Josep Lagares holds a degree in chemical engineering from the Sarrià Institute of Chemistry (IQS) as well as a master in Business Administration from UPC and PADE from IESE. He has received numerous national and international awards, such as the Prince Felipe Award for Business Excellence and the Internationalization Award. In 2009 he published his first book "Flight Plan: the Great Adventure of the Family Business" in collaboration with other authors.
"Enthusiasm, Education, Entrepreneurship and Transformation. These are the four variables of the IMPULSA Formula: Building Enthusiasm by Educating by Being an Entrepreneur equals Transformation!
Since 2009 he has been the Vice-chairman of the Prince of Girona Foundation, whose goal is to contribute social value by providing impetus, support and encouragement to youth in the areas of social, scientific-technological, cultural-sports and business initiative. In 2010 he was appointed Chairman of the Prince of Girona Foundation IMPULSA Forum I.
Question: The Prince of Girona Foundation (FPdGi) was established in 2009 and among the principal initiatives it has developed is the IMPULSA Forum. What is it and what does it consist of?
Answer: The IMPULSA Forum is not a conventional forum. IMPULSA is a process that the Prince of Girona Foundation launched in the year 2010 to discover what educational, technological, economic, political and socials conditions are necessary for converting thousands of restless young people into creators of wealth through initiatives in all fields: scientific-technological, business and social, sports and artistic-cultural.
The IMPULSA Forum aims to bring together in a single space a selection of experiences on a global scale with the objective of identifying the best practices and, in this way, creating an attitude that fosters initiative and effort in youth in order to help young people develop their various talents to make their dreams come true.
Q: And how do you propose to do this?
A: IMPULSA aims to connect experienced professionals with restless young people. Combine the experience of the former with the energy of the latter. The IMPULSA project catalyzes the generation of “impellers” who can act as agents of change from their respective responsibilities, as well as young entrepreneurs who benefit from the inspiration and the contacts acquired during the IMPULSA process to turn their ideas into projects. IMPULSA wants to generate a dialogue with the end goal of connecting already-established talent with young talent, and transmit the final result to the entire society.
IMPULSA takes place within an innovative neural network format, in which there is interaction between speakers and attendees that facilitates contact between the two groups, so that links are established between them, contacts that may lead to new projects (ideas for the already-mature organizations; opportunities for the young people who are just starting their professional careers).
Q: What will be the main focus of IMPULSA 2011?
A: In the necessary period of reflection that began after the first IMPULSA Forum, the Prince of Girona Foundation wanted to ask its final addressees, the young people of our country, the Why and Wherefore of such an event, and the young people’s response was unanimous and precise: because now is the time to get enthusiastic; because now is the time to have a dream and create the conditions to make it come true. With such forcefulness, our young people are crying out for the opportunity to be proactive, rejecting passivity in order to help change the world; they are demanding that we give them a voice that can be heard and the tools they need to build their own future...
From all their reflections, however, four words stand out; four key words that, if combined properly, show us the path to a future full of hope: Enthusiasm, Education, Entrepreneurship and Transformation. These are the four variables of the IMPULSA Formula: Building Enthusiasm by Education by Being an Entrepreneur equals Transformation.
The young people talked to us about Enthusiasm, understood as the fuel necessary to nurture in them the desire to be an entrepreneur. Education as the roadmap necessary so that all young people, without exception, are able to develop their multiple talents. Entrepreneurship as the gear necessary to set in motion their best ideas and make their dreams come true. And Transformation as the visible result in society of the entire previous process so that it becomes, in turn, fertile ground from which enthusiasm will sprout anew. It is a very simple formula originating from the young people themselves; it’s a formula full of common sense and with an incomparable transformative potential; it’s a formula which, if properly applied in the bosom of our families, schools, companies, organizations, government centers, etc., can lead us to a state of well-being and sustainable wealth for the entire society.
Q: This year the Forum will be held on June 22 at the Girona Auditorium. Who will be attending IMPULSA?
A: Yes, the second IMPULSA Forum will take place on June 22 in Girona, in a very unconventional format, with more than 1000 young and not so young people (Juniors and Seniors) debating precisely these four core ideas, divided into thematic blocks. Accompanied by experts of global repute, the IMPULSA Forum will go far beyond simply a day designed to distill some of the best ideas and experiences worldwide regarding initiative and youth. IMPULSA will connect experienced professionals with restless young people, combining the experience and resources of the former with the energy and ideas of the latter.
Q: For those who are interested in following IMPULSA, will there be a website they can access?
A: Yes, in fact the IMPULSA Forum will be broadcast via streaming (Internet TV) on the UNIVERSIA website to more than 1200 Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese-speaking universities. It will also be broadcast via streaming on the INFONOMIA website and on IMPULSA’s own website.
In turn, all those young people under the age of 30 who wish to attend the IMPULSA Forum can still apply by filling out a simple request form that can be found on the Forum’s website.
Q: In the Closing Ceremony of the Forum, T.R.H. the Prince and Princess of Asturias and Girona will hand out the IMPULSA Awards. What are these awards?
A: The Prince of Girona Foundation IMPULSA Awards aim to give recognition to young people who embody those values that, without doubt, are the guarantors of their future: initiative, excellence, humility, openness, capacity for Creativation (CREATIvity + innoVATION), industriousness, willingness to work hard, tenacity, constancy, capacity for teamwork and solidarity, etc... values that exemplify a life model of hope and enthusiasm for tomorrow, providing a guarantee for building a secure present, and far removed from the culture of “easy money”, accommodation, passivity, pessimism, victimhood and conformity.
A total of five awards are granted: four individual awards to young people between the ages of 16 and 35, one for each of the Foundation’s fields of activity (Social, Science, Culture and Business), and one award to an organization in acknowledgment of the effort made on behalf of the development of youth and with visible results.
The spirit of the IMPULSA Awards is to give recognition to the work of ordinary young people who are doing extraordinary things and who are, in some way, a mirror and a model for their friends and peers.
