1. Last week I attended the conference on the state of the Catalan language in the Catalan-speaking world. It consisted of two intense sessions of analysis aimed at capturing a snapshot of the linguistic reality in the Catalan Countries from different perspectives. At the IEC (Institute for Catalan Studies), there was as much knowledge as lament. Rigor and apprehension went hand in hand in many of the presentations. Therefore, when Albert Cuesta appeared to speak about "the opportunity of artificial intelligence" and said, To begin with, he was optimistic.All of us in attendance perked up. Cuesta is, besides being the best-informed journalist in the sector, a real pain in the neck. To put it more delicately, a stubborn man who, many years ago, managed to get us a Catalan version of Twitter and who, just this week, Seat and Cupra have announced that from 2026 onwards there will be two cars –Raval and Born– which will incorporate Catalan into their infotainment menus. A small step for the language, but a very significant one, after nine years of struggle by Cuesta, the first six of which he fought alone. Pressuring companies here or in Silicon Valley, with sound judgment, reasoned arguments, and persistence, ultimately pays off. When politics fails to intervene, global platforms and large corporations have no choice but to yield to linguistic and social logic.

Talent Arena, a success

The last day of the MWC always has a different character. With the top executives already gone, the exhibition welcomes a new type of visitor. This Thursday, thousands of people have gained access with the free pass included in the registration to the Talent Arena, the programmers' congress organised by the Mobile World Capital Foundation from Monday to Wednesday at the Montjuïc venue. Combining media presentations, motivational talks and technical sessions, the Talent Arena completes the virtuous circle of technocapitalism: it stimulates vocations that generate start-ups, which will then seek investors at 4YFN and perhaps end up being acquired by major MWC exhibitors. The success of this event could be the seed of a strong local community of developers, very different from that of entrepreneurs. I suspect that in a few years the GSMA will absorb the Talent Arena and integrate it into the MWC, repeating the strategy applied with 4YFN.

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