ARA celebrates a new Enfoquem to identify who has the command of the future

BarcelonaIn a few years, the international order has become more unstable and multifaceted. Not only have poles of power multiplied, but technology has also ceased to be primarily a vehicle for innovation and progress to become, in addition, a fundamental actor, essential for understanding what war or communication is like in the 21st century, if these are two different things at all. To map out this new landscape, ARA is organizing a new edition of Enfoquem: the Solutions Forum, aimed at pointing out viable paths for the future based on a firm yet serene delimitation of the problems of the present and offering readers and subscribers keys to decode the current moment.

On this occasion, defense is the main theme of the first day, which will be held at the Sant Pau Modernist Site, in Barcelona, on Monday, October 26th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The following day, at the same location and from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., there will also be Enfoquem, but in this case from a perspective more focused on science and caring for the planet. The activities will open with Roberta Pinotti, the first woman to be Minister of Defense in Italy, between 2014 and 2018 under the governments of Matteo Renzi and Paolo Gentiloni. An expert on the Middle East and a convinced Atlanticist, she currently chairs the Foundation of the National Center for the Underwater Dimension (PNS), an organization that manages civil and military research applied to the seabed. Interviewed by the head of the newspaper's International section, Francesc Millan, she is one of the advocates for meeting the investment commitments proposed by NATO.

At the other extreme of this position is Sami Naïr, who will close the first day's presentations. This French political scientist, philosopher, sociologist, and professor is considered one of the most powerful and influential intellectual voices within progressivism and humanism in Europe. Interviewed by ARA's director, Esther Vera, he will explain his stance, critical of contemporary international relations and military escalation.

In between, one will also be able to follow the contributions of Sònia Andolz (security analyst) and Guillem Colom Piella (member of the Academy of Military Sciences and Arts and who worked at the defense staff in military transformation processes), moderated by the newspaper's deputy director, Carla Turró. Dual-use technology will be the focus of another of the talks, in this case with Roger Torrent (coordinator of a report on this matter for the Chamber of Commerce) and Òscar Pallarols (head of strategic marketing at Cellnex), moderated by ARA journalist Núria Rius. The newspaper's technology expert, Albert Cuesta, will share a reflection on whether technology makes us safer or more vulnerable.

The future perspectives of new technologies will feature an internationally renowned speaker: Therese Jamaa, vice president of strategic alliances at Openchip and a reference in the technological and social sectors. And the afternoon will also include the intervention of Albert Dalmau, Minister of the Presidency, to detail what Catalonia contributes to European security.

The following day, Friday, has a more marked cultural accent. Italian writer Stefano Mancuso will present his book The Song of the Earth (Galàxia Gutenberg), in an interview moderated by ARA's deputy director Ignasi Aragay. This renowned plant neurobiologist reinterprets in the book the Canticle of the Creatures, written by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1224, and transforms it into an extraordinary treatise on ecology. Where spirituality and scientific rigor meet, the work is a vibrant defense of life and the need to safeguard the planet. This presentation will have a musical finale: it will be provided by singer and pianist Belén Bandera, with jazz airs, author of an album, Bamboo, which is inspired precisely by Mancuso's work and which will play during this second day.

The second Enfoquem arrives eight months after a first edition that featured the participation, among others, of Valentí Fuster, Sylvie Kauffmann, John Carlin and Mark Bray, in addition to a dialogue from opposing positions between Ada Colau and Miquel Puig. All information and ticket purchases can be found on the Enfoquem website.