Launch of the second edition of ‘Catalunya Rural Hub’, the project to root digital talent and combat depopulation in rural areas

• Today the news, impact and objectives of ‘Catalunya Rural Hub’ were presented in Tremp and the consolidation of the project is marked by this second edition in the Pallars Jussà and Ribera d’Ebre.
• The ‘Catalunya Rural Hub’ 2022 has officially kicked off with the opening of registrations through the Barcelona Digital Talent portal and will run for three weeks between May 23 and June 17.
• The call is open to 30 people who will work for a week in groups of 10 remotely, do coworking and will meet and interact with the economic and social fabric of the territory.
• ‘Catalunya Rural Hub’ is an initiative promoted by the Vice-Presidency of the Government of Catalonia and Mobile World Capital Barcelona within the Barcelona Digital Talent program in order to attract digital professionals to rural areas of Catalonia and boost the economy of these territories.

7 April, 2022

Tremp, April 7– The second edition of the project ‘Catalunya Rural Hub‘ started this morning in Tremp with the presentation of the implementation schedule, the news and the opening of the registration period for digital professionals who want to participate. The presentation ceremony was held in Tremp (Pallars Jussà), one of the municipalities that will host this second edition along with the region of Ribera de Ebro and was attended by Joana Barbany, general director of Digital Society of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and Jordi Arrufí, director of the Digital Talent program of Mobile World Capital and spokesman for Barcelona Digital Talent. Josep M. Mullol, president of the Regional Council of Pallars Jussà, and Jesús Álvarez, first vice-president and councilor responsible for the ICT area of the Regional Council of Ribera d’Ebre have also intervened.

This new edition of the Catalunya Rural Hub is the extension of the project initiated a year ago by the Vice-Presidency Department and Digital Policies and Territory Department of the Generalitat de Catalunya with Mobile World Capital Barcelona. It consists in attracting professionals in the digital field to rural and sparsely populated areas of the territory with the ultimate goal of rooting the talent, combating depopulation and boosting the economy of these areas. The initiative is part of the Barcelona Digital Talent alliance, which seeks to promote the development of the new digital economy throughout Catalonia and at the same time, positively impact the productive, commercial and economic fabric of the whole territory.

According to the General Director of Digital Society, Joana Barbany, the launch of this second edition “consolidates the project as a good antidote against depopulation and the territorial gap of digital talent in Catalonia. 

The results of last year’s pilot edition have shown that facilitating the relocation of digital talent from large cities to rural areas can contribute significantly to the forestation and economic revitalization of these areas, therefore achieving that Catalonia has equal opportunities for all. That is why we have taken forward the extension of the project, expanded and improved to new parts of the territory”, he added.

Jordi Arrufí, director of the MWCapital’s Digital Talent program, followed by stating that “the main objective of this project is to use technology to break barriers once again. It is about demonstrating that thanks to the advancement of technology and new digital professions, it is possible to live in a rural environment. In fact, 14% of new job offers in the ICT sector are already in remote work mode. This type of work implemented by many companies and the effort of the territory multiplies the benefits and opportunities of living in less populated rural environments.”

For the organization of this second edition of Catalunya Rural Hub, Pallars Actiu and the Regional Council of Ribera d’Ebre have been the coordinating entities, and with the collaboration of different administrations and entities of the two territories where it will take place: Diputació de Lleida, Regional Council of El Pallars Jussà, City Council of Tremp, Consorci Leader Pirineu Occidental, Consorci Intercomarcal d’Iniciatives Socioeconòmiques and Cowocat Rural.

Calendar and opening of registrations

In this edition, a total of 30 digital professionals will have the opportunity to become remote workers for a week from this year’s venues: Ribera d’Ebre and Tremp (Pallars Jussà). Registrations to apply for one of these places are already open through the Barcelona Digital Talent website. Self-employed professionals, workers of companies in the ICT sector and staff of the Public Administration can register. For the selection different criterias will be taken into account such as: gender (looking for representativeness of both); age (promoting the multiplicity of profiles at different times of life); and the group to which they belong (to ensure the variety of types of companies and the role of the participants in them).

The first of the three stays of 10 professionals will take place in Tremp from May 23 to 27. The next ones will be in Ribera de Ebro from May 30 to June 3 and from June 13 to 17. Participants will have free accommodation, a coworking space and a plan of activities that will allow them to get to know the environment, the companies and the economic and social fabric of the territory with the aim of establishing personal and professional relationships.

In both Ribera d’Ebre and Tremp, participants will be able to learn first-hand about the facilities and services available in the area for teleworking and the initiatives related to connectivity in the region. On the other hand, they will also participate in meetings with companies and initiatives in the area to discuss together the possibilities and needs that remote workers can find in a rural environment. The aim is to contribute to the exchange of knowledge that will generate a definitive impulse in the proposal of the rural environment to be able to become the home of this talent.

The agenda of the two venues also contemplates numerous leisure activities with the aim of showing all that the territory has to offer apart from the facilities and connectivity. Km0 gastronomic tastings, the route of the flowering of fruit trees in Ribera d’Ebre or a route to see the remains of dinosaurs that inhabited the Pallars Jussà millions of years ago are some of the unique spectacles that participants will have the privilege of experiencing.

The intention of the project is to promote that professionals end up settling in rural environments, root themselves and develop their personal and professional lives there. In this sense, Marta Vila also spoke in today’s presentation, a digital professional with a reskilling profile (professional recycling and training to adapt to the new skills and knowledge demanded by the labor market) who participated in the pilot edition that took place in La Vall d’en Bas (Garrotxa) and that, as a result of the experience, is considering moving to a rural environment to live and work in the future.

Pilot test in La Garrotxa

The ‘Catalunya Rural Hub’ was born last year, with a pilot test of 20 professionals from the digital sector who were living and working remotely for a week in La Vall d’en Bas (Garrotxa). The participants carried out the working day without any inconvenience, with an excellent internet connection. In a subsequent survey, most of them assured that their performance had improved and highlighted the quality of life and the discovery of new job opportunities in the territory.

The pilot test received 210 applications to participate, at a time marked by the pandemic in which the trend of moving out of Barcelona had become more pronounced due to the increasing digitalization of companies and the rise of remote work as well as the willingness of professionals to move their work environment and home to a rural scenario to improve their quality of life.

Assessing the participants of the previous edition, being able to work surrounded by nature stands out as the most valued aspect; 80% of the participants say they have improved their performance due to this fact and above all their quality of life. The program is positioned, according to 75% of the participants, as a lever to break prejudices about the rural world in the digital environment such as, for example, that social integration is complicated, that the supply of services is limited or that connectivity is not optimal. All participants agree that the program is a unique opportunity to make a first assessment of becoming a rural remote worker. Some of the participants even extended their stay.

About Barcelona Digital Talent

Barcelona Digital Talent fights the current digital talent gap to promote market competitiveness. With the aim of positioning Barcelona as a talent capital, the program promotes the reskilling in digital skills of professionals and the national and international attraction of new professionals in the market.

This alliance is driven by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Círculo Tecnológico de Cataluña, 22@Network, Barcelona Tech City, Fomento del Trabajo Nacional, Barcelona Global, PIMEC, Barcelona City Council and Generalitat de Catalunya.