PRESS OFFICE
@ NEWSLETTER ISSUE 14 – MARCH 2007
INDEX
TOPIC OF THE MONTH:  
@ 22@BARCELONA, BY MEANS OF THE LANDING PROGRAMME, WILL 
COUNT WITH CHINESE, MEXICAN, KOREAN AND FRENCH COMPANIES 
@ THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY AND THE AGENCY OF 
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF ESSONNE (FRANCE) PROMOTE THE 
PRESENCE OF FRENCH COMPANIES IN THE 22@BARCELONA DISTRICT
@ A DELEGATION OF MONTERREY (MEXICO) VISITS 22@BARCELONA TO 
PROMOTE THE PRESENCE OF MEXICAN TECHNOLOGY-BASED 
COMPANIES IN THE INNOVATION DISTRICT  
@ TELEFÓNICA WILL INVEST 15 MILLION EUROS FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES 
AND BIOMEDICINE PROJECTS THAT WILL DEVELOP IN THE 
22@BARCELONA DISTRICT
@ THE HEAD OFFICE OF THE AUDIOVISUAL COUNCIL OF CATALONIA IN 
22@BARCELONA WILL BE BUILT BY THE END OF 2009 
@ THE USE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND THE GAES BUSINESS MODEL, 
PROTAGONISTS OF THE 22@UPDATE BREAKFAST OF MARCH 
@ 22@BARCELONA AND THE CATALAN FOUNDATION FOR INNOVATION AND 
RESEARCH Y CREATE THE MANAGEMENT UNIT OF PROJECT AIDS 
(UGAP)
     PRESS OFFICE
THE TOPIC OF THE MONTH: 
1.- BY MEANS OF THE LANDING PROGRAMME, 22@BARCELONA WILL COUNT 
WITH CHINESE, MEXICAN, KOREAN AND FRENCH COMPANIES 
By means of the Landing Programme that is jointly promoted by the municipal society 
and the Innova Programme of UPC and La Salle Innovation Park, 22@Barcelona district 
will count with Chinese, Mexican, Korea and French companies.  
As a result of the agreements signed with different technology parks and institutions of 
these countries during the last year, the Landing Programme tries to provide mechanisms 
for Catalan and Spanish companies to grow and internationalize their activities in these 
countries while attracting foreign technology companies so as to settle in Catalonia, and 
especially in the 22@Barcelona district.  
Furthermore, it generates a network of relationships and knowledge that are to be used 
as a platform for stimulating and facilitating the expansion of local companies towards 
other countries that are determined to grow in other geographic contexts.  
That is why Barcelona has the innovation district, 22@Barcelona, where a global 
incubator is being built that provides great opportunities of growth facilitating the housing 
of potential companies. 
Zero distance
The Landing Programme works to progressively reduce the distance between Catalonia, 
Spain and the rest of the world with the goal of achieving what is called “zero distance 
among its innovation systems”. The Programme tries to make Spanish companies aware 
of the need for being created with a global paradigm and with an international scope.  
Agents participating in this programme are:  
o University and research systems.  
o Companies and business organizations.  
o Civic services that promote the internationalization of knowledge-based and 
new technology companies.  
The Landing Programme has a plan of action that comprises four stages:  
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 14 – MARCH 2007                                                                                                                                2 
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1. Promotion: The objective is to motivate the agents of the innovation system 
of a selected territory.  
2. Innovation points: To create a link with the innovation system of far-off 
countries by making the distance between the country of origin and the one 
of the destination into the desired “zero distance”.  
3. Landing in Barcelona: The companies that have been interested in settling 
down in Barcelona and that have been selected begin their landing in the city 
by means of a personalized side-by-side plan that comprises: 
 Pre-arrival: To provide the businessman or woman with a first idea of 
the city to which the company will move and about the incubator 
services.  
 Housing: To fully facilitate the housing of the company’s personnel in 
the city.  
 Pre-Landing: It involves the entry the company in the business world 
of Barcelona and in the incubator.  
 Landing: Real incubation of foreign knowledge-based companies and 
their connection to the Spanish system of innovation.   
4. Post-Landing or consolidation: Follow-up of the company during the five 
years after their landing to see its consolidation within the 22@Barcelona 
district, where the first two years will have been in the incubator and later, it 
will have settled down in its own space.
Argentina, India, Sweden and Brazil  
The Landing Programme is working to reach agreements with institutions and technology 
parks of Argentina, India, Sweden and Brazil to attract knowledge-based companies that 
will settle down in the 22@Barcelona district.  
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 14 – MARCH 2007                                                                                                                                3 
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2.- THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY AND THE AGENCY OF 
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF ESSONNE (FRANCE) FOSTER THE 
PRESENCE OF FRENCH COMPANIES IN THE 22@BARCELONA DISTRICT 
The 22@Barcelona president, Miquel Barceló, as representative of the Landing 
Programme that is jointly promoted by the municipal society and the Innova Programme 
of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and La Salle Innovation Park, have 
signed an agreement with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Essonne in França 
(CCI) and the Agency of Commerce and Industry of Essonne (AEE) to promote the 
presence of French companies in the innovation district.  
