A more equal world
Carlota Planas Rierais a former indoor soccer player and runs the agency Unik Team, specialized in representing women soccer players. When she was a child she had to deal with barriers that were more than barriers, they were real walls to be able to play soccer and compete. She suffered gender discrimination and, despite this, she has managed to be one of the pioneers in opening the field to other girls and women in amateur and professional soccer.
What she hopes for in 2022 is that being a woman and an elite athlete will no longer be »a utopia»:
»We have the power and the responsibility to change prejudices. The goal is that our children do not have to think about whether they are men or women to do what they want in life,» Carlota Planas.
A more sustainable future
Marc ColomaCEO and Co-founder of Heura Foodsat TEDxPoblenou, he explained the impact that the animal food industry has on the environment. After years of environmental activism, Marc Coloma decided, as he says: "to take all the anger he felt and transform it into starting a company that would contribute to sustainability". For Marc, 2021 must be a year in which we all become more aware of the power we have as consumers. A power that will lead us to make more sustainable and responsible decisions.We must be open to the changes to come
Juan Carlos Unzué, ex-football player and ex-football coach, shared with the audience a series of lessons he has learned from the values of the sport but also due to the process he is going through in his career. living with ALS disease. For Juan Carlos, the most important thing to face the future is to be open to change. From his own experience, he highlights how he has been surprised by the capacity we human beings have to adapt. He also emphasized soccer values such as enjoyment, decision making, respect, being vulnerable and setting goals. Even so, he issued a small warning to the audience:»Beware of goals that we set too far in the long term because they take us away from valuing the present and the path to achieving them,» Juan Carlos Unzué.
A 2022 of technological advances
Artificial intelligence and Big Data have been with us for years, revolutionizing processes and increasing possibilities. Even so, these technologies are the subject of debate and there are different positions on how they should move forward. For Alonzo Romero Lauro, CEO & Co-Founder at The Predictive CompanyIn the face of artificial intelligence, the right sentiment is not fear: "The right sentiment is fear.There will be changes and it will replace us not only in basic tasks, but also in precise ones; but it is important that we are open to adapt to change." This is because, while it poses challenges, it also creates opportunities. One example is Citibeatsa platform for artificial intelligence created for the active listening of citizens and to contribute to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals. Its founder Ivan Caballero has been able to find an opportunity to put technology at the service of citizens, and according to his vision, this trend is the one that should be replicated in the future.
We have to ask ourselves questions
And art is a good place to do it. Monica Rikić Fusté, electronic artist awarded with the National Culture Award of Catalonia 2021explained that:»Art allows us to create a space for collective reflection and play. And because it is a space of play does not mean that it is banal because it allows us to approach the unknown and ask ourselves new questions».
A future of new business opportunities
To close the session, Benoit Menardo (founder of Payflow) and Aleix Puig (Co-Founder of VICIO and MasterChef winner) talked about how staying ahead of new trends and embracing them can open up new business opportunities.
Benoit Menardo launched the Payflow platform that allows companies to offer their staff the possibility of collecting the money generated through their work on the spot, without having to wait for the payroll at the end of the month. This is called Earned Wage AccessThis is a new paradigm that, in Menardo's words, unlocks many opportunities: »by seeing our money and expenses at the moment, we can plan better».
Finally, Aleix Puig told how he managed, with perseverance and attention to new opportunities, to quickly reorient his business plan by starting VICIO:
»Perseverance always trumps talent. And it is the most difficult value to find in people. When things go wrong, most people throw in the towel.»