Orange and Vodafone join Mobile World Capital Barcelona Foundation’s Board

• Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone -Spain’s three major mobile operators- now form part of Mobile World Capital Barcelona’s governing body
• Entrepreneurship, mSchools, mHealth, and Smart Living are MWCB’s focus areas

July 11, 2014

The Board of Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCB) has approved the incorporation of Orange España and Vodafone España as new members of the Foundation, joining Telefónica who was previously appointed. The Mobile World Capital Barcelona governing body now includes Spain’s three major mobile operators.

The Foundation Board is comprised of nine companies and institutions: the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism; the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Ajuntament de Barcelona, Fira de Barcelona, GSMA -all of them founding partners- Orange, Telefónica, Vodafone and the Damm Group.

The meeting was held yesterday at the Ajuntament de Barcelona, presided by the Mayor of Barcelona and President of the Foundation, Xavier Trias, with participation of Víctor Calvo-Sotelo, the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and the Information Society; Felip Puig, the Catalonian Minister of Business and Labour; Anne Bouverot, Director General GSMA; Julio Linares, Vice-President Telefónica; Enric Crous, CEO DAMM and Agustí Cordon, MWCB Vice-President. Orange España was represented by Carmen Recio, Secretary General of the Board, and Vodafone España by its President, Francisco Román.

Entrepreneurship is the cornerstone of Mobile World Capital Barcelona

The Foundation Board also approved the MWCB operational plan for 2014-2015, which focuses on four priority areas: Entrepreneurship, mSchools, mHealth, and Smart Living (tourism, retail, transport,t and mobile identity).In this operational plan, entrepreneurship will play a key role as a catalyst for innovation and the evolution of the business community. One of the short term objectives is the launch of acceleration programs for startups and the attraction of investors to make Barcelona an international leader in mobile entrepreneurship.

Following the success of the first edition of 4 Years From Now (4YFN) -the entrepreneurship and innovation event organized by MWCB- the team is already working on its second edition, which will be held in conjunction with the next GSMA Mobile World Congress taking place 2-5 March 2015.

mSchools is another MWCB priority area. The first edition of the program in the 2013-2014 academic year boosted a high level of participation, with nearly 7,000 students and 200 schools in Catalonia. After the success of the program, in which students learned to develop mobile applications, mSchools aims to increase the number of secondary schools that will participate by adding new initiatives. MWCB supports mSchools in collaboration with Generalitat de Catalunya, Ajuntament de Barcelona, and GSMA.

Moreover, the mHealth program -which promotes improvements in citizen’s health and welfare by personalizing services based on mobile technology- will focus its activity in four areas: wellness, chronic diseases, mental health and pharma. One of the goals is the creation of interoperability standards to build an ecosystem allowing for the integration of mHealth solutions into the health system.

Finally, Smart Living, which supports the development of services that improve people’s interactions with the smart city, will focus on tourism, retail, transport, and mobile identity.

Mobile World Capital presents a global vision that effectively integrates mobile technologies into the fabric of the industries transforming our lives. Committed to expanding the mobile experience throughout Barcelona, Catalonia, and Spain with strong support of the public and private sectors.

Mobile World Capital is leading mobile transformation through commitments in Competence Centres, local Industry Development, and Entrepreneurship and Innovation programmes.

MWCapital offers an open platform and exhibition showroom where citizens can understand and experience how mobile is enhancing our lives: The Mobile World Centre, located in the heart of Barcelona on Plaza Catalunya.