The Encuentros en el Espacio Público bring together a select group of prominent people from different professional fields to debate issues of maximum relevance for Spanish society. These meetings are articulated around a speech or introductory words, the aim of which is to situate the problem to be debated and to provide a series of ideas or proposals to guide the subsequent debate among those attending the meeting.
The first meeting of Public Space, held in 2006, had as its reference point the debate on alternative European economic and social models. The result of the meeting was the publication "European Social Models" edited by the Rafael del Pino Foundation. The main speakers at that first meeting were André Sapir, J.R. Shackleton and Anthony Giddens.
On 25 June 2012, the Rafael del Pino Foundation organised a meeting on the theme: "University and scientific production: proposals for change". The main speakers at the meeting were: Juan Díez Medrano (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid), Mauro Guillén (Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania) and Daniel Peña (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid). At the Public Space meeting held on 28 January 2013, the debate focused on the analysis of the European scenario in the current context of crisis. The reference documents for the debate among the thirty or so invited experts were prepared by Juan Díez Medrano, Carlos Moreiro González and Juan de Arístegui Laborde.
Two meetings were organised in 2014: the first, focused on the topic of "The institutional regeneration of Spain". Held on 24 November 2014 under the direction of Luis Garicano, it brought together editors and contributors from the blogs Nada es gratis, Hay derecho and Politikon. The second meeting of Espacio Público focused on "youth employment. This meeting, led by Víctor Pérez Díaz, took place on 4 December 2014 and was attended by José María Arranz, Benito Arruñada, Juan Chozas, José Ignacio Conde Ruiz, Sara de la Rica, Rafael Doménech, Florentino Felgueroso, José Fernández Albertos, José García Montalvo, Carlos García Serrano, Marcel Jansen, Juan Francisco Jimeno, Vicente J. Montes Gan, Almudena Moreno, Amadeo Petitbò, Marta Rahona López, Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Xavier Thibault, Antonio Villar.
In 2015 the topic of conversation was the quality of public debate in Spainseen as a problem in itself. This meeting, led by Víctor Pérez-Díaz, took place on 30 November 2015 and was attended by Benito Arruñada, Elisa Chuliá, Álvaro Delgado-Gal, Rafael Doménech, Fernando Jiménez, Joaquin Leguina, Lucía Méndez, Vicente J. Montes, John Müller, Amadeo Petitbò, Valentí Puig and Daniel Ureña.
In 2016 the topic of conversation was the future of work. This meeting, led by Víctor Pérez-Díaz, took place on 29 November 2016. It was attended by Álvaro Rengifo, Amadeo Petitbò, Arturo Lahera, Cristóbal Torres, Enric Bas, Joaquín Pedro López, Jordi García, Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Juan Francisco, Ramón Górriz, Raymond Torres, Roberto Suárez, Rodolfo Gutiérrez, Salvador del Rey, Santiago Soler, Stefano Visintin and Vicente J. Montes.
In 2017 the topic of conversation was political disaffection. This meeting, led by Víctor Pérez-Díaz, took place on 21 November 2017. It was attended by Carlos Carnero, Elisa de la Nuez, Álvaro Delgado-Gal, Joan Font Fábregas, Fernando Jiménez Sánchez, Félix Ovejero, Pablo Simón, José Varela Ortega, Javier Zarzalejos, Víctor Pérez-Díaz, Amadeo Petitbó and Vicente J. Montes.
Two meetings of this forum were held in 2018: in the first one, the topic discussed was eompromise and polarisation in European politics. This meeting, led by Víctor Pérez Díaz, took place on 21 November 2018. It was attended by Benito Arruñada, Carlos Carnero, Elisa Chuliá, Jorge del Palacio, Mira Milosevich, Florentino Portero, José Ignacio Torreblanca, José Varela Ortega, Amadeo Petitbò and Vicente J. Montes. The second meeting dealt with Justice as a key institution in the Rule of Law. Participants included Francisco Longo, Jesús Villegas, Manuel Villoria, Manuel Giménez Rasero, Ignacio Gomá Lanzón, Elisa de la Nuez and Vicente J. Montes.
