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Òmnium Cultural () is a Catalan association based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It was originally created in the 1960s to promote the
Catalan language Catalan (; autonym: , ), known in the Valencian Community and Carche as ''Valencian'' (autonym: ), is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra, and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern Sp ...
and spread Catalan culture. Over the years it has increased its involvement in broader political issues; in 2012 it committed itself to
Catalan independence The Catalan independence movement ( ca, independentisme català; Spanish: ''independentismo catalán'') is a social and political movement (with roots in Catalan nationalism) which seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain. The beginnings o ...
, specifically demanding the right of self-determination for Catalonia. Leaders of the abortive Catalan independence referendum such as Jordi Cuixart were simultaneously holding leadership positions at Òmnium. Currently Òmnium claims more than 190,000 members organised in 52 regional offices besides the headquarters in Barcelona.


History

Òmnium Cultural was created on 11 July 1961 in the context of Francoist Spain when the institutional use of Catalan was forbidden. In 1963 the Francoist authorities closed down the association. Òmnium had to continue to exist as a clandestine association between 1963–1967. In 1967, after a long legal case before the Francoist courts, the association won its right to exist and was once again authorised. In order to promote Catalan culture within the many limits of Francoism, Òmnium was the main creator and sponsor of various
award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...
s and literary contests for works published in Catalan, such as the ''Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes'' (1969). In the early 1970s it established the ''Nit de Santa Llúcia'' a festival of
Catalan literature Catalan literature is the name conventionally used to refer to literature written in the Catalan language. The focus of this article is not just the literature of Catalonia, but literature written in Catalan from anywhere, so that it includes wri ...
where three prizes are awarded: the ''Premi Sant Jordi'' ( novel), the ''Premi Mercè Rodoreda'' (
short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
) and the ''Premi Carles Riba'' (poetry). After the Francoist dictatorship ended in 1975, Òmnium continued its work promoting Catalan language and culture. Once democracy was restored, Òmnium supported and defended Catalan self-government. It was awarded the
Creu de Sant Jordi The Creu de Sant Jordi (, in English 'St George's Cross') is one of the highest civil distinctions awarded in Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, ...
by the
Catalan government The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label=Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed b ...
(Generalitat) in 1984 and named a public interest body in 2009. After the Spanish Constitutional Court's rejection of the new
Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006 ( ca, Estatut d’Autonomia de Catalunya) provides Catalonia's basic institutional regulations under the Spanish Constitution of 1978. It defines the rights and obligations of the citizens of Cataloni ...
in 2010, one million people marched in Barcelona calling for national self-determination in a
2010 Catalan autonomy protest The 2010 Catalan autonomy protest was a demonstration in central Barcelona on 10 July 2010 against limitations of the autonomy of Catalonia, and particularly against a recent decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court to annul or reinterpret ...
organised by Òmnium. In December 2015, Jordi Cuixart was elected president by a large majority. He was then re-elected in 2018. During Cuixart's arrest, the most visible member of the association was its spokesman
Marcel Mauri Marcel Mauri de los Rios (born 1977 in Badalona, Spain) is a journalist and historian who is currently the vice president and spokesman of Òmnium Cultural. Biography Mauri was born in 1977 in Badalona. As a teenager, he studied in the Escola Ju ...
. In 2022 Xavier Antich won the presidency with the 21,758 votes cast in an election where Antich was the sole candidate. Òmnium was one of the main organisations, together with
Assemblea Nacional Catalana The Assemblea Nacional Catalana ("Catalan National Assembly"; ANC by its Catalan acronym) is an organization that seeks the political independence of Catalonia from Spain. It also promotes the independence of other Catalan-speaking regions, whic ...
, supporting the
Catalan self-determination referendum A non-binding Catalan self-determination referendum, also known as the Citizen Participation Process on the Political Future of Catalonia, was held on Sunday, 9 November 2014, to gauge support on the political future of Catalonia. While also re ...
in 2017. After
Operation Anubis The Operation Anubis was a police operation in Catalonia, Spain, initiated on 20 September 2017 by the Civil Guard following orders of the trial court number 13 of Barcelona, directed by judge Juan Antonio Ramírez Sunyer. Its aim was to disma ...
, both the president of Òmnium, Jordi Cuixart, and the president of ANC,
Jordi Sànchez Jordi () is the Catalan form of the ancient Greek name Georgios. Jordi is a popular name in Catalonia and is also given in the Netherlands and in Spanish-, English- and German-speaking countries. Jordi may also refer to: * Sant Jordi – patron ...
, were sent to jail. Since then, several organizations including
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, PEN International, the World Organisation Against Torture,
Front Line Defenders Front Line Defenders, or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, is an Irish-based human rights organisation founded in Dublin, Ireland in 2001 to protect those who work non-violently to uphold the human rights ...
and the
International Association of Democratic Lawyers International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) is an international organization of left-wing and progressive jurists' associations with sections and members in 50 countries and territories. Along with facilitating contact and exchange of vi ...
have asked for their release.


