INAUGURATION

The institutional representatives who inaugurated the session welcomed the more than 500 attendees, praising not only the number but the sheer geographical diversity of the participants as testament to the Symposium’s international appeal. As they reminded the audience, the 22@ cluster is possible thanks to a local concentration of companies sharing a certain degree of business overlap and synergies, and cooperating, plus universities and the Public Administration. Its success is not only reflected in the urban transformations of a district and a city, but also in its ability to attract talented individuals and investment. 22@ has thus become a consolidated business community, comprising over 1,000 companies employing 33,000 people.

KEY IDEAS

Jordi William Carnes, president 22@ Barcelona; and third deputy mayor of Barcelona.

• The aim of the Symposium
The aim of this Symposium is to reflect, together with major players from the national and international arenas, on the value of urban clusters.

Josep Huguet, Ministry of Innovation, Universities and Entrepreneurship, Government of Catalonia.

• Globalisation entails competition of territories
“Cluster policy is a perfectly valid policy, since globalisation entails competition among territories rather than among companies.”

• The triple helix
The success of 22@ is down to cooperation among players in the so-called triple helix of business, universities and the Public Administration, and is an example of what can be accomplished when policies are aligned.

• Catalonia is attracting talent
Catalonia is on track to attracting research and business talent as well as capital from foreign investors, who are more accustomed to working with venture capital than local investors.

Jordi Hereu, mayor of Barcelona.

• 22@ represents a reliable strategy
22@ represents one of the major strategies of the city of Barcelona, and goes beyond mere economic trends“, as it is a totally reliable, realistic and well-defined strategy which enjoys the support and cooperation of local, autonomous and state administrations.

• Barcelona, transformation and attraction
22@ has not only implied the massive urban transformation of the Poblenou district where it is located, but has also demonstrated an ability to attract talented individuals and investment: 1,000 companies employing 33,000 people in a business community that carries out the Cluster’s most important activities.

• A network of cities and territories
Barcelona and the Symposium’s attendees form part of a network of cities and territories that must “compete and cooperate: competition and cooperation are the two fundamental principles on which our work must be based.”