Make Connections at Barcelona International Community Day 2021

A key focal point for the city’s international talent, the 7th edition of Barcelona International Community Day lands on Saturday 23rd October. This year’s event will have a hybrid nature, with a full in-person program at Barcelona Maritime Museum running in addition to an online program. 

Following the cancellation of last year’s event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event promises to be extra exciting. Inspiration will come in the form of activities, workshops, debates, leisure events and conferences – including a trade fair in which businesses, organizations and associations will provide services, products and initiatives for the international community.

From business gurus to ambitious newbies, Barcelona International Community Day 2021 is the perfect place to make connections, share experiences, launch new ideas and spark collaborations.

Back to (net)work!

If there’s a city with bounce-back-ability, it’s Barcelona! After a long and difficult period following the global pandemic, this wonderful, vibrant, cosmopolitan city is well on the way to recovery, with a city full of locals, long-term ex-pats and excited newcomers looking to bring new energy and create opportunities.

Enter Barcelona International Community Day 2021! The event will take place across four rooms, one of which will include a live stream for online viewers. A diverse program touches on topics such as:

• how to attract and attain science talent to lead the future, 
• how to create your own company, 
• how the Barcelona healthcare and financial service systems work,
• what the post-pandemic job landscape in Barcelona looks like.

Fittingly, in line with city-wide public health measures, there will be an on-site mobile COVID-19 vaccination point, to provide information and access to vaccinations.

Bringing a little levity to the event, there will be live music from Dry Town and the Homeless Blues Band, as well as a mindfulness workshop on managing and relieving stress, a Barcelona quiz and children’s activities.

Finally, this year’s edition will also offer more options for online viewers: you’ll be able to watch the entire schedule of one of the activity rooms via a live stream on the event’s website, plus, there will be one daily activity held online leading up to the fair.

This Year’s Ambassador Hosts

Each year, Barcelona International Community Day puts together a team of inspirational Ambassador Hosts. This year’s super six all came from different places around the world to make Barcelona their own.

Othmane Mouhssine

Partner and Spain ambassador at Digi-Sports Group, Othmane was born and raised in Morocco before enrolling at a university in France. He moved to Barcelona 4 years ago with his family and studied a Master’s degree in sports management and legal skills, before kicking off a project for football club RCD Espanyol involving promotional and developmental programs in North Africa and Canada.

Jessika Klingspor

Founder and CEO of Nordics in Barcelona, Jessika Klingspor moved to the city in 2001. Since then, her career as an entrepreneur has touched upon business travel and creative events, bringing Nordic innovation to Barcelona’s ecosystem and tech hub. She has also collaborated with Barcelona City Council for the project Barcelona & The Nordics. A licensed ICC coach, Jessika is the vice president of The Hispano-Swedish Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona.

Sam Zucker

Boston-born entrepreneur Sam Zucker first came to Barcelona on a trans-atlantic cruise ship from Miami in 2013. A New York trained chef by trade, he was hired to teach the tourists on the boat how to cook. After falling in love with the city, he made it his home and has since found his feet shooting and directing video projects for clients in the hospitality, travel and lifestyle sectors. He has also worked as a social media manager, tour guide, travel writer, restaurant critic and brand ambassador. 

Oxana Lapuzina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uFGLBKPoGQ

Employee experience specialist at leading ed-tech company Preply, Oxana Lapuzina moved to Barcelona back in 2016. After meeting her husband, a native Catalan, she decided to move to the city from her native Russia and hasn’t looked back. Soon after arriving in the city, she decided to move away from finance and into the Human Resources field. Since then, Oxana has been working to foster and enhance talent acquisition and employee development.

Lia Wei

Sommelier Lia Wei was first introduced to the world of wine by a Navarrese winemaker after a chance meeting in Chengdu, China in 2015. It turned into a vintage year for her, as she moved to Chile, passed her sommelier exam and soon worked for some of the country’s most prestigious wineries. Three years later she moved to Barcelona to study for a master’s and doctorate degree at the UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). She is currently focused on highlighting Priorat and Ribeira Sacra wine-growing regions and is an active member of the Association of Chinese Female Entrepreneurs in Spain.

Gabriele Palma

General Manager of CASA SEAT, Gabriele Palma has more than 25 years of experience working in the fields of marketing and management and has also worked in advertising, communication, consulting and education. Italian born Gabriele spent four years working in Germany, before moving with his family to Barcelona in 2012 to drive operations at SEAT. His work at SEAT has seen the company connect with the city through a range of cultural activities. 

Partners & Collaborators 

Banco Sabadell will return as premium sponsor for this year’s event, where they will be joined by other key collaborators including Clínica Corachan, Eres Relocation, MAPFRE and Page Personnel. La Vanguardia, one of the key daily newspapers in the region, is once again the event’s key media partner, alongside Barcelona Metropolitan, Barcelona in English and Catalan News.

So, make your way over to the Barcelona Maritime Museum in Drassanes on Saturday 23rd October, and don’t forget, online activities also take place from 18–22 October!
To attend this free event, make sure to register now.