òmnium cultural

"Madrid, but also Brussels" should take note that "these people want to vote", stated the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, after the massive pro-independence demonstration, which gathered 1.8 million people according to the local police. Mas met with the civil society associations organising the rally after the event and "congratulated" them. "There is barely any other country or society throughout the world that has this mobilisation level" and can send such a "powerful message" in such a peaceful and festive way. In addition, he agreed with the organisers that the "unity" among those supporting self-determination "is fundamental". "I commit myself to do whatever is possible, whatever is needed" to guarantee such a unity. "I am fully engaged in making sure people can vote", he concluded.

On Catalonia's National Day, the 11^th of September, as in 2012 and 2013, pro-independence supporters have once again created a colossal demonstration, which is unique at a European level. According to Barcelona local police, 1.8 million participants of all ages and social origins formed a V-shaped mosaic displaying the Catalan flag along the city's two main avenues to show support for the 9^th of November consultation vote that has been agreed upon by a two-third majority in the Catalan Parliament. In the vertex of the V-shaped rally, fully organised by civil society organisations, a stage decorated with columns of ballot boxes had been set up. At 17.14pm, commemorating the year Catalonia lost its sovereignty and freedoms, a girl who will turn 16 on the voting day has symbolically cast her vote into a ballot box. However, the Spanish Government has announced it will do whatever is necessary to stop the vote from happening. Meanwhile, the Catalan President, Artur Mas, emphasised that "everything is ready" for such a vote. Mas asked the Spanish authorities not to see the demonstration as "a provocation or a challenge", but as "a demand to vote".

The Catalan National Assembly, a grass-roots organisation, and Òmnium Cultural, a non-profit association promoting Catalan culture, are behind the massive independence demonstrations of 2012, 2013 and 2014, and in July they presented their new campaign 'Now it's time, united for a new country'. They aimed to mobilize the Catalan people for the self-determination vote scheduled on November the 9^th. There will be events throughout Catalonia and abroad during the 2 months before Catalonia’s National Day (September the 11^th). On that day, a massive demonstration in the shape of a giant V, for 'Votar' (To Vote) and 'Victòria' (Victory), will take place in Barcelona, which is expected to become the largest rally in the Catalonia's history. In addition, more than 30 ANC groups abroad are organising a worldwide campaign #votecatalonia. The political marketing firm Blue State Digital, which managed Obama's digital campaigns, is involved in the initiative.

Catalonia's National Alliance for Self-determination, which brings together some 3,000 entities including political parties, local governments, trade unions, employer associations, Chambers of commerce and NGOs, held on Friday its 3^rd meeting. The Alliance decided to send the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, a letter to ask him not to block the self-determination vote scheduled for the 9^th of November, which would be organised under the Catalan legal framework. The document will highlight that the Constitutional Court stated that it did not have powers to solve issues arising from a part of Spain wanting to modify its political status and that "public powers, particularly the territorial ones" are those who have to solve it "through dialogue and cooperation". The letter will be sent in the coming days, ahead of the meeting between Rajoy and the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas. In this meeting, Mas will discuss this vote but also the institutional and social issues in Catalonia.

Civil-society organisations from Catalonia have simultaneously built a traditional human tower, on Sunday 8 June at 12 o'clock (CET), in Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, London, Lisbon, Paris, Rome and Barcelona, as well as in 41 additional Catalan towns, to claim for the right of self-determination. "Catalans want to vote. Human towers for democracy" is the banner shown at the action, which ended with a manifesto read by famous personalities such as Paul Preston, Jordi  Savall and Pep Guardiola. This large-scale action taking place in almost 50 different locations  throughout Catalonia and the rest of Europe has been organised by the civil-society association Òmnium Cultural and has been exclusively funded via private donations and membership fees. 71 'castellers' groups, who are those building the traditional human towers (called 'castells' in Catalan) have participated in the action, which represent 85% of the existing 'castellers' associations.

Catalan civil-society organisations have simultaneously built the traditional human towers in Brussels, Berlin, Geneva, Lisbon, London, Paris and Rome, as well as in Barcelona at 12 o'clock (European Continental Time), this Sunday to claim for Catalonia's right to self-determination and to be able to hold an independence vote, which is blocked by the Spanish Government. This awareness-raising action aims to send a message to the rest of Europe and the international community: Catalans want to vote. In fact, according to the polls published in the last 2 years, between 75% and 80% of Catalans want to hold a self-determination vote and between 50% and 55% of the citizens would vote for independence from Spain. A traditional Catalan human tower has been built at the same time in each of these cities, as well as in 41 towns throughout Catalonia, showing the banner “Catalans want to vote. Human towers for democracy”. Famous personalities have given their support to the action and have a read a manifesto: British historian Paul Preston in London, Catalan musician Jordi Savall in Paris, Catalan football coach Pep Guardiola in Berlin, Portuguese playwright Helder Costa in Lisbon, Catalan actor Sergi López in Brussels and Swiss actor Joan Mompart in Geneva.

