The first edition of the READ Forum on Sustainability, held on 12 June by the Royal European Academy of Doctors (READ) under the theme “Science, business and society facing the challenges of the sustainable transition”, received extensive media coverage, reflecting both the strong interest generated by the initiative, led by Antoni Garrell, Honorary Member of the Royal Academy, and the contributions made by its first speakers. The agency Europa Press provided broad audiovisual coverage of the meeting, while media outlets such as Crónica Global, the supplement of the digital newspaper El Español, the newspaper “ABC”, “Diario Vasco” and “Última Hora” echoed the speeches, devoting prominent space to them.
This inaugural edition featured the distinguished presence of Sara Aagesen, Third Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, who closed the event; Nuria Montserrat, Minister for Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia and Numerary Member of the READ; Sílvia Paneque, Minister for Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition of the Government of Catalonia; and Laia Bonet, Councillor for Ecology, Urban Planning, Infrastructure, Mobility, Public Space and Housing at Barcelona City Council, among other prominent figures. Presented by the prestigious journalist Ramon Pellicer, the session was chaired by Alfredo Rocafort, Numerary Member and President of the Governing Board of the READ, and Josep Sánchez Llibre, President of Foment del Treball and Honorary Member of the READ, who hosted the event.
In its report on the forum, Europa Press focused on Aagesen’s address. “The Third Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, stated that ‘sustainability is an investment that pays off’. Aagesen insisted that ‘the investment required to act is much lower than the cost of not acting’ against climate change, and therefore highlighted the value of spaces for analysis on this issue, such as the forum she closed. She explained that the sustainable development model makes it possible to ‘meet the needs of present society without compromising those of future societies’. The Vice-President emphasised that the connection with science and academia ‘is fundamental’ in order to have data, diagnoses, analyses and information on the current situation,” stated the dispatch issued by the agency.
Europa Press also released the video of the Vice-President’s address, which was used by both “ABC” and “Diario Vasco” to produce video news pieces on the event and Aagesen’s speech, highlighting the competitive value of sustainability to which Aagesen appealed in closing the forum, which featured representatives of leading Spanish companies. “Última Hora” also echoed the minister’s words, focusing on the challenge of the climate crisis. “‘We know that the green agenda is an agenda of good growth, of opportunities for Spain,’ Aagesen said, underlining the need to seize these opportunities and place them at the service of citizens. She insisted that sustainability is ‘an agenda of competitiveness’, and that it will also help boost employment and territorial cohesion, among other aspects,” reported the Balearic newspaper.
For its part, Crónica Global highlighted in its coverage of the event the President of the Royal Academy’s remarks. “Sustainability has long ceased to be merely a banner for activists chained to trees or anti-establishment protesters throwing soup at paintings in museums. It is also being championed by men and women in suits from offices and institutions. This is precisely what the READ Forum on Sustainability represents, having held its first edition this Friday to build bridges among academia, business, government, and civil society. ‘Sustainability should not be understood as a limit to progress, but as that which will make progress possible,’ Alfredo Rocafort, President of the Governing Board of the READ, explained to journalist Miranda Solana in her report.
At the same forum, Garrell valued the involvement of academia, business, and public administration in the shared endeavour to build a better world. “It is the balance between the academic world, the business fabric, public administrations and civil society that enables ideas to become realities, because sustainability has ceased to be an option and has become a strategic necessity,” he said in statements reported by the same media outlet. “Today we have laid the first foundation stones of a sustainability forum that is born with a vocation for continuity. A rigorous, open and constructive common space,” the academic concluded, according to Crónica Global.
“This event has brought together academic knowledge, business experience, institutional responsibility and social sensitivity around one of the great challenges of our time: making possible a sustainable transition that is at once environmentally demanding, economically viable and socially just. When launching this Forum, we emphasised the importance of creating a space for dialogue among science, business and society. Now, after listening to the various contributions, we can state that this dialogue is not only desirable but essential. Sustainability does not allow for partial perspectives, simple solutions or isolated responses. It requires method, cooperation, continuity and a sincere willingness to turn ideas into useful decisions,” Rocafort concluded at the successful event.
