Founded by Queen Elisenda of Montcada in 1327, the Monastery of Pedralbes is one of the finest examples of Catalan Gothic architecture and monastic life in a cloistered community. It offers numerous activities delving into its 700-year history, reflecting its spaces or enabling visitors to enjoy time there with the family. You can find them at the monastery’s domain: monestirpedralbes.barcelona. 

Besides visits to the monumental site, every month visitors can attend one of the various guided tours by booking in advance on the website. These tours offer a chance to discover different aspects of the monastery: its architecture, the food its residents eat or the importance of water on the site.

With Christmas just around the corner, there are also many family activities linked to the festive season, such as a workshop on cyanotypes, another on advent crowns and another on Christmas sweets for little ones.  

Yet one of the main events at the monastery are undoubtedly the concerts, the centuries-old walls providing one of the finest settings. Tickets are now on sale for this year’s Christmas concert, with works by Händel, Scarlatti and Geminiani.You’ll find full information and more activities at monestirpedralbes.barcelona.

Hamburg hosted the 78^th Annual General Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) from 21 to 26 October, a key event in the world of internet governance.

The presence of the .barcelona domain at this global forum is significant as it demonstrates the city’s commitment to internet governance and active participation in the decisions that affect global digital architecture. Through this participation at ICANN 78, the .barcelona domain reaffirms its determination to be a fundamental part of the discussions that shape the future of the internet.

During the congress, representatives from the .barcelona domain took part in working sessions, debates and meetings with other key stakeholders in the internet community.

Through this interaction, representatives of various domains were able to share the successes and challenges experienced to date, as well as perspectives on the role of city domains in the configuration of the digital ecosystem.

At the same time, the presence of the .barcelona domain offered the chance to establish collaboration with other cities and regions looking at adopting city domains as a tool for digital projection. Through its own exclusive domain, the city of Barcelona can become a role model and source of inspiration for other cities looking to consolidate their digital presence.

One of the main topics addressed at the meeting was the European NIS2 directive on cybersecurity, a very important issue as it highlights how the European Union regulates and how its legislation can influence an international institution such as the ICANN, with repercussions for a global market and thousands of organisations in the world.

While there are still a lot of doubts over how the NIS2 directive will affect domains, we believe that collaboration in this area is essential to guarantee internet security, and that meetings such as this hold the key to establishing some guidelines for action.

Finally, we were also able to celebrate Nacho Amadoz being named as the vice-chair for the Generic Names Supporting Organisation (GNSO), one of the main organisations making upthe ICANN. Nacho Amadoz, the corporate director for the Fundació.cat (the organisation that manages the .barcelona and .cat domains), will combine this new role with his role as the chair of the geoTLD.group.