Women, their stories and their struggles have historically been excluded from Barcelona’s street name index, from the narrative of our shared historical memory as a city. The names of streets, squares and monuments all too often respond to a patriarchal conception of the city’s historical memory, intersected by class and people’s origins. But public space must be able to represent us all, and that means continuing to reverse the imbalance and the lower presence of women’s names given to heritage elements, streets and squares in Barcelona.

The street name index must reflect the city we live in and the city we want to move towards, and in Barcelona there is a shortage of women, diverse origins and subordinate classes and an abundance of aristocrats, politicians, owners and saints.

During the month of March, we are presenting sixteen new public spaces in the city that take women’s names.

Every year, to mark International Women's Day, Barcelona City Council calls for entries for the 8 March - Maria Aurèlia Capmany Award, which focuses on an issue with a social and gender impact. For this 37th edition, the topic we have chosen is “The irrepressible desire for freedom”, the intention of which is to make a call for women’s sexual freedom in all its diversity, a topic which is still taboo in our society.

The ceremony for the Jury Award and the Public Award will take place on 18 March in the Espai Josep Bota at the Fabra i Coats complex in the district of Sant Andreu.

In solidarity with struggles lead by women around the globe, El Born CCM is offering three events focused on women’s resistance and how it interacts with the zest for life that humour and music provide.

Under the slogan “Women, dance, laughter, resistance”, the intention is to visibilise this resistance and shout out the implicit joy in the words of Emma Goldman, “If I can't dance to it, it's not my revolution”.