB-generated events account for 35% of this total, reflecting the local relevance of the agency.
The inaugural “Gràcies” dinner at CCIB was only a partial opening because it will be housing events for the Universal Forum of “The new CCIB facilities will mean we'll be in a position to compete for the really big events after 2004,” In fact, CCIB already has more than 100 events already booked in for the period 2005-10.

Twelve years after setting the world on fire with its celebration of the Olympic Games, Barcelona is back with a new and hugely ambitious challenge: the Universal Forum of Cultures Barcelona 2004, which was inaugurated last May 8th by King Juan Carlos I.
“Barcelona is again showing its capacity, its vitality and the strength of will needed to put on such massive initiatives as this one,” said the King, who addressed the audience in Catalan.
Joan Clos, mayor of Barcelona, added: “Barcelona wants cultures and citizens of the world to meet here in Barcelona” Indeed, the country's top authorities were in Barcelona for the opening ceremony: the King and Queen, Prince Felipe and his then-fiancee (now married), Princess Cristina and her husband, the president of Spain, José Luis Rodríquez Zapatero, the president of the Generalitat, Pasqual Maragall, UNESCO's secretary general, Koïchiro Matsuura, plus many, many more. It was a truly splendid evening, rounded off with a performance of the main nighttime Forum shows: Move the World.

Every night, as the sun goes down, visitors to the Forum move towards the port area for the highlight of the day: a wonderful performance called Move the World.
A huge 50-metre wide metal ball emerges from the depths of the port set to a musical score especially created for the show. The structure opens and closes, a massive feat of engineering and art. Futuristic and post-industrial, the show represents the creation of the world, with fire works and stunning lighting effects; the world moves into conflict, though, before finally being saved - thanks to dialogue. Metaphors abound in this production: chairs rise from the waters, and men in white suits engage with the globe, symbolising the process of dialogue. A choir accompany the show with a rousing opera. In short: to make the hairs on your neck stand on end!

A showcase for new millennium values, an example of 21st century living or just a great trip out for all the family: the Universal Forum of Cultures is billed as all of these and more.
The Forum bumf and website (www.barcelona2004.org) talk about a massive 141-day event including United Nations debates on urban migrations, the state of the world media, eye-catching exhibitions on our great cities and the way we communicate; there's also top-name concerts, theatre shows, street performances and cuisine from all over the world.
The idea is that until September 26 Barcelona is setting the stage for a ground-breaking event looking at the world around us and the issues that really effect the way we all - 6 billion or so of us - live together.
And with conflicts -both in the physical sense and many other senses too- effecting our lives profoundly, Barcelona has set itself a poignant and hugely ambitious task: to draw people together to deal with the issues of diversity, the conditions for peace and sustainability.
You need over 16 hours to really see all that's on show in the Forum, so most people are going for more than just a day-trip, probably spilling into three days.
Three-day passes have proved really popular so far, especially since they prove cheaper than buying day tickets. You can go in and out of the Forum site when you want, so if you're tired after a days' walking you can still go back to your hotel for a shower and make it back for the evening's entertainment.
There are so many things to do and see once inside that it's well worth considering following one of the pre-designed programme routes.
There are those for family visits or others for visits with friends. At the weekend the place is buzzing till past 12pm.
To get to the Forum, take a regular inner city red bus, the metro or the new tramway. It drops you off conveniently close to the main entrance.

To visit the Forum, you can either follow one of the set Forum routes designed especially for families with kids, young people, evening visits or just make up your own route round.
Either way, friendly Forum staff –all dressed in their distinctive bright uniforms- are on hand to point visitors in the right direction. The Families with Kids programme proposes first going to the brand new International Convention Centre to see "Voices", one of the main Forum exhibitions dealing with language and how we communicate with each other. At every corner there's something interesting, often interactive and always presented in a way everyone can understand.
Next on to the "Fair", just in front of the Auditorium, where kids from around the world have participated with videos, drawings, poems, and stories.
And if you fancy a sit down, it's off to catch "The giant of the 7 seas", a stunning allegory telling the tale of how human actions impact on the nature around us. A 12-metre-high beast rises from the seas to interact with its handlers, in a high wire-type circus dance.
For lunch, try the Forum restaurant. It can deal with hundreds of diners at a time, and many people want to eat there. Getting your food and finding a table is easy. But choosing the menu is something else: there are 150 different traditional foods on offer to taste.
Fed and watered, it's off to an area called the Haima with its market and artisans making traditional craft products from everywhere imaginable.
And why not ride on the tourist train, the Rodaforum, which takes you leisurely round all the main Forum sites. Finally, the kids' programme stops off to make tribal masks in the Games area.
The evening, though, is especially made for "Move the World" -a gala sound and light show that erupts from the middle of the marina port's waters. It is indeed spectacular! And well worth the wait.
Crowds flock in as the sun falls to the west and the cool of the evening brings calm. Street performers, with giant puppets, cabaret singers, dance and theatre. A great day out at the Forum.

