Thursday, October 28, 2021 - 09:34
The Manager of Innovation and Digital Transition, Marta Contiente, was awarded with the Honorary Mention by the Barcelona School of Informatics (FIB) and the FIB Alumni.
Barcelona filled with technology for yet another year on 21 October. More than three hundred and fifty people, among them renowned authorities, experts, CIOs, IT professionals and fibers, attended the Festibity, the ICT festival in Catalonia, which took place in the hall at the Estació del Nord in Barcelona last Sunday.
The 18th Festibity hadn’t been held until now because of the pandemic. This global crisis has shown that the ICT sector is more active than ever and has made clear the strategic importance of information technologies in all sectors, highlighting the current revolution. Under the slogan nextREALITY, this year’s edition focussed on reflecting on what is to come, and the impact that technology will have.
The winner of the Honorary Prize this year, awarded by Jordi Puigneró, was Marta Continente. An expert in smart cities, passionate about the Internet, innovation and creativity, as the Manager of Innovation and Digital Transition, Continente has been responsible for pioneering initiatives to improve the e-administration. Her contribution to the digitisation of citizen-oriented administration in Catalonia has been a key factor in her recognition.
Participation at the 18th edition of Festibity
The main speaker at the event was Neil Harbisson, the first cyborg in history. Neil Harbisson managed to overcome achromatopsia (a medical syndrome that only allows you to see white, black and grey) thanks to an antenna that is part of his body, co-created by himself, and which allows him to “listen to colours”. At the age of 21, he was the first person in the world to be recognised as a cyborg and it was in 2010 that he created the Cyborg Foundation, an international platform to help people become cyborgs.
The event also had a space for artistic exhibition and humour. A performance from Basket Beat, a project that supports people in their personal growth through musical creation in groups and with basketballs, was the show that kicked off the 18th Festibity. The artistic side then made way for laughter, as comedian Xavi Cazorla added a characteristic touch of humour to the Festibity.
Josep Fernàndez, dean of the Faculty of Computer Science of Barcelona and Benito Cerrillo, chair of FIB Alumni, also took part in the event. The ceremony was led by the Honourable Mr. Jordi Puigneró, Vicepresident and Minister of Digital Policies and Territory.
