At a few minutes before noon, about twenty people gather in the gardens of Can Mantega, in the Sants neighborhood. The group jokes (in Catalan) to break the ice. The fact that such a large group uses Catalan on the streets of Barcelona is, unfortunately, becoming a situation that is almost endangered. However, the truth is that there are people eager to learn it, speak it, or improve their Catalan, as demonstrated by the Catalan conversation groups organized for years by the Coordinator of Associations for the Catalan Language (CAL) in various locations throughout the region.

Illegal street vending, drugs on public streets, and skyrocketing filth. This is what many residents and shopkeepers in Barcelona's Sant Antoni neighborhood have been experiencing for months. "We've reached the limit: either we report it now or it will get worse. We want a political reaction," say Sant Antoni Encants, one of the neighborhood associations that issued a letter on Monday to the Eixample and Ciutat Vella city councils to express their discontent over the "deterioration it is suffering." In it, they detail that the increase in uncivil behavior affects neighborhood coexistence and, in turn, has a direct impact on local businesses.

The 3,000 third-sector organizations (ranging from those dealing with childhood and poverty issues to leisure and mental health) surpassed the two million-person mark last year. However, the growth in activity is not accompanied by stable funding, and this lack of funding forces associations to go into debt. Without going any further, 41% of these organizations are still waiting for public administrations to pay their committed amounts, according to the conclusions of the barometer presented by the Third Sector Roundtable of Catalonia with data from the year ended 2023. Public debt for that year increased by 5% compared to 2021, with the Generalitat (Catalan government) being the most delinquent administration, followed by local councils. "This causes tensions in the treasury," says Marta Campo, a member of the Roundtable's board, an umbrella entity for organizations and federations. To continue operating, the largest organizations have the strength to take out credit policies with which they obtain a line of financing to manage their day-to-day operations. On the other hand, smaller companies must seek more drastic solutions, such as delaying scheduled activities, a solution that directly affects users and the quality of service.

The Sagrada Família Construction Board Foundation has awarded €3.5 million in co-financing grants to 94 projects from various non-profit social organizations. This is the second call for proposals from the Social Action Fund (FAS), an initiative that allocates a portion of the funds raised by the church to help vulnerable groups. The funding has grown compared to the first edition (2023), but so has interest, as €2.3 million was raised and 56 projects were funded.