Penedès News - Summary January 2012

This is a selection of local Penedès news from the month of January, 2012.

Gran Penedès

The new motorway C15 is used by 16.000 vehicles per day between Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf) and Vilafranca del Penedès (Alt Penedès), and by 10.500 from there to Igualada (Anoia). More in Catalan

Wine connoisseur Neal Martin, working for eRobertParker.com will visit D.O. Penedès for some days during February or March in order to map how Catalan fine wines match American taste. More in Catalan

Garraf: Sitges, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Sant Pere de Ribes etc.

Three of the 18 “star products” in the tourism campaign “Barcelona is much more” are located in Garraf: the beaches, the town of Sitges plus the annual Sitges Film Festival. More in Catalan

The mayors of all six Garraf municipalities make a joint protest against Generalitat de Catalunya’s limited 2012 investments in this comarca, planned to € 27 per capita, versus the Catalan average of € 214. More in Catalan

The Garraf weekly newspaper Diari de Vilanova - existing since 1850 –, has been forced to suspend payments due to lost advertising revenue because of the crisis. More in Catalan

All political parties represented in the town council of Sitges sign a joint protest against the toll increases on payroad C32, between Garraf and Castelldefels. More in Catalan

Sitges was promoted as a “star product” of Costa de Barcelona at this year’s edition of Spain’s most important tourism exhibition, FITUR in Madrid. More in Catalan

Generalitat de Catalunya has decided to intervene to improve the safety situation during Sitges Carnival. More in Catalan

The town councils of Sitges and Vilanova i la Geltrú have agreed to co-operate to convert port of Vilanova into a popular stop for luxury yachts and small cruise ships. More in Catalan

The town council of Vilanova i la Geltrú cuts the municipal budget dedicated to culture with 22% whereby the circus festival Trapezi will disappear while the world music festival FIMPT will have to completely change its format. More in Catalan

Josep Blanco, PSC Mayor of Sant Pere de Ribes, excludes ICV from the local government in order to improve the co-operation with the opposition. More in Catalan

Alt Penedès: Vilafranca del Penedès etc.

Three of the 18 “star products” in the tourism campaign “Barcelona is much more” are located in Alt Penedès: the human tower builders Castellers de Vilafranca, the Festa Major in the same town plus the wineries Cordoníu, Freixenet and Torres. More in Spanish

All parties represented in the town council of Vilafranca del Penedès join forces to demand that Generalitat de Catalunya reintroduce the night bus N40 from Barcelona. More in Catalan

Ajuntament de Vilafranca del Penedès calculates that the transfer of applications and other municipal procedures to the Internet will lead to annual cost savings of € 100.000. More in Catalan

To improve accessibility, the public archives of Alt Penedès will handle the historic documentation related to Castellers de Vilafranca. More in Catalan

Baix Penedès: el Vendrell, Calafell etc.

The plant Cosbapsa in el Vendrell stored 80 times more waste than allowed when a fire – which took several days to extinguish - broke out in December last year. More in Catalan

The inhabitants of Calafell demand another protected railroad crossing in Segur, after yet another accident. More in Catalan

Anoia: Igualada etc.

In spite of the crisis, during 2011, Igualada saw 121 new commercial activities starting up, while “only” 53 closed. More in Catalan

The three wise men parade of Igualada was this year obeserved by a representative of UNESCO, to see if qualifies to be included in the global list of cultural heritage. More in Catalan

The local CiU government of Igualada will cut the overall 2012 municipal budget with 16% versus last year. More in Catalan

Local Anoia TV station ConcaTV has stopped producing own material due to cost savings. More in Catalan

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This monthly summary is a selection of news which I consider can be of interest to foreigners (expats and long-term tourists) living in Penedès. It is biased towards the comarca Garraf (Vilanova i la Geltrú and Sitges) but also covers Alt Penedès, Baix Penedès and Anoia.