Structure and funding

Òmnium Cultural is one of the biggest organizations in Catalonia, claiming more than 190,000 members. It is based in Barcelona with regional offices in 52 other municipalities. Òmnium Cultural cooperates with other organizations that share similar goals in other
Catalan-speaking territories The Catalan Countries ( ca, països catalans, , ) refers to those territories where the Catalan language is spoken. They include the Spanish regions of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, and parts of Aragon (''La Franja'') and Murcia ...
: Acció Cultural del País Valencià (in the
Valencian Country The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...
) and Obra Cultural Balear (in the
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital ...
). Between 2005 and 2012, the association received up to 13 million euros in grants from the Catalan regional government (Generalitat). from which 1.4 million were received in 2012 alone. In all, in the 2011–2016 period Òmnium could have received more than 20 million euros from the Generalitat (2.9m euros in 2011, 3.2m euros in 2012, 4.5m euros in 2013, 6.6m euros in 2014, 5.6m euros in 2015 and 4.4m euros in 2016). In 2013 the association announced that it would no longer receive funding from the Catalan government, but the organization does not publish its accounts. In 2016, different local authorities gave grants to Òmnium, basically for local cultural activities, for a value of €144,404.12, out of a total income in 2016 of €4.4 million. According to the Spanish
Civil Guard Civil Guard refers to various policing organisations: Current * Civil Guard (Spain), Spanish gendarmerie * Civil Guard (Israel), Israeli volunteer police reserve * Civil Guard (Brazil), Municipal law enforcement corporations in Brazil Historic ...
in 2018, 98% of Òmnium Cultural's budget came from private contributions and it did not receive funding from the Catalan government in relation to the 2017 independence referendum. In November 2015 Òmnium was condemned by the
Audiencia Nacional The Audiencia Nacional (; en, National Court) is a centralised court in Spain with jurisdiction over all of the Spanish territory. It is specialised in a certain scope of delinquency, having original jurisdiction over major crimes such as those ...
for the unauthorised use and deficient custody of
personal data Personal data, also known as personal information or personally identifiable information (PII), is any information related to an identifiable person. The abbreviation PII is widely accepted in the United States, but the phrase it abbreviates ha ...
, after its data had been stolen by a hacker. This led to a €200,000 sanction imposed by the Spanish agency responsible for
data protection Information privacy is the relationship between the collection and dissemination of data, technology, the public expectation of privacy, contextual information norms, and the legal and political issues surrounding them. It is also known as data p ...
.


See also

*
2010 Catalan autonomy protest The 2010 Catalan autonomy protest was a demonstration in central Barcelona on 10 July 2010 against limitations of the autonomy of Catalonia, and particularly against a recent decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court to annul or reinterpret ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Omnium Cultural Catalan advocacy organizations Catalan culture Cultural promotion organizations Organizations established in 1961 1961 establishments in Spain Catalan nationalism Catalan independence movement