A total of 123 out of 206 measures from the National Pact for Language have already been completed, 27 are in an advanced stage and 43 are underway, with a budgetary execution of 256.8 million euros. The record offer of 150,000 places to learn the language, the growth of regular speakers, or the presence of the language in cultural, audiovisual, and technological fields are some of the indicators that demonstrate that “we are fulfilling our commitment to Catalan”. This is highlighted by the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, at the latest presentation event held at the Auditorium of the Palau de la Generalitat under the title From Commitment to Action. Assessment of the first year of the National Pact for Language.

With 40 offices open throughout Catalonia, four more than last year, 12 of which are temporary, the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) has expanded personalized attention for the 2025 Income Tax campaign. This June, in-person consultations at the various points in the office network are thus intensified, after the Agency assisted 25,502 people by phone last month.

“More industry, but, above all, of better quality”: Salvador Illa and the country's main economic agents have sealed this Monday the new National Pact for Industry. The roadmap until 2030 foresees an investment of almost 4,500 million euros in 190 actions comprised in five major areas, such as innovation or employment. During his speech, the President of the Generalitat emphasized that the agreement "is not a sectoral pact" but a "national and future pact". The text has been agreed with the two main employers' associations in the territory, Foment del Treball and Pimec, and the two majority trade unions, Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and UGT. The objective: that by 2030 industry represents 25% of Catalonia's gross domestic product (GDP), the macroeconomic indicator that measures the monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a territory.

What a heat! Spring is already picking up and summer is just around the corner. The best seasonal fruit is here. Melon, watermelon, figs, grapes, plums, Paraguayan peaches, peaches, and nectarines are a refreshing delight for the palate. Apricots, cherries, loquats, and strawberries are now filling our refrigerators with colors and flavors. How wonderful! Boys and girls also enjoy them at school with the fruit consumption program, which includes vegetables and dairy products, from the Generalitat de Catalunya for the promotion of healthy habits among the little ones. Who can resist it?

Monuments, heritage sites and music become an idyllic experience on summer nights. This 2026, emblematic places such as the Monastery of Santes Creus, Sant Pere de Rodes or the History Museum of Catalonia will once again become spaces for living culture throughout the country. The sites managed by the Catalan Agency for Cultural Heritage come alive through musicians and musical ensembles and will be transformed into venues for festivals and concerts.

The current CAP Passeig de Maragall, in the Sant Martí district of Barcelona, still appears today –half a century after Franco's death– in the name of the Spanish Falange (FET y de las JONS). Despite the Generalitat managing the center and assuming all maintenance costs, the registered ownership remains in the hands of the dictatorship's political apparatus. This is the most disconcerting finding of the research by historian Neus Moran, who documents how the State protected health heritage from Francoist plunder before the transfer of powers.

Leaving the primary care center with a prescription for physical exercise is already a reality. The Government has launched a sports prescription program that integrates physical activity into the healthcare system as a therapeutic tool, adapted to each patient's health condition and without ever replacing medication. The initiative allows people who meet certain inclusion criteria, especially those with sedentary habits, to be referred to community physical exercise programs. The objective is to improve the physical activity level of the adult population that needs it most, with the aim of preventing the deterioration of their health.

The CRIT Awards, which recognize and promote digital audiovisual projects in Catalan, celebrated their second edition yesterday at the Teatre Coliseum in Barcelona. Presented by Núria Marín, a total of 14 projects were recognized at the gala, with an attendance of 1,200 professionals and creators, including producers, journalists, and members of the Catalan audiovisual industry. This year's edition highlights the highest recognition for best creator of the year, which went to Laura Grau, and the podcast Guarres!, whose characters were interviewed by l'ARA a few weeks ago, as the best independent project.

The comic will once again be the absolute protagonist of ARA's pages next week. To mark the opening of the major sector fair, Còmic Barcelona, on Friday, May 15, the entire newspaper will be illustrated by cartoonists. On this occasion, the bulk of the images are part of the history of Catalan comics through the archive of the Generalitat de Catalunya, which is collaborating on this special edition. In fact, past and present will go hand in hand because, as we have done in the already increasingly long tradition of special comic newspapers, the cover and the day's dossier will be the work of a comic author: Paco Roca, along with Valencian journalist Rodrigo Terrasa, will give their vision of a current topic, and it will be demonstrated once again that comics are also a journalistic genre.

The Generalitat of Catalonia will inject 2,000 million euros, 25% of the budget of the Department of Education and Vocational Training, over four years to improve the educational system and the working and salary conditions of teachers. The agreement, reached with the unions CCOO and UGT, foresees reducing ratios, strengthening inclusive education, improving teacher remuneration, and recognizing educational support staff. The pact includes joint monitoring mechanisms with the signing unions to ensure its implementation.

Compiling all the grants awarded in Catalonia on a website that acts as a search engine, filtered by beneficiary and showing who grants them. That's what 32-year-old Gerard Martínez Adsuar, from Caldes de Montbui, has done, sparking a public debate this week with the viral success of Subvencions.cat. Why? The website suddenly stopped working and was restored after a few days. The outage, however, resulted in the loss of one million records. This data became inaccessible from the Catalan government's portals. The government has justified the outage by citing problems with the data "upload," which they assure will be resolved soon. Well done, Martínez Adsuar. He already put forward his hypothesis on Thursday night on X"Before the change, proper names appeared, often those of migrants, associated with a tax identification number (CIF) that belonged to associations. I don't think this should have happened."

