Catalunya Món
Who was the chief executive officer of Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia between Feb 2013 and Feb 2013?
Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia The Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia ( in Catalan language Consell de Diplomàcia Pública de Catalunya ; acronym : DIPLOCAT ) – previously known as the Patronat Catalunya Món – is a public-private consortium set up by the Catalan government , the Generalitat . It is devoted to promoting international awareness of Catalonia within the international community through public diplomacy tools . Albert Royo i Mariné was the secretary general of the Diplomacy Council from 14 February 2013 to October 27 , 2017 when the government of Spain decided to close the consortium in application of article 155 of the Spanish Constitution . Its creation has been controversial , since the constitution reserves external action to the government of Spain exclusively . With the arrival of the new government of the Generalitat , the President Quim Torra convened the first meeting of its board of trustees since the beginning of the process of liquidation . With this announcement , the liquidation of the consortium was terminated and the process of reactivation started . In December 2018 its board of trustees appointed Ms . Laura Foraster as the new secretary general of Diplocat . Activities . From 2013 to 2017 DIPLOCAT organized academic events to discuss both internationally relevant topics within Catalonia with international guests and the Catalan independence process in universities around the world . Examples of these events include debates in Lisbon , Utrecht , Oslo , Cambridge , Princeton , Sciences Po Paris , Stockholm and Tokyo . Diplocat also organized public events in Catalonia itself . In that sense , Diplocat invited Jeremy Rifkin to talk about the possibilities for Catalonia to implement the third industrial revolution , and also organized an international forum in Barcelona about reception and integration of refugees in the European Union . It also published articles in international press to explain the political situation in Catalonia ; awards grants ; organized an executive masters degree in diplomacy and foreign affairs ; organized meetings with foreign members of parliaments to promote debate on the question of the right to decide ; invited well-known figures from different fields of work or studies to visit Catalonia ; participated in electoral observation missions ; aided civil society organizations carrying out activities abroad ; prepares informative documents explaining key aspects of everything related to Catalonia ; and carried out digital diplomacy with activity on social networks - especially Twitter . They also carried out activities in the field of cultural diplomacy , such as the #BooksAndRoses campaign , which promotes giving roses and books in and around April 23 , when Sant Jordi is celebrated in Catalonia , or supporting documentaries such as the one about the 40 years of Dutch soccer player Johann Cruyff in Catalonia . DIPLOCAT also gave the annual Catalan Business Diplomacy Award , aimed at recognizing those companies which identify themselves or their products and services as Catalan . The award was first created in 2013 by DIPLOCAT working together with PIMEC . It has been won by Aranow ( 2013 ) , Scytl ( 2014 ) , Moritz ( 2015 ) , Ultramàgic ( 2016 ) and Beabloo ( 2017 ) . With Diplocat reactivated the award was restored and the company Munich was awarded in 2019 . One of the first activities held by Diplocat once reactivated was a seminar on public diplomacy in Barcelona in which professor Nicholas Cull gave the key speech . In that conference the new secretary general Ms . Laura Foraster said that Diplocats goals are to export the image , assets and values of Catalonia abroad . Impact in international journalism . The presence of DIPLOCAT has been acknowledged to improve the positive perceptions on Catalonia of the international journalists who had previously established contact with the consortium . Moreover , there is a correlation between the professional needs of correspondents ( information sources and materials ) and the Public Diplomacy activities being provided by DIPLOCAT . Composition . The following public bodies constitute the Public Diplomacy Council : - Public institutions - Generalitat de Catalunya ( Catalan government ) - City halls of Barcelona , Girona , Lleida , Tarragona and Vielha e Mijaran - Catalan association of municipalities and counties ( Associació Catalana de Municipis i Comarques ) - Federation of the municipalities of Catalonia ( Federació de Municipis de Catalunya ) - Financial , economic and business bodies - Federation of Catalan savings banks ( Federació Catalana de Caixes dEstalvis ) - General Board of the Chambers of Commerce , Industry and Navigation of Catalonia - Association of small and medium-sized businesses ( PIMEC ) - Employers association ( Foment del Treball Nacional ) - Multi-sector business association - Foundation of private businesses ( FemCAT ) - Confederation of Catalan cooperatives - Comisiones Obreras de Catalunya ( trade union ) - Unión General de Trabajadores de Catalunya ( trade union ) - Social and sport bodies - Federation of Catalan third sector social bodies ( Taula dEntitats del Tercer Sector Social de Catalunya ) - FB Barcelona - Universities , business schools and academic centres - Universities of Catalunya - EADA Business School - Barcelona Graduate School of Economics ( BGSE ) - Barcelona Institute of International Studies ( Institut Barcelona dEstudis Internacionals IBEI ) External links . - BooksAndRoses