Today the new name and image of the second Catalan savings bank as a result of the Caixa Catalunya, Caixa Tarragona and Caixa Manresa merger was presented. CatalunyaCaixa will be the new brand, which has been decided upon after negotiations and strategic studies. CatalunyaCaixa has not yet decided if it will look for more capital.
The Paris Delegation of the Catalan Government celebrated the National Day, which is on the 11th of September, in an official reception this Tuesday. The event attracted over 300 people from French and Catalan political and social life.
The Catalan Government has passed a decree that sets a minimum requirement for the Catalan language when hiring new university teachers. Visiting lecturers and current teachers are excluded. Universities will have flexibility in certifying the level and will be able to set individual exceptions.
233,538 students in 954 programmes throughout Catalonia will begin the 2010/2011 school year in the new European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The EHEA is an objective of the Bologna Process to create a common and compatible university system throughout Europe.
The Catalan Ministry of Social Care calculates a total of 80,000 diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease patients in Catalonia, a number that is expected to double in the next 10 years. The Ministry is now promoting a new attention model for Alzheimer’s patients based on individualised therapy and family collaboration.
The data compares to July of 2009 and confirms an 8-month trend of continuous increases. For the rest of Spain, there has been an increase of 16.4%. This data confirms construction market’s recovery.
The 11th of September is Catalonia’s National Day, commemorating the day that Catalan troops were defeated while defending Barcelona in 1714. This day Catalonia stopped being recognised as a nation and lost its self-government. Pre-campaigning for the upcoming elections was present throughout this year’s celebrations. The celebration had 2 institutional milestones: the flower tribute to Rafael Casanova, who was Barcelona’s Head Councilman in 1714, and the institutional ceremony at Ciutadella Park. Besides, many institutional and civil society activities were organised throughout Catalonia, such as concerts, demonstrations and tributes.
Prices have risen 0.3% during August compared with July, levelling the annual rate. Tourist industries such as hotels, restaurants, bars and organised trips have contributed to the rise in prices. In July, prices dropped by 0.3% in relation to June.
Several foundations from Catalan-speaking territories have launched a newsletter that will portray opinion articles published in the Catalan press but translated into English. The newsletter ‘Intransit’ will be thematic and issued every 3 months. The initiative aims to better present Catalan views abroad.
Aragon, the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community each presented a different appeal before the Court against some articles and dispositions of Catalonia’s main law, the Statute of Autonomy, which was approved in 2006 by a referendum. The magistrates have completely rejected Aragon and the Balearic Islands’ appeals and have “not admitted” the appeal from the Valencian Community.
Catalonia and Aragon agree to broadcast TV channels from the Catalan Public Broadcaster in La Franja de Ponent. In previous years, watching Catalan TV channels in Aragon was a problem, as the frequencies were used on purpose by other channels to boycott the emissions.
Some 1,300 families will soon have access to government pensions in cases of family separation if the pension is not paid by the part with this duty. The Catalan Government approved the funds today that will cover pensions and alimentary compensation for those in this situation.
Catalan students are back to the books, or in some cases, laptops. The 2010-2011 school year began this morning with over 1,200,000 students and 88,467 teachers back in the classroom.
Catalan President José Montilla has finally announced the voting day after weeks of rumours. He surprised many people last week when he did not dissolve the Parliament and did not call for elections on the 24th of October, the most likely day. The opposition as well as a party in his Government coalition were asking for an urgent clarification and to have the elections as soon as possible.
The economic crisis has not had much effect on the theatre sector in Catalonia. The sector has experienced only a 2% drop in production attendance for its 2009-2010 season.