Several lecturers and researchers of the University of Barcelona take part in this year’s edition of Vila Pensa, a festival on the thought, created in Vilafranca del Penedès, following the model of Barcelona Pensa and whose aim is to bring philosophy closer to citizens. With the motto “Are we human?”, experts such as Montserrat Camps, Nemrod Carrasco and Gonçal Mayos, among others, will talk about the consequences of the health crisis we are living in, and which, according to the attorney Albert Cortina, “is forcing us to think about the idea of technoscientific progress and civilization we have built, as well as the purpose and meaning of our life”.

The organizers of the festival talk about the program of Vila Pensa, which cannot ignore the current situation. According to the historian and philosopher Yuval Noah Harari, this situation is accelerating history. The pandemic is changing the script of our lives and what we knew, as well as our way of living in this world. There are personal and technological changes going on, and these will bring consequences we cannot imagine, which will influence social and political relationships, as well as how we interact with others and how others perceive us. Therefore, there will be other challenges apart from scientific ones, there will be philosophical and cultural challenges, which will be commented on by the speakers in Vila Pensa.

Organized every year by the Museum of Wine Culture of Catalonia (VINSEUM), Vila Pensa counts on the support of the Faculty of Philosophy of the UB —which collaborates with the festival in the Llorens i Barba Ciutat de Vilafranca Chair—, lthe Catalan Society of Philosophy and Vilafranca del Penedès City Council. The main events in Vila Pensa will be broadcasted by Penedès Televisió and Ràdio Vilafranca, and can be followed on the website RTV Vilafranca. The VINSEUM auditorium will be the location of the festival, with restricted room capacity and following the conditions of the health authorities. Reservations to attend are required, these can be done in the website of the museum.