More than 500 attendees at Democracy4All 2022 

The event, which took place a few days ago at La Llotja de Mar in Barcelona, brought together more than 500 people from around thirty nationalities to discuss innovative models of governance, made possible by new technologies.

The international event Democracy4All (D4A), brought together this week more than 500 people of some thirty nationalities at the Llotja de Mar in Barcelona, to debate the models of governance and society that new technologies are making possible.

The event, which was inaugurated on Thursday by the Director General for Innovation, Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Lluís Juncà, and on Friday by the President of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Mònica Roca i Aparici, is inspired by the 12 Principles of Good Democratic Governance established by the Council of Europe. 

“Democracy4All is an event to debate the future —and the present— of our democracy, which is now, like everything around us, digital”, Quirze Salomó, executive director of the CBCat (Blockchain Centre of Catalonia), the entity organizing the conference

“It is a meeting point between government and new technologies, and the fact that this confluence is taking place in Barcelona offers Catalonia the opportunity to be a pioneer and leader of this international colloquium”.

Around eighty speakers took to the stage at Democracy4All over the two days, including Craig Wright, self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin; David Chaum, one of the pioneers of cryptography with the invention of DigiCash; Grace Rachmany, founder of the Voice of Humanity initiative; and Vít Jedlicka, president of the Liberland micronation.

“In this event we bring together representatives of public administration, politicians, top technologists, and entrepreneurs of different nationalities,” Vasilisa Marinchuk, director of the event, and director of international relations of the CBCat.

«This generates an extremely powerful confluence of ideas, and that is why from the CBCat we work to offer, year after year, an inspiring and absolutely unique agenda, which attracts the international professional community seeking to make a positive impact on the society with the help of technology.”

Art galleries, virtual reality experiences and blockchain use case debates

The AMPANS Foundation, which works to promote education, quality of life and labour insertion of people with intellectual disabilities, was present at Democracy4All with an exhibition of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), created by its members.

This exhibition was coordinated by Sabrina Bonini, founder of Cripto Es Cultura, a platform that aims to encourage local artists and creators, especially women and minority groups, in their first steps towards financial and creative self-sovereignty, educating them to enter the NFTs and Web3 space.

By the end of day one, Democracy4All was also the scenario of the ceremony for the Wholistic World Innovation Trophy (WWIT), an award given by the Diplomatic World Institute, to recognize technological and social innovation used to sustainably improve the world. The Australian educational technology company, Indigital, and London-based location-technology company, what3words were the winners of the 2021 and 2022 edition respectively.

During the second day, the Digital Catalonia Alliance (DCA) of blockchain was also presented, an initiative that brings together the main emerging technology sectors of the Catalan territory in an alliance of innovative, visionary, disruptive and collaborative technology communities. This presentation was accompanied by a round table discussion on how blockchain technology can impact different business sectors.

In addition, those attending Democracy4All were also able to get to know and enjoy the Festa Major del CatVers, the initiative presented during the month of November for the CBCat, where various Catalan organizations and associations have created an immersive room in the CatVers, the Catalan metaverse.

Although anyone can visit these rooms from their computer, through the official CatVers website, the CBCat wanted to offer the opportunity to enter them with virtual reality devices, “which is when users really become aware of the potential offered by metaverses”, Quirze Salomó.