The management and promotion of memory sites—often linked to traumatic and contested legacies—has become an unavoidable challenge in democratic societies. At the same time, the heritage processes surrounding these places require technical expertise built over more than two decades of institutional and academic efforts, complemented by the vital contributions of civil society and memory associations.
A cornerstone of this work has been the dignification of mass graves in cemeteries across Barcelona and Catalonia. The groundbreaking intervention at Fossar de la Pedrera in 1985 set a model still referenced nationally and internationally. With the foundation of the Memorial Democràtic (2007), the passing of the Graves Act (2009), and the creation of the Memory Sites Network (2010), numerous initiatives followed—particularly in Cervera, Lleida, Tarragona, and Girona—often driven by citizen engagement and memorialist activism.
This one-day event offers a retrospective look at what has been accomplished and brings into focus the ongoing and future challenges related to preservation, public engagement, and the role of these sites in shaping democratic consciousness.
Organized by Memorial Democràtic and Cementiris de Barcelona, with the collaboration of the Amical de les Brigades Internacionals de Catalunya, the Amical d’Antics Guerrillers de Catalunya, the Catalan Association of Former Political Prisoners of the Franco Regime, Ateneu-Memòria Popular, and the European Observatory on Memories.
Program
10:00 a.m. – Institutional Welcome
Raquel Gil Eiroé, Fifth Deputy Mayor, Department of Social Rights, Economic Promotion, Work, Feminisms and Democratic Memory, Barcelona City Council
10:20 a.m. – Roundtable: Democratic Memory Sites in Catalonia: Identification, Advocacy, Intervention, Conceptualization, Design, and Dissemination
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Jordi Font Agulló, Director of Memorial Democràtic, Government of Catalonia
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Josep Lluís Franca Rabell, Councillor for Democratic Memory
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Lourdes Borrell Moreno, Delegate for Democratic Memory, Barcelona Provincial Council
Moderator and Presenter: Oriol López Badell, EUROM Coordinator, Founder of the Association “Conèixer Història,” and historian specializing in memory sites in Barcelona
11:10 a.m. – Break
11:30 a.m. – Roundtable: Local Experiences in the Field of Memory Sites
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Jaume Muñoz i Jofre, Director of the Cultural Heritage Directorate, Barcelona Institute of Culture
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Conxita Mir i Curcó, Professor of Contemporary History, University of Lleida
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Josep Font Sentias, Head of the Network of Democratic Memory Sites, Memorial Democràtic de Catalunya
Moderator and Presenter: Josep Francesc Colomer i Besga, President of the Association for the Memory of Those Who Died for Freedom in Catalonia
12:00 p.m. – Videoconference: Memorial Spaces in European Cemeteries
Presenter and Contextualization: Núria Ricart Ulldemolins, Professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Barcelona, specializing in public art, memory, and heritage
12:30 p.m. – Roundtable: Challenges in Managing and Disseminating Memorial Spaces in Cemeteries
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Tarragona Cemetery Common Grave: Montserrat Giné i Giné, President of the Association of Victims of Francoist Repression in Tarragona (AVRFT)
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La Barranca Memorial, Lardero, La Rioja: Jesús Vicente Aguirre
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Cemeteries of Barcelona: Miquel Trepat Celis, General Director of CBSA, President of the Spanish Association of Municipal Funeral Services and Cemeteries (AFCM), and Vice-President of the Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe (ASCE)
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Management of Mass Graves: Francesc Xavier Menéndez i Pablo, General Director of Democratic Memory, Department of Justice and Democratic Quality, Government of Catalonia
Moderator and Presenter: Carles Vallejo Calderón, President of the Catalan Association of Former Political Prisoners of the Franco Regime
1:15 p.m. – Lunch break
2:30 p.m. – Lecture: Fossar de la Pedrera – Past, Present, and Future
Ricard Conesa Sánchez, Historian and Project Officer at the European Observatory on Memories (EUROM)
3:30 p.m. – Closing Remarks
Jordi Guixé i Coromines, Director of the European Observatory on Memories (EUROM), Solidarity Foundation, University of Barcelona
3:50 p.m. – Institutional Closing
Josep Lluís Franca Rabell, Councillor for Democratic Memory
4:00 p.m. – Transfer to Montjuïc Cemetery
4:30 p.m. – Guided Visit to Fossar de la Pedrera
Led by Adrià Terol and Ricard Conesa
5:30–6:00 p.m. – Transfer to Plaça Espanya and end of the event
