Disabled people face exclusion not only because of their disabilities but also because they cannot always use the technology tools that others take for granted a scheme in Spain is boosting contacts—to the delight of users and the relatives and caregivers who look after them “They were really excited to be able to connect and see each other,” says Esther Ros the director of occupational therapy services at ACUDAM a 50-year-old association that cares for more than 160 people with disabilities in the Catalan County of Pla d’Urgell and nearby with Click and Talk being used on a regular basis people with Cisco terminals have become stars in their little community “There’s one guy who has half the home cramming into his room when he does a session,” says Irene Solsona Click and Talk is designed to improve the emotional wellbeing of 47-to-77-year-olds that benefit from ACUDAM’s services in their own households and in two care homes that the association runs in Mollerussa The older generation can find it hard to use digital technologies such as mobile phones “The aim is for people to be empowered to decide what they want to do with their lives,” she says The project came about after Mollerussa’s mayor, Marc Solsona Aixalà, visited the Cisco Innovation Center in Barcelona and was shown a demonstration of the Deleting Loneliness scheme to help elderly citizens stay in touch via Webex “The mayor said, ‘I’ve got an initiative called SmartLab Mollerussa and I’d like to pilot something like this,’” recalls Xavier Azemar the head of the Barcelona Innovation Center The council then got in touch with ACUDAM.” This was in January 2023. By February, the Innovation Center team was adapting the Webex Deleting Loneliness interface for Click and Talk, and Datacom Global After securing finance from Cisco Spain’s Country Digital Acceleration Program the first challenge facing the project was to come up with a Cisco screen design that would be easy for the ACUDAM users the Click and Talk interface has no writing at all—just images of people that users can connect to once nine Click and Talk Cisco screens had been installed in users’ homes and the two ACUDAM centers but it turned out to be really important,” says Solsona “We had to improve the connectivity at our care homes.” While Datacom Global took care of connection issues, ACUDAM encouraged users and their families to install the Webex app and use it regularly “It was quite hard with the families of the people who live at home,” Solsona notes “It took them a while to work out how they would use it.” only three families ended up installing Click and Talk at home Click and Talk had become a fixture at ACUDAM with people gathering round the Cisco screens to watch colleagues and caregivers streaming live footage from basketball games “Being able to connect provides emotional wellbeing,” says Ros “Sometimes they will connect [via Webex] to speak to each other even when they are in the same center Families also appreciate the ability to have video calls with their relatives in the care homes Perhaps the biggest vote of confidence has come from a user who suggested using Click and Talk to speak to people in care homes outside of ACUDAM “He said it would be great if you could connect to people anywhere in the province of Lleida With the pilot now complete and Click and Talk being offered on a commercial basis wider use of the tool seems likely—and not just in Spain In January 2024, Cisco revealed talks were underway to carry out Click and Talk pilots in collaboration with other Cisco Innovation Labs in a project for old-age pensioners in England—helping more people to enjoy fuller and happier lives Farmers make barricades after blocking a highway during a protest near Mollerussa BRUSSELS — The European Union's executive arm shelved an anti-pesticide proposal Tuesday in yet another concession to farmers after weeks of protests that blocked many capitals and economic lifelines across the 27-nation bloc Although the proposal had languished in EU institutions for the past two years the move by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was the latest indication that the bloc is willing to sacrifice environmental priorities to keep the farming community on its side protests continued from the Netherlands to Spain and Bulgaria Farmers have insisted that measures like the one on pesticides would increase bureaucratic burdens and keep them behind laptops instead of farming adding to the price gap between their products and cheap imports produced by foreign farmers without similar burdens European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers her speech at European Parliament in Strasbourg The pesticide "proposal has become a symbol of polarization," von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg more dialogue and a different approach is needed." She acknowledged that the proposals had been made over the heads of farmers "Farmers need a worthwhile business case for nature-enhancing measures Perhaps we have not made that case convincingly," von der Leyen said It is unclear when new proposals will be drafted EU parliamentary elections are set for June and the plight of farmers has become a focal point of campaigning even pushing climate issues aside over the past weeks the EU has targeted a 50% cut in the overall use of pesticides and other hazardous substances by 2030 The proposal was criticized both by environmentalists who claimed