On 19 November the Smart City Expo Barcelona was celebrated: Seminar “Brussels, key city for Smart City opportunities”

Last 19 November the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg participated in the seminar organized by Brussels Invest Export in the event Smart City Expo in Barcelona. During the seminar, the opportunities offered by the Brussels Capital region were presented to Spanish businesses within the framework of the project Smart City, that the Belgian city intends to develop shortly.

Ariane Leonard, Commercial Counselor of the Brussels Region in Spain opened the seminar to inform participants on the advantages Brussels offers for the establishment of foreign companies and investment. Carole Van der Borght, head manager of Smart Cities in the region of Brussels, presented in detail the action plans of development of Brussels within the framework of the Smart City project, promoted by the “Centre d’Informatique” for the Brussels Region the next few years.

David Simon, associate director for Bell Pottinger, continued the seminar by offering the attendees a global vision regarding the opportunities offered by the European institutions in Brussels and the access to credit lines. Subsequently, Bert Dehandschutter, Racine Avocats lawyer, explained the legal aspects of representation in Brussels. Finally, Stefaan Lenaerts, representative of Brussels Invest Export and María Catalán, Secretary General of the Official Spanish Chamber, presented respectively the Welcome Package, a free service establishment in Brussels for three months for foreign companies, and complementary services offered to Spanish companies for their activities in the Belgian capital.

The seminar counted on the participation of numerous local companies, as well as representatives of Spanish and Belgian public entities.

Institutional meeting with the city hall of Palma del Condado (Huelva)

On Thursday 22 October, Juan Rodriguez-Villa, President of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg and its Secretary General, María Catalán, received the delegation of the City of Palma del Condado (Huelva) formed by the Mayor, Manuel Garcia Felix, Rocío Moreno (Councilor for Local Development and European Projects), Bella Verano Domínguez (Deputy Mayor of Lepe) and Concepción del Valle Álvarez (Councilor for Local Development of Lepe) in Brussels. The meeting took place in the context of the presentation of the SUDOE Programme in Brussels (http://www.interreg-sudoe.eu/inicio).

During the meeting, many different lines of collaboration were suggested and the signing of a cooperation agreement between the city hall of Palma del Condado and the Chamber of Commerce was proposed, in order to promote trade actions between local companies in Belgium and Luxembourg and joint participation in European projects.

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World Tapas day celebration in Brussels

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Last 22nd of October the Spanish Tourism Institute (Turespaña) celebrated the National Tapa Day in collaboration with Saborea España. The event took place all over the world with a program of 127 activities in 17 countries, thanks to the Spanish Tourism Offices Network in Belgium, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, U.S, Argentina, Mexico and Japan.

Brussels was the headquarter of the two main activities. During the morning, a press conference took place with Pedro Larumbe (President of Saborea España), Ana Redondo (Culture and Tourism of Counsilor of Valladolid), Rafael Chamorro (Marketing Vice principal of Turespaña) and professor Frédéric Duhart from the Basque Culinary Center.

During the press conference the World Tapas Day project and the activities that took place throughout the entire day were presented, as well as the study “The tapa: the experience behind a bite of Food”, produced by the Basque Culinary Center and sponsored by the DOCa Rioja.

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In the afternoon, an event was organized at the Hôtel de la Poste. Over 150 people from the tourism, media and communications sector and the European institutions attended. They had the chance to discover the Spanish gastronomy through its wines and tapas of the six different Saborea España destinies that were exposed: Cambrils, Denia, Lanzarote, Segovia, Valladolid and Zaragoza.

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Eight brilliant chefs participated in the event that was organized thanks to the collaboration of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg and many other Spanish companies related to the world of gastronomy:

  • Rubén Campos Albiol (Club Náutico de Cambrils).
  • Fernando González Garcia (restaurante El Raset)
  • Bati Bordes Seva (restaurantes El Marino y El Marino Rotas)
  • Luis León Romero (restaurante Grill El Toro)
  • Jesús Orlando Ortega de León (restaurante El Lilium)
  • Oscar Hernando (restaurante Casa Silvano ”Maracaibo”)
  • José Ignacio Castrodeza (restaurante Villa Paramesa)
  • Carlos Hernández (restaurante El Candelas)

Meeting of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce with ESNE students

On 20 October, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg received a group of students from the School of Design, Innovation and Technology (www.esne.es). The visit was part of an institutional agenda which students developed on 19 and 20 October in Brussels.

The Secretary General, María Catalán, presented the particularities of the Belgian and Luxembourgian markets and the support offered to young entrepreneurs in both countries. She reported on the Employment Program which is managed right now by the Official Chamber of Commerce. Furthermore, the Secretary General discussed about job opportunities presented to young Spaniards abroad.

The entrepreneurs in the creative industries sector had the opportunity to talk with the Secretary General. They could address all types of issues relating to the Belgian / Luxembourg market.

Among the attendees fashion designer Paloma Suarez was present, currently awarded with the “Golden Thimble” in 2015, who participated in the Samsung EGO.

