Portal do Município de Vila Nova de Famalicão - Portugal

The Urbact Cities@Heart network brings together ten European urban areas with different profiles, but a common objective: to achieve a balanced and inclusive urban center for all users. Working side by side with all stakeholders and local users, the Cities@Heart network aims to develop tools that promote happy, healthy places that develop in harmony.

 The Quadrilátero Association is one of the proud partners of this network, which brings the network made up of the cities of Barcelos, Braga, Famalicão and Guimarães into contact with other European realities, positioning itself in the international community context.

Network Partners:
Greater Metropolis of Paris | France
Krakow Metropolitan Area | Poland
Municipality of Granada | Spain
Osijek Municipality | Croatia
Quadrilátero Urbano Association | Portugal
Lamia Development Agency | Amfiktyonies | Greece
Municipality of Celje | Slovenia
Municipality of Fleurus | Belgium
Sligo Borough | Ireland
Municipality of Cesena | Italy

For more information, consult the following link: https://urbact.eu/networks/citiesheart

The In4Green, developed under URBACT IV, focuses on contributing to the fulfilment of cohesion policy objective PO2 - A greener Europe with low CO2 emissions, contributing transversally to other cohesion policy objectives, namely the objectives for a more competitive and intelligent Europe, more connected, more social and inclusive, and closer to citizens.
The approved action plan began in June 2023 and runs until the end of 2025. It includes drawing up a roadmap to identify and share knowledge and good practices for the transition to a green economy, implementing actions involving local and regional stakeholders, taking part in meetings and other transnational activities and designing an integrated local action plan.

Objectives:
The main objective of the In4Green Project is to promote the transition to a green and sustainable economy, strengthening industry and making the territory more competitive and inclusive for citizens.
The aim is to contribute to the green transition of industrial cities through a wide range of resources and the joint efforts of various stakeholders, benefiting from knowledge, skills and good practices at a European level through transnational cooperation.

Partners:
Avilés (Asturias, Spain) – Leader Partner
Dąbrowa Górnicza (Poland)
Žďár nad Sázavou (Czech Republic)
Larissa (Greece)
Navan (Republic of Ireland)
Solingen (Germany)
Sabadell (Catalonia, Spain)
Salerno (Italy)
Bijelo Polje (Montenegro)

For more information, consult the following link: urbact.eu

The GenProcure project forms part of the URBACT programme, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). For a period of two and a half years, it aims to support the nine partner cities in developing Integrated Action Plans focused on the integration of gender equality principles (and opportunities) into public procurement processes. Starting with a Baseline Study concentrating on comprehending the distinct challenges faced by the partner cities, there will be both local and transnational initiatives aimed at disseminating best practices and providing tools to change how people think about Public Procurement and Gender Equality. This ongoing work on Gender Responsive Public Procurement presents a possibility to diminish gender and social inequalities by incorporating social criteria into contracts and examining the ways public services can endorse equality.

Objectives:
- Promote gender-responsive public procurement at local and European level
- Raise awareness and empower the target audience through sharing experiences and good practices
- Transform the technical and bureaucratic perception of public procurement into a crucial tool for promoting gender equality (and opportunities)
- Encouraging strategic public procurement by including social and environmental clauses in public contracts
- Increase collaborative mechanisms between institutions in local and European ecosystems

Partners:
Zenica-Doboj Canton (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Zagreb (Croatia)
Újfehértó (Hungary)
Messina (Italy)
Satu Mare (Romania)
Alcoi (Spain)
Koszalin (Poland)
Umea (Sweden)

For more information, consult the following link: urbact.eu

The project will run over a series of 8 international events exploring themes such as building resilience post-COVID, systems thinking, anti-racism and social justice, shared governance and the solidarity or social economy.  The project builds on the experience of several municipalities that have been part of the international project "Municipalities in Transition" (MiT) since 2017. These municipalities were already committed to implementing deep and lasting changes in their territories, seeking to develop a more just and equitable society, while actively promoting transformations in policies and behaviours as a response to the effects of climate change.  

Main objectives:
Since 2017, more than 10 municipalities across Europe have already participated in the project, bringing together politicians, technicians, activists and citizens to share their experiences, learnings, challenges and opportunities for synergy through participation in a Community of Practice of the project itself. Based on this work, the MEET project is designed to create real and meaningful collaboration spaces at municipal scale between different territorial actors, where people's well-being and the natural environment are at the core of action. We aim to build the competences, skills and knowledge between and for the municipalities involved, with the focus on social justice and groups at risk of social exclusion.