it would be insufficient to reach sustainability targets and by agriculture groups who insisted it would be unworkable and drive farmers out of business Farmers gather outside the European Parliament for a protest The decision to shelve the proposal on pesticides was the EU's latest act of political self-retribution in reaction to protests that have affected the daily lives of tens of millions of EU citizens and cost businesses tens of millions of euros due to transportation delays whose tractors are forcing Europe to take back the nonsense imposed by multinationals and the left,'' said Italy's right-wing transport minister von der Leyen announced plans to shield farmers from cheaper products from wartime Ukraine and to allow farmers to use some land they had been required to keep fallow for environmental reasons the government promised more than 400 million euros ($436 million) in additional financial support farmers across Spain staged tractor protests blocking highways and causing traffic jams to demand changes in EU policies and funds and measures to combat production cost increases The protests came as the Agriculture Ministry announced some 270 million euros ($290 million) in aid to 140,000 farmers to address drought conditions and problems caused by Russia's war against Ukraine Farmers sit together having lunch after blocking a highway during a protest near Mollerussa Bulgarian farmers added fuel to their protests by moving their heavy farming vehicles from the fields to the main motorways and border crossings paralyzing traffic and adding to the economic woes of the country The move came after farmers refused to accept proposed government support arguing that it was not sufficient to compensate them for losses due to the war in Ukraine farmers in the Netherlands blocked several roads and highways with their tractors and burned hay bales and tires Police in the rural province of Gelderland said they took action against farmers blocking roads but there were no immediate reports of arrests Become an NPR sponsor ExplorationEquinor farms into Mollerussa blocks east of MonumentNorwegian operator takes stake in blocks containing prospect previously worked up by Spanish major Decision comes as cabinet tries to persuade Madrid for full control of network in Catalonia ACN | Barcelona will take over the management of the Lleida commuter service from 2024 as decided by the cabinet in its weekly meeting on Tuesday it is run by the Spanish-government owned company FGC already manages service from Barcelona to the counties of Vallès Occidental and Baix Llobregat in the immediate surroundings of the Catalan capital but the main commuter lines in both Barcelona and Lleida are now managed by Renfe The decision comes as the cabinet is trying to persuade Madrid for full control of the network throughout Catalonia The Catalan vice president and territory minister said this is the "advance" to a model for the whole country The Catalan government decided that the current R12 line to double the number of trains running once FGC is in charge trains between Lleida and Cervera are expected to double from 6 to 12 a day and carriages from Cervera to Manresa would go from 3 to 5 according to the plans Puigneró said that the oldest trains would be replaced with four "more sustainable" new ones with services such as wi-fi onboard.  the open talks between Catalonia and Spain and the need Madrid has for the Catalan pro-independence ruling parties' support to approve the 2022 budget have reignited the long-standing demands in Barcelona for a full transfer of powers to manage the whole train network The Socialist-led government has recently said they are open to talking about the transfer of powers in the commuter service but this would not include the tracks and the related infrastructures because they are also being used for other services The commuter service by Renfe has been regarded by many travelers as poor and plagued with daily delays ever since the 2000s when the works to link Madrid and Barcelona through the high-speed line AVE led to daily headaches for commuters protested in the central Catalan city in February 2019 against the "lack of investment" of Renfe in the service after two deadly accidents in the prior months the service between L'Hospitalet and Puigcerdà calling themselves 'Perquè no ens fotin el tren' have been calling for a second track to be built in certain sections of the line for eight years now rather than using just a single track for both directions the line linking Barcelona and Costa Brava through the Maresme coastal towns still also has sections where there is only one single track covering the Vallès area and Baix Llobregat in the immediate surroundings of Barcelona including the airport only has one service every 30 minutes to the facility the company stated in November 2020 that the service Get the day's biggest stories right to your phone The RDM Group is forced to take this difficult decision due to increasingly challenging market conditions inflationary pressures in Europe and a challenging geopolitical environment exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict combined with a significant drop in European cartonboard demand between 2021 and 2023 have led to accumulated stocks in the value chain and therefore very low mill capacity utilization rates In Iberia the demand has sharply decreased This context particularly impacts the Castellbisbal Mill RDM