A meeting on this subject was chaired by Ms Meritxell Serret, the Government of Catalonia's Minister for Foreign Action and the European Union

This morning a meeting was held of DIPLOCAT's Advisory Council, the consortium's advisory body that is made up of 24 persons of recognised international prestige and experience in their respective domains. The event was held in Barcelona in face-to-face format, although some participants attended remotely. The meeting was chaired by the Government of Catalonia's Minister for Foreign Action and the European Union, Meritxell Serret, who was accompanied by the Secretary General of DIPLOCAT, Laura Foraster i Lloret, and the Secretary of State for Foreign Action, Miquel Royo.

The Minister welcomed those attending and thanked them for their long-standing commitment to and support for DIPLOCAT and the international projection of Catalonia. Meritxell Serret defined DIPLOCAT as an "initiative taken by Catalan civil society and a further example of its spirit of openness and desire to communicate and exchange with the rest of the world." The Minister went on to affirm that one of DIPLOCAT's key attributes was its role as a forum for bringing together the different strands of a Catalan society that was becoming increasingly diverse and multicultural. She added that the Advisory Council can contribute to this process of reinforcing links and promoting a Catalan society that is open to the rest of the world.

Miquel Royo informed the members of the Advisory Council about the final phase of the revision of the consortium's Statutes, including the change of name from DIPLOCAT to Catalonia International, the alignment with current regulations governing public consortia, and certain changes to its internal governance. For her part, Laura Foraster outlined the main features of the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, explaining that this was a continuity programme that maintained the consortium's current mission, values and operational focuses, while reinforcing the objective of making Catalonia into a reliable, committed and disciplined benchmark in the international environment.

DIPLOCAT's Press and Communications Director, Martí Estruch Axmacher, followed by introducing a project for the future in which they will be invited to take part. This will be a series of videos intended to promote the image of Catalonia vis-à-vis international audiences, and in which members of the Advisory Council will be given the opportunity to explain briefly an aspect of Catalan life, a Catalan tradition or a locality that they particularly appreciate. Mr Estruch went on to talk about the #BooksAndRoses campaign for the internationalisation of the day of Sant Jordi, in which they will also be invited to collaborate for the 2024 campaign.

Finally, various members of the Advisory Council also addressed the meeting, unanimously expressing their appreciation for the holding of the meeting and confirming their willingness to work together with the consortium and play a part in its activities. One of the issues discussed was the question of how to find the best way to publicise Catalonia on the international stage, over and above the more formal political requirements of the day.