Partners:
Arcueil (France)
Hernani, Basque Country (Spain)
Dąbrowa Górnicza (Poland)
Valsamoggia (Italy)

For more information, consult the following link: www.kunelab.org/meet

IURC - International, Urban and Regional Cooperation, is a European Union programme that aims to develop international cooperation between cities in the areas of sustainable urban development and innovation.
In this context, the Municipality of Famalicão participates in a cooperation project with Malaysian cities, namely Malacca, George Town and Seberang Perai, in the areas of Circular Economy and Urban Agenda.

Main results to highlight:
The project proposes to facilitate city-to-city cooperation in the field of sustainable urban development by providing knowledge sharing through a combination of online tools, study visits, participation in thematic and networking events.
Knowledge sharing between cities in the field of Circular Economy will lead to the creation and implementation of a guiding roadmap.

Partners:
Malacca (Malaysia)
George Town (Malaysia)
Seberang Perai (Malaysia)

For more information see:  www.iurc.eu/australasia

The JUSTGREEN project, cofinanced by COSME program, is based on sharing good practices and exchanging experiences through the establishment of a collaborative network between European partners, in order to debate strategies and key subjects such as the circular economy in social economy organizations, decarbonization of its activities and the short circuits of food consumption, and agroecology in the social economy.
The City of Famalicão is leading and coordinating this consortium, which brings together 4 countries and intends to support the green transition of social economy organizations.

Key results to be highlighted:
The project intends to develop strategic guidelines and recommendations for regional policies in order to encourage the green transition of the social economy and foster the development of a greener ecosystem and the integration of vulnerable groups. The JustGreen project intends to be the basis for the development of new projects and European inter-regional consortium, and therefore promote a sustainable environmental and economic transition, but also socially fair.

Partners:
Comune di Mozzo (Italy)
Gmina Świetochłowice (Poland)
Budapest-Terézváros (Hungary)
ENSIE - Rede Europeia de Integração Social (Belgium)


More information at: ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/cosme-europes-programme

The Atlantic Food Export (AFE) project is a project co-funded by INTERREG - Atlantic Area. It supports small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of the agribusiness in developing an internationalisation plan to access international markets, especially in the Atlantic Area regions.
Through a program of consultancy, training, meetings and business events, over 100 beneficiary companies investigate new markets, test their products, and acquire knowledge, partnerships and contacts that will be fundamental for a successful internationalization.
The companies, divided into clusters by markets of interest, integrate a programme that includes knowledge transfer, training and support in management practices, while participating in business missions in international markets.

Key results to be highlighted:
The main results of the Atlantic Food Export Project include training in internationalization for the participating SMEs, specialized technical support for the elaboration of strategies for internationalization, support for the elaboration of a strategic internationalization plan for each of the companies, advice on international markets, commercial representatives - retailers and wholesalers and participation in Business Meetings and Missions.

Partners:
Led by the Chambre d'Agriculture de la Dordogne in France, the partnership is made up of organisations from 5 European countries in the Atlantic Area, namely: Cork City Council in Ireland; ASINCAR - Association of Meat Industries - Asturias in Spain; the Chamber of Commerce of Seville in Spain; Northern Ireland Food & Drink Association in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom; BIC Innovation in Wales, United Kingdom; and Vila Nova de Famalicão City Council in Portugal.

More information at: atlanticfoodexport.eu

The DigiTVC project, cofinanced by INTERREG SUDOE program, has the main objective of improving the competitiveness of companies in the textile and clothing sector in the SUDOE region, by promoting the digitalization of their production processes. There are a wide range of participating agents, such as technological centres, business associations, public competitiveness organizations and companies.

Key results to be highlighted:
The project is at an early stage. By the implementation of this project it is expected to promote the digital technologies adoption by textile companies, in order to improve their competitiveness and provide them with the necessary tools to create their own digital strategy, bringing technological startup companies also. We are foreseeing the development of pilot projects in the three main textile branches (fashion, home textile and technical textiles) to validate a replicable action protocol, as well as the training of specialists in the textile digitization protocol and the accreditation of public agents through its SME support programs.

Partners:
Confederación de la Industria Textil (Spain)
Agencia para la Competitividad de la Empresa (Spain)
Asociación de Investigación de la Industria Textil (Spain)
Union des Industries Textiles du Sud (France)
Ajuntament d'Alcoi (Spain)

More information at: interreg-sudoe.eu

The CoLogistics Project - Logistics Collaboration Structure in the Euroregion is a project co-financed by INTERREG V Spain - Portugal (POCTEP). This project promotes cross-border collaboration in the area of ​​transport and logistics.
The general objective is internationalization through the promotion of logistical activity in the territory of Galicia-Norte de Portugal and the strengthening of its organizational and technological capacities, to foster internationalization and increase the foreign presence of companies in the fields of logistics and transport..

