President. Dr. Josep Ma Carbonell and Abelló (Barcelona, 1957)

Professor at the Faculty of Communication and International Relations Blanquerna at the Ramon Llull University since April 2011. Doctor in communication for the URL, he has been a member of the Parliament of Catalonia (1995-2003), director and president of the Audiovisual Council of Catalonia (CAC), member of the Executive Committee of the Institute of Political and Social Sciences of Catalonia (ICPS), director of the cabinet of the president of the Diputació de Barcelona (1986-1995), President of the Fundació Joan Maragall (2011-2019) and member of the Board of Directors of BTV among other positions.

His favorite writers are Stefan Zweig, Gore Vidal, Gabriel García Márquez, Henning Mankell. He is the author of several books, most notably “The Future of Communication” (UOC Ed.), “To Believe, Still” (Ed. Vienna).

 

Director. Dr. Míriam Díez Bosch (Girona, 1973)Her articles here

Journalist and theologian. Professor and Vice Dean of Research, Postgraduate and International Relations at the Faculty of Communication and International Relations Blanquerna at the Ramon Llull University of Barcelona. Director of Global Engagement at Aleteia.org. Vice-president of the Catalonia Religion Foundation. Member of the International Society for Media, Religion and Culture; of the steering committee of the Institute for Migration Studies, at the Comillas Pontifical University of Madrid; of the executive committee of the Spanish Network Anna Lindh Foundation; and of the ARC advisory board of the Center for the Anthropology of Religion and Cultural Change, at the Sacro Cuore University of Milan – among many others.

She speaks 7 languages: Catalan, Spanish, English, French, Italian, Modern Greek and has knowledge of German and can read Portuguese.

Her favorite writers are Flannery O’Connor, Carson McCullers, Emily Dickinson and she admires the work of Edith Stein; in a feminine key. She likes to read in order to live more lives.

 

Members.

 

Dr. Josep Lluís Micó Sanz (La Font de la Figuera, 1974)His articles here

Professor of Journalism at the Ramon Llull University and dean of the Faculty of Communication and International Relations Blanquerna, where, previously, he has been director of the Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and the University Master’s Degree in Advanced Journalism and Reporting Blanquerna-Godó Group, among other degrees. He has led national and international research projects and has participated in innovation initiatives with technological giants such as Google or Facebook. In the classrooms, he teaches and practices with the students the same genres and formats that, later, he applies in media or groups such as ‘La Vanguardia’, Prensa Ibérica or RTVE: new new journalism, massive data visualization, branded journalism … He has won several essay and article awards and has appeared on numerous digital influencers lists in the electronic music and fourth industrial revolution categories.

 

Dr. Alba Sabaté Gauxachs (Sant Carles de la Ràpita, 1991)Her articles here

Journalist. Deputy Director of the Blanquerna Observatory for Communication, Religion and Culture. Professor of the degrees of Journalism and Global Communication Management at the Blanquerna Faculty of Communication and International Relations, Ramon Llull University. She is interested in communication and the media as a space for understanding between cultures and confessions. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the World Association for Christian Communication and has been chosen as a Fellow of the KAICIID Center for Interreligious Dialogue and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).

She likes books and airplanes because they take people new places. Reader of The New Yorker magazine and admirer of the city that holds the same name. Prefers the sea nearby.

 

Verónica Israel Turim (Montevideo, 1984)

PhD candidate in Communications at Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations, Ramon Llull University. Researcher at Blanquerna Observatory on Media, Religion and Culture. Guest professor at the Master in Cultural Communication and the Diploma of Religious Communication in the same center. Master degree in Cultural Production and Communication.

 

 

Valentina Laferrara (Córdoba, Argentina, 1993)

PhD candidate in Social Communication at the Faculty of Communication and International Relations Blanquerna of the Ramon Llull University, with a research plan funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Social Fund. She completed a Master’s Degree in Advanced Reporting Journalism at the same institution and studied Professional Journalism and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Communication in Córdoba (Argentina). She completed a specialization course in Digital Marketing and a professional training in PC-assisted Graphic Design.

