Uses of Time

Barcelona City Council has participated in the international meeting of cities held from 10 to 12 May in the italian city of Bolzano, currently the actual World Capital of Time Policies. The council was represented by Emilia Pallàs, executive director of local socio-economic development of Barcelona Activa and responsible for the XNUST, and Blai Martí, from the Directorate of Gender Services and Time Policies.

The World Capital of Time Policies is an initiative co-financed by the European project Time4All, promoted by the Network of Local and Regional Governments in Time Policies. Barcelona City Council is currently part of the executive board of the Network.

The meeting was attended by representatives of public institutions from Belgium, Austria, Italy, France and Germany, as well as different Catalan institutions, including the municipalities of Lleida and Terrassa, and representatives of the Catalan Government, the Barcelona Provincial Council and the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona.

During the event, different discussion sessions were held, where topics such as the adaptation of schedules to the different needs of society, especially the most vulnerable; the improved access to services thanks to digitization; the impact of time policies on mobility and the 15-minute city; the promotion of citizen participation through measures of time; time policies on nightlife for different ages; the new work models and the four-day workdays; the flexibility of the day between teleworking and face-to-face; and the new challenges of companies in the labor market, were discussed, among others.

Barcelona City Council has been able to share its experience as the I World Capital of Time  Policies, as well as some of its key time policies, such as the NUST Network or the experience of Vilaveïna, among others.

In the session dedicated to the topic “Time and work: new work models for a new laboral world”, which was carried out jointly with Bolzano’s Chamber of Commerce, elements of reflection were provided in line with the task carried out from Barcelona with the companies of the Xarxa NUST, as a space to share knowledge about working time organization. The initiative was highly valued by the company representatives who attended the meeting, and it was agreed to establish ways to deepen this initiative.

Links with the other cities in the Network have also been strengthened, and there was the opportunity to learn about the experiences of new cities such as Bologna, Innsbruck or Trento.

The next on-site event of the European project Time4all will take place in Barcelona, on October 17, within the framework of the Time Use Week.