The Ayuntamiento de Olot is once again promoting an initiative aimed at encouraging the use of Catalan among children, following a successful first year that saw 400 participants. This week, the city has begun distributing cinema tickets to fifth-grade students, which they can use until after the Christmas holidays.
As part of the campaign titled “El catalán nos une” (Catalan unites us), the Department of Catalan Language is providing free cinema tickets to students in all primary schools in Olot. This year, the initiative will see the distribution of 400 double vouchers, amounting to a total of 800 tickets, to approximately 400 children.
Students and their families can visit Cinemas Olot and choose a film in Catalan to watch. Susanna Pagès, the Councillor for Catalan Language at the Ayuntamiento de Olot, explained the aim of the initiative: "The objective is to promote audiovisual consumption in Catalan among young people. Last year was a great success, and that’s why we are repeating it. The more demand there is, the more supply there will be, and we believe this is a good way to enhance it."
Last year, around 400 people enjoyed films in Catalan for free due to this initiative. The positive reception has led to its continuation in 2026. The initiative originated from a request made by the Council of Children in Olot two years ago, and it has since become an annual action of the Department of Catalan Language.
In addition to the campaign for children, the Ayuntamiento de Olot is also offering free cinema sessions in Catalan for students from the Consorcio de Normalización Lingüística (CNL) and the Programa de Transición al Trabajo (PTT), who are learning the Catalan language. This aims to encourage the use of Catalan and complement formal language learning in classrooms with cultural experiences through cinema. The sessions for the PTT and CNL are scheduled on specific days so that students can attend with their classes. This initiative was also implemented last year and will continue this academic year.