In case you want to draw my attention to a special news item, feel free to ping me on twitter - @wirdheim - where I mark all Penedès related tweets with the hashtag #Penedès.

Penedès News - Summary December 2011

This is a selection of local Penedès news from the month of December, 2011. Click on each headline to read the full article, usually in Catalan or Spanish.

Gran Penedès

Thanks to the now opened new C15 (Eix Diagonal) the travel time from Vilanova i la Geltrú will be 10 minutes to Vilafranca del Penedès and 45 minutes to Manresa.

Generalitat starts using ambit Penedès as concept in infrastructure planning - a first step towards a possible future vegueria

The Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor starts investigating the pension fund scandal at Caixa Penedès, while the bank hopes for a new start by appointing Ricard Banquells General Director.

CiU promises a logistic centre Logis Penedès adapted to local demands – smaller and without any dangerous goods.

Five companies have confirmed their interest in buying D.O. Penedès based Cavas Hill, until now owned by bankrupt Nueva Rumasa.

Garraf

Sitges historical museums will recuperate their original water front facade and be adopted for wheelchairs through a lift instead of a ramp.

Sitges Film Festival gets a k€ 556 grant from Generalitat via Icic, the Catalan Institute for Cultural Industries.

The Ajuntament of Sitges has filed for bankrupcy for its municipal service centre Sitges Reference.

Local Garraf TV station Canal Blau / Maricel will see cuts in its k€ 450 annual budget.

The tech centre Neàpolis in Vilanova i laGeltrú has been selected to participate in the Generalitat’s stand at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona 2012.

For 2012, the CiU government of Vilanova i la Geltrú plans to reduce current expenses with 15% and the support to different organizations with 10%.

Joan Ignasi Elena, ex-Mayor of Vilanova i la Geltrú, forms part of the new PSC leadership and heads up the party's promotion of a left-wing alliance for the next elections to the Catalan parliament.

Generalitat's main investments in Garraf 2012 benefit Sant Pere de Ribes through the contstruction of a new health care centre and the school IES Montgròs.

Alt Penedès

Generalitat's 2012 budget includes a m€3 primary care unit (CAP) at Parc de Llevant in Vilafranca del Penedès.

Mediona based Naulover has opened a flagship store in Passeig de Gràcia, Barcelona, to promote the international growth of the clothing brand.

Baix Penedès

The waste collection plant Cosbapsa in el Vendrell has been on fire since December 23 and the smoke causes irritation in the areas around Mas Borràs and Coma-Ruga.

Calafell will leave the joint promotion of the gastronomic concept Ruta del Xató in order to save € 3.000 per year.

Anoia

The Three Wise Men’s Pageboy Faruk has arrived in Igualada carrying a white book with the names of all nice children and a black book listing the naughty ones.

Igualada will replace the waste containers with a plastic version in order to reduce noise.

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This monthly summary is a selection of news which I consider can be of interest to foreigners (expats and long-term tourists) living in Penedès. It is biased towards the comarca Garraf (Vilanova i la Geltrú and Sitges) but also covers Alt Penedès, Baix Penedès and Anoia.

In case you want to draw my attention to a special news item, feel free to ping me on twitter - @wirdheim - where I mark all Penedès related tweets with the hashtag #Penedès.

Penedès News in a different format

Penedès News has been one of the main pillars in the editorial line of this blog for the last few months and the time has come to evaluate the results. By now, I consider that I have been running project long enough to make conclusions and decide on adaptations.

The only interaction I have been able to stimulate with Penedès News – above all on Twitter, but sometimes also on Facebook – has been with posts either related to the individual towns (above all Vilanova i la Geltrú, for obvious reasons) or companies, organizations and networks. As far as I can see, there is no community which takes an active interest in having news from Penedès as a totality or not even from the four comarques as such presented in English.

On top of this, the interaction I have seen with Penedès News is much inferior to what I have experienced with my more recent but increasing focus on posts on human towers, #castellers. Here I regularly get feedback, on the one hand from the individual teams and on the other from people who have a more global or general interest in this cultural expression.

