The Blanquerna Group, forty years of commitment and future
In times of fragmentation and disconnection, spaces like the Blanquerna Seminar remind us of the importance of collective thinking and building. This year marks the fortieth anniversary of this project, launched by the Blanquerna Group, which was created with the aim of providing a space for debate, training, and interaction among people with concerns about the country and a desire to transform it. Four decades later, the seminar has established itself as a leading voice in Mallorcan political thought and a focal point for the sovereignty movement in the Catalan Countries.
What makes it truly special is its ability to adapt to the times and remain relevant. In a country suffering from an economic model that leads to precariousness and individualism, this platform aims to contribute to finding answers to collective challenges. Furthermore, in the face of the rise of the most reactionary Spanish nationalism, it has a duty to bring together people from diverse backgrounds and traditions who want to transform reality.
The most recent edition, held in Can Picafort, confirmed that the Blanquerna Seminar remains a vibrant and essential space. This year, in particular, the seminar was integrated into the Catalan Culture Congress, which commemorates fifty years since its founding and, like the Blanquerna Group, aims to once again place critical thinking and cultural engagement at the forefront as tools for collective transformation.
Over a weekend, around a hundred people from the Catalan Countries gathered to debate, learn, and celebrate. Because the Blanquerna Seminar is not just a training event: it's a gathering that combines activism and leisure, analysis and camaraderie. Its strength lies precisely in this combination, which transforms debate into a space for coexistence and coexistence into a form of activism.
This year's debates revolved around fundamental issues such as national and class-based trade unionism, with the participation of representatives from Catalan, Basque, and Galician unions; and the role of Catalan as a welcoming language, with philologist Catalina Amengual and writer Òmnia el Bakkali. The path to political hegemony was also analyzed, with contributions from political scientist Jordi Muñoz and BNG senator Carme da Silva, and political responses to the housing crisis were discussed with representatives from various youth organizations in the Catalan Countries. Finally, the panel dedicated to the Balearic Islands—with Miquel Àngel Maria, Alejandra Ferrer, and Bernat Joan, moderated by Margalida Solivellas—offered a profound reflection on our reality and the relationship we establish with the rest of the country.
Beyond the presentations, the greatest value of the Blanquerna Seminar is demonstrating that there are still spaces for collectively thinking about the future. Forty years later, it remains a space for the nation and for nation-building. In times of complexity and disillusionment, this is undoubtedly good news. The Blanquerna Seminar is a space for cultural and political resistance, but above all, a tool for continuing to move forward with a critical and collective spirit. Keeping it alive forty years later is, in itself, an act of the future.