You'll find all sorts of people at the Forum: business types with their colleagues from some multinational company or another, all chatting enthusiastically about seeing the "Warriors of Xi'an" -life sized terracotta figurines from China that date back to 221 BC! And teenagers all excited about something or other they have done during the morning.
The Forum leaves visitors excited, in an almost childish way. Everyone has a fantastic time seeing, hearing and learning about issues that we often simply relegate to "don't-effect-me", when really they all do. Putting on a cultural forum, even though many might call it naive, it is one of the few ways to create meaningful dialogue. Many other places around the world would not have dared to organise this event. The reason is not because there's no need or market for it, but rather because Barcelona is prepared to accept the challenge and the people visiting really want to make it work. There are lots more days before September 26, when the Forum ends, so get yourselves down to the Forum. Barcelona will try to keep the dream alive; other cities are already in negotiations to hold a second Universal Forum of Cultures.

The Universal Forum of Cultures 2004 is also very present in the streets and especially the museums of the city, which have filled with exhibitions on the main Forum debates. Some of the must-sees include The Human Condition or Picasso. War and Peace.
And it's not just at the museums where the Forum is making its presence felt. Last May 15, some 400,000 people packed into Passeig de Gràcia for a Brazilian-style Carnival by Carlinhos Brown.

Forum City

Museu de la Ciutat
The Human Condition. The Dream of a Shadow
From 17/05/2004 to 19/09/2004
People share common bonds simply because it is in their human nature. This exhibition, with sculptures and paintings, underlines the meaning of being human.

© CCCB

CCCB
At war
From 17/05/2004 to 19/09/2004
War forms part of the life experience of many people. Nowadays, the media draw our attention to the phenomenon on a daily basis.

© Pablo Picasso, VEGAP

Museu Picasso
Picasso. War and Peace
From 25/05/2004 to 26/09/2004
This exhibition brings together the works of Picasso on the ravages of war.

© Fundacion Juan Miró

Fundació Joan Miró
The beauty of failure/ The failure of beauty
From 27/05/2004 to 24/10/2004
Today's artists feel a distrust of globalization despite the utopian visions of the 19th and 20th centuries.

© MACBA

MACBA
Art and Utopia: Restricted Action
From 03/06/2004 to 12/09/2004
Contemporary art looks inwards at the utopias of art.

© Institut Europeu de la Mediterránia

Museu d'Història de Catalunya / Museu Marítim
Mediterranean. The Splendour of the Medieval Mediterranean
(13th-15th centuries)
From 18/05/2004 to 27/09/2004
The aim of this exhibition highlights the art, culture, politics, the navigation techniques, and trading methods of the major Mediterranean maritime cities in medieval times.

© Forum Barcelona 2004

Fundació Antoni Tàpies
Tour-isms
From 14/05/2004 to 29/08/2004
A fresh look at tourism, a political and cultural phenomenon that is clearly expanding thanks to the globalization process.

© Jordi López Dot

Museu Barbier-Mueller d'Art Precolombí
The body and the cosmos. Sculptural Art from Pre-Columbian Mexico
From 14/06/2004 to 10/10/2004
A selection of two hundred pieces from various Mexican museums, showing the role of the human figure as a cosmological symbol in the cultures of pre-Columbian Mexico.

© Museu de les Ciències Naturals

Fundació Caixa Catalunya
Images of the body. The Museum Interpreted by Robert Wilson From June 3rd 2004 to the end of October Based on the interplay between diverse cultures, in three spaces designed by the American scenographer Bob Wilson.

© Museu de les Ciències Naturals

Museu de les Ciències Naturals
Diversity of LIFE
From 08/06/2004 to 30/04/2005
Over 1,700,000 species have been registered, yet there are many more –probably millions- still to document.

© Caixa Forum, Fundació la Caixa

CaixaFòrum
Confucius
From 26/05/2004 to 29/08/2004
Confucius, a commoner, has been written about by scholars down the ages. This exhibition looks at his legacy.

MNAC
Feasts, rituals and ceremonies. Ancient bronzes from the Museum of Shanghai
From 22/06/2004 to 12/09/2004
Twin towns Barcelona and Shanghai have worked together to bring this exhibition of ancient bronzes to town.

