More than 19,000 people take part in Mobile Week Barcelona

• The MWCapital initiative consolidates its presence in the city and positions itself as a space for reflection on the impact of digital transformation that is open to the general public
• The mWeek GALLERY exhibition The future of today at the Disseny Hub Barcelona attracts nearly 14,000 visitors

March 6, 2018

Mobile Week Barcelona, sponsored by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, closed its second edition with more than 19,000 participants and 120 activities organised throughout the city’s 10 districts. The citizens of Barcelona took part in proposals designed to spur reflection and debate, artistic activities such as the The future of today exhibition and free workshops open to the general public.

Nearly 14,000 visitors showed an interest in the 10 artistic creations displayed at the mWeek GALLERY exhibition The future of today at Disseny Hub Barcelona which aimed to encourage reflection on the impact of digital transformation on our lives. “Civilization”, created by Marco Brambilla and displayed during mWeekBcn in partnership with the Sorigué Foundation, was also one of the exhibits at the Llum BCN festival, which heightened the exhibition’s impact and contributed to increasing its visibility within Barcelona’s programme of cultural activities.

Following their run at Disseny Hub Barcelona, two mWeek Gallery exhibits will be on show free of charge at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya from 13 March – 13 April. The selected pieces are En algún lugar debe haber un basural donde están amontadas las memorias (Somewhere, there must be a garbage dump where memories are piled) by Laura Malinverni & Cristina Valero and Ella programa el código (She Programmes The Code) by Elizabeth Bigger. The first reflects on planned obsolescence, and the second on the role of women in the world of technology.

Other institutions, such as Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Barcelona Tech City or MediaTic, also opened their doors as part of mWeek GALLERY, and 16 guided tours were made of their facilities.

A space for open reflection and debate

The central theme of the second edition of Mobile Week Barcelona was encouraging debate on the impact of the digitalisation of society. Nearly 1,500 members of the public took part in the 29 sessions of mWeek TALKS to reflect on how digital transformation affects training and employment, cultural expression, the social integration of immigrants, the improvement of citizen participation systems, education and healthcare. The sessions were held throughout the city’s 10 districts, and gathered experts in technology, philosophy, public governance, medicine, art and science, among others.
 
Consolidating a citizen participation initiative

Mobile Week Barcelona also included activities aimed at young children. The #GirlsHack workshop organised by the María de Maeztu Gender & ICT programme at the UPF (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) stands out among the activities at mWeek KIDS, a family-friendly event designed to awaken an interest in new technologies among children. This activity centred on inspiring girls to take an interest in technology in order to help bridge the gender gap in ICT.

mWeek LAB offered more than 40 workshops based on creativity, innovation, digital culture, technology and thinking throughout the city. Among these sessions, the AIRE project, a collective action based on citizen participation to measure air quality in Barcelona, stands out.

Part of the success of the second edition of Mobile Week Barcelona is thanks to the mWeek COMMUNITY, formed by institutions and entities that have allowed the initiative to broaden its programme of activities and further increase its impact on the city. The community is formed by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), the Institut de Estudis Catalans (IEC), the Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan (PEMB), Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), the In-Edit and Loop BCN festivals, the Sorigué Foundation and Art Barcelona, an association of galleries in the city, among others.