I have started to feel that, most likely, there is no real demand for having local Penedès news explained in English. However, at the same time, I know that there is a need for news filtering - as a service to the expats living here, but also for tourists. As a consequence, Penedès News will continue to exist but – at least for now – be transferred to my personal Twitter account, @Wirdheim. Here I will present the news as headlines in English but link to original sources in Catalan and Spanish. The most important of these tweets will then, once a month, be summarized in the newsletter Penedès in English.

The other content part of Penedès in English – the Penedès agenda – will not be affected by these changes. And as to what will come instead, here on the blog, I am not really sure. Maybe it is time to start experimenting again... ;)

Vilanova’s 'Fira de Novembre' boosts local business

The sunny weather during the weekend certainly helped a bit, but the new location and format of the traditional November trade fair in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf) – this year held November 11-13 – has proved to be highly attractive. In spite of the crisis, all space had been contracted and this time the line of stands followed the local Rambles all the way down to the marina – an initiative which made the exhibition less crowded but at the same time encouraged the visitors to reach new parts of the city centre.

In connection with Fira de Novembre, the shop keepers of the town – coordinated through the association Viu Comerç – extended their Friday evening opening hours to midnight in a so called Vilanova Shopping Night and on the Sunday, the traditional Xatonada popular was housed in plaça de la Mediterrània; all of a sudden perfectly integrated with the rest of the trade fair. As always, there were performances by sport clubs and cultural entities but also attempts to make people connect in new ways, for example #LlescaTwit – a physical meeting point for Vilanova’s twitter enthusiasts.

Fira de Novembre in its current form has existed for 21 years, but can be traced back to the year 1381, when Vilanova (not yet united with la Geltrú) was granted the right to hold a fair during the first fifteen days of November.

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Read more in Catalan: Vilanova Digital and Diari de Vilanova (1, 2)

'Minyons de l’Arboç' and 'Jove de Vilafranca' end the season with nice human towers

The Diada de la Colla which Bordegassos de Vilanova organised on November 13, did not become the success the team had hoped for, but the two guest teams partly compensated for that and offered the spectators in plaça de les Cols of Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf) a few nice surprises.



Minyons de l’Arboç achieved the best results this day by completing 5de7, 3de7 and 4de7 plus – for the first time ever – two pillars of five levels (Pde5) built at the same time. They thereby rounded off an emotionally difficult season on a strong note.

Colla Jove Xiquets de Vilafranca completed 3de7, 4de7 and Pde5 but also presented the world of castellers with a totally new construction: 7de6 dismantled via two pillars (7de6a). However, the 5de7 - which they had hoped to build for the first time collapsed before crowning.

Bordegassos de Vilanova, finally, had managed to mobilize a lot of the team’s sporadic or former members, but this time it was of no use, since the children (la canalla) were too scared to crown the most challenging human towers. The attempts to build 2de7 and 4de8 ended in as many as four constructions dismantled before crowning (intents desmuntats) so the final result was only 3de7 and 4de7.

But as one of the senior members of the team put it: “We can’t be disappointed with these children. It’s thanks to them we have such a great season behind us, especially the second half!”

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Read more in Catalan: the web page of Bordegassos

'Bordegassos' and 'Saballuts' complete the human tower 4de8 in Terrassa

Sunday October 6 was a day for which the weather forecasts predicted rain all around Catalonia, so also in Terrassa (Vallès Occidental) where Castellers de Terrassa planned for their final human tower exhibition this year. Since not only they themselves, but also their guests, were looking forward to their Diada de la Colla, from the very beginning did they have the partly covered square Vapor Ventalló as a back up solution for the day.



Due to a more or less consant drizzle, this is also where the human towers were built in the end. Castellers de Terrassa had hoped to find the form and be able to build 4de8, but in the end had to make do with completing 2de7, 5de7 and 4de7a.



