This weekend, I had a fantastic time at the Personal Democracy Forum in Barcelona, the conference where technology passionates and politics addicts meet. I have to admit I didn’t learn much during the workshops but on the other hand, that might be because I already know much, which is a good sign. Some presentations inspired me though. But that’s not what matters the most anyway.
At PdF EU -just as any conference- the most important is the people you meet. And I met lots of fascinating people, some of which I will collaborate with on common projects: the staff of the Norwegian Labour party, the PES activist friends from Clermont-Ferrand, the organiser of the Brussels girl geek dinners, the people behind Europatweets, the staff from La Netscouade and other Internet agencies, and many more inspiring people.
So, well done PdF! I am glad I was part of it. Now I’m back to Brussels with my mind full of new project ideas, which is probably the best deliverable you could expect from that conference. I am looking forward to helping develop the PdF network in Europe and attending PdF10, which -I think- should take place in Barcelona again (However considering my Spanish origins, I’m probably being biased on that one).
Then come to the Personal Democracy Forum in Barcelona on November 20-21!
For six years, Personal Democracy Forum has been THE place in America where politicos and technologists gather to learn from each other, network, and glimpse the future. And now it’s coming to Europe!
Topics to be discussed include:
For more information and to register, click here!
I’ve arrived in Barcelona. I’ve had a walk in my neighbourhood along the Gaudi Avenue between the majestic Sant Pau hospital (below left, behind the billboard) and the breathtaking Sagrada Familia (below right, behind the billboard).
These are just two examples of how much the Spanish government seems to be advertising what they do, as -in a one-hour walk- I’ve seen two other billboards of this kind. Apparently the Sant Pau hospital work is financed by the Spanish government’s PlanE, the much advertised recovery plan to stimulate the economy and boost employment, while the Sagrada Familia work is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund. Both billboards seem to have been put in place by Barcelona’s city council.
La Sagrada Familia - CC MorBCN on Flickr
It’s time for Eurosocialist to take her summer vacation and go rest in Barcelona until the end of August. I’m still planning on blogging from there but probably at a slower pace. Who knows what kind of new inspiration the Catalan sun will give me!
I started blogging less than two months ago and already over 500 visitors came to one of my sites, almost as many are following me on Twitter, and 40 people have even suscribed to my RSS feed. Thanks to all of those who have read me so far. A special thanks to the ones that left comments on the posts because this blog is above all meant to be a place for debate. Hasta muy pronto!
In an electoral meeting on 29 May, head of PP European list Jaime Mayor Oreja expressed its support to Cardinal Antonio Cañizares’ assertion concerning a recent report on sexual abuses perpetrated for decades in Catholic schools in Ireland, reports El País. Mayor said that Cañizares is right when saying that what happened in Ireland was not as bad as “the hundreds of lives destroyed by abortion” and he claims to not understand the scandal Cañizares’ declarations created. The head of PSOE European list, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, said that the PP vision is not “the majority perception of society” and that Mayor is trying to criminalise women who have made their choice. The next day, in a meeting in Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona), PP President Mariano Rajoy tried to avoid references to his support for Mayor. Spanish Socialist President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero also reacted by asking Mayor to “withdraw his declarations which are 30 or 40 years old”. “We won’t allow Mr. Mayor Oreja to impose his morals” on Spanish society, Zapatero added.
For the record, Major Oreja also refused to support the declaration condemning General Franco’s regime 70 years after his coup d’état in the plenary of July 2007. “Why should I have to condemn Franco´s regime?”, he said. “I did not condemn Franco, I praise the democratic transition. How can I condemn what represents, without a doubt, a very big part of Spanish society?”, he added.
Now, is Jaime Mayor Oreja really the kind of guy you want to see making decisions for you at the European Parliament? The PP is allied –among others- to the UMP, the PdL (Berlusconi’s party) and the CDU. All these parties are gathered in the European People’s party, strongly claiming their Christian values, which to them are “true values”. I don’t like to draw the fear card -that’s too much of a right-wing tactic- but this is a little scary, isn’t it? Please, mind your vote.
