In 1988, the Sicilian singer Franco Battiato released the album Fisiognomica, which included Nomadi, a wonderful song that soon became a classic. For him, nomads were those who sought an “unfathomable dimension” that could only be found “outside the city.” But for years now, (digital) nomads have been arriving in Barcelona, contradicting the singer and songwriter—he who left the city as “a foreigner” who does not feel “the bonds of sentiment”...
Perhaps it is precisely those emotional and sentimental bonds with the city that MOB (Makers of Barcelona) seeks to weave among the expat community in the Catalan capital. Led by Albert Tisaire, MOB is a family-founded company that has been offering coworking spaces since 2011—making it likely the first, or at least one of the first, to provide work solutions in Barcelona for a segment of the population that had already reached other global metropolises. According to Idescat, 28.4% of the city’s population is foreign, and this niche draws directly from that segment.
Through its three locations in Barcelona—MOB Bailèn, MOB Santa Caterina, and MOB Sants—the company aims to break the invisible glass bell that isolates digital nomads from local people and culture. With the help of a grant from the Department of Language Policy to promote Catalan in businesses, MOB has incorporated the Catalan language into all client communications and newsletters, as well as on social media. In a series of posts titled Speak like a local, which invite the community to learn typical Catalan expressions, the phrase that received the most engagement and interactions was, fittingly, “s’ha acabat el bròquil” (“the broccoli is over,” roughly meaning “that’s it” or “enough is enough”).
MOB has set out to break the invisible glass bell that isolates digital nomads from local people and culture
Although most clients are foreigners, Albert Tisaire sees no contradiction between the users’ origins and including the city’s native language: “We wanted expats to open up to the local culture, and logically that also means making Catalan visible and using it so they see it as a useful tool. Moreover, we don’t just translate content—we create content directly in Catalan”.
Across its three spaces, MOB promotes the language-learning services offered by the Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística (Consortium for Linguistic Normalization). MOB also understands that the best way not to feel foreign in a foreign land is to weave those “bonds of sentiment” that Battiato spoke of. Building relationships with the Catalan language means forging relationships with the people who speak it. That’s why they have promoted the Voluntariat per la Llengua (Language Volunteer) program, run by the Department of Language Policy, through which several language-exchange pairs now meet to converse in Catalan.
Building relationships with the Catalan language means forging relationships with the people who speak it
But everyone knows that the most effective way to meet people is through leisure and celebrations. That’s why MOB has organized events around La Castanyada, La Mercè, calçots, and Sant Jordi, among others. Another place for conversation is Bar Bailèn, next to one of the coworking spaces, open both to MOB’s international members and to locals from Barcelona. This “new old bar” aims to be an alternative to the daily brunch culture: what’s served reflects the project’s goal of blending with local culture, and the menu—naturally, also in Catalan—features sandwiches and small plates from nearby, local suppliers. Aware that they are also brand ambassadors, the bar’s staff—many of whom are Italian or Argentinian—are learning Catalan to ensure customers can be served in the region’s own official language.
MOB is therefore a clear example of how important the workplace can be as a path to integration in a society—and, at the same time, how to combine the integration and learning of the Catalan language within the professional sphere.
For the skeptics, MOB’s website will soon be available in Catalan—as, of course, it should be.