The most stable guests, Castellers de Sabadell (Saballuts), completed 5de7 and 2de7 but, above all their 15th 4de8 of a season when they – a team which became colla de vuit (a team which regularly builds human towers of 8 levels) as late as two years ago - have been among the strongest ones in this group.

The other guests, Bordegassos de Vilanova, did not have any trouble completeing 2de7 but saw their 5de7(i) collapsing without having been crowned. However, most importantly, the team completed their 2nd 4de8 this year and now away from home. True, this happened after one intent desmuntat (a construction dismantled before being crowned) and long preparations, but the end result felt so controlled that the team decided to make an attempt also with 3de8(id). This construction was dismantled before crowning, but that does not really matter for a team which has been anything but stable this year, but are going through an amazing spurt now at the end of the season.

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To live the positive spiral of Bordegassos de Vilanova "from the inside" is a wonderful feeling. In Terrassa, amazingly enough, I had the honour to be one of eight primers laterals in the 4de8. This time I certainly did not get the position neither for my qualities as casteller nor by necessity, but primarily for solidarity reasons. For the future, however, I will work hard to make it mine.

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Read more: Web Casteller, El Punt / Avui plus the web pages of Bordegassos and Saballuts.

'Venca' reduces staff in Vilanova i la Geltrú

CIFDSA – the company behind the mail order clothing brand Venca – has announced personnel reductions at its headoffice in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf). In a so called ERO (expedient de regulació d’ocupació) - now in the hands of the Generalitat de Catalunya - the company argues that after four consecutive years of losses, by now letting 86 of 473 people go, it will be possible to get back to profitability within two years.

The cuts will hit all departments – customer service, logistics and the central staff – and is a response to big sales drops throughout Spain and even more so in Portugal, which is also served from here.

CIFDSA and the brand Venca belong to the French mail order group 3 Suisses International.

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Read more in Catalan: Vilanova Digital

Jove Xiquets de Vilafranca in their best human tower exhibition

Today, October 12, Colla Jove Xiquets de Vilafranca celebrated their Diada de la Colla in the best possible way - by performing their most advanced exhibition in human towers since the team was founded last year. Without any real problems and - for the second time ever - they completed the full clàssica de 7” (3d7, 4d7 and 2d6) and then rounded off with a pillar of five levels followed by three pillars of four levels.



Among the guest teams, Bordegassos de Vilanova maintained the pace from their successful exhibition last weekend and completed 2d7, 5d7 and 4d7a. This equals the result they reached during the Festa Major of Vilanova i la Geltrú and was their best performance this year outside their home town.





The second guest team, Tirallongues de Manresa, impressed all spectators with a magnificent 3d7a (the second most difficult castell we sas in the square today!) , but also completed 3d7 and 4d6a.



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Find here Web Casteller's summary of the event.

Bordegassos de Vilanova returning to the 8th level

For five years in a row, Bordegassos de Vilanova have organised a day of human towers in honour of late team member Albert Salvany (la Diada d’Albert Salvany). With three human towers of eight levels and three 2d7, this year’s edition, celebrated on October 9, must have been the most spectacular so far.



Bordegassos de Vilanova have seen a lot of new faces in their training sessions (assajos) recently and the team is rapidly gaining in stability and confidence. But although things have looked promising for some time, the results of the exhibition this weekend are extraordinary. After a solid opening with the third 2d7 this year, Bordegassos had decided to take on two brave challenges; to complete the first 4d8 since 2006 and the first 3d7xs (3 by 7 lifted up from below) since 1998. Honestly, how many vilanovins believed that we would make it? Well, we did and in both cases on the first attempt. By the way, this was the 100th 4d8 completed in the history of the team.



As if the local success was not enough, both guest teams offered more spectacular constructions:

Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia made us doubt in the beginning, since they started with two dismantled attempts (intents desmuntats), but then completed three beautiful towers: 4d8, 3d8 and 2d7 (i.e. the so called clàssica de 8).

