Although the absolute protagonists of MWC 2022 should be, of course, lThe devices that see the light in the event, and surely it will soon begin to be like that, the present is the present, and without a doubt a war is an event of the first order, and that inevitably transcends in an indisputable way practically any level of society. Thus, there should be no doubt that in the coming weeks we will see how the countless tentacles of this terrible situation will show themselves and entangle in more aspects of our daily lives than we might think.
A clear example of this can be found in the international show, which in just three days will turn Barcelona into the epicenter of the technological world. And it is that, although there have been quite a few technology companies that have given up being physically present at this MWC 2022, a good part of them will carry out virtual events associated with the fair. All this aspiring to a 2023 in which the footprint of the pandemic has already been minimized enough to allow a fairly close approximation to the old normality, as opposed to this new normality in which we are still mired.
As I was saying, however, MWC 2022 is going to be one of the first international events in which the war between Russia and Ukraine is noted. After Russia’s attack on Ukrainian territory, much of the international community has condemned Russian actions and, consequently, has taken steps to take sanction measures against the country. However, perhaps due to haste or perhaps because other interests have weighed more, in this case we find ourselves with a somewhat watered-down veto.
And it is that, according to the Reuters Agency, the organization of the MWC 2022 has decided to veto the Russian paviliona space in which the concentration of exhibitors from the country was planned, and additionally has indicated that Some Russian technology companies will also see their presence banned in the classroom. However, and so far, it has not been clarified which companies (as well as other institutions) will not be able to finally attend MWC 2022.
We speak, therefore, of what it seems a partial veto, on which, in addition, the causes of expulsion have not been disclosed of the fair. Thus, we can infer that the veto will apply to official institutions, as well as to technological institutions owned by Russian administrations, but that all those private exhibitors of Russian origin who want to attend MWC 2022 will be able to do so without facing said veto.
«We are guided by international sanctions and there are some companies that are identified on the sanctions list and will be prohibited from participating.» is what John Hoffman, executive director of GSMA, the organization responsible for MWC 2022, has said about it. What happens, of course, is that this list is not publicand we have already learned of other similar cases, in which in reality such a list did not even exist, and decisions in this regard were made on the fly.
Personally, and without going into whether the veto against Russia seems good or bad to me (I reserve my opinion), it does seem to me that in this case the organization of the MWC 2022 is trying to swim and put away the clothes, by vetoing the Russian pavilion and “some exhibitors”, but allowing other companies to participate. And I understand that their situation is not easy, I would not like to see myself in their shoes, but I think that with this decision, what they will achieve is to receive criticism from both sides. Of course, in reality, and from what we can see on social networks these days, that seems to be a fairly common situation.
