Alzheimer Internacional - Fundació Pasqual Maragall

The presentation, which took place at the National Theatre de Catalunya, was attended by around 300 people including the parliaments of Narcís Serra and Santi de Torres, patrons of the Foundation; Jordi Camí, director general of the Foundation; and Diana Garrigosa, vice-president of the Foundation. The closing address was given by President Maragall.

Those present included a substantial and heterogeneous group of individuals from the body politic, with members of the government (ministers Josep Lluís Carod-Rovira, Ernest Maragall, Antoni Castells, Marina Geli, Josep Huguet, Jordi Ausàs, Carme Capdevila and Francesc Baltasar), leaders of the PSC (Miquel Iceta, Manuela de Madre and Joan Clos), the leader of the Opposition, Artur Mas, Xavier Trias, Jordi Miralles, representatives of the municipal council of Barcelona and the first and second deputy mayors, Carles Martí and Ricard Gomà. Deans, representatives of the scientific community, hospital directors, representatives of associations for relatives of the ill, businessmen, civil society (Rosa Cullell, Joan Laporta and Joan Coscubiela, among others), directors of media outlets, etc.

The objective of the Foundation is to create a research centre of excellence on neurodegenerative diseases, drawing on young researchers from around the world in the most creative periods of their lives with unconventional and risky proposals not considered hitherto to fight Alzheimer’s disease. “Institutions created outside Spain with this researcher profile have received numerous Nobel prizes”, says Jordi Camí. The highly ambitious project will put Barcelona and Catalonia at the epicentre of global research into Alzheimer’s disease.

To see this project through to its conclusion, it has been calculated that a budget of 15 million euros will be required each year for 10 years. To this end, the first donations have already been received from a fund called Alzheimer’s International.

The President explained the process behind the creation of the Foundation and the work done over the last few months: meetings, consultations, contact with and visits to Barcelona and Madrid and a trip to Las Vegas.

In his address the President referred to the magnitude and ambitiousness of the project, pointing out that “Gaudí was also told that he was mad when he proposed to build the Sagrada Família. Sometimes, it is worth being bold and promoting ideas the outcomes of which are uncertain”. His wife, Diana Garrigosa, vice-president of the Foundation, expressed her commitment to the project by stating that “Pasqual is decisive, brave, intuitive and generous and has an obsession with large projects. He wants to attempt to build a new utopia, and I will be by his side”. It has been emphasised that a project of these dimensions must necessarily be collective and secure the involvement of everyone.

After the presentation, the President and his wife met with Mayor Hereu and had dinner with President Montilla, who had not been able to attend the presentation due to prior engagements.