The UAB to participate in a Fish Market research project

In addition to UAB Rector Javier Lafuente, those signing the protocol were Catalan President Pere Aragonès; UPF Rector Oriol Amat; Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau; Sicence and Innovation Minister Diana Morant; Universities Minister Joan Subirats; UB Rector Joan Guàrdia; CSIC President Eloísa del Pino; BIST General Director Eduard Vallory, and Fundació Pasqual Maragall Director Arcadi Navarro.

In his speech, Rector Lafuente expressed his satisfaction for the fact that this project places "citizens at the centre of the problems and solutions facing this planet" and that ten different institutions collaborate is "an example of how to take on important challenges in the future". According to Rector Lafuente, "working across the board" is necessary so that "different disciplines can provide solutions which together can work towards our planet's well-being".

After the meeting, representatives of the institutions signing the protocol and those attending the meeting went to where the future Mercat del Peix, or fish market, will be placed. The event consisted in creating the phrase "Planetary Well-bieng" (Benestar planetari) using the letters carried by the participants. In addition to the representatives of the ten signing institutions, also collaborating in the phrase were First Vice President of the Catalan Parliament Alba Vergés; Minister for Territory Juli Fernàndez; Minister for Research and Universities Quim Nadal; delegate of the Spanish Government Maria Eugènia Gay; Deputy Mayor and B:SM President Jaume Collboni, and Second Deputy Mayor Janet Sanz.

Performances were offered at the site of the future research complex by dancer Vignesh Melwani and artist Martín Bonadeo, who painted an ephimeral art piece representing the well-being of the planet and the need for reseasrch as a way of fighting against the current climate and global emergency.

With a surface of 46,000 square metres, the Mercat del Peix is an initiative launched by several institutional agreements signed by the Government of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, the universities UPF, UB, UAB, the CSIC research institute, the BIST and FPM. The new research complex, which will be made up of three buildings and will house over 1,200 researchers, will be up and running by 2026.

Among the buildings being built is the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), which will have 24,700 square metres and room for 800 researchers and over 60 research groups from four BIST centres (CRG, IBEC, ICN2 and IRB Barcelona). The BIST is a multidisciplinary research centre based on the capacities of seven centres of excellence based on Catalonia: the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), the Institute of High Energy Physics (IFAE) and the Institute of Research on Biomedicine of Barcelona (IRB Barcelona).

The Mercat del Peix is the first of many projects to be conducted by the Ciutadella del Coneixement, a scientific, cultural and urbanistic initiative that aims to transform the area surrounding the Ciutadella Park in Barcelona into a preeminent urban node of knowledge.