Group will continue to operate in Iberia through Paprinsa Mill in Mollerussa that has greater flexibility options which enable RDM Group to strengthen competitiveness and better adapt to the current and future expected sector’s dynamics The Group will cover market demand through Paprinsa and other mills in the group for special products a leading full-service packaging solutions supplier for the world’s biggest beauty SPM International announces Bill Partipilo as the new CEO of SPM Instrument boxboard production in Q1 2025 fell 1% compared to Q1 2024 Smurfit Westrock plc announced it will permanently close its coated recycled board (CRB) mill in.. Valmet will deliver a disc filter refurbishment and reinstallation to Holmen Paper’s Braviken Paper Mill.. By Belinda Kelly According to new research Nordic Paper has today decided to approve environmental investments of up to SEK 450 million.. Together with its Turkish partner company Labtek the German testing equipment manufacturer emtec Electronic will.. Mondi has successfully started up its Duino mill This milestone further strengthens Mondi’s position as.. Gulf Paper Manufacturing and Toscotec started up PM2 after a forming section upgrade at their.. Södra delivered a stable result for the first quarter of 2025 VPK Group announces the acquisition of Open Imballaggi a well-established sheet plant specializing in corrugated.. a leading full-line supplier of technologies and services for the paper industry Amcor and Berry Global Group recently announced the European Commission (EC) has granted unconditional approval.. Stora Enso plans to implement a new organisation with seven P&L responsible business areas reflecting.. Georgia-Pacific’s Savannah River mill in Rincon now accepts polyethylene (PE)-coated paper cups in its.. a global leader in sustainable chemical solutions for water-intensive industries announces that it has invested in Kinki Danboru a privately-owned business located in Zellwood a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions SCA Logistics terminal in Sundsvall has invested in a new knuckle boom crane John Hardwick Twitter Facebook The protests led to several main national highways being blocked Access to the eastern port of Castellon and the southeastern Jerez airport were temporarily cut off State news agency Efe said that 1000 tractors were heading slowly towards Barcelona’s city centre causing major traffic jams on roads into the northeastern port capital of Spain’s Catalonia region involving several thousand people on tractors and in other vehicles haven’t been backed by Spain’s three main farming organisations which have called for separate protests in the coming days Several media reports have linked many of the protests to conservative groups So far there have been no serious incidents The demonstrations are expected to continue over the coming weeks with a major protest in Madrid on February 21 Speaking in Spain’s parliament on Wednesday Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pledged to help farmers and take their case to Europe The Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday announced about 270 million euros in aid to 140,000 farmers to compensate for Spain’s severe drought and problems caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine. Agriculture Minister Luis Planas Puchades met with farmers’ unions on February 2, but failed to persuade them to halt the protests. There have been other protests in countries such as France, Poland and Greece in recent days. The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, has already made concessions to farmers over the past few weeks on environmental and aid rules, and this week decided to shelve plans to halve the use of pesticides and other dangerous products. Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib of Belgium, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said the rules governing farming “need to be reassessed in the light of current realities”. European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said that “resource scarcity, price shocks and an increasingly competitive global market are having a huge impact on the farming sector and rural communities”. “We have seen from the farmers protesting on the streets of Europe that many of them feel trapped, that their needs are not being met. So, we must act,” he added. Inaction, though, would likely please many of the protesting farmers as it might delay current EU plans that call for costly bureaucratic changes and the approval of international free trade deals that would bring cheap farm produce onto European markets. After tragic cases, a new industry touted as a potential saviour has run into roadblocks. First published: December 4, 2024 11:39 AM Nearly 42% of 4th grade students in Catalonia, aged 9 or 10, have low or very low skills in maths. This is one of the key findings of the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). According to the study, 30% of students show a low level of mathematical ability, while 12% fall into the very low category. Catalan students scored an average of 489 points, 25 points below the European average (514), 36 points below the OECD average (525) and 9 points below the Spanish average (498).  