Barcelona fosters integration and connection of newly arrived professionals in 12th International Community Day

Barcelona International Community Day will hold its 12th edition on Saturday, October 25, at the Maritime Museum, located in the former Royal Shipyards.

The event is the main welcome space for newly arrived international professionals and an important meeting point for all members of the international community living and working in Barcelona. 

However, it is open to anyone, including people interested in engaging with this diverse group of people who enrich the city. It is an initiative organised by Barcelona City Council through its Directorate for International Economic Promotion. 

The event will have a trade fair featuring companies and organisations offering products, services and initiatives targeted at international talent, as well as a programme of activities, workshops and talks of interest to the community. The venue will be open from 10 am to 7 pm, and the event is free of charge with registration on the website barcelona.cat/internationalcommunityday. 

Exhibitors' fair

The fair will feature 77 exhibitors, including 17 public entities (eight of them municipal services), 33 companies, 14 associations and non-profit organisations, and 14 educational entities, including international schools and higher education institutions. They will be arranged in stands and information points to offer participants specialised resources and services that meet the typical needs of newcomers to the city. 

The areas represented in the fair include the real-estate sector, relocation, talent management, legal and financial consultants, insurance and medical services, and others. Participants will also find public and private cultural and social organisations offering products, services and initiatives to help them enjoy the city and become an integral part of it. 

This year, to foster the international community's integration, connection and involvement in the city, the emphasis will be on spotlighting Catalan and knowledge of Catalan culture. Barcelona’s Language Normalisation Centre will participate in the event with a stand where they’ll provide information all day long about Catalan classes and the language-learning resources it offers. 

The fair will also provide resources on volunteering at the Torre Jussana stand, where participants will be able to see an interactive map of the city's different volunteer organisations divided by neighbourhoods. 

A wide range of municipal services will be there, too. The Barcelona International Welcome Desk, the service that caters to international talent, and the local development agency Barcelona Activa will welcome international visitors and share information and resources of interest for their arrival and integration into Barcelona. To ensure that visitors are aware of what the city offers and to facilitate their integration, other organisations which appeal to the general public will also be there. These include Markets of Barcelona, the Institute of Culture, Libraries of Barcelona, B:SM, the Barcelona Sports Institute, the Barcelona Education Consortium, the Guàrdia Urbana (city police) and the Barcelona Firefighters. 

In addition to the Education Consortium, the education sector will also be represented by the stands of various schools that offer international curricula or qualifications. The exhibitors will also include business schools and other educational institutions. 

Activities programme

The almost 60 activities planned for this year's edition will revolve around several main themes. 

One of the most prominent ones will be Moving to and getting involved in the city. This will include sessions with practical information on tax issues, how the Catalan healthcare system works and tips to find a school for children. But it will also encourage participants to learn Catalan, and share volunteering options in the city along with ideas on how to engage in local tourism sustainably. 

For example, Barcelona’s Language Normalisation Centre will offer two activities to encourage newcomers to learn the language, while Catalan News will organise a quiz where participants can learn the latest local news. 

Discovering Catalan cuisine will also be encouraged, with a City Council-run workshop on the esmorzar de forquilla or hearty breakfast, and another on folk traditions. The entertainment activities offered in the Maritime Museum garden include a stick dance performance and a typical passacaglia from the Terres de l’Ebre region, as well as other shows like live concerts and dances from different places around the world. 

Another important topic will be Work and business. Barcelona Activa will offer talks and workshops with resources on how to find work and set up a company, as well as a simulation of job interview training using artificial intelligence and a professional photography service for CV photographs. Likewise, a session will be held on financing for entrepreneurs and a panel discussion on opportunities for digital talent. 

Finally, the programme will offer Workshops and networking to foster personal and professional connections among the participants. Just as in previous years, there will be a play centre for children inside the premises with activities all day long. Plus, this year, an audio and video podcast will be recorded on a set installed in the Maritime Museum, where interviews will be held throughout the day. 

Host ambassadors

Just like every year, the event’s host ambassadors will take part in the programme of activities. They are six professionals from different countries who have settled in Barcelona, launched their professional projects here and are keen to share their experiences of the city with people attending the gathering.

The host ambassadors of this year's edition are the US American Christy White, a multidisciplinary artist and expert advocate on immigration issues; the British-Iranian entrepreneur Ali Parsa, the founder of different companies in the health and tech sectors; the Brazilian Fernanda Grace, the driving force behind the City Girls Barcelona project and event organiser; the Peruvian Pedro Patrón, director of communication at Roche Diagnostics Espanya and professor of Corporate Communication; the Indian Shilpa Arora, a scientist, technologist, and data products and cartography head at Giga; and the Japanese Yoshi Sislay, a self-taught contemporary artist.

Organisation and support

Barcelona City Council organises Barcelona International Community Day with significant participation by Barcelona Activa, the city's economic development agency, and the involvement of many organisations, entities and professionals who make it possible to hold and disseminate the event.

The project receives significant support from Banc Sabadell as its main sponsor, and a range of partner companies, namely: ERES Relocation Services, experts in managing workers’ international mobility; Entre Trámites, tax and legal advisers for SMEs, freelancers and foreign companies that want to set up in Barcelona; Maremagnum Shopping Center; The Old Irish Pub; and the multilingual educational resource company Milingui.

Yet another year, La Vanguardia will be our media partner, with additional support from other media partners specialising in content for Barcelona’s international community. 

2024 Edition

In 2024, 5,122 people registered for Barcelona International Community Day, 56.3% of whom were first-time attendees, while the others were repeat visitors. This major international event attracted students, entrepreneurs, research team members, business owners, artists and families. 

Regarding the provenance of visitors to the event, 72.8% were from abroad and 27.2% were from Spain. Visitors from 127 countries came, with France, the United States, Italy and the United Kingdom as the four countries with the most visitors. Nearly 45% of all attendees had been living in Barcelona for under three years.

A diverse, enriching community

The international community now accounts for more than 26.4% of Barcelona’s population. One out of every four residents is a foreigner, which fuels Barcelona’s diverse, intercultural spirit. The city is home to 182 nationalities other than Spanish, with the largest groups coming from Italy, Colombia, Pakistan, China and Peru.

These newcomers are good for the city in a number of ways:

●  Their talent, work, investments, companies, professional projects and economic and commercial activities help to generate wealth.

●  They help to boost the city’s competitiveness and productivity by coming up with new ideas, techniques and innovations.

●  They are the first point of contact for new investors, entrepreneurs or professionals in their home countries: they help them make investment decisions and attract talent to our city.

●  They serve as economic ambassadors of Barcelona in their home countries.

Welcoming and integrating them is essential and a priority for positioning Barcelona as an open, diverse and cosmopolitan city in the world. This is why Barcelona City Council’s International Economic Promotion Area has had a plan in place for some years now to attract, welcome, retain and stimulate international talent through Barcelona International Welcome. 

This is the city’s website for foreigners wishing to live and work in Barcelona, with practical information on arriving in the city and a detailed explanation of the obligatory and important procedures to be carried out. It also offers a programme of activities throughout the year to help these people develop their full potential, get to know the city and connect with other members of their own community.

The Barcelona International Welcome Desk has also been in operation since November 2021. It is a pioneering international talent welcome service in Spain that facilitates the arrival of talent with personalised information, advice and assistance with paperwork in multiple languages. Users can receive support both in person and via video conferencing.

(Catalan News is not liable to third parties for any information in this statement)