In 2019, Víctor Pérez Díaz directed the meeting on "The role of public administration in the 21st century". which took place on 26 November 2019 and was attended by Elisa de la Nuez, Álvaro Delgado-Gal, Rafael Doménech, José Luis Escrivá, Fernando Jiménez, Joaquín P. López Novo, Araceli Mangas, Juan Mulet, Florentino Portero, Jesús Remón, Álvaro Rengifo, Juan Carlos Rodríguez, José Sancho, Amadeo Petitbò and Vicente J. Montes.
In addition, other meetings were held in 2019: in the first one, the topic analysed was "a new social contract in a new economy". This meeting took place on 11 June 2019 and was attended by Alfonso Arellano, Luis Miguel Díez, Rafael Doménech, Lucía Gorjón, Juan Gradolph, Antonio Maudes, Inés Pérez Durántez, Leandro Prados de la Escosura, Marta Rey, Raül Santaeulalia-Llopis, Mateo Silos, Pablo Simón and Vicente J. Montes Gan. The second meeting took place on 12 November 2019 and dealt with "equity". It was attended by César Molinas, Lucía Gorjón, Juan Francisco Jimeno, Jorge Onrubia, Gustavo Marrero, Antón Costas, Patricia Gabaldón, Elisa de la Nuez, Ignacio Gomá and Vicente J. Montes. The third meeting analysed "The role of the business association movement in Spain in the new economic and social scenario". This meeting took place on 25 November and was attended by Antonio Alfonso Avello, Guillermo Moya, Bernardo Navazo, Manuel Torres, Manuel Giménez Rasero, Carmen Palomino, Andrés Gómez de Funes, Isaac Martín Barbero, Luis González, Pablo González, Virgilio Oñate and Vicente J. Montes.
In 2020, Víctor Pérez Díaz directed the meeting on "The culture of freedom and social cohesion in the face of the challenge of the coronavirus, and what we can learn from the ongoing experience". which took place on 30 November 2020 and was attended by Benito Arruñada, José María Castellá, Elisa Chulià, Rafael Doménech, Iván Moreno, José Sancho, José Varela, Jorge Vilches, Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Amadeo Petitbò and the director of the Foundation.
In addition, in 2020, another meeting was held on "Spanish competitiveness" with the participation of Elisa de la Nuez, Manuel Balmaseda, Mauro Gillén, Alfredo Bonet, Juan Enrique Gradolph and the director of the Foundation.
In 2021, Víctor Pérez Díaz led the meeting on "What we can learn from the public discussion on the pandemic in almost two years" which took place on 30 November 2021 and was attended by Benito Arruñada, Elisa Chuliá, Elisa de la Nuez, Álvaro Delgado-Gal, Ana Marta Guillén, Fernando Jiménez, Fernando Savater, Rafael Toledo, Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Víctor Pérez Díaz and the director of the Foundation. In addition, in 2021 a series of meetings took place under the title "Let's talk about institutions" coordinated by Professor Andrés Betancor which, with the aim of contributing through dialogue to the strengthening of our rule of law, were attended by Sebastián Albella, Maribel Álvarez Velez, Juan Álvarez-Sala Walther, Manuel Aragón, Iñaki Astarloa, Manuel Conthe, Alfonso Cuenca Miranda, Francesc de Carreras, Federico de Montalvo, Silvia del Saz, Eva Descalzos, Silvia del Saz, Eva Descalzos, Maribel Álvarez, Juan Álvarez-Gal, Manuel Conthe, Alfonso Cuenca Miranda, Francesc de Carreras, Federico de Montalvo, Silvia del Saz, Eva Descalzos and Manuel Conthe, Silvia del Saz, Eva Desdentado, German Fernández Ferreres, Eloy García, Javier García de Enterría, Pablo GarcíaManzano Jiménez de Andrade, Fernando Irurzun, Antonio Jiménez Blanco, Juanjo Lavilla, Ana Genma López Martín, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, Juan Mestre, Juan Mora-Sanguinetti, Jesús Moreno Vivas, Francisco Pérez de los Cobos, Jorge Rodríguez Zapata, Santiago Soldevilla, Juanjo Solozabal, Manuel Tuero, José Varela Ortega, Carlos Vidal, AmadePetitbò and the Director of the Foundation.
