Since its first edition, during the 2020 pandemic, the press conferences of the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW) have offered choreographies and demonstrations of new technologies revealing the commitment to Industry 4.0 promoted by its organizer, the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona. (CZFB). The event is consolidated this year in its fifth edition as the only one that connects, like a synapse, the different areas of activity of the new economy, and during its first presentation, the special state delegate to the CZFB was able to be seen in hologram. , Pere Navarro, and the general director, Blanca Sorigué. Press conferences followed with the presence of robots and other elements until we arrive now IAugmented reality, a technology featured during the presentation of BNEW 2024 in the futuristic DFactory, cathedral of industry 4.0the most unique, technological and disruptive building in Europe.
Indeed, At DFactory, robotics, 3D printing, artificial intelligence developers, software, startups and also augmented reality companies coexista very useful technology in the field of learning, since it does away with chromas, this technique which consists of filming on monochrome backgrounds in order to be able to superimpose images. With augmented reality it is possible to reproduce an immersive sensation and Pere Navarro and Blanca Sorigué shared the spotlight during the presentation of the BNEW with the sections with the different installations of the DFactory, the deployed aviation engines and the image by Gaudiamus, the multicolored salamander. with which Antoni Gaudí wanted to represent the dragon of Sant Jordi in Park Güell.
Pere Navarro recalled one of the most famous phrases of Alan Kay, father of today’s personal computers and tablets, who said in 1971: “The future cannot be predicted, it is invented.” This is how the first BNEW was born, in the middle of a pandemic and in difficult health and economic conditions. And its organizers continue to invent future scenarios by integrating a new vertical dedicated to aviation as one of the main novelties of this fifth edition, to focus on the aerospace industry and air transport as a key agent of the new economy. Aerospace industry experts will discuss the current state of the aviation industry, which is poised to become an innovative and sustainable sector. Thus, they will analyze how innovation, the latest trends in technology and fuels, digitalization, sustainable practices, redefine the skies and open new frontiers for aviation.
The inauguration, Monday October 7 at 9:30 a.m., at DFactory Barcelona, will be led by the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa.who will be accompanied by the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, the deputy mayor of Barcelona City Hall, Jordi Valls, and, on behalf of the organization, Pere Navarro and Blanca Sorigué.
In this edition, BNEW will bring together nearly 350 speakers spread over three sets who will offer up to 140 hours of content spread over 100 panels, sessions and debates.. The event maintains its hybrid character, being able to follow all the content telematically from anywhere in the world, through a cutting-edge digital platform that also allows working relationships, in English networking, through the exchange of messages and the request for meetings between users. In total, BNEW hopes to exceed last year’s 12,000 in-person attendees, who will enjoy a comprehensive program of content structured around seven key verticals: digital industry, sustainability, mobility, talent, aviation, health and experiences.
Capital of the economy of the future
The Special State Delegate to the CZFB, Pere Navarro, highlighted that Barcelona is once again the capital of the new economy and explained during the press conference that “In 5 editions, BNEW has become the world’s leading new economy event that connects key sectors and is capable of bringing together participants from 106 different countries”as will happen in this edition. Navarro emphasized that “the new economy is about preparing, adapting, collaborating and building alliances. Continuing education – he added – is no longer an option, but rather an obligation, because everything is evolving by leaps and bounds. We don’t yet know everything that’s going to happen,” he concludes.
After the success of the last edition, the sessions corresponding to the verticals on digital industry, mobility and sustainability will be held on October 7 and 8, while the panels corresponding to aviation, health and talents, with of particular importance for senior talents, will occupy the following two days, October 9 and 10. The only vertical that will be developed throughout the four days and in person will be BNEW Experience.bringing participants closer to the leisure, cultural and gastronomic offer of the city of Barcelona.
For her part, the general director of the CZFB, Blanca Sorigué, assured that “for 4 days BNEW will make Barcelona the capital of the economy of the future, a space where the professionals who establish the roadmap for the new economy come.” . . Sorigué also explained that “Today, changes occur so immediately that we must prepare for them and know how to adapt to them”. And he adds that “collaboration and alliances between governments, businesses and citizens will be essential to building an economy that benefits everyone and guarantees a prosperous and sustainable future”.
Second observatory of the new economy
During the press conference, Pere Navarro and Blanca Sorigué also presented the II Observatory of the New Economy BNEW 2024, a study carried out by the CZFB with the aim of surveying the interests and concerns of companies and startups participating in the event , in which a total of 657 professionals participated, 64% by companies and 36% by startups.
The study reveals that 82% of the total number of respondents, their organizations are leading or planning to lead a sustainability initiative. Regarding the investments planned for next year, while 84% of startups plan to increase their workforce, 56.3% of companies plan to invest more than 100,000 euros in AI, big data, blockchain or other technologies, even 22.7% commit to exceeding a million euros of investment.
Concerning collaboration between companies and startups, the observatory specifies that 40% of the companies surveyed already collaborate with startups and that 33% are studying this possibility, that is to say they 2 out of 3 companies choose to outsource their services to a startup. For their part, 79% of the startups participating in the study collaborate or are in the process of collaborating with large companies or multinationals, a figure which corroborates that large companies entrust part of their services to emerging companies. The II Observatory of the New Economy concludes that 82% of the entities surveyed, companies and startups, collaborate on open innovation issues with companies from other sectors.
Record participation of startups
The BNEW Startup Innovation Hub zone will host over 170 emerging companies, who will play leading roles in their corresponding verticals and who They will be able to network through face-to-face B2B meetings and the BNEW platform with professionals from different sectors. economic sectors, industries, businesses, administrations and institutions, as well as access to specialized knowledge of the sector with free tickets.
All projects presented will be candidates for the BNEW 2024 Best Startup Award, which will be awarded in each vertical. The presentation of these awards will take place during a gala dinner which will take place at DFactory Barcelona on Wednesday October 9 from 7 p.m. Furthermore, the five finalist startups from each vertical will present their projects during a round of interventions which will take place on Thursday 10 on the Talent vertical stage, from 1:00 p.m. The new economy driven by technological advances is more alive than ever and BNEW will take the pulse, allowing participants, also via online broadcast, to stand on tiptoe to scan the horizon.
