Barcelona Metropolis

A decade after the economic recession became a global financial crisis. Two sectors are an example thereof, namely, research and audiovisual production, which in the years prior to the crisis lent the city remarkable international exposure. Barcelona has a sufficient critical mass to attract and export talent and a demanding and capable professional culture. But to enhance its position, it needs two things: larger investments and reforms.

A decade after the economic recession became a global financial crisis, its aftermath is still being felt. Two sectors are an example thereof, namely, research and audiovisual production, which in the years prior to the crisis lent the city remarkable international exposure. Both sectors have lost momentum. Budgetary asphyxia in public administrations and an institutional deadlock resulting from political turmoil bear a very negative impact, to the point of jeopardising the progress achieved.

The budget cuts suffered by TV3 have affected the entire audiovisual sector just when it had to deal with the sweeping transformations of the digital revolution. The exodus of professionals in search of opportunities outside of Catalonia is a symptom of the growing vulnerability of a key sector, on which the capacity to promote our culture depends. More public investment is needed to promote quality domestic production, but not just that. We must also rethink structures and create synergies with the new audiovisual production and distribution platforms in order to leverage the wealth of experience, expertise and emerging young talent that, fortunately, we have at our disposal.

In the field of biomedicine, an extreme situation is also being reached. As explained by researcher Luis Serrano, director of the Barcelona Centre for Genomic Regulation, budget deficits in recent years have led research centres to a situation of chronic instability that prevents new challenges from being met and jeopardises well-established lines of research. Barcelona is equipped with the necessary elements to become one of the main science hubs in Europe. It has a sufficient critical mass to attract and export talent and a demanding and capable professional culture. But to enhance its position, it needs two things: larger investments and reforms that eradicate the bureaucratic obstacles that keep the hands and feet of scientists tied.