History

The Federation of Internationally-Recognised Catalan Organisations (FOCIR) is the only platform of Catalan civil society groups that engage in public diplomacy. It was founded in 1995 to bring together all Catalan organisations that are full-fledged members of their respective international organisation. The federation’s first president was Fèlix Martí (1995-1999) followed by Ignasi Doñate (1999-2004) and Arcadi Oliveres (2004-2008). Mònica Sabata has been FOCIR’s president since 2008.

In its early days 24 years ago, FOCIR had 6 member organisations that adhered to its founding principles: Centre Català Prospectiva, Associació Catalana per la Defensa dels Drets Humans, Federació Catalana C.B., Federació d’Entitats Excursionistes de Catalunya, Joventuts Musicals de Catalunya and Justícia i Pau.

(Read our founding document here).

Nowadays FOCIR has almost 60 members and is one of the country’s main federations in terms of the number of people it represents as well as its activities. From the very beginning, FOCIR has contributed to facilitating resources for its member organisations so they can participate in the international sphere, helped member organisations become fully recognised members of their international federations, and has served as a meeting point for establishing ties between Catalan organisations that wish to participate in global debates from a Catalan perspective.

Civil Society in Catalonia 

Catalonia has a long history of civil society associations. The existence of various and diverse organisations that act in the cultural, linguistic, human rights, trade union, legal, business, sports, social and political spheres is a reality, as is the fact that historically speaking, these groups have contributed to preserving our culture, especially during politically tumultuous times. Many of these organisation participate in and are recognised by their corresponding international organisations for their engagement with public diplomacy and the way in which they inform the world of Catalan culture and current events.

FOCIR’s logo has changed over the years: