Officials from the Portuguese town of Caldas da Rainha visit Fuenlabrada to exchange experiences   

The aim of the visit currently being made by officials from the Portuguese town of Caldas da Rainha to Fuenlabrada is to exchange best practices, ideas and knowledge on how to improve small businesses in towns. The visit forms part of the European Commission’s ‘Vibrant Cities’ programme, of which both towns are members. 

Over three days, officials from both towns, along with technical experts, business organisations and neighbourhood associations, are taking part in meetings, debates, presentations, networking sessions and tours of the city to learn about local retail.  

Mayor Javier Ayala opened the event today at the Town Hall, explaining what Fuenlabrada is like and how its retail sector operates. The councillor responsible for the area, Javier Bokesa, along with municipal directors, will outline the department’s strategic priorities and lead a discussion on the open-air shopping centres in the Centro district, where the invited Portuguese partners will share similar experiences and which will be attended by organisations from Fuenlabrada’s civil society network.

The Portuguese partners will visit the Agricultural Park to learn about the initiatives Fuenlabrada is developing to connect farmers and retailers, as well as the CIFE, where they will learn about the work being done to support entrepreneurship, including training and advisory programmes for entrepreneurs and awards, amongst other initiatives. 

This year, the European Commission ranked Fuenlabrada amongst the three European cities (with populations between 50,000 and 250,000) with the most vibrant high street, as well as for the impact this has on the city’s own development.