Museu Frederic Marès
Object and memory
From 19/05/2004 to 26/09/2004
Our memories are often preserved in the form of objects. Here we look back on some of them.

Museu Etnològic
Heritage and Inter-Culturality
From 01/06/2004
An ongoing exhibition featuring the permanent collection of the City Museum of Ethnology.

Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya
The outset of inequality
From 20/05/2004 to 24/10/2004
Here we examine the origin of social, economic and power inequalities between individuals and social groups.

FAD
Equally_different_minds. Design of everyday lifes all over the world.
From 21/06/2004 to 02/10/2004
A look at how cultures are represented by daily routines and realities, especially regarding the design of objects and images.

Museu de la Ciència
Providing wood without damaging forests
From 01/06/2004 to 26/09/2004
Logging and the conservation of forests seem to be a loggerheads, yet experience shows that good forest-management is fundamental to forests well-being.

Institut Botànic
From curiosity to futurology. Three Centuries of Interpreting Nature
From 15/06/2004 to 26/09/2004
Here we examine the dominant paradigms of nature over the last three centuries to see how these are reflected in Catalan naturalist collections.

Museu de les Arts Decoratives
Objects/Subjects. Barcelona design perspective
From 30/06/2004 to 31/12/2004
Design is everywhere. And objects illustrate the different cultural needs.
Here we see the symbolic solutions that situate us close to a certain economic model and relationship to our surroundings.

Col.legi Oficial d'Arquitectes de Catalunya
The exploding city
From 18/06/2004 to 26/09/2004
Transformations in the urban regions of southern Europe: perspectives and directions

Music, theatre and more

Music by Sting, Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, Alejandra Sanz; Dance by Nacho Duato, Philippe Decouflé, Mikhail Baryshnikov; theatre productions by Peter Sellers, or Woozier Group: there really is something for everybody in the Forum City. These are happening in places like the National Theater and other emblematic venues.

Festival of the Seas

There's nothing more beautiful than a three-mast sailing ship of the kind that sailed the seas in the last century. Thanks to the Festival of the Seas, visitors will get to see a selection of some of the world's most emblematic examples all lined up together in Port Vell. The Festival of the Seas is an important part of the Forum as one of its objectives is the regeneration of the seas off Barcelona. From June 11 – 14.

Diversity, sustainability and the conditions of peace. Part of the Forum programme is dedicated to debating the key Forum issues through conferences and the participation of experts from around the world.
These debates have been called Dialogues, of which there are 47 in total. In fact, they are the first meetings to be held in the new Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB). And so far they have performed perfectly. The list of Dialogue speakers is as long as it is erudite: in cluded are José Saramago, Mikhail Gorbachov, and Aldolfo Pérez Esquivel. Tickets are on sale for the public to buy as well, although they can also take part at Speaker's Corner -that's not Hyde Park corner, but rather a corner of the Forum Building where experts get up and explain the Dialogue debates of the day.

Two of the biggest Dialogues are the Parliament of the World's Religions and the Festival of Youth, both to be held at the Convention Centre, with the latter expected to bring in over 10,000 youngsters to the Forum area.

47 Dialogues

© PIXTAL

Introduction

The World Today – 12-13 May
Shared Memory – 14 May
The Role of Europe in the World – 11 May

Cultural Diversity and the Media

Information. Power and Ethics in the 21st Century 19-21 May
Global Audio-visual Communication, Cultural Diversity and Regulation 28-29 May
Communication and Cultural Diversity 24 – 17 May
TV-Citizens (INPUT 2004) 23 – 28 May
Internet, Cultural Diversity and the Media 9 – 11 September

© Agustí Argelich

The Word

Diversity and Identity in Narrative Language
The Value of the Word 17 – 21 May
Linguistic Diversity, Sustainability and Peace 20 – 23 May
42nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics. Communication and Language in the Digital Age 21 – 26 July
Don Quixote in Modern and Contemporary Thought

© PIXTAL

Science, Knowledge and Sustainable Development

Scientific Knowledge and Cultural Diversity 4 – 6 June
Health and Development: Challenges for the 21st Century 5 – 9 June
Water for Life and Security 31 May – 1 June
Energy and Sustainable Development 2 – 3 June
37th CIESM Congress. Listening to the Sea 7 – 11 June
World Conference on Broadcast Meteorology 3 – 6 June

© Agustí Argelich

Freedom, Security and Peace

Conflicts in Everyday Life 13 – 15 June
Conflicts: Prevention, Resolution, Reconciliation 16 – 20 June
International Justice 21 – 22 June
Towards a World Without Violence 23 – 27 June
Sports: A Universal Dialogue. World Forum on Education, Culture and Sports 10 – 12 June
The Social Brain. The Biology of Conflict and Cooperation
Human Rights and Regional and Local Administration

