Yes, democracy is in danger, we're destroying the planet, and too many people can't afford rent. But after the two days of discussions at Focus: The Solutions Forum, organized by the ARA at the CCCB, we've shaken off what seems like "mandatory pessimism" and, at the same time, unmasked the opposite idea: "mandatory happiness."

There are phrases that jokingly disguise what is a fundamental idea that inspires the work at ARA. Our mission statement is to practice free and committed journalism that connects with a conscious community. "We are a community, not a sect," and we expressed this at the beginning of Focus: The Solutions Forum, a conference where we brought together more than a thousand people at the CCCB for a day and a half. However, in these dark times, the difference is crucial. A sect only wants loyalty; a community wants critical thinking. A sect imposes a narrative; a community informs itself without fear, discusses, compares, questions, and—if necessary—corrects. And if anything is at stake today, it is precisely that: the collective capacity to maintain critical thinking and sound judgment. To keep a cool head when the world is overheating. To stay informed and not shy away from the truth when the values ​​of liberal democracy and Europeanism are in danger.

Faced with liberal democracies besieged from within and without by the shockwaves of Trumpism, the undeniable evidence of the climate crisis—and climate denial—and growing inequalities with housing as the primary cause, the ARA gave voice for two days to the Enfoquem solutions forum, held by the CCCB. We detail 15 solutions across the three areas.

ARA's director, Esther Vera, had promised a "fiery" conversation, and it delivered. The quintessentially Barcelona-centric clash of titans between former mayor Ada Colau and economist Miquel Puig on the housing crisis did not disappoint. Let's start with the end: when, at the last minute, journalist Eva Arderius asked them for a reason for optimism, Puig mentioned the promise to eliminate tourist licenses and Colau the initiative for a law prohibiting speculative purchases. But this was in the pre-farewell relaxation. Behind them lay a battlefield of dialectical clashes, passionate arguments, and, in short, pure enjoyment for an audience that didn't lose focus for a moment.