Sol Daurella, Xavi Hernández and Jordi Savall, among Catalonia’s 39 newly-appointed “ambassadors”

Barcelona city is a strong brand name internationally, but Catalonia still needs a boost as a brand. Catalonia’s Diplocat (the Public Diplomacy Council) is tasked with promoting the nation in every corner of the world and that is why an Advisory Council has been created with 39 “knowledgeable, outstanding individuals” —to quote Albert Royo, Diplocat’s secretary general— who will open the doors of the world to Catalonia. The Council was formally set up last week at Diplocat’s yearly plenary session held in the Tàpies hall of the Palau de la Generalitat in Barcelona. The event was attended by 28 of the 39 appointees, who were joined by Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and Foreign Affairs minister Raül Romeva.

Diplocat explained that the 39 individuals were picked because of their “influence abroad” in several fields and various regions. Many of them are Catalans with an international reputation, such as Xavi Hernández, Josep Carreras, Jordi Savall and Carme Ruscalleda, who travel all over the world and are not shy about their nationality. Others are foreign “catalanophiles” such as Arturo Sarukhan (Mexican ambassador to the US from 2007 to 2013), Mary Ann Newman (the Executive Director of the Farragut Fund for Catalan Culture in the US) and Ambler Moss (the US ambassador to Panama from 1978 to 1982 and American vice-consul in Barcelona between 1964 and 1966). Other names include Sol Daurella (president of Coca-Cola European Partners and Iceland’s honorary consul to Spain), Francesc Claret (the Director of the Policy Planning Unit of the UN’s Department of Political Affairs) and Xavier Sala-i-Martín, professor of Economy at NY’s Columbia University.

President Puigdemont asked the members of the new Council to use their voice abroad and their international expertise “to help us find open doors and to ensure that our work is appreciated internationally”. In the same vein, minister Romeva said that “this Advisory Council should allow us to gain more heft abroad and to showcase Catalonia’s assets in the international arena”.

Nothing to do with independence

Diplocat’s Albert Royo emphasised that the new Advisory Council has nothing to do with Catalonia’s independence bid and he stressed that “there is a range of political views” within the Council. “If you look at their profiles —all of which are diverse and outstanding— it is hard to conclude that they will promote Catalan independence abroad. Rather, this is an instrument that will support Catalonia regardless of the current circumstances”, Royo remarked while speaking to this newspaper. So what will the job of these “notables” be? They will advise the Catalan government about positioning Catalonia in a particular country or region; they will alert the government about any potential opportunities that arise. And they will assess Dipolocat’s work abroad. Positions within the Advisory Council are unpaid and for a four-year term.

Advisory Council members

Business and Economic Area

Sol Daurella, President of Coca-Cola European Partners and Honorary Consul of Iceland to Spain

Joan Majó, European Commission Senior Advisor (1989-1994); Spanish Minister for Industry and Energy (1985-1986)

Andreu Mas-Colell, former Economy Minister of the Catalan government (2010-2016); secretary general of the European Research Council (2009-2010)

Carme Ruscalleda, chef and businesswoman

Pere Vallès, CEO of Scytl

Albert Castellón, founder of The Catalan Lobster and CEO of the Moritz brewery (2004-2016)

Cristina Ventura, Chief Catalyst Officer at The Lane Crawford Joyce Group in Hong Kong

Sport

Xavi Hernández, footballer

Àlex Corretja, tennis player and coach

Núria Picas, mountain trail runner

Araceli Segarra, mountain climber

Ivan Tibau, roller hockey player and former Catalan Deputy Minister for Sport (2012-2015)

Natàlia Arroyo, Catalonia’s national women’s football team manager

Institutional and diplomatic areas

Andreu Claret, Executive director of the Anna Lindh Foundation of the Union for the Mediterranean (2008-2015)

Francesc Claret, Director of the Policy Planning Unit of the UN’s Department of Political Affairs

Montserrat Feixas, Representative of UNHCR in central Europe

Stephan Koppelberg, Head of Communication for economic affairs for the Representation of the European Commission in the 28 member states (Brussels)

Ambler Moss, United States ambassador to Panama (1978-1982); United States vice-consul in Barcelona (1964-1966)

Arturo Sarukhan, Mexican ambassador to the US (2007-2013)

Josep Manuel Suárez, Head of the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to the United Kingdom (2011-2016), Director of the London office of Banc de Sabadell (1995-1999, 2003-2013)

Bodil Valero, Swedish MEP for the Green party in the European Parliament

Academic and research areas

Anna Veiga, Biology professor and researcher at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Director of the Stem Cell Bank (Centre of Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona)

Carles Boix, Robert Garrett Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University

Carme Colomina, Associate Researcher of CIDOB and visiting professor at the College of Europe in Bruges

Xavier Estivill, Head of the Department of Genomics and Personalized Medicine at the Quirón Dexeus University Hospital in Barcelona

Esther Giménez-Salinas, PhD in Law and Psychology, Rector at the Ramon Llull University, Barcelona (2002-2012); former member of Spain’s General Council of the Judiciary (1996-2001)

Roderic Guigó Serra, coordinator of the Programme of Bioinformatics and Genomics at the Centre for Genomic Regulation

Tomàs Marquès-Bonet, ICREA Professor at the Pompeu Fabra University, and vice-director of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF/CSIC)

Josep Ramoneda, philosopher; director of the Institut de Recherche et d’Innovation (2009-2014); director of the European School of Humanities;

Xavier Sala-i-Martín, Grossman Professor of Development Economics at Columbia University, New York

Cultural and social areas

Josep Carreras, Tenor

Marta Casals, founder and vice-president of the Pau Casals Foundation; artistic director of the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC (1980-1990); president of the Manhattan School of Music, New York

Mary Ann Newman, Executive director of the Farragut Fund for Catalan Culture in the United States

Bel Olid, writer; president of the Association of Catalan language writers (AELC); president of the European Council of Literary Translators (2013-2015)

Isona Passola, film maker and founder of La Massa d’Or Produccions; president of the Mediterranean Association of Independent Film Producers

Jordi Savall, musician; EU ambassador for intercultural dialogue; Artist for Peace of UNESCO’s “Goodwill Ambassadors”

Lucía Caram, nun and promoter of the Invulnerables programme

Colm Tóibín, Irish writer

Matthew Tree, writer in both English and Catalan