Uses of Time

The concept of “World Capital of Time Policies” was created by the Network of Governments and Regions of Time Policies with the intention of generating greater awareness and increasing the visibility of these policies, as well as to bring them closer to the citizenship. Following these criteria, in February 2022 the Network selected Barcelona as the First World Capital of Time Policies for the period 2022-2023, thus recognizing the city’s long history in the development of time policies, including historical achievements and outstanding actions.

This is an important milestone that has served to further reinforce and promote the historical commitment of its council and the entire city to a healthier, more equitable, efficient and sustainable organization of time. The World Capital aims to:

• Generate public awareness through awareness and communication campaigns.
• Promote the visibility and sustainability of the Network of Local and Regional Governments for Time Policies, promoting its membership in different forums around the world.
• Organize and actively participate in international events.
• Promote and consolidate innovative time policies and, in the case of Barcelona City Council, promoting the Action Plan of the Barcelona Declaration on Time Policies (2022-2023).

These four objectives have been achieved through the organization of activities throughout the year, as well as the promotion of public policy from the City Council, facts that have placed Barcelona on the map of key players in time policies.

In the public sphere, the communication campaign under the slogan “The value of your time” stands out. The campaign has included clothing bosses, books and a set of postcards with recommendations to improve the use of time, which have reached 304 facilities throughout the city. Events have also been organized in different parts of the city, on different themes and in formats adapted to all kinds of audiences. Some examples are the workshops for children “Barcelona, the temple of time”, which have been organized in a dozen of the city’s facilities, the lecture “Time, rest and sound“, aimed at improving the habits of sound and rest of the citizens, which has been given in the 10 districts of Barcelona, and an action aimed at the physical education teachers of the city reflecting on the relationship between time, sport and health. This first one has been given in the framework of the conferences organized by the Institut Barcelona Esport, with the aim of raising awareness among teachers about the importance of time when planning physical activity.

In the municipal sphere, the report “Public policies on time promoted by the Barcelona City Council” has been published, which compiles the 71 actions currently being developed by the Barcelona City Council in the area of time, with the aim of facilitating their monitoring and promoting coordinated action. The report also bears witness to the transversal nature of the City Council’s time policies, with 6 of the 8 departments with current actions, and to its markedly social character, with an important part of the actions in directions dedicated to care, social justice or equality.

Finally, the Capital has intensified the city’s exchange activity with other municipalities around the world, both in Catalonia and Spain, as well as in other parts of the world. The main events have taken place during the Time Use Week, the main international event on time policies that is held every year in Barcelona and that this year has hosted the Assembly of the Network of Local and Regional Governments for Time Policies. In addition, it has participated in different international forums, such as the Iberoamerican Week of Timetables and Time, held in September, and organized meetings aimed at the exchange of experiences and knowledge, such as the conference “Time policies in the local world: experiences, challenges and opportunities“, which in June will bring together different municipalities of the Spanish state, co-organized with the Spanish Federation of Municipalities, the Catalan Association of Municipalities and the Catalan Federation of Municipalities.

From the Barcelona City Council there is a positive balance of all the actions carried out, which have allowed to grow the network of exchange with other cities, to increase citizen awareness regarding the uses of time and to give a new impulse to the policies of time within the City Council itself.