Laura Foraster
Who was the chief executive officer of Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia in Jun 2019?
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