© Forum Barcelona 2004

Globalization and Development

East-West Dialogue 1- 3 July
Poverty, Microcredits and Development 15 – 18 July
The Role of Corporations in the 21st Century 19 – 22 July
Globalization, Identity, Diversity 26 – 29 July
Ethical Wealth of Nations. Values and Social Development 24 – 25 July
Work Cultures 28 July – 1 August
Tourism, Cultural Diversity and Sustainable Development 14 – 16 July
What Is Hidden Behind Your Clothes' Women's Precarious Working Conditions on Globalized Production Lines

Spirituality

Parliament of the World's Religions 7 – 13 July

Living and Living Together. Women's World Forum
World Youth Festival 8 – 14 August
World Volunteer Conference

The Role of Education and Culture in Development

Interaction 2004 - Agenda 21 for Culture 4 – 6 May
Forum of Porto Alegre Local Authorities - Agenda 21 for Culture 7 – 8 May
Cultural Rights and Human Development. New Multicultural Spaces 23 – 27 August
New Ignorances, New Literacies. Learning to Live Together in a Globalizing World
6 – 8 August
VIRTUAL EDUCA. 5th International Conference on Education, Training and Information Technologies 18 – 18 June

City and Citizenship for the 21st Century 9 – 13 September
Collective Public Space: New Perspectives 10 – 12 September
2nd World Urban Forum. Cities: Crossroads of Cultures and Integration
13 – 17 September

New Agents, New Dynamics

Human Movements and Immigration 2 – 5 September
Contributing to the Global Agenda 22 – 26 September
From the Washington Consensus Towards a New Global Governance 17 – 18 September
Human Rights, Emerging Needs and New Commitments 18 – 21 September

May 9 to September 26
Voices

One of the star exhibitions of this Forum Barcelona. Voices is not only about the thousands of languages in danger of extinction; it's also to do with the need we all feel to communicate with others, irrespective of national or religious backgrounds.
Knowing how to speak is something we are all born with, according to Chomsky.
And the power of speech, a privilege given to humans, is the main focus of this exhibition designed by Ralph Appelbaum, designer of the Holocaust Museum in Washington.

May 9 to September 26
Warriors of Xi'an

>

This is the largest collection of Chinese funerary art ever to have been shown outside China. The Warriors of Xi'an are life sized terracotta figures. They were buried with the rulers in the mausoleums of Qin Shihuang and Yangling, the dynasties of Qin (221-207 BC) and the Hans (206 BC – 220 AC).
In total there are 120 pieces, some of which never seen outside China. What the pieces show is how China evolved from a warring culture to one based on peace. This exhibition is proving to be the star of all the Forum exhibitions. So don't miss out on a unique chance!

May 9 to September 26
Cities – Corners

This exhibition is designed as a tribute to cities, especially street corners. These key axes of cities are crossroads where much of the drama of urban living takes place. So the exhibition follows some of the social, economic, and political implications of city life. Featured are models of some of the most emblematic streets in the world, like those of New York or Tokyo.

May 9 to September 26
Inhabiting the World

© Forum Barcelona 2004 Miguel González

Our planet has limited resources and space –issues that fuel conflicts across the world. As our economies grow, we threaten the very sources of life. This exhibitions looks at how humanity, the society we live in and how individuals can help reconcile this dilemma between these often conflicting interests.

Two spectacular new hotels have opened in time for Forum Barcelona 2004: the Barcelona Princess and Hotel AC Barcelona, with 364 and 368 rooms respectively. Both these four star hotels are ideally situated to complement CCIB.

Europe's leaders came to Barcelona last May 11 to speak in the Forum Dialogue Europe's role in the World with the participation of Charlemagne Prize winners, which are awarded by the City of Aachen for services to the unity of the Europe's peoples. The King of Spain opened the Dialogue. Speakers included Dr. Romano Prodi, current European Commission president (Charlemagne Prize for the European Commission in 1969), the current president of the European Parliament (2004), Pat Cox, Wim Duisenberg, ex president of the Central European Bank (2002), Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (2003), Felipe González (1993) and Simone Veil (1981). Also taking part in the Dialogue were Spanish foreign affairs minister Miquel Moratinos, the president of the Generalitat, Pasqual Maragall, and the mayor of Barcelona, Joan clos.

Around 120 mayors from around the world came together for the Forum of Local Authorities last May 8. It's the first time the event has been held outside Porto Alegre; the reason: because this year it has been held as part of the Universal Forum of Cultures Dialogues. Mayors voted to include culture as a basic need and right for citizens in their cities.