In the year 2022 -2024 a series of meetings took place under the title "Let's talk about institutions" coordinated by Professor Andrés Betancor which, with the aim of contributing through dialogue to the strengthening of our rule of law, were attended by Sebastián Albella, Maribel Álvarez Velez, Juan Álvarez-Sala Walther, Manuel Aragón, Iñaki Astarloa, Matilda Carlón, Manuel Conthe, Maribel Álvarez Velez, Juan Álvarez-Sala Walther, Manuel Aragón, Iñaki Astarloa, Matilde Carlón, Manuel Conthe, Alfonso Cuenca Miranda, Francesc de Carreras, María José de la Fuente, Federico de Montalvo, Irene Delgado, Silvia del Saz, Eva Desdentado, German Fernández Ferreres, Eloy García, Javier García de Enterría, Pablo García-Manzano Jiménez de Andrade, Fernando Irurzun, Antonio Jiménez Blanco, Juanjo Lavilla, Ana Genma López Martín, Consuelo Madrigal, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, Juan Mestre, Juan Mora-Sanguinetti, Jesús Moreno Vivas, Francisco Pérez de los Cobos, Encarna Roca, Jorge Rodríguez Zapata, Ángel Rojo, Santiago Soldevilla, Juanjo Solozabal, Manuel Tuero, José Varela Ortega, Carlos Vidal, Amadeo Petitbò and the director of the Coverción Vicente J. Montes Gan.
- The law. Ignacio Astarloa Huarte-Mendicoa.
- The crown. Manuel Aragón Reyes.
- Europe. Íñigo Méndez de Vigo.
- The democratic principle in the Spanish Constitution. Francesc de Carreras, Professor of Constitutional Law.
- Independent judge and judicial independence. Jorge Rodríguez Zapata, Former Supreme and Constitutional Court judge.
- The institutional crisis in historical terms. Antonio Jiménez-Blanco, Professor of Administrative Law.
- Autonomous state. Juan José Solozábal, Professor of Administrative Law.
- Rule of law: judicial control of the administration. Germán Fernández Farreres, Professor of Administrative Law.
- Castilian and the other languages of Spain in the Constitution. Santiago Muñoz Machado, Professor of Administrative Law. Director of the Spanish Royal Academy.
- Economic demand for security. Benito Arruñada, Pompeu Fabra University. BSE, FEDEA.
- The independent regulator of markets. Sebastián Abella Amigo, Former Chairman of the CNMV.
- Competition advocacy. An economist's view. Amadeo Petitbò, Former President of the Tribunal de Defensa de la Competencia.
- The social function of property. Encarnación Roca Trías, Former Vice-President of the Constitutional Court.
- Legislative power and social dialogue. Francisco Pérez de los Cobos, Former President of the Constitutional Court.
- Corporations and public interests. Javier García de Enterría, Professor of Commercial Law.
- Legal pluralism. Santiago Soldevilla Fragoso, Administrative Judge.
- Functioning of justice and institutions. Juan S. Mora-Sanguinetti, Senior Economist and Researcher at the Banco de España.
- Bad laws. Ángel Rojo, Professor of Commercial Law.
- The audit of public economic and financial activity as a constitutional safeguard. María José de la Fuente, Former President of the Court of Auditors.
- On institutions. Andrés Betancor, Professor of Administrative Law.
- About the prosecution. Consuelo Madrigal.
- Can Artificial Intelligence be a threat to the institutions of the democratic rule of law?. Leonardo Cervera.
- Parliament and the law: the discretion of parliamentary bodies and their subjection to the law. Alfonso Cuenca.
- On the electoral regime. Carlos Vidal.
- Is democracy under threat? Manuel Aragón.
Together with the Hay Derecho Foundation, on 20 February 2024, an Encounter in the Public Space will take place with the aim of reflecting on recent events that have led to a real institutional crisis, in general, and of the judiciary, in particular.