She speaks Spanish, English and French, and is learning Catalan and Italian. She is curious about cultures and life stories. Enjoys writing, painting and designing.

 

Sílvia Pascual Fontanilles (Valls, 2000)


Global Communication Management graduate at the Faculty of Communication and International Relations Blanquerna and intern at the Blanquerna Observatory. Collaborator of the Claraboya section of Pregària.cat. She has been a volunteer at the Deepti Foundation in New Delhi and at the Santo Egidio Community in Barcelona. She speaks Catalan, Spanish, English, French, German and is studying Russian and Chinese.

She likes to play sports, especially running and playing basketball, traveling and learning languages. Silvia is a “castellera” of the Colla Joves dels Xiquets de Valls and very curious towards cultural matters. She couldn’t live without coffee or cinnamon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Xavier Memba (Bata, Guinea Equatorial, 1971)

With studies in theology, religious sciences and humanities, he has been a Protestant pastor in the last twenty years in Tarragona, Vilafranca del Penedès and Barcelona. He does research in the field of communication, while trying to articulate an intelligible theological discourse in the post-secular framework of a global city like Barcelona. Topics of special interest include: gospel, post-Christianity, city, dialogue between faith and culture, intercultural communication and narratology. From time to time he “complicates” his life by organizing events or starting small projects of cultural nature.

Fr. Joby (Kerala, India)

Father Joby is pursuing a Master’s degree in Global Communication and Management, International Relations and Corporate Diplomacy at the Blanquerna School of Communication, and a fellow at the Blanquerna Media, Culture and Religion Observatory. Collaborator of the synodal project of the observatory called “The Listening Church”. He is a Catholic priest from Kerala, India. He has done the Baccalaureate in Education; in Arts and Master in English Literature. He was the global deputy director of Santhome Fellowship. He worked in India as the director of the Santhome International School (ICSE). He was the publisher of the Santhome Fellowship, a quarterly magazine for Catholic missionary associates of the Missionary Society of St. Thomas the Apostle. He is a visiting professor of literature and communication at various Catholic educational institutions in India.

He speaks English, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and is studying Spanish and Catalan. He likes books, music and travel. He is curious to explore our lands and cultures.

David Gisbert Fosch 

International Relations graduate (URL) and airplane and glider pilot, nowadays he is complementing his formation with a master’s degree in Corporate Communication and Protocol (UOC) and also with a postgraduate degree in Corporate and Religious Communication in the Digital Era (URL). Almost all his professional activity has been related with the aviation sector, where he has developed different types of positions in different airlines and handling companies. Since March 2022, he is collaborating with the Observatory as a researcher.

He speaks Catalan, Spanish, English, French and Italian.

Dra. Gemma Morató i Sendra (Reus, 1972)

Ph.D. in Humanities, journalist, master in Moral Theology and expert in Theology of Religious Life, and Teacher of Special Education.

Professor at the Blanquerna Faculty of Communication and International Relations at Ramon Llull University since January 1999, she currently teaches “Communication, Culture and Spirituality”, and is a professor at the Don Bosco Higher Institute of Religious Sciences under the Univ. Salesian Pontiff of Rome since 1998, where she teaches “Fundamental Morality”, “Personal Morality”, “Pedagogy” and “Pastoral of the MCS”. She also teaches at Domuni Universitas – International Dominican University, an online university of the Order of Dominicans, and at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences of Lleida. She directs the Maria, Reina de la Pau Project (association nursery / meeting center / university residence) in Barcelona. She is a webmaster of his congregation present in 37 countries around the world. Article writer on various religious blogs.

 

Former Members.

 

Dr. Jordi Sànchez-Torrents. Deputy Director (2012-2019).
Maria D’Oultremont. Journalism Graduate.
Maria Vives Requena. International Relations Graduate.
Paula Cid Moya. International Relations Graduate.
Meritxell Cabanas. Primary Education Teacher and Journalist.

Lydia Dionís. International Relations Graduate.

Adriana Chiva. Global Communication Management Graduate.