Key results to be highlighted:
The project is at an early stage. The implementation of this project is expected to contribute to the strengthening of logistical competitiveness in the Euroregion, through the creation of joint structures for logistical collaboration.

Partners:
Led by the Confederación de Empresarios de Pontevedra (CEP) in Spain, the partnership is composed of organizations from both countries: Instituto Galego de Promoción Económica (IGAPE) - Xunta de Galicia, in Spain; Dirección Xeral de Mobilidad - Consellería de Infraestructuras y Vivenda - Xunta de Galicia, in Spain; Autoridad Portuaria de Vigo - Puertos del Estado, in Spain; Associação Empresarial de Portugal (AEP), in Portugal; Administração dos Portos do Douro, Leixões and Viana do Castelo, S. A. (APDL), in Portugal; and the Vila Nova de Famalicão City Council, in Portugal.

More information at: www.cologistics-project.eu/pt/

Started in November 2018, this partnership has as main objective the promotion of cooperation between the cities of Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, and Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal, materialized in knowledge sharing, good practices and sustainable urban solutions.
There are essentially three areas of cooperation: (i) Sustainable mobility (low carbon), focused on the use of bicycles and public transport, land use and the green economy and entrepreneurship; (ii) Planning and implementation of practices for citizen involvement and participation, behavioural change and climate change mitigation and adaptation; and (iii) Local production and consumption and the circular economy.
This project is co-financed by the IUC - International Urban Cooperation, European Union-North America Programme.

Key results to be highlighted:
VNF AtiveMob, Action Plan for Active Pedestrian and Cyclable Mobility; Fort Collins implements the public participation methodology of Sofa Vision'25 - Fort Collins Camping Couch;
   
Partners:
Condado de Larimer, Colorado (USA)

More information at: www.iuc.eu  ou  www.fcgov.com

The Making Spend Matter Project is a project co-funded by URBACT, which includes seven European Cities as partners, and whose implementation began in March 2018. The main area of cooperation of the partnership network is based on working together for the adaptation and reuse of good practices to promote urban policies. The "GOOD PRACTICE" of the Making Spend Matter network, selected by the partners, lies in public procurement and public procurement mechanisms.
Several actions have been developed on procurement methodologies, the introduction of environmental criteria in procurement and supplier selection, the deepening of transparency, among others.

Key results to be highlighted:
Since public procurement plays an important role in municipal management, the transferred GOOD PRACTICE will help to understand WHERE the municipality buys, HOW it buys, WHOM it buys and what environmental and social criteria to apply in public tenders. In this way it is intended to understand how to contribute to the improvement of the local economy and how to involve citizens in this common goal.

Partners:
Led by the city of Preston in the United Kingdom, the partnership is composed of 7 partner cities: Pamplona (Spain), Kavala (Greece), Bistrita (Romania), Koszalin (Poland), Vila Nova de Famalicão (Portugal) and Schaerbeek (Belgium).

More information at: urbact.eu/makingspendmatter

The objective is the creation and development of a business network based on the digital manufacturing and prototyping centres of the Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion, which will act as a common space for technological and creative innovation, where people interested in its use (especially young people) can access a space and tools that allow them to develop a project idea of a technological and creative nature from conception and prototyping to experimentation and adaptation to market needs and its subsequent acceleration and launch.
All this under the philosophy of "do it yourself", "lean methodology" and "learning by doing" that promotes the creation of innovative business initiatives in the Euro region.

Key results to be highlighted:
Through the business network, a transfer of innovations, procedures and expertise will be achieved between the various manufacturing centres and digital prototypes of the Euro region, resulting in the emergence of synergies of joint work that will benefit the competitiveness and growth of the business fabric of the Euro region.
In addition, the acquisition by young people of a range of skills will be promoted through the use of ICT and 'production technologies' which will stimulate technological and/or creative innovation through training, experimentation and technical and business advice which will enable the creation of new business initiatives.

Partners:
Led by Concello de Ourense, Diputacion de Ourense, University of Vigo, Xunta de Galicia, Paredes de Coura City Council, University of Minho, Melgaço City Council, Famalicão City Council.

More information at: www.poctep.eu/emprende-makers-de-emakers-emprendedores