
Meet some speakers of the Barcelona International Community Day
Do you want to discover some of the interesting speakers who will participate in Barcelona International Community Day? There are entrepreneurs, lawyers, teachers, coaches, economists... Meet them and don't miss their sessions!

Experiences of international entrepreneurs who have chosen Barcelona
Barcelona is home to a whole host of international entrepreneurs who come here, as Svetlana Velikanova did, for education and innovation. She is a Ukrainian national who arrived here at the age of 24, on a Pompeu Fabra University scholarship. She had no resources for studying but this opportunity paved the way for her to develop a career in Barcelona.
This was her main inspiration for creating Harbour Space University, a university of technology, design and entrepreneurship. “We founded it in 2015 to bridge the gap between the tech industry and education. I wanted to create a new space, a new educational system, where talented children from around the world can study regardless of whether or not they come from a financially well-off background”, she explains. “Harbour Space is a small experiment to build the university of the future. I believe that education is a sort of common good and it needs to be without borders, and also without financial barriers”.
She explains how Barcelona Activa played a key role in her becoming an entrepreneur and creating Harbour Space. Barcelona Global is organising a session where you’ll be able to find out more about her experience.
11.45 am, in Room 2
India in BCN: a tour through Barcelona’s Asian side
What do we know about the Indian community and their establishment in Barcelona? What do we know of their culture or religion or how they conduct their business? Find out on the “India in BCN” route offered by Casa Àsia and CultRuta. The guide will be Deepti Golani, an economist originally from India who has been established in Barcelona since 1991. She offers sessions on business protocol to multi-national companies and universities, but also talks, lectures and workshops on Indian culture.
Such as “India in BCN”, the cultural route they offer for learning about the history of Indian immigration to Barcelona and how the Indian diaspora contributes to the city’s wealth. “This walking tour will give people a better idea about the life of Indian immigrants in the city. We will visit some of their businesses, including clothes and spice shops, and enter a Sikh temple to talk about their religion and social protocols. This is a good way to discover the community, distinguish its features and debunk stereotypes”, she concludes.
4 pm, in the Garden of the Maritime Museum
Tips to facilitate your landing and day–to–day life in the city: bureaucracy, taxes and legal issues
“The most dangerous thing and the biggest challenge when you change country is not knowing what you don’t know”, says Raisa Venermo. She is referring to all the bureaucratic procedures, legal challenges and immigration matters you have to deal with when you land in a country that you don’t know. She is head of International Mobility of people and companies for Talenom International Mobility in Spain.
This Finnish accounting and business support company provides services to clients who want to go global and expand. Generally speaking they come to a country to invest and do business, so they need to send workers, hire remotely or have teams teleworking, for example.
“At our session we will go over the issues that you must take into account if you don’t want to get bogged down in immigration matters. We will talk about the necessary procedures, taxes, tax residence, starting a business or working online from Spain”, explains Raisa. “It will be a practical and enjoyable session so you don’t forget anything important.”
12.45 pm, in Room 3
How does education work in Barcelona? Guide for expat parents
Moving and adapting to a new country can be a complex task, and with a family even more so. Anya van der Drift, a primary school teacher from the UK and also a mother, has experienced this first hand. “I’ve been living in Barcelona for about 10 years. I’ve got 2 children myself and, in my role as a teacher but also as a parent, I realised that this process of choosing a school for a family, especially if you are not from here, is really quite tricky for many reasons: you are in a new culture, often in a new language, it’s a new system that you perhaps don’t understand…”, she stated.
Following her own experience, she decided to help other families do the same through My Barcelona School. In the session, which she will share with the EPIC association, she will give an overview of the educational landscape in Barcelona. “I will talk about the different school stages and the differences between Barcelona types of schools. I will also be giving tips and information I think families should know when they move here, like how the application process works or what language do they want their child to be taught in”.
3 pm, in Room 1
Do you want to freelance? An essential guide to doing it correctly
As Luz Villota, General Manager of Integra Advisers, explains, being freelance in Spain is not something to be taken lightly. “It’s almost like having a company: freelancers have about 70% of the responsibilities that companies have, so it’s an important decision,” she says.
Integra Advisers is a legal and business consultancy firm specialising in international citizens wishing to establish themselves in the city of Barcelona. They address a wide range of needs for both individuals and companies, from the immigration process and securing visas and residence permits to the creation of companies and the fiscal, accounting and legal structuring of their business plan.
At the Barcelona International Community Day, Luz will focus on one of the key issues for those who want to work freelance in Spain: becoming a freelancer. “We will discuss which entities you have to register with and what your obligations are vis-à-vis public institutions. We will also give some tips on how to do things right from the start,” she explains.
10.15 am, in Room 2
Checklist before living and settling in Barcelona: attitude and willingness to embrace change
Settling down and adapting to a new country is an emotional challenge. As an expert, Antonella Ghisu knows this. She is a life coach and an Eres Relocation expert in change management. “We all experience culture shock during the move; it’s an emotional roller-coaster ride. There is nothing wrong with this; it is an essential phase that forms part of any expat’s process and which can become a really enriching experience”, she explains.
Antonella helps people to achieve their personal and professional objectives through Eres Relocation, a company that specialises in the geographic mobility of workers. “Our session will provide a series of practical tips and a checklist of things to do at three main times: when you arrive in Barcelona, once you have arrived and when you have already settled in the city. But we will also emphasise how important attitude and willingness are for positively embracing this change”, Antonella explains.
11.15 am, in Room 3
What insurance do I need to live in Barcelona? Requirements explained in first person
When you come to live in Barcelona, you should have a clear idea about how the local insurance system works, to make your life in the city as comfortable as possible. You can get first-hand information from María Camila Cabrera, an expert in communication, marketing and sales. Now she runs a Mafpre branch office where she advises recent arrivals on insurance and financial matters.
In her speech, she will explain which insurance products are the most helpful for newcomers and what benefits they have. As she says, “when you first arrive here, you have no idea what procedures you have to go through, or that you need to get your NIE identity card, for example. One of the requirements is health insurance, but you won’t have any idea of what cover you need or the period of time you have to ask for. We offer a step-by-step explanation of insurance matters and what you have to do to make your life easier when you arrive in Barcelona”, she explains.
11.15 am, in Room 1