Mobile World Capital Barcelona promotes digital transformation by companies, entrepreneurs and citizens

• 4YFN has established itself as a magnet attracting international talent and a business forum for tech startups
• Mobile Lunch Barcelona will bring together, for the first time, more than 250 professionals to discuss digitalisation as a tool for the generation of new business opportunities
• Mobile Ready 2016 will show visitors and citizens mobile technology’s potential to transform consumer habits

February 15, 2016

The Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCB) Foundation is ratcheting up its activity coinciding with the GSMA Mobile World Congress, to present the progress made on its initiatives and to draw more SMEs from the ICT sector to the congress. In order to demonstrate digitalisation’s potential across the various sectors of society, MWCB will also be present in different areas of Barcelona, with initiatives for citizens and businesses.

MWCB CEO Aleix Valls presented the Foundation’s line-up of activities during the mobile technology week. At the event, chaired by Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona and President of the Mobile World Capital Barcelona Foundation, the strategic working lines guiding the activity were introduced: preparing society to live in a digital world, promoting and supporting entrepreneurial initiatives, and expanding digitisation in the business ecosystem. The event also featured appearances by Jordi Baiget, Minister of Business and Knowledge for the Regional Government of Catalonia, Víctor Calvo-Sotelo, Secretary of Telecommunications and the Information Society, and Constantí Serrallonga, General Manager of Fira de Barcelona, all members of the Foundation’s board. 

Digital innovation and business

The third edition of 4 Years From Now (4YFN) which will bring together more than 12,000 attendees and cover 18,000 m² of surface area, builds on its position as a forum for interaction and business for entrepreneurs and digital startups as part of the congress. Niklas Zennström, co-founder of Skype and partner and CEO at Atomico, the international investment firm aimed at scalable disruptive technology companies at the global level; and Stormy Simon, President of Overstock, the largest retailer in the United States, are two of the latest additions to 4YFN’s line-up. Rich Miner, co-founder of Android, Inc. and an Investment Partner at Google Ventures; Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia and Executive Chairman of the social network TPO; Israel Ruiz, Executive Vice-president and Treasurer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Nicola Mendelsohn, EMEA Vice-president at Facebook; and Marcus Weldon, CTO at Alcatel-Lucent, are some of the prominent speakers slated for this edition. As in previous years, 4YFN will take place at the Fira de Barcelona convention facilities on Montjuïc from 22 to 24 February. On February 25, attendees will access MWC’s facilities on the city’s Gran Via to schedule meetings with exhibitors and visitors. 

The digital transformation of business and industry

With the aim of expanding digitisation and innovation as mechanisms to create new business opportunities, MWCB and GSMA are organising the first Mobile Lunch Barcelona. The event, which will be held on February 21, will bring together over 200 professionals from small and medium-sized companies in the fields of ICT, e-commerce and digital media.

Mobile Lunch Barcelona forms part of the strategic plan for the promotion of ICTs, supported by MWCB and devised in order to augment the presence at industry forums of companies linked to this sector, e-commerce and digital communication media, and interaction between them. In this pursuit, MWCB has signed a range of collaboration agreements with leading ICT institutions and associations, like the Cercle Tecnològic de Catalunya (CTecno), the Association of Electronics, IT, Telecommunications and Digital Content Companies (AMETIC), Barcelona Tech City, the Spanish Digital Economy Association (Adigital) and the Mobile Marketing Association Spain (MMA). All of them will be present at Mobile Lunch Barcelona, an event that will also be attended by representatives of the companies forming part of the Catalonia-Spain Pavilion supported by ACCIÓ and the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism.

MWCB also exposes industry professionals to the digital transformation through its Mobile Thinking Days, an executive programme that provides knowledge, facilitates the exchanging of experiences, and identifies opportunities in the field of digital transformation. The initiative, which benefits from support by the IESE Business School, the strategic consulting firm Roca-Salvatella, and the Catalonian Association of Health Organisations (ACES), will centre its 2016 edition on the private health sector.

Also in the field of Health, the Congress will feature MWCB’s mHealth team and the ECHAlliance association holding the “Digital Health & Wellness Summit,” a three-day event on mobile health that will target the industry and sector professionals. On February 25 mHealth will offer the seminar “Motivating behavioural change through mobile technologies,” aimed at sector professionals at the GSMA Mobile World Congress.On 23 February at the Foundation’s stand at the congress, MWCB, the Regional Government of Catalonia, GSMA, the AOC and mobile telephone operators (Orange, Telefónica, Vodafone) will present the conclusions drawn by the mobile identity authentication pilot programme jointly conducted by two governments at the European level (Finland and Catalonia) as part of eIDAS and through the Mobile Connect service, promoted by GSMA. The mLiving team will also present the next steps for the deployment of the Mobile Connect Service within the Catalonian government. 

Digital empowerment: mSchools, beyond the classroom

On 20 February the first Edu_Hack will be held, a large-scale co-creation workshop organised by mSchools. The day will feature the creation and development of pedagogical initiatives incorporating the use of technology in the classroom. The Edu_Hack will bring together some 1,000 teachers, university students and experts, working on a collaborative basis.In addition, on February 25, as part of the GSMA Mobile World Congress, mSchools will hold the second edition of Changing Education Together, a seminar aimed at analysing the potential of mobile technologies in education and sharing best practices. It will include participation by Neus Munté, Presidency Councillor at the Regional Government of Catalonia; John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA Ltd.; and Francesc Pedró, Chief of Section of Sector Policy Advice and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Education at the UNESCO.

The event will bring together 500 school principals and political representatives. On the same day the Mobile Learning Awards 2016 will be handed out to recognise the top educational initiatives employing mobile technology. At this 4th edition the awards will be restructured to exclusively recognise teachers and schools in two categories: “Best Mobile Learning Experiences in the classroom” and “Most Innovative school in Mobile Education.” Digital transformation, within the citizen’s reachMWCB is also expanding its programming, with features that will extend beyond Congress and 4YFN facilities, with a view to demonstrating the potential of digital solutions to the public.

The third edition of Mobile Ready, the mobile route that shares the Congress with citizens, will include different businesses and areas of the city to show how technology can improve shopping and driving experiences in Barcelona. In this way citizens will be able to experience, in real settings, what it is like to share a shopping list via connected devices (IoT), reproduce the objects in a catalogue in a virtual room using augmented reality glasses, practice adventure sports at a store in the centre of Barcelona, and reserve or access a parking space without even getting out of one’s car. All these experiences, open and free for everyone, will be available from 19-26 February.

The Mobile World Centre, for the third consecutive year, will again become a showcase for innovation in mobile technology. After its success last year, which saw 40,000 visitors, brands like Samsung, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Alcatel, BQ, ZTE and Acer will present the latest developments in tablets, smartphones and wearables at the GSMA Mobile World Congress. This initiative makes it possible to share the latest technologies in the industry with citizens, and will be open from February 22^nd to March 5^th.