The commuter rail service shutdowns and the ongoing problems on the AP-7 motorway since tolls were lifted reveal transport infrastructure that is not only inadequate but also potentially dangerous. The impact on the 400,000 commuter rail users, the AP-7 closures, the repeated accidents, and the recurring protests have a significant impact on GDP. As a result, productivity in Catalonia is hampered by deficient transport infrastructure stemming from a lack of planning and investment. How and why have we reached this point?

A few months ago I wrote here that the Renfe trains running through the country, covered in graffiti, added the final touch of collective desolation caused by a service abandoned to its misery.

Playing video games is a common activity in Catalan homes, especially during the Christmas holidays. For this reason, the Government of Catalonia has published "Shared Game: A Guide to Enjoying Video Games as a Family," a tool designed to help families transform digital gaming into a healthy, mindful, and shared experience. The guide offers practical advice and simple resources to help families support children and young people before, during, and after playing. It is an initiative of the Catalan Video Game Roundtable—a forum for industry stakeholders and the Government of Catalonia—promoted by the Department of Culture and developed jointly with the Departments of Education and Vocational Training and of Health, and with Good Game Generation, an organization specializing in promoting the educational and transformative use of video games.

The difficulty in accessing and maintaining decent and affordable housing is one of the factors contributing to inequality in Catalonia. Therefore, with the aim of facilitating access to housing, the Catalan government has created the 50,000 Homes PlanTo create 50,000 new public and affordable housing units by 2030 using public land and in collaboration with local councils, reserving 25% for young people with direct aid and emancipation funds.

During the autumn and winter months, we tend to spend less time outdoors than at other times of the year. The colder weather and fewer hours of sunlight mean that families often spend more time at each other's homes, places where children can enjoy the company of elderly relatives, aunts, uncles, and cousins, but also where viruses that cause colds and flu circulate more freely, often increasing the risk of infection. It is no coincidence, therefore, that year after year around this time there is a peak in viral infections such as the common cold, the flu, COVID-19, and bronchiolitis.

The arrival of a new year often brings with it a host of good intentions. For many smokers, it's a time to reconsider quitting. This is no small matter; according to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco causes more than 8 million deaths worldwide each year, a fact that underscores the importance of taking the plunge and committing to a healthier lifestyle.

The Catalan government is calling for get vaccinated against the flu as soon as possible. The Catalan Health Department has opened vaccination to everyone who wants it, even if they are not part of at-risk groups, with the aim of expanding coverage and strengthening herd immunity. The goal is to reduce infections, prevent serious complications, and avoid hospitalizations, especially among the most vulnerable. Health authorities are particularly urging children between 6 and 59 months old, people over sixty, pregnant women, healthcare professionals and essential workers, as well as people with underlying health conditions, to get vaccinated. High level of infections

The incidence of influenza and other respiratory infections in Catalonia has climbed to very high levels, with a 50% increase in cases in just one week. Between December 1st and 7th, the Catalan Health Department estimates that 1,115 acute respiratory infections were recorded per 100,000 inhabitants, the equivalent of approximately 90,000 cases per week. Influenza is the predominant virus in this wave and continues its upward trend. The current estimate is 418 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, with circulation occurring four weeks earlier than in previous seasons. The predominant subtype in this wave of infections is A(H3N2) variant K. This high transmission rate threatens to further strain the healthcare system, especially in units already under considerable pressure during the winter. Face masks are mandatory.

Given this situation, the Catalan government has made the use of face masks mandatory in hospitals, primary care centers (CAPs), and care homes for everyone aged six and over—staff, patients, and visitors. The measure will initially remain in effect until December 24. The requirement applies to all healthcare settings, from primary care to mental health services and care homes for the elderly or people with disabilities. However, people with respiratory illnesses or difficulties that could be aggravated by wearing a mask, as well as those who, due to disability or dependency, cannot remove it independently, will not be required to wear one. Why do we need to get vaccinated every year?

The flu and Covid-19 viruses are constantly mutating, and the protection offered by vaccines or acquired immunity diminishes over time. Hence the importance of getting vaccinated again every autumn if you belong to a risk group. One noteworthy statistic: in Catalonia, more than half of the people over sixty admitted to the ICU with the flu were unvaccinated. In fact, people at risk are more predisposed to developing complications if they contract the flu or Covid-19, such as pneumonia, ear infections, sinusitis, dehydration, and worsening of chronic illnesses, such as heart failure, asthma, or diabetes.

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There are projects that demonstrate that solidarity is not just a gesture, but a firm commitment to transforming lives. Good examples include the work carried out by the Pere Claver-Social Services organization, the Right to Die with Dignity association, and the Kilometer Zero association, winners of the 32nd Volunteer Award granted by the Department of Social Rights and Inclusion. The awards were presented during the commemoration of International Volunteer Day at a gala held at the Auditori de Barcelona on December 2nd.

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An unexpected flash flood. A power outage that lasts longer than expected. A forest fire that forces people to stay home. Emergency situations, increasingly common in a context of climate change and heavy technological dependence, can catch us off guard. But, according to the new Civil Protection campaign From the Generalitat, it doesn't have to be that way. The key is as simple as having a kit Prepare an emergency kit at home to face any unforeseen event and be self-sufficient for up to 72 hours, that is, three days.

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