A worthwhile journey

Catalonia Today, in conjunction with El Punt Avui and El Punt Avui TV, enters a new ambitious phase of life on November 10. Until now, Catalonia Today has produced a monthly magazine and a weekly article in English in the Sunday supplement, Presència. From November 10, however, Catalonia Today will also provide two pages of daily news in English, an hour of English television every day and a brand new website. In this way, our media group is helping to make a substantial contribution to the concept of a “third language”, one of the country's central strategic pillars that Catalonia Today serves.

I remember as if it were yesterday that first meeting about Catalonia Today that I had in the autumn of 2003 with Carles Puigdemont (today mayor of Girona, but at the time the director of the city's Casa de Cultura). Along with Miquel Berga, Puigdemont was the driving force behind the launch of this new project in which El Punt Avui would act as a minority shareholder from the first day. When Carles left his journalistic duties to dedicate himself to running the city, our group was happy to take over the rest of the magazine's shares.

The years that followed were not easy. We struggled at first to fully develop the concept of Catalonia Today. Finally, however, we have now made the decisive step, at the same time ensuring that all the hard work was not in vain.

That is why it is now my great pleasure to congratulate the publication on behalf of the group on its latest adventure and to send a personal message to all those people who have been instrumental in making this step possible.

First and foremost, there are the 6,000 monthly readers, subscribers and members of the ECClub, who have helped make this arduous journey worthwhile. Then, there are the professionals who have made those difficulties faced their own and who have now taken the helm in order to steer Catalonia Today through this exciting new stage of its journey: Marcela Topor, Neil Stokes, Matthew Tree, Barney Griffiths, Joe Hogan, Maria Angels Ribas and Germà Capdevila.