First exchange event on local time policies: experiences, challenges, and opportunities.
On June 1st, 2022, the event "Policies of Time in the Local World: Experiences, Challenges, and Opportunities" was held. It was the first exchange event on time policies with other cities in Spain, including Beasain, Bilbao, Vila-real, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, the Catalan Association of Municipalities, and the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia.
As part of the World Capital of Time Policies, this event aimed to promote the benefits of time policies for citizens and foster the exchange of policies with other international and national municipalities.
During this virtual exchange, initiatives and actions were presented to address strategic challenges related to the need for a balanced life promoted by time policies, including care, co-responsibility, and the promotion of time policies in the workplace.
Montserrat Ballarín, Councilor for Commerce, Markets, Consumption, Internal Regime, and Finance, as well as the responsible individuals for time policies in the City Council, Sonia Ruiz and Emilia Pallàs, participated in the event.
Furthermore, policies to promote a healthier and more equal use of time were presented, including the participation of Leire Artola, Mayor of Beasain (Guipúzcoa), who presented the Herrilab project, an initiative aimed at facilitating effective co-responsibility between women and men; Silvia Gómez, First Deputy Mayor and General Coordinator of the Mayor's Office of Vila-real (Valencia), who presented a study on the current situation of work-life balance in the municipality of Castelló province; and Núria Salas, in charge of the Vila Veïna project of the Barcelona City Council, who explained how care is addressed from an innovative perspective of community and proximity.
In the discussion titled "Time Policies in the Workplace: Towards Healthier, More Productive, and Sustainable Time Policies," actions aimed at promoting and disseminating time policies to promote more efficient use of time were shared. This second session included the intervention of Lluïsa Moret, Mayor of Sant Boi de Llobregat, who presented measures to promote the well-being of municipal workers; Nekane Alonso, Councilor of the Bilbao City Council, who presented the denBBOra network of companies; and Raquel Gil, Commissioner for Employment Promotion and Policies against Precariousness of the Barcelona City Council, who explained how time use is incorporated into the design of labor policies.
Additionally, the event also featured institutional greetings from representatives of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), the Catalan Association of Municipalities (ACM), and the Catalan Federation of Municipalities (FCM).
This is the first exchange space, and it is expected that many of these Spanish municipalities will participate in the General Assembly of the Network, which will be held during the Time Use Week in Barcelona in October of this year.
