Òmnium Cultural
 | |
| Type | Cultural institution |
|---|---|
| Founded | July 11, 1961 |
| Founder(s) |
Lluís Carulla, Joan Baptista Cendrós, Fèlix Millet, Joan Vallvé, Pau Riera |
| Headquarters |
|
| Coordinates | 41°23′30″N 2°10′09″E / 41.39167°N 2.16917°ECoordinates: 41°23′30″N 2°10′09″E / 41.39167°N 2.16917°E |
| Area served | Catalonia |
| Members | 31 000 |
| Motto |
Llengua, cultura, país ("Language, culture, country") |
| Website | omnium.cat |
Òmnium Cultural (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈɔmnium kuɫtuˈɾaɫ]) is a cultural and political association based in Barcelona (Catalonia). It was originally created to promote the Catalan language and spread Catalan culture. Over the years it has increased its political nature and as of 2012 has evolved to Catalan separatist positions[1]
History
Òmnium Cultural was created on 11 July 1961 in the context of Francoist Spain when the institutional use of Catalan was forbidden. In 1963 the Francoist authorities closed down the association. Òmnium had to continue to exist as a clandestine association in the 1963-1967 period. In 1967, after a long legal case before the Francoist courts, the association won its right to exist and was once again authorized.
In order to promote the Catalan culture within the many limits of Francoism, Òmnium was the main sponsor of creating various awards and literary contests for works published in Catalan, such as the Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes (1969). Then by the early 1970s it established the`Nit de Santa Llúcia a festival of Catalan literature when three different awards are granted, Premi Sant Jordi (novel), Premi Mercè Rodoreda (short story) and the Premi Carles Riba (poetry).
After the end of the Francoist dictatorship in 1975, Òmnium continued its work. Once democracy was restored, Òmnium started moving towards more openly Catalanist, sponsoring campaigns such as lobbying the government to have all the products sold in Catalonia labelled in Catalan.
Structure and Funding
The association is headed by Muriel Casals i Couturier. It claims to have some 20,000 members and 26 regional offices besides the headquarters in Barcelona.
Its main source of funding is the public money granted by the Catalan regional government or Generalitat de Catalunya. During the 2011-2012 period, Omnium was granted 1.5 million euro by the Generalitat; eventually, due to the bad shape of the public finances, the final amount given to Omnium was about 1million euro.[2]
Òmnium Cultural works with other organizations that share similar goals in other Catalan-speaking territories: Acció Cultural del País Valencià (in the Valencian Community) and Obra Cultural Balear (in the Balearic Islands).
It was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi by the Generalitat de Catalunya.