Catalan culture in England

Last Friday, the vice-president of the FC Barcelona Foundation and Club director, Ramon Pont, gave a talk entitled “Barça: sport, culture and education” in Sheffield, England. He was speaking at the 58th annual conference of the Anglo-Catalan Society, an organisation dedicated to promoting Catalan culture in the UK and creating links between the two communities.

The conference was held at the University of Sheffield. Mr Pont gave an overview of the history of the Club and explained the sports and educational philosophy behind the Masia youth academy. He also outlined the charitable work of the FC Barcelona Foundation, in Catalonia and throughout the world.

Mr Pont told us, “This will help project our Club and our country. It’s very positive that there are people sympathetic to Barça and to Catalonia in the heart of England and that we can tell them about ourselves. Among other things, it’s important that they should know that we don’t just play football, but that we educate and transmit our values to the youngsters who grow up in the Masia”.

The conference enjoyed the support of the ‘Institut Ramon Llull’.

The Anglo-Catalan Society was founded in Oxford in 1954 and has more than 230 members. It has been awarded the ‘Creu de Sant Jordi’ (St George’s Cross) by the Generalitat de Catalunya.