By means of this agreement, both the Landing Programme and CCI and AEE French 
institutions join together to connect the innovation system of Catalonia to the one from 
Essonne in order to favour their economic cooperation.  
.
Thus, the different agents will offer the companies of each region willing to work in the 
other country the physical incubator infrastructure: the office and technological platform, 
as well as the professional and consultancy services and the networking actions with the 
information and the connection to facilitate the setting up of the companies in the new 
market.  
Particularly, the International Incubator of the Landing Programme, located in the 
22@Barcelona district, offers French companies willing to settle in Barcelona offices in 
temporary spaces; its own services, both personal and professional, for their location and 
networking professional services, favouring the contact with other companies of the 
sector already present in 22@Barcelona. Furthermore, from 2009 onwards, the incubator 
will count with spaces in the future MediaTIC building, that is to be built at the centre of 
the innovation district.  
Moreover, those future French companies to be settled will be able to get in touch with 
other companies coming from countries such as China and Mexico, which have also 
reached agreements through the Landing Programme.  
With this agreement, Catalan companies will also have another link with France in order 
to settle down there to get in touch with international competitivity hubs such as 
Systematic or Médicene.  
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 14 – MARCH 2007                                                                                                                                4 
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3.- A DELEGATION OF MONTERREY (MEXICO) VISITS 22@BARCELONA TO 
PROMOTE THE PRESENCE OF MEXICAN TECHNOLOGY-BASED COMPANIES 
IN THE INNOVATION DISTRICT 
A Mexican delegation of Monterrey has visited 22@Barcelona these days in order to get 
to know this project so as to promote the presence of Mexican technology-based  
companies in the innovation district.  
The delegation has been constituted by the main representatives of the National 
Chamber of Electronic, Telecommunications and Information Technologies industry 
(CANIETI), of the Incubator and Business Development Centre of Monterrey University 
(UDEM) and the Mexico-United States Foundation for science (FUMEC).  
During the stay, the delegation has visited the innovation district, the UPC and, 
particularly, the Escola Tècnica Superior d’Enginyeria de Telecomunicació, the Innova 
Programme and the Mare Nostrum Supercomputer. They have also enjoyed La Salle 
Innovation Park and some of the companies and agents of Information and 
Communication Technologies (ICT) located in 22@Barcelona, such as the 
Telecommunication Market Committee. 
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 14 – MARCH 2007                                                                                                                                5 
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4.- TELEFÓNICA WILL INVEST 15 MILLION EUROS FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES 
AND BIOMEDICINE PROJECTS THAT WILL DEVELOP IN THE 22@BARCELONA 
DISTRICT 
The Barcelona city council and Telefónica have signed an agreement to promote new 
investment projects in the city related to the development of new technologies, the 
society of information and research in the biomedicine field of a total of 15 million euros. 
Out of this, 8,7 millions will be devoted to projects related to the 22@Barcelona district 
and 6,3 millions to scientific research programmes into the biomedicine and health 
science  field in collaboration with the Institut Municipal d’Investigació Mèdica. 
Projects in the 22@Barcelona district 
Among the projects that will be carried out related to 22@Barcelona district, the following 
stand out:  
 To create a company of multilingual services in the 22@Barcelona district 
(three million will be invested to the project).  
 To promote the House of TIC (two millions will be invested).  
 To develop innovative projects for the improvement of urban management 
(1’7 million euros).
 To foster business or R+D projects of technology-based companies located 
in the 22@Barcelona district.  
Future head office in 22@Barcelona  
In signing the agreement, César Alierta, Telefónica president, has presented the Project 
of a new head office of the company in Barcelona, a building of 110 meters high, built by 
the Consorcio of Zona Franca and that will be located in the Forum area, next to the 
b_TEC or the Besós Campus. This building will also house the R+D centre of Telefónica.  
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 14 – MARCH 2007                                                                                                                                6 
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5.-  THE HEAD OFFICE OF THE AUDIOVISUAL COUNCIL OF CATALONIA IN 
22@BARCELONA WILL BE BUILT BY THE END OF 2009 
Manuel Royes, delegate of the Consorcio de la Zona Franca of Barcelona (CZFB), and 
Josep Maria Carbonell, president of the Audiovisual Council of Catalonia (CAC), have 
signed a protocol of intentions for the promotion of the new CAC head office in the plot 
located in Sancho de Ávila street, between Roc Boronat and Ciudad de Granada streets.  
This protocol includes the commitment of arranging a right of building in favour of 
Consorcio during 30 years. The investment expected for the building of the CAC office, of 
4.500 m2, will be recuperated by means of a tenancy agreement with the CAC for 30 
years. In finishing this period of renting and right of building, the building will be owned by 
CAC.