Xiquets de Reus, who as late as a week ago made a strong exhibition in their home town, arrived in Vilanova with a limited number of team members, but still completed their 14th 2d7 this season. Apart from that they completed 3d7 and 4d7.

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Find Bordegassos' official report from the event here (in Catalan).

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Personally - since I joined Bordegassos de Vilanova in 2009 – this is the second time in my life I take part when “my team" builds a 4d8 and the first time ever I see it completed, so I am highly emotional about this achievement. I was tercer lateral and – as the majority of the people in the base (pinya) – could only judge what was going on by the sounds from the square; first the gralles (the typical wind instruments) indicating that the tower was about to be crowned and then the stronger and stronger cheering of all spectators, as it became clear that we would not fail during the dismantling. All this followed, at a really late stage – probably when the third level (terços) was about to start descending – by the magic moment when the core of the pinya - all of us who wore Bordegassos’s yellow shirt this day - dared to scream with happiness.

Can Papiol museum reopens in Vilanova

After five years of extensive renovations, the gem of romantic architecture in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf), i.e. the Can Papiol Museum (C/ Major), is again open to the public. The opening hours are Fridays-Saturdays 10:00-13:00 plus 16:00-18:00 and Sundays 10:00-14:00. Visitors have to follow one of the guided tours which start every full hour and the normal ticket price is €3 (€1,5 for children, students and retired people).

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Personally, I warmly recommend you to visit Can Papiol since it gives you a unique insight into the life of one of the richest families of Vilanova in the 19th century. This is a genuine residence with the Papiols’ own furniture and decorations and thus not a collection of objects typical for the time but originally from different households.

Read more in Catalan: Vilanova Digital

Leading software developer locates in Vilanova

The Dutch group Service2Media – a leading software company which makes applications for smart phones and tablets, and which has CNN and Al Jazeera among its customers – will cover Spain, Southern Europe and Latin America from their new office in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf). The main arguments for selecting this location were the fact that the Mobile World Congress will stay in Barcelona, political efforts made both on the municipal level and by the Generalitat plus the existence of local UPC branch (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya).

Service2Media will be based in the building Neàpolis and thereby add weight to the intended high-tech profile of this municipal centre. The operation will start with a work force of six people while one more position is reserved for the winner in a currently ongoing idea generation competition.
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Read more in Spanish (El País) or Catalan (Diari de Vilanova).

Drastic budget cuts in Vilanova

The CiU government ruling Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf) since the May municipal elections, has presented a so called shock plan to address the municipality’s debt and cash situation. Out of a € 113 million total debt, € 64 million is owed to banks, while € 25 million are outstanding payments to providers, with whom the local authorities currently allow themselves a 9 month credit term. Due to the saving plan, municipal services will move out from rented office spaces and civil servants who retire or go on unpaid maternity leave (excedència laboral) will not be substituted. Apart from this, the heavily indebted public company PIVSAM (Promoció Industrial Vilanova, SAM) will file for bankruptcy.

The former Tripartit government accuses CiU of exaggerating the situation and remind them that they rule in minority.
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Read more in Catalan: Diari de Vilanova and Vilanova Digital

'Mon Bus' Over Capacity Due to Reduced Train Service

Due to the on-going planned traffic reductions on the line R2-Sud, much more commuters from Garraf than usual opt for the bus instead of the train. On several occasions, the buses have filled up in Vilanova i la Geltrú, and thus have not been able to take on more passengers when passing by Sitges. As a response, the company Mon Bus – which holds the concession on the line Garraf-Barcelona – has added 50 buses, but still sees a demand above capacity and this in the peak season when this bus service is also used by many tourists.

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Read more in Catalan: El Punt / Avui

Worsened Mobile Phone Coverage in Penedès Coastal Areas

For yet another year, 44 Catalan coastal municipalities, among them Sitges and Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf), now see deteriorations in the mobile phone coverage. The networks tend to become overloaded with the arrival of tourists and to change this, there would be a need to revisit established antenna standards. Currently they do not take seasonal variations into account.

