Culture for a critical society

To generate narratives and imaginaries that help develop a fairer world and a more diverse, pluralistic and critically engaged society, in line with contemporary challenges.

Culture, the arts and creativity are cornerstones for educating critical citizens and opening up new collective imaginaries. They contribute to shaping conscious individuals and creating new collective imaginaries that invite us to see the world from diverse perspectives. By fostering constructive criticism and envisioning a more just and sustainable future, we build a society that values diversity and creativity as drivers of change.

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How does the UOC contribute to this mission?

Research and projects

Our research focuses on the intersection between the arts, culture and technology to humanize an increasingly algorithm-mediated world and foster critical thinking.

Critical media literacy in the post-truth era: research that examines media production and consumption to foster thinking and counteract the dissemination of algorithmically generated or amplified disinformation.
New languages: exploring new forms of expression and communication in the interaction between art, culture, science and digital and analogue technologies, including the digital humanities.
Narratives and diversity: research that critically examines both current and past discourses, recovering the voices of silenced groups and narratives through the study of history and the present day with gender studies and global cultural perspectives and a focus on intersectional inequalities.
Visions for the future: exploring concrete paths towards more sustainable and equitable futures that use interdisciplinary approaches to improve our ability to envision viable alternatives for shared progress.
Creating critical societies: developing participation and co-creation projects and methodologies for and with the public to strengthen democracy with the support of digital tools.

Knowledge transfer

The aim is to help disseminate knowledge beyond the world of academia so that it fully reaches society and cultural institutions and informs public policy to encourage citizens to get actively involved.

Virtual museums and chairs: working together with cultural institutions to digitize heritage and make it accessible to everyone in order to democratize access to culture.
The UOC and civil society: taking part in public debates, conferences and festivals, such as the City and Science Biennial, to bring critical thinking to the people.
Cultural open access: disseminating cultural knowledge in unrestricted open access while fostering formal policies that support open access to science.

Entrepreneurship

Through Hubbik, the UOC promotes projects that use creativity to increase sustainability and produce a transformative social impact.

Social and creative industries: supporting start-ups that develop cultural, educational or artistic platforms that prioritize social impact over purely commercial gain.
Edutainment projects: supporting entrepreneurs who create content (such as games or interactive platforms) designed to educate users in the values of social justice, diversity and critical thinking.
Cultural economics: encouraging new entrepreneurship models that enable creators and thinkers to remain financially sustainable without losing their commitment to social criticism.