Jaume Vicens Vives Lecture 2023

2023 marked the sixty-fifth anniversary of the legendary conference "The Spanish captain of industry in the last hundred years" ("El capitán de industria español en los últimos cien años") given in 1958 by Jaume Vicens Vives, a historian and one of Catalunya’s most  iconic intellectuals at the time. The talk aimed to identify and guide a new class of leaders, committed to helping Catalunya and Spain grow and progress by means of its economy and businesses. The young people to whom he addressed his speech would be the founders of the Cercle d' Economia, now a highly influential institution in  Catalonia and the whole of Spain.

To commemorate that conference and continue the legacy of Vicens Vives, el Cercle decided to institutionalize the Jaume Vicens Vives Conference by inviting a leading intellectual figure to explain, with a long view, a vision of Catalonia and the opportunities and challenges presented in the new landscape.

ICFO’s director, Professor Lluís Torner, was given the honor of presenting the inaugural conference at the end of 2023 and did so with a talk titled, “An infinite spring, a future of opportunities,” which is now available in print format in Catalan and Spanish.  In his talk, Torner stated that “a program focused on frontier research is an engine of sustainable economic development for an economically and socially advanced society like ours” and added that “our country is a well-positioned place to undertake the program and to enjoy of its fruits.” He also underscored the importance of the entire ecosystem, not just research but also “businesses, industrialists, economists, investors, financiers, lawyers, people dedicated to politics and the management and legislation of the common good, entrepreneurs, teachers, and a large number of motivated and committed citizens,” all equally important for the success of society.