Event report

Background and participants The Barcelona Time Use Initiative for a Healthy Society (BTUI) is a civil society organisation that aims at placing time at the centre of the political agenda. To do so, we work with other organisations on several commitments, that have been summarised on the Barcelona Declaration on Time Policies, organise an annual week dedicated to time polices, and develop practical projects to change time organisation in different areas. The event celebrated the formal signing of the Barcelona Declaration on Time Policies by more than 75 organisations worldwide, that committed themselves to work together towards the right to time. The event was celebrated as a formal signing event and could be followed both on site in Barcelona and online. The full event can be recovered here (English): https://youtu.be/4xWx2fOxnNw The number of participants on-site was about 80 people, while online, the event has been streamed by more than 650 people. Registered participants included public servants from city councils and regional governments, researchers, members of civil society organisations and social stakeholders. Key take-aways The Declaration has received the support of more than 75 leading institutions in time policies, among them: the International Association for Research on the Use of Time, the European Economic and Social Council, cities such as Strasbourg, Milan and Montevideo, and 15 leading Catalan organizations in this field. The signatory organizations commit to work together over the next 2 years to achieve 10 key commitments. The pandemic has changed everything and also the perception of time and the importance of its organization for a more sustainable life. Time policies have become a key tool that contributes and will contribute to face the great challenges of the planet, the recovery from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, to face future work scenarios, and to the achievement and consolidation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the European pillar of social rights. Currently, the right to time is unequally distributed among the citizenry and time poverty in its different forms exists in all countries and regions, as recognized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) 2017. This unequal access in the use of time and the social organization of time directly affects people's health, equality among them, and personal and organizational productivity; especially affecting people in more precarious economic situations and women. To improve this situation, 75 of the world's leading institutions in time policies, have signed a declaration that commits them to work together to make the right to time a right of citizenship, to improve health, sustainability, and equality among all people. It is a pioneering declaration on public policy that addresses all the dimensions on which time policies have an impact, including better coordination between institutions to achieve greater concreteness and implementation of the right to time, create an urban and regional agenda on time policies, foster the connection between research centres and public policies, promote the debate on summer and winter time change, etc. The group of initial signatory institutions brings together the most active organizations currently promoting the right to time from around the world, including research centres, such as the International Association for Research on the Use of Time (IATUR), or the World Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (SRBR), cities such as Barcelona, Strasbourg, Lille, Milan, Bolzano, Bergamo, Montevideo, Lleida, Girona, or Terrassa, social and economic agents such as the Working People's Group of the European Economic and Social Committee, and civil society such as the International Alliance for Natural Time, or time banks around the world. The Declaration will remain open to new signatories in the coming months.