The building, which will count with ground floor plus three floors for offices and two 
underground floors for parking, archive and service room, will be built in two years, so 
that the CAC will be moved to the 22@Barcelona area approximately by the end of 2009. 
The CAC is the independent authority of regulation of the audiovisual organisation of 
Catalonia. Among others, it is aimed at ensuring the fulfilment of the regulation applicable 
to suppliers of audiovisual communication services.  
The CAC head office will be located just besides the future new Media-Tic building, 
audiovisual hub of Barcelona city and nest of information and communication technology 
companies. The closeness of these two organisms of the audiovisual world is supposed 
to bring about synergies within the audiovisual campus that is being built in the 
22@Barcelona district. The CZFB will also be responsible of building the Media-Tic 
building.
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 14 – MARCH 2007                                                                                                                                7 
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6. THE USE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND THE GAES BUSINESS MODEL, 
PROTAGONISTS OF THE 22@UPDATE BREAKFAST  OF MARCH    
“The use of public transport saves the cities. That is why we have to enjoy our 
cities by using different means of public transport at hand”. This has been one of the 
main conclusions of the paper presentation carried out by the president of the 
International Society of City and Regional Planners Isocarp, Pierre Laconte, during the 
celebration of the 22@Update Breakfast of March, which has been organized by 
22@Barcelona and the leading company in hearing solutions Gaes.  
Laconte has presented the more than a hundred business representatives attending the 
different models of innovative cities, where the promotion of cutting-edge public transport 
has brought about more efficient cities.  
This is the case of cities like Zurich, that counts with trains and metros that work with 
automatic systems, or Singapore, which punishes the individual use of cars by means of 
tax setting, a measure that has fostered the use of public transport.  
Other cities have promoted the renting of bicycles, understood by Laconte as “one of the 
most innovative systems”.
Gaes, host company 
The event has also counted with the participation of Gaes chief executive, Antonio 
Gassó, who has presented a new expanding model of business that is being carried out 
by the company he manages.  
Gaes, a family company located in the 22@Barcelona district, which was born in 1949 as 
distribution company of hearing aids from England, is aimed at “improving the 
communication and quality of life of the people by offering the best integral 
hearing solutions”, Gassó has stated. Currently, it has a network around the world with 
more than 400 hearing centres.   
22@Barcelona last advances 
To finish, the 22@Barcelona Infrastructure director, Ramón Sagarra, has highlighted the 
last advances of the innovation district, among which the fact that 35% of the land of the 
streets of the 22@Barcelona district are already urbanized and/or refurbished.  
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 14 – MARCH 2007                                                                                                                                8 
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7.- 22@BARCELONA AND THE CATALAN FOUNDATION FOR INNOVATION AND 
RESEARCH Y CREATE THE MANAGEMENT UNIT OF PROJECT AIDS (UGAP) 
22@Barcelona, in collaboration with the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation 
(FCRI), has created the Management Unit of Project Aids (UGAP) 
(ugap@22barcelona.com) aimed at the companies settled in the innovation district. 
UGAP tries to foster the competitivity of companies located in 22@Barcelona by giving 
advice and support to research and innovation. Thus, this unit centralizes all information 
necessary to promote innovative projects in the companies, while it fosters a mutual 
knowledge among district professionals so facilitating the identification of possible 
strategic partners.  
UGAP advices on the different sources of public founding, looks for solutions to business 
needs and allows businessmen and women to concentrate on expanding their business.  
Therefore, UGAP emerges as a key unit of 22@Barcelona. It allows innovation district 
companies to recognise the environment they are as a privileged space for developing 
and expanding their activities by means of relationships with other companies and of the 
execution of common projects. 
Furthermore, as member of the Innovation Centres Network of CIDEM (PIC), 
22@Barcelona rounds up the catalogue of services offered by UGAP by means of the 
integration of new technologies in pilot project managements; the creation of new 
companies; promoting emergent technologies; setting up changes of strategy to access 
training and expanding markets.  
The PIC network is composed by 31 organisms of business support, and it is aimed at 
capitalizing the innovation policy of Catalonia by taking advantage of the extensive 
knowledge of local and sectorial reality of the agents present in the territory in order to 
develop processes adapted to their differential needs.  
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 14 – MARCH 2007                                                                                                                                9 
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 HAVE SAID: 
César Alierta “Barcelona will be our reference in 
Telefónica President research and development, and with the 
settlement of our headquarters in 
22@Barcelona we would like it to be a 
hub attracting investors to the area” 
David Massó “It has been very important to us to 
Futurlink General Manager settle in a place like 22@Barcelona that 
will provide the company with added 
value and prestige” 
 NEW COMPANIES IN THE 22@BARCELONA DISTRICT:
Barcelona Design
Oasys Soft
Banc de Sabadell
Maetel
Tech Sales Group 
Recerca Clínica
Art Gaspar  
For Further information: 
22@Barcelona press office: F&A 
            Tel.: 93 419 19 86 - 93 507 35 00 • E-mail: filloy&filloy.com