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Read more in Spanish: el Mundo

Sales Office for Water Sports in Vilanova’s Torre Blava

Torre Blava on the beach promendade of Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf) will from now house the sales office for the water sport activities offered by Estació Nàutica. This will at the same time significantly improve the opening hours (10-13, 17-20) of the exhibition by artist Guinovart, in the same building.

Personally, I think that this is a great initiative. Earlier we used to have a perfectly located historic tower which – when it was closed – made people wonder what was inside and - when it was open – disappointed with the exhibition being so small. Now it will support one of the commercial activities where this town has natural strengths and if people at the same time are treated to some local art, that only makes things better.

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Read more in Catalan: Diari de Vilanova

Problems on the Penedès Traffic Artery C-15 Throughout the Summer

This summer there are serious traffic problems on the current version of road C-15 between Vilanova i la Geltrú and Vilafranca del Penedès. The reason is the construction of a new double lane connection, expected to open early 2012 and forming part of the so called Eix Diagonal. Last year, the road works started only after the peak tourism season was over, but this year the interruptions could not be avoided.

Personally, I am more than happy to accept this temporary inconvenience, since I feel that the existing curvy road is not safe, especially not in the night.

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Read more in Catalan: Diari de Vilanova

Foul Smelling Vilanova Ditch Finally Covered

The ditch which used to cut through the area Baix a Mar of Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf) has finally been covered and, instead, there is now a promenade from the train station down to platja del Far plus a playground for the children.

Ditches like this one, so typical for coastal towns in Catalonia, stand dry during most of the year, but are necessary to avoid flooding during the torrential rains we often see in the autumn.

As I see it, to cover them in urban areas is anything but a luxury investment since the stagnant water in them can have a very foul smell.

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Read more in Catalan: El Punt

Vilanova ex-Mayor Candidates to Lead PSC

Late October this year, the Catalan socialists PSC will hold a congress which promises to be exciting, since the election of a new leader will also outline the future political platform. Joan Igansi Elena, ex-Mayor of Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf), is first to present his candidature. Within the party, he comes from a faction often called the obiolistes - formally organized as Nou Cicle – which maintained a critical distance to the former leader José Montilla, and which works for a more open and more catalanista profile. Joan Ignasi Elena is believed to have strong support among the municipal representatives and the youth movement of the party, but will most likely run against political heavyweights such as Miquel Iceta – with a long experience on the Catalan as well as Spanish level – and Àngel Ros – sitting Mayor of Lleida.

Personally, I hope that Joan Ignasi Elena will not burn himself out prematurely, fighting against a machine under influence from PSOE. We here in Vilanova know our former Mayor as an honest and very modest man, something which certainly cannot be said about all politicians in Catalonia or the rest of Spain.

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Rear more in Catalan: Ara.cat

August Disruptions on the Commuter Train Line R2 South

Between August 4 and 28, work to cover the tracks on the southern side of the train station Sants in Barcelona, will lead to disruptions on the line R2 Sud. During this period passengers from Garraf and Baix Penedès will only reach Bellvitge, from where they will have to continue by metro or FCG, using their Renfe ticket.

The month of August was selected since many commuters will have vacation. Let us just hope that there will be good information in English instructing tourists how to reach Sitges and other beaches along Costa de Barcelona – Penedès.

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Read more in Catalan: Diari de Vilanova

International Smart Phone Conference in Vilanova i la Geltrú

May 15-17, the 9th International Conference on Wired/Wireless Internet Communications (WWIC) takes place in the tech centre Neàpolis of Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf). It is organised by the research group ANA (Advanced Network Architectures), sees some 60 participants and focuses on a number of selected scientific papers. Earlier editions have, for example, been held in Luleå, Sweden (2010), Twente, Netherlands (2009) and Tampere, Finland (2008).

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Find here the WWIC web page

Read more in Catalan: Vilanova Digital