2004 June: Barcelona Forum Dialogo

The Barcelona Forum took place just around the corner from where I used to live in Barcelona, at Sant Adrian de Besos. In 2001, this part of the city underwent a mammoth revival, where hotel tower blocks and apartments rose within the space of some months. In 2004, the City created an event alled the 'Forum' a mega event of festivals, conferences, and exhibitions, which ran across May to September.

I gave a presentation at this conference, which was designed for journalist professionals. There were numerous highlights to this event. The first was seeing Manuel Castells speak, a legend for any digital culture theorist.

The second is conveyed through this image. A large part of the conference was about journalists who report from areas of conflict. This plenary session involved a journalist from Al Jazira and what you see here is a hand written commemoration to a colleague of hers who died the day of this conference. It concluded a video montage of journalists who had died in war zones around the world. This touching addition was noticeably difficult for the reporter from Al Jazira to discuss and many of the audience members were visibly moved by the occurrence. It's rare that conferences become monumental in this way and I shall remember the sophistication of this dedication for a long time.