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EADA, one of the many institutions that collaborate with The Barcelona Festival of Consciousness, was the place chosen to present the first edition of this event, which will make Barcelona the world capital of consciousness. On July 29 and 30, more than 90 national and international experts will meet at the Barcelona International Convention Center to give a new vision of the role of organizations in society.

As the professor of innovation and creativity at EADA, Franc Ponti, explained in the presentation, "the current changing and complex scenario demands a new business paradigm, a new way of leading organizations that takes into account the impact on society and the contribution to a better world". Specifically, Ponti referred to "a new management that is based on trust and not on control, on distributed power and not on hierarchies, on collaboration and not on competition, on transparency instead of secrecy and opacity, and always contributing creativity to generate innovation”.

Along the same lines, Xavier Ginesta, Co-founder of the festival and president of Voxel, pointed out that "the contest is an invitation to leave behind the fear of transcending the framework of beliefs that limit us and open ourselves to contemplate how and when we genuinely align ourselves around for a common purpose." And he added: "We do not need a new industrial revolution, but a revolution in consciousness."

Mireia Martínez, Director of The Festival of Consciousness, referred to the dozens of workshops, agoras, activities and experiences that will take place during the event with the same objective: “Experiment and create, learn and doubt, feel and think and even dance thanks to the different eclectic and interdisciplinary formats”. In her opinion, “we will show that there is another way of understanding the company, such as from spirituality, creativity, female entrepreneurship or conscious capitalism”.

Activities and experiences that invite reflection

EADA, in addition to being one of the festival's partners, will be represented with the participation of two teachers. One of them will be Franc Ponti, author of Creative Intelligence and Free Brain who has written several articles in the press about companies with a conscience: “They are those that are very clear about how they can contribute to a better world. They develop a whole series of practices that go beyond the conventional, such as shared leadership, a flat structure, authenticity in relationships or a direct relationship with customers”. Ponti will give two talks: “Should we put creativity at the center of the classroom?” and “The new frontiers of creativity: cognitive disinhibition and business psychedelia”.

Dr. Josep Maria Coll, Associate Professor at EADA and international consultant on sustainable transformation and systemic leadership for the United Nations, will also take part. Coll, who is the author of Zen Business, Economics of Happiness and Buddhist and Taoist Systems Thinking, will also give two conferences: "The Great Taboo: Spirituality in the Economy and Business" and "Zen Business: Spiritual Consciousness Applied to business".

Ponti and Coll will share the stage with a large cast of experts, including Olivia Mandle, adolescent activist against climate change and the defense of animal rights, Aunty Ivy, cultural ambassador and teacher from New Zealand, Harley K. Dubois, co-founder of Burning Man, Andrés Martín Asuero, recognized expert in meditation, Salim Ismail, creator of the EXO concept (exponential organization), Lakhsmi Pratury, Indian business leader and creator of the Ink Talks, Xavier Ginesta and Sergi Torres, authors of the book Humanitas and promoters of the event, or Borja Vilaseca, writer and creator of pedagogical systems through pragmatic spirituality.

Collaboration, the new engine of the economy

The prelude to this great event was the round table entitled "Collaboration as a new engine of the economy" that we also held in the EADA campus auditorium. At this meeting, Xavier Ginesta and Franc Ponti agreed that "the old capitalism is being replaced by a new model that puts purpose before profit." As Ginesta explained, “there is no doubt that although this paradigm led by Adam Smith took humanity out of the Middle Ages, it also had collateral effects, such as pursuing personal interest at any price, causing the destruction of the planet.”

Now, instead, we have to talk, according to Ponti, of "a collaborative economy model that has given rise to a new business mindset that is emerging and whose progression is unstoppable."