On Sunday 8 June at 12.00 pm, traditional Catalan human towers will be built in iconic spots of Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Lisbon, London, Paris, Rome and Barcelona, to petition for Catalan citizens' right to hold a self-determination vote in order to decide on their own collective future as a nation. The performance aims to raise international awareness about the will of the majority of Catalan people to hold such a vote, which is being totally blocked by the Spanish Government. According to all polls, between 75% and 80% of Catalans want to hold a self-determination vote. The 8 demonstrations will take place at the exact same time across these 8 European cities and they will be simultaneously replicated in 41 towns throughout Catalonia with further towers, called 'castells'. This large-scale performance has been organised by the civil-society organisation Òmnium Cultural and it is exclusively funded with private money.

On 8^th of June, thousands of Catalans will simultaneously build their traditional human towers – called castells – in Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Lisbon, London, Paris and Barcelona, carrying a banner reading "Catalans want to vote". This festive demonstration aims to raise international awareness about the aspiration shared by more than 75% of Catalonia's population: to be able to hold a self-determination vote to decide on its independence from Spain. The project 'Catalans want to vote – Human towers for democracy' is a privately-funded initiative organised by the civil society organisation Òmnium Cultural. In fact, this Tuesday it was announced that the project has reached its objective of raising 120,000 euros through Verkami's crowd-funding web site. The money will be used to pay for the trip costs of the castellers, those building the human towers (called castells).

CataloniaVotes.eu is a new website set up to present the independence referendum, related news, a chronology of the last few years and facts about Catalan society, culture and economy to a foreign audience. The new webpage is in English, French and German and will also follow the day-to-day evolution of the referendum process, a consultation vote scheduled for the 9^th November. It has been launched by the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (Diplocat), an organisation backed by the Catalan Government, the four Provincial Councils, universities, chambers of commerce, the main business-owner associations, trade unions, FC Barcelona and other public and private institutions.

On Tuesday Catalonia’s education stakeholders – including unions, pedagogic organisations and parent associations – asked the Catalan Executive and Parliament to lead “the boycott” of the Spanish Government’s Education Reform, known as LOMQE. This reform aims to recentralise education powers, foster religion and impose Spanish as a language of instruction in Catalonia. Furthermore, on Monday evening thousands of people demonstrated in front of Catalonia’s High Court (TSJC) in support of the current school model in Catalonia, which is based on the linguistic immersion principle that guarantees the knowledge of both Spanish and Catalan. Political parties, trade unions, cultural associations and teaching organisations were protesting against the TSJC’s recent ruling that imposed a requirement that 25% of a school’s curriculum be taught in Spanish if a single pupil asks for it. The TSJC was interpreting a judgement by the Spanish Supreme Court, framed in a broader offensive against Catalan language.

“I want to tell you with all clarity that this consultation will not take place”, emphasised the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy. “It goes radically against the Constitution and the law” and “it frontally clashes against the indissoluble unity of Spain”, he insisted. The “unity of Spain and the sovereignty belonging to the Spanish people as a whole are not debatable and are out of any negotiation”, he added. Therefore, the Spanish Government, run by People’s Party (PP), completely rejects authorising a self-determination vote in Catalonia, whose exact question and date had been agreed on this Thursday amongst a majority of Catalan parties. The parties had decided to hold the vote on November 9, 2014 in order for the Spanish institutions to have time to negotiate the procedures. Meanwhile, the main civil society organisations pushing for Catalonia’s independence announced they were accepting the question.

Catalan language speakers are increasing their number and have exceeded the 10 million people mark, according to the latest report on the situation of Catalan. This means that 72.4 % of the population now speaks the language in the various areas of the Catalan linguistic community. In addition, 12.8 million understand it, representing 91.7% of the population. These latest figures confirm a consolidation trend, which paradoxically, is occurring in an unfavourable context, with an “adverse socio-political environment in territories outside Catalonia”. According to the report, the political and judicial “offensive” against Catalan are the main threats against the standardization of a language which, nevertheless, continues “to progress”.

On Saturday evening, 90,000 people gathered in FC Barcelona Camp Nou stadium to attend a concert backing Catalonia’s right to self-determination. The event, organised by a civil society entity – Òmnium Cultural – and without public funding, called for a self-determination referendum in 2014. The two largest political parties in Catalonia, which share a parliamentary stability pact, stated that a specific date for a self-determination vote should be fixed after December 2013. In addition, they insisted that the Catalan President will send a letter to the Spanish Prime Minister in July asking for this vote to be organised. However, in Madrid, the reactions have been almost non-existent. The Spanish Justice Minister insisted that a referendum would be illegal since sovereignty is rooted into the Spanish people as a whole.