Description

Barcelona Global International Press Desk is a project that is entirely dedicated to improving the reputation of the city in the world. It does it by creating stories that are of interest for the international press about the Barcelona that works, vibrates and has the capacity to attract talent.

The International Press Desk organizes Press Trips on different topics in Barcelona, inviting journalists and opinion leaders from the main international newspapers so that they get to know on first-hand what is happening in the city.

Goals

The main goal of the International Press Desk is that Barcelona appears at the international media due to its capacity to generate business and attract talent and innovation, its entrepreneurial activity, its high-quality tourism, its excellent and varied artistic-cultural offer or its growing presence as a leader in research.

Achievements 2019

During the year 2019, the International Press Desk has organized three Press Trips in Barcelona that have been attended by 22 journalists from media around the world and it’s currently designing new programs for the second semester of the year. 

• Barcelona Global Press Trip: At the forefront of scientific research  

Barcelona has first-class facilities of great international recognition, such as the ICFO (Institute of Photonic Sciences), the CRG (Centre for Genomic Regulation), or the IRB (Institute for Research in Biomedicine). These are cutting-edge centres in which a large part of their researchers have an international profile and are increasingly committed to technology transfer.

In this Press Trip, journalists have the opportunity to get to know in-depth the panorama of scientific research in Barcelona and the challenges it currently presents.

Hand in hand with the scientists who are leading these centres and some of the directors of the most outstanding projects, journalists discover the Barcelona that is pushing the frontier of research in Spain.

 > Press Trip Science, 9th-11th April 2019: you can read the articles published so far as a result of this Press Trip in the Press Room of our website.

• Barcelona Global Press Trip: Sant Jordi and the city of literature

Barcelona has become the capital of the Spanish-language publishing industry. The city is a cluster of the sector, being headquarters for some of the biggest publishing companies. Moreover, Barcelona has been recognized by UNESCO as the capital of literature. Once a year, Catalans pay homage to the literary world with Sant Jordi´s day: unique in the world. 

In this Press Trip, journalists can learn more about the Sant Jordi festival and understand the city as a literary capital. In addition, they come into contact with the main actors of Barcelona's publishing scenario and with some of its main writers.  

 > Press Trip Sant Jordi, 22nd-23rd April 2019: you can read the articles published so far as a result of this Press Trip in the Press Room of our website. 

• Barcelona Global Press Trip: Barcelona Startup Hub

The Startup ecosystem in Barcelona shows signs that the city has become one of the most vibrant technological hubs in Europe. Barcelona, with 1.100 startups, stands as the 5th European Startup hub. Barcelona’s entrepreneurial rate stood at 8.5% in 2017, higher than German and Spanish average (5.3% and 6.2% respectively).

In this Press Trip, journalists have the opportunity to get to know in-depth the growing Startup sector in Barcelona and the gradual positioning as a tech city able to attract international talent. By visiting outstanding places such as Barcelona Tech City, Barcelona Activa or meeting investors and successful entrepreneurs, the journalists discover key players in this ecosystem.

 > Press Trip Startup Hub, 17th-19th July 2019: you can read the articles published so far as a result of this Press Trip in the Press Room of our website.

• Barcelona Global Press Trip: Barcelona’s creative and art scene

This Press Trip showcases the artistic and creative scene in Barcelona through the creation factories that foster and nurture emerging artists, the established commercial gallery sector, and the group of savvy collectors that encourages it. Barcelona keeps on building over its long tradition of supporting the arts, and local and international artists are joining efforts to boost art through many different initiatives.

Journalists are able to meet the key players in the sector: artists, curators, gallery owners, art collectors and directors of both private and public art institutions in the city.

 > Press Trip Art, 9th-11th October 2019: you can read the articles published so far as a result of this Press Trip in the Press Room of our website. 

• Barcelona Global Press Trip: Barcelona the Smart City

In this Press Trip, journalists get to know the latest technological solutions that position Barcelona as the third Smart City in the world, only behind London and Singapore. They visit the Smart City Expo World Congress, they get to know the 22 @ district (the innovation district), they discover the pioneering system for water sustainability in the city through a visit to the AGBAR control centre (Aigües de Barcelona), or they learn how Smart technology is applied to health through a visit to the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona, the first 5G hospital in Spain.

In addition to the visits, there are also dinners where journalists have the opportunity to meet the main actors and stakeholders of the city in the field of Smart Cities.

 > Press Trip Smart Cities, 18th-20th November 2019: you can read the articles published so far as a result of this Press Trip in the Press Room of our website.

Achievements 2018

During 2018, the International Press Desk organized two Press Trips in Barcelona that were attended by 16 journalists from media around the world.

• Barcelona Global Press Trip: The creative district tour

Barcelona has positioned itself as one of the design capitals. It is a reference destination for international companies in the sector, for students seeking the best educational opportunities in design and for professionals in all design disciplines.

The journalists in this Press Trip get to know the most creative and avant-garde side of Barcelona through visits to the most relevant places in this field and through interviews with their managers and creators. In addition, they can get to know some of the most cutting-edge projects that are currently being developed in this sector and also experience firsthand what makes Barcelona one of the world's design capitals.

• Barcelona Global Press Trip: Dan Brown's Barcelona

The famous writer Dan Brown placed the plot of his latest novel ‘Origin’ in Barcelona, creating a different and, for many, even unknown views of some of the most emblematic places of the city, such as la Pedrera or the Sagrada Familia. 

Moreover, the city’s growing role as a setting for novels and films from all over the world highlights the cultural and architectural appeal of Barcelona abroad. 

In this Press Trip, journalists get to know the city of Barcelona through the eyes of the writer Dan Brown, taking a tour of the places in Barcelona that inspired his bestseller ‘Origin’. This visit provides journalists with an unknown and unique vision of emblematic places of Barcelona.