React: Catalan as a tool of resistance

Unfortunately, speaking Catalan in the Balearic Islands is still a protest movement. According to data from the Platform for the Language, only 20.4% of young people aged 15 to 34 have Catalan as their first language.

This decline is no coincidence. The lack of firm policies to protect the language places us in a situation of linguistic emergency. that endangers the language of the Balearic Islands. We are suffering a silent, direct, firm, and media-led attack from sectors that consider themselves 'conciliatory'.

That's why we young people (yes, the same young people who are supposed to care nothing) are mobilizing in defense of everything our language represents. On September 5th and 6th, we have a date in Sa Pobla with the Reacciona Festival, organized by the youth section of Ona Mediterrània, with the support of the Congreso de Cultura Catalana and Manangelment, managed by volunteers, to reclaim the Catalan language as a tool of resistance.

Reacciona is not just a festival: it's a direct call against the persecution of the language and the cultural repression that Catalan suffers in Mallorca. It is a space where young people organize, demand, and advocate for accurate information in Catalan, because the language not only survives, but is defended, lived, and reclaimed in every action.

This generational commitment is a sign of hope: there is a new generation willing to fight for its language and culture. But this fight cannot be merely symbolic; it is necessary to demand concrete measures and a firm commitment from institutions in education, the media, public administration, and civil society. Only in this way will we be able to live fully in Catalan in Mallorca. The future of Catalan depends on how demanding we are with our institutions and on the work we all do: it is time to react.

Catalan is not just a language; it is a fundamental element of our cultural identity. When a young person, whether born in a Catalan-speaking region or not, from Sa Pobla, Daimús, or Horta de Sant Joan, decides to speak Catalan, they are not only exercising a linguistic right, but also claiming their belonging to a community with a shared history and culture.

Only in this way can we ensure that Catalan is not a language in danger of extinction, but a living, vibrant, and constantly evolving language. The future of Catalan depends on us; it's time to react.