The 241 participants have learned which specific instruments are available for local administrations

Today was the closing of the fourth edition of the training Seminar on European funds: funding tools and opportunities for local bodies, organized by DIPLOCAT and the two municipal entities that are part of the consortium, the Catalan Association of Municipalities (ACM) and the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia (FMC), with the collaboration of the Department of Foreign Action and European Union of the Government of Catalonia, the Public Administration School of Catalonia (EAPC) and the Barcelona Provincial Council. This fourth edition, which started in September 2023, had 241 attendees who have been trained on European funds and programmes, with a special focus on Next Generation funds and the European Green Deal. The seminar was held online, with two face-to-face sessions in which the students put into practice the theoretical concepts learned during the course.

Among the participants in the closing session were Eduard Rivas, president of the FMC and mayor of Esparreguera; Mireia Huerta, Technical Manager of External and Institutional Projection of the ACM; Antoni Montseny, director of international relations of the Barcelona Provincial Council; Ismael Peña, director of the EAPC; Meritxell Serret, Minister of Foreign Action and European Union; and Laura Foraster i Lloret, secretary general of DIPLOCAT. They all emphasized the course's success of registration and attendance and congratulated themselves for the good institutional collaboration. The Barcelona Provincial Council has joined as a new collaborator in this fourth edition.

Foraster explained that DIPLOCAT has three main areas of work - connecting, projecting and training - and that the seminar is a clear example of the consortium's training role. With the seminar, workers of local administrations have been trained to improve their knowledge and increase their chances of successfully accessing European funding. The seminar was delivered by more than thirty experts, including European Commission officials, university professors, and people in charge of managing European funds at the Catalan Government, the Spanish Government and local councils, who provided a global view on the different funds and the specific available tools and mechanisms to obtain them.