Rosa Juanco Art Exhibition

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg invites you to the exhibition opening of Rosa Juanco –Runaway– that will take place on 5 November at 6 PM. The gallery exhibition will be exposed from 5 November till 5 January 2016.

Where: 151 Chaussée de Wavre, 1050 Ixelles Brussels, Belgium

Further information

Celebration of the Spanish National Day at the Embassy of Spain in Luxembourg

On 12 October, the Embassy of Spain in Luxembourg celebrated the Spanish National Day. The event, which took place at the Cercle Cité in Luxembourg, was sponsored by the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg and was attended by local authorities, businessmen and Spanish representatives of the European institutions, as well as numerous members of the Chamber.

The Ambassador of Spain in Luxembourg, H.E. Carlos Maria de Lojendio and Pardo Manuel de Villena, thanked the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Juan Rodríguez-Villa, for his presence and thanked the Chamber for its collaboration in organizing the event in his speech.

Diabolix Business Club Euro 2016

It’s official, Verhulst Events & Partners offers you the opportunity to invite their business partners and professional contacts to encourage the Red Devils in the match to be held on November 17 against the Spanish National Team. Thanks to Diabolix Business Club you can enjoy the exclusivity of the game in great detail thanks to their VIPs tickets in which a delicious snack and dinner is included.

More information

“The EU funds for SMEs”

Jorge Cisneros, Member of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, presents his book “The EU funds for SMEs “.

This is a guide to understand the European Union and its funds for companies, as well as to provide access to application submission and participation in the European Development Funds and External Aid.

Prepared by an expert in the field, it is a practical tool to dispel doubts of a company concerning the European Union as a facet of aid to SMEs and to understand the objectives set and to improve economic competitiveness.

It provides an overview of the main aid programs for companies, essential knowledge for all professionals who would like to get into this unknown world.

More information

Conference support cultural entrepreneurship of young Spaniards abroad – CULTUP

The Minister of Employment and Social Security, Vicente Perez Menayo, and the Minister of Culture, Joaquín Durán Garach, chaired the event, along with the Director of the Latin American Foundation for the Cultural and Creative Industries (Fibicc) Santiago Arroyo. They coordinated the presentations and interventions concerning the issue of entrepreneurship and cultural management.

8The General Secretary of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, María Catalán, participated in the panel discussion on funding and supporting cultural entrepreneurship in Belgium. At the debate we talked about the services provided through the BeLux Youth program managed by the Chamber of Commerce and supported by the Ministry of Employment and Social Security. More than 150 young people in Belgium have already benefited from the free services of this project.

During the second day of the event, organizations such as Guichet des Arts or Arteconomy spoke about the importance of funding for cultural projects and the role of cultural management companies as mediator between the business sector and the ICC. During the talks, issues such as authorship of the creators, the instrumentalization of art or the legal issues surrounding the world of cultural enterprise were also discussed.

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The day ended with the presentation of some projects promoted by young people in the cultural sector in Belgium. Cultural entrepreneurship projects like the magazine Acentos or Art Viewer were some of the initiatives presented.

The event was held under the framework of the Youth program strategy of the Directorate General of Immigration, Ministry of Employment and Social Security of the Government of Spain, promoted by the Ibero-American Foundation for Cultural and Creative Industries (FIBICC).

The President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet, held in Paris his first official ceremony abroad

bonet3The conference, entitled “The internationalization of the Spanish company: Freixenet, Fira de Barcelona and Spanish Chamber”, was the first official ceremony as President of the Chamber of Commerce, in one of the Spanish chambers of commerce abroad since he became president on November 19, 2014.
The Lunch Conference, attended by the Ambassador of Spain in France, Don Ramón de Miguel, as well as representatives of the Spanish Chambers of Commerce in Benelux, Hong Kong and the president of FEDECOM (Federación de Cámaras de Comercio Españolas en el extranjero), had a large influx of attendees, most business representatives foster international relations, in particular between Spain and France.Bonet, in his speech, made a great emphasis on the current recovery Spain, the importance of international relations and export as well as the leading role in Europe. Specifically, he closed  with a summary: Talent, Labour and Determination and in one word; “optimism”.

“I think we can be optimistic about the possibility that Spain took again another quantitative and qualitative leap, to the surprise of many over the past 50 years. With this perspective we will work in the Spanish cameral system that has always been at the service of the country. ”

bonet2The new President of the Spanish Chamber, who represents 88 Chambers of Commerce in Spain and 38 Spanish Chambers abroad, summarized in three main objectives, points to be addressed by the Chamber; “1- The representation, promotion and protection of the general interests of commerce; the industry, the services and the navigation, in other words the general interests of the company, 2- The internationalization of companies and 3- the competitiveness of companies.”

Joseph Michel Garcia, President of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in France, opened the event with a speech in which he emphasized the strength of the Chambers abroad as interlocutors of the exporting companies and invited to strengthen ties between the Spanish chambers of commerce abroad and in particular to reinforce relations between the Spanish chambers of commerce abroad.

 

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