Barcelona City Council is expanding its cooperation efforts in Palestine, signing an agreement with the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA) on 13 May 2026. This new programme will extend Barcelona's technical support to smaller and medium-sized municipalities in the West Bank, which often face greater challenges in accessing international networks. The initiative aims to strengthen the institutional and operational capacity of these local Palestinian authorities.
The Barcelona Provincial Council is a partner in the project, providing funding and technical expertise for training and inter-municipal exchanges. It will also mobilise other municipalities within the province to broaden the initiative's reach. The City Council has allocated an exceptional direct grant of €150,000 to the programme, with the Provincial Council contributing an additional €150,000 over the next two years.
Maria Eugènia Gay, District 11 councillor and sixth vice-president and deputy for International Relations at the Barcelona Provincial Council, stated that this agreement "opens a new stage in Barcelona's municipal cooperation with Palestine". She added that it allows District 11 to extend support to small and medium-sized municipalities, which "today sustain essential services, community cohesion and daily life in an extraordinarily difficult context." Gay emphasised Barcelona's commitment to supporting Palestinian cities and communities with political engagement, resources, technical knowledge, and institutional alliances, focusing on concrete cooperation that respects local priorities and generates real impact.
Technical Exchange and Digital Twinning
The programme is structured around several lines of action. One key component is municipal technical exchange, involving in-person work sessions between municipalities in Catalonia and Palestine. Three rounds are planned, focusing on urban resilience, local economic development, and diplomacy and advocacy.
To complement these exchanges, a 'Digital Twinning Lab' will be established as a virtual space. This lab will ensure continuous contact between Catalan and Palestinian municipalities, offering seminars on shared interest topics and bidirectional learning tools for technical staff from both sides. It will also provide a platform for monitoring joint initiatives.
Beyond technical exchange, the programme will implement concrete municipal cooperation projects in the West Bank. These actions will focus on services, public spaces, facilities, and small infrastructures, translating cooperation into real investments with visible impacts on the ground. This approach aims to strengthen municipal management, improve service quality, and enhance community well-being.
Selecting Participants and Solidarity Weeks
APLA will coordinate a selection process for Palestinian municipalities to participate in the programme. This process will prioritise small and medium-sized municipalities, considering identified needs, the viability of proposed actions, local institutional commitment, territorial balance, and the potential impact on residents' daily lives.
The programme will also organise annual municipal solidarity weeks to reinforce solidarity between people and cities. During these events, Barcelona and other Catalan municipalities will host cultural and awareness-raising activities such as exhibitions, round tables, and dialogues. Schