Isona Passola, president of the Ateneu Barcelonès, and her board meet this Friday with all the workers of the Escola d’Escriptura. She has been in the house for 25 years using the facilities in exchange for contributing partners: the on-site students. This year they will enter 109,000 euros in this concept, far from the 250,000 that entered in 2018, when there were no online classes. The Ateneu needs money and considers that the success of the Escola, the second with the most students in the world and the first in Europe, should contribute more to the historic cultural association, which has a significant economic deficit.
How would you define the situation of the Ateneu Barcelonès?
When we arrived a year and a half ago this was like a stranded whale that had to be pushed. It was half dead and with a structural deficit. A meeting was created to save the Ateneu. In four years we have to transform the entity: not only because of its economic deficit, but also because of its cultural one. The first year we balanced the deficit and this second year it is complicated because electricity alone will cost 120,000 euros, due to the rise in energy. Was not planned. The other thing that has sunk us is that the Escola d’ Escriptura has become virtual. We have lost 130,000 euros with it.
And his idea of asking the online students of the Escola d’Escriptura to pay an additional 18 euros per month -half the fee- to solve the problem has ignited the spirits of this educational project linked to the Ateneu for 25 years.
It was an idea of the board, which is made up of very valid people, such as the former president of the Fundació Miro, Rosa Malet, Lluïsa Julià is cultural vice president; Ricard Faura, who is responsible for the Digital Inclusion and Training Service of the Generalitat… Decisions are made by consensus. I do not understand that I am accused of presidential, everything is agreed. That quick decisions are made does not mean that they are not well thought out. When the manager decides to do without the librarian, she consults him, but she has every right to restructure the entity to meet our objectives: maintain the cultural level at the top, fix the cracks in the building, put it in the 21st century, that is, digitize it. And rejuvenate it.
Wasn’t it already digitized? What was missing?
The auditorium was missing, which did not have adequate audiovisual material and the entire internal work structure.
[Ariadna Robert, gerente del Ateneu y presente en la conversación junto a algunos miembros de la junta, precisa: “Estamos desarrollando un CRM porque había un sistema que no funcionaba. Estamos implementando poder participar telemáticamente desde casa en conferencias o mesas redondas y queremos implementar el voto telemático. Los estatutos no lo contemplan y habrá que cambiarlos”].
How will they solve the deficit?
The school’s student fees have gone from representing 11% of the budget in 2018 to 5% now. We think that making virtual students pay 18 euros per month, something very small, would be a good measure because, in addition to being the Ateneu a non-profit entity, they could deduct 60% of the fee from the Treasury. It is explained to them that it is equivalent to paying for the brand image of the Ateneu. We have gone with open arms, we have brought them courses from abroad, we are trying to make the teaching they teach official. They occupy 400 square meters, 10% of the building, and do not pay for space or electricity. Seeing his opposition to the measure, we decided to stop him to study it. We do not understand why they went to the press, nor their aggressiveness.
They say something else. It is clear that there is no good communication between you.
But yes, when they decided to create the Company Committee we wanted to go to the first meeting to welcome them and the directors did not let us enter because, if not, the assembly could not be held. We are stoned. For us, the Committee will allow us to open the framework for dialogue, instead of doing it only with the directors, and attend to the salary claims that correspond to us. The School has 53 workers. How can they think that we are interested in closing it? If it dragged us all…
Àlex Cosials, the director of the Library who was also in charge of the information technology area (ICT), why was he fired and who has replaced him?
[A. Robert, gerente: En enero cuando entro en el Ateneu como gerente pongo en marcha muchos proyectos y objetivos que me la junta me ha pedido implementar como la digitalización. Tras meses de seguimiento y ver cómo iban las cosas, al ver que no avanzaban los temas, tuve que tomar una decisión. De momento hay una persona a prueba, alguien que ya estaba en la Biblioteca, Sergi Montes.]
“If you work without little chapels, letting the information circulate and people being coordinated, the workers respond.”
Assessment of these changes?
The manager’s way of working transversally and openly has been incredible. If you work without little chapels, letting the information circulate and people coordinate, the workers respond. Changes sometimes cost. But overall the staff is happy, especially the library staff. The TIC Comissió goes into overdrive with Ricard Faura, the manager and two house workers.
In short, if everything is going so well, why is there so much controversy and tweets? [El último, por cierto, de Jordi Coca, que se ha dado de baja como socio tras 40 años]
The information that has come out in the media is distorted and has hurt us. In such a difficult time when we negotiate very good things for the house, when you push the stranded whale into the sea, you will break some of its ribs, but that is normal because you want to refloat it. You have to break the minimum. Conflicts have been and are, but we must not demonize them, they must make us move forward.
Is there a will according to the Escola d’Escriptura?
It has always existed. All boards have been in conflict with the School Limited Company. I didn’t expect his reaction.
What other measures will they adopt to overcome the deficit?
We are taking measures but it is complicated. In 2021 we saved institutional aid and received sponsorship from “La Caixa”. But the deficit is structural.
“We are about 3,000 members. With the pandemic we lost 1,000. For now we have stopped the downward trend”
And what is it due to? Are the fees too cheap? Few partners?
We are about 3,000. With the pandemic we lost 1,000 members. For now we have stopped the downward trend. Young people have signed up but pay the minimum fee. We try to have more people. We now have a working restaurant that has been opened to the public, by reservation.
Will they apply a fee to virtual students at the end or not?
We will see. We have an obligation to change things for this house to move forward. We have to clean up the economy and maintain activity. That is why proper management is sought. Doing things provokes reactions, but if you don’t do anything, you sink. We have calculated the risks. The Escola is the Ateneu and the Ateneu is Escola, we share responsibilities.
But until recently they have functioned as different entities.
We must interrelate more. Historically relations have been difficult. We created the Board of Directors in the SL of the School to put an end to this. More interlocutors must be found.
What do you expect from the meeting this Friday with the workers of the School?
Listen to them and let them listen to us. understand us Open a relationship that is difficult.
The Ateneu owns a company that has been managed by the School’s workers.
Related news
The members of the Board are the most financially responsible but we do not have all the data on their contracts, their courses… Traceability of the company has been repeatedly requested. We hope to see it soon because it is data that does not appear in the audits.
[A. Robert, gerente: Por ejemplo, nos ha llegado que los profesores están descontentos del sueldo y arremeten contra la Junta. Pero de eso se ocupan los directores de la Escuela, no la Junta. ]