Video: @salvadorilla / X
Education and AI take centre stage in Illa's address
Catalan President Salvador Illa has pledged to dedicate 6% of Catalonia’s GDP to education, fulfilling a target set by the 2009 Education Law (Law 12/2009, of 10 July), during a major policy address at the Maritime Museum in Barcelona on Monday evening. Speaking before over 800 attendees, including the full regional government, trade unions, business leaders, political figures, and civil society representatives, Illa announced plans to launch cross-party talks aimed at securing a national education pact. The Catalan Education Council (CEC) will play a key role in these negotiations. The move comes two years after Illa took office and amid a string of high-level resignations across departments, including Education, Interior, and Infrastructure. The government has faced criticism over ongoing teacher protests, which began with a strike at the start of the school year, and recent departures such as the deputy director of Education following poor PISA results.
New AI watchdog to protect workers
Illa also announced the creation of a new Catalan Observatory for AI and the Labour Market, designed to "safeguard workers' rights" and ensure that "no algorithmic decision operates without human oversight." The initiative will include a public registry of algorithmic systems to monitor where, how, and why artificial intelligence is deployed in the workplace. This builds on existing efforts such as the Ethics Observatory for Artificial Intelligence in Catalonia (OEIAC), which has seen its budget nearly tripled to almost €400,000 this year under the Department of Business and Labour’s Digital Policies Secretariat. The OEIAC, co-led with the University of Girona, has developed pioneering risk assessment tools like the PIO model to support ethical AI implementation.
"We want to lead in ethical and responsible AI," Illa said, stressing the need for ambition guided by democratic values.
The government will also roll out the AINA project to promote the use of the Catalan language in AI development and allocate additional resources for retraining workers at risk of displacement due to technological change. These measures are part of Catalonia’s broader AI Strategy (CATALONIA.AI), coordinated by the Department of Digital Policies and supported by cross-sectoral collaboration. The strategy prioritises sectors including health, mobility, sustainability, education, and public services, with a focus on innovation, talent development, and citizen empowerment.
Primary sources: govern.cat, Fundació i2cat, G4. Reported by ara.cat, Parlament de Catalunya, institutjoanbrudieu.cat, Generalitat de Catalunya, parlament.cat, volem6percent.cat, ca.wikipedia.org, elperiodico.cat, elmon.cat.