Among the 60 participating countries, Spain is in 35th place, and Catalonia would be in 40th place, with 18 other countries lagging behind. Compared to other Spanish autonomous communities, Catalonia is the third lowest performing region, ahead only of the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands. Castile and León, Asturias and Madrid are the top performers. Despite these poor results, 37.6% of Catalan students achieved an average level in maths, 17.5% reached a high level, and 3.3% performed at an advanced level. In terms of gender, girls score on average 17 points lower than boys in maths. The study also analyzes science results, where Catalonia performs better than in maths, with an average score of 502 points, which is closer to the overall average of the countries analyzed. v1.1.0. Copyright © 2025. Powered by EBANTIC. All rights reserved. Last month was the hottest April on record in Spain, according to figures made public by the EU Copernicus Climate Change Service on Monday "April saw exceptionally warm temperatures in Spain and Portugal which were accompanied by extremely dry conditions," said Samantha Burgess This trend was also seen in other parts of the world – last month was the fourth-warmest April globally – and yet there were also colder than average temperatures in the United Kingdom and the European southeast The Catalan parliament approved a new drought law only last week that lays the groundwork for how drinking water can be guaranteed and a sanctions regime for local councils that do not comply with water restrictions.  Councils may be fined if they use more water than they should Around 25% of the municipalities currently consume more water than the restrictions set representing less than 10% of the population.  Several other lines of funds fall under the new law such as €50 million from the budgets for municipal bodies to make investments and €50 million to improve facilities in water treatment plants and reservoirs The drought has now been ongoing for 30 months in Catalonia and it has left water levels in reservoirs at critically low levels which has knock-on effects on forest fire prevention.  The Catalan government announced a state of exceptionality last week due to the ongoing drought in a total of 495 towns.  Restrictions in the zones deemed to be in a state of exceptionality will mean that water use for agriculture will be reduced by 40% while industry and leisure will see 15% reductions A cap will be placed on personal use of 230 liters per person per day authorities have previously pointed out that this figure is far higher than the average daily personal use of around 117 liters per day.   Catalonia's Farmers' Union (Unió de Pagesos) has called two tractor rallies on May 9 and 16 to demand an urgent response from Spain over the ongoing drought that is gravely affecting the farming industry.  The union is critical of the "uncertainty" over the extent of the lack of water and is calling on the Spanish government to clarify the current situation and take measures so that the agricultural sector can move forward.  the union is also asking the government to assume responsibility for what they say is the "mismanagement of water" from the Ebre Hydrographic Confederation (CHE) The union claims that hydroelectric plants have been allowed to drain reservoirs in order to generate electricity.  The first protest will take place on Tuesday tractors will depart from several points in Catalonia and end in Zaragoza outside the headquarters of the Ebre Hydrographic Confederation.  After months without significant rainfall, reservoirs managed by the Catalan government are at 25% capacity as of May 8, 2023, according to the Catalan Water Agency Learn more about the issue by listening to the Filling the Sink podcast episode from September 2022. 'No Surrender' show gathering over 1,000 musicians will be moving to Mollerussa to accommodate growing crowds ACN | Barcelona 'No Surrender' may be the title of Bruce Springsteen's 1984 hit the inspirational ballad has also become the namesake of a popular music festival celebrating the music and legacy of 'The Boss'⁠ — one that has become so popular that organizers are changing locations for their upcoming iteration this summer The notoriety and attendance of the festival dedicated to Springsteen superfans have rapidly expanded and is now entering its fourth year The first three 'No Surrender' festivals were held in Vilanova de Bellpuig Event organizers have chosen Parc de La Serra in Mollerussa as the new location with the hopes that the change will better accommodate the crowds that are expected to partake in the festivities event promoter Josep Maria Pons shared that the festival's main event of performing and recording one of Springsteen's songs — this year's is 'Dancing in the Dark'— will now take place in the evening allowing musicians to set up their equipment and instruments in the afternoon and avoid the intense summer heat that has proven problematic in years past.  released a statement on Tuesday regarding the change of venue In it they regret that the festival is leaving their town and disagree with the organizers' given reasons for the departure, that the area does not have the necessary facilities to ensure the safety of all participants they also say there was a commitment of €22,000 to make this year's celebration the biggest yet and opening the festival free of charge for all participants.  and point out that they can be proud that the No Surrender festival "was born in [their] village." The Canal d'Urgell irrigation system closed Tuesday morning due to the lack of rain – the first time the Comunitat General de Regants dels Canals d'Urgell water authority has ever taken such a drastic measure This historic decision affects 50,000 of the 70,000 hectares of farmland in Segarra and Noguera counties in western Catalonia whose water comes from the canal with farmers fearing millions of euros in losses.  "This has never happened in the Canal d'Urgell's 150 years even the elderly do not remember situations like this," said Àngel Mas The canal also supplies water to some 77,000 inhabitants whose reserves are guaranteed for now.  Speaking to the press on Tuesday following the weekly Catalan cabinet meeting government spokesperson Patrícia Plaja urged the Spanish government to take action to revert the situation by investing in canal renovation works - as the water comes from the Ebre river it is under the Spanish government's jurisdiction The spokesperson said that the Catalan government would be willing to fund 60% of these works if Madrid covered the remaining 40%.  "No restrictions have been applied despite the Catalan government's warnings," Plaja complained Some 30 mayors of western Catalonia towns whose water is supplied by the Canal d'Urgell have banded together to call for water rationalization in order to avoid "severe restrictions" if the 30-month drought continues The mayors of the Pla d'Urgell area as well as county representatives met Monday evening to discuss the issue and draft a letter urging the population to be aware of the dire situation.  "Everyone should use water responsibly, both drinking water as well as water that is supplied to towns from treatment plants and is used in pools or to clean cars," said Rafel Panadés who is in charge of overseeing municipal supply from the Canal d'Urgell.    The Canal d'Urgell will now be opened for a week and closed for three days as is done in the winter But because water consumption is much higher in the summer than in the winter the water authority will replenish supplies to guarantee towns have enough reserves to meet the demand.  This, however, is all but guaranteed in the long run, as there is currently only enough water "until the end of September" if it does not rain.  After weeks without significant rainfall, reservoirs managed by the Catalan government are at an average of 26% capacity as of April 24, 2023, according to the Catalan Water Agency Learn more about the issue by listening to the Filling the Sink podcast episode from September 2022.  The Bruce Springteen centered celebration will take place over two days ACN | Barcelona Organizers for the Bruce Springsteen centered festival 'No Surrender' hope that this year's changes mean the biggest iteration yet the event is predicted to bring in about 5,000 performers and spectators.  The festival is known for its unique devotion to 'The Boss' as well as their group performances of his biggest hits The official Youtube page for the event has generated hundreds of thousands of views displaying past festivals' performances Josep Maria Pons hopes for No Surrender to become the most important Bruce Springstein oriented event in Europe The event will be taking place in a new location this year in order to "grow and survive" according to Pons will also hold main events in the evening to avoid the summer heat this year's song will be 'dancing in the dark' from his 1984 album 'Born in The USA' Tickets go on sale today and cost 22€ for both days. More information is available on the festival's official website. First published: September 5, 2024 01:55 PM Private kindergartens are still unable to fill their vacancies, while the public ones still leave many children without a place.    For the upcoming 2024/2025 school year, 44% of the places in private kindergartens will be empty, according to the Catalan Association of Kindergartens. Specifically, one in three places for 2-year-olds, one in four for 1-year-olds, and more than half of the places for 0-year-olds will be empty. Meanwhile, many children have been denied a place in public kindergartens.  Last month, the Catalan News Agency (ACN) revealed that around 3,700 children in Barcelona will not have a place in a public kindergarten this year, 45% of those who applied. "The kindergarten we applied to had 30 vacancies for 80 applicants. Two out of three of us were left without a place," says Eixample resident Natàlia. For this reason, the association has offered the government use of the vacancies in private kindergartens to meet the demand. "It is a shame that these places are not being used, considering the large number of children who have been left out of the public education system at such an important stage," said the association's president, Conxita Pericó.     The association has asked the government to find a solution, defending that the best formula is an educational network formed by different entities, with collaboration between private and public kindergartens.     The NGO Educo denounced that 32.5% of Catalan students are at risk of poverty and exclusion.  They also warn that only 15% of students receive free lunch meals and that the problem gets worse in secondary education, as only 14% of secondary schools offer lunch service. For this reason, Educo says, one in four families has difficulty providing a nutritious and complete diet for their children. "These homes have limited resources and it is very difficult to fill the fridge, they need a free lunch meal," said Educo director Guiomar Todó.