The CIDOB Foundation and AREL (Agenzia di Ricerche e Legislazione, founded by Nino Andreatta) are holding the first Spain-Italy Dialogue Forum prize, sponsored by the companies that represent the driving force behind the Forum. The objective of the prize (which is awarded to the best comparative studies in the area of social science on issues concerning bilateral relations between Spain and Italy) is to foster and stimulate research on the links between these two important European states.

Submission date: The studies must be submitted to the CIDOB Foundation and/or AREL between 1 May and 30 June 2008.

Announcement of results: The examining jury will announce the winners of the Spain-Italy Dialogue Forum prize by 20 October 2008.

Where does the media end and cultural industries begin? And where does culture end and communication begin between the different cultures that populate our world? The issue of communication cannot be understood by viewing it simply as a problem of the media, but rather as a strategic issue that runs throughout all cultural policy. For some time, society has perceived this, and the market has also managed to understand it and to translate it into business; however, our research has hardly begun to comprehend what this involves. With this subject in mind, Jesús Martín Barbero is to lead a workshop for young researchers in policies on communication and culture.

Presentation and discussion of the research study Incomplete democracy. A retrospective view of Peru's governability after the transition (1980-2001) by Jans Erik Cavero Cárdenas, Candidate for Doctor in Government and Public Administration for the Complutense University of Madrid. The study is based on the hypothesis that in conditions of unstable human and social development, and in the middle of a weakening of the party system, economic growth is an insufficient condition for the governability of the political system; this represents a redefinition of the concept of governability in order to adapt it to the political context of Latin America. Using this perspective, the article is structured into two parts. The first includes a summary of the different theoretical approaches to the subject of governability. The second - which is more empirical - is subdivided into three components: the first features an analysis of the political factor of governability based on three variables: the form of government, the electoral system and the party system. The second and third component refer to the economic and social factors, respectively.

Remarks by: David Sancho, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

Casa Amèrica Catalunya and the CIDOB Foundation are jointly presenting the magazine dCIDOB 103: l’Equador, de la inestabilitat crònica a la confiança? This monographic issue takes a look at the country in terms of domestic and foreign policy, economic situation, biodiversity and oil resources, the indigenous population and the Ecuadorian diaspora. The articles are accompanied by appendices featuring statistics, graphs, maps and chronologies.

The presentation will be headed by Josep Ribera, Director of the CIDOB Foundation, Antoni Traveria, Director of Casa Amèrica Catalunya and Freddy Arellano Ruiz, Consul General for Ecuador in Barcelona.

Limited places attendance

This year, Beijing will become the third Asian city (after Tokyo and Seoul) to host the Olympic Games. It will be the first time that China - a country that is currently undergoing wide-ranging economic and social changes - has hosted such a major event. Casa Asia and the CIDOB Foundation are organising a series of training workshops for journalists who will be covering the event. The workshops will be comprised of four practical sessions divided up over two days in which we will be attempting to take an overview of modern-day China, from its international relations and policy to its economic context and social structure; we will also be covering experiences in terms of communication and the Olympic Games, as well as those of journalists who have worked previously in this incredibly complex country.

Presentación y debate de la ponencia “Brasil en la era de la globalización: 20 años de desarrollo brasileño” a cargo de Ricardo de Medeiros Carneiro, doctor en Economía por la University of London y catedrático del Instituto de Economía de la Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brasil.

The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, which was revised in 2006, now includes a text that legally authorises a reality that has in fact existed for many years: the fact that both the Generalitat and the local governments of Catalonia carry out major projects overseas. These projects, which have sprung from the initiative of each of their respective protagonists, have grown and gained in size both within government structures (including budgets) and in the sphere of international relations in Europe and the rest of the world.

The CIDOB Foundation is to hold a one-day seminar for reflection and discussion of the reality of the international action carried out by Catalonia's local governments and their deployment in tandem with the large-scale national projects led by the Generalitat of Catalonia. Catalonia's participation in the European Union in accordance with its own powers, in addition to its openness to Asia, large-scale projects such as the Euroregion and the Eurodistrict and its work in the Mediterranean ─ in all these major international initiatives, Catalonia has received support from local governments. As a consequence, we will be holding a joint reflection on the subject that will feature the participation of leading figures in local international action and specialists from the Generalitat of Catalonia.

Which are the economic interests of Catalonia in the Mediterranean and the Middle East? In which sectors and countries? Which are the main actors? What can we expect in the future, particularly in strategic sectors? These are some of the questions that will be answered in a workshop structured around the presentation and discussion of the research carried out by Javier Albarracín, responsible for the Mediterranean and Middle East of the Consortium of Commercial Promotion of Catalonia (COCPA).

The transposition of EU directives on the area of immigration is an unresolved matter in the case of Spain. At least, that is what is suggested by the sentence imposed on Spain by the European Court of Justice for failing to transpose the Directive 2003/109/EC concerning the statute of nationals from third countries that are long-term residents in Spain, as well as the sentence for not having adopted, within the specified time period, the stipulations regarding assistance in Directive 2003/110/EC in cases of the air transit of individuals for the purposes of repatriation or ejection from the country, and the summons sent by the Commission to the Spanish government in relation to the creation of a special organisation for the fight against racial discrimination as described in Directive 2000/43.

The aim of this workshop is to re-examine the works on “La transposición de directivas de la UE sobre inmigración” (Documentos CIDOB Migraciones No. 8) and to foster analysis of the state of the transposition of the latest directives concerning immigration in Spanish legislation. Participants will be examining the challenges and difficulties for the transposition of the directives that affect students and research staff, as well as the regulations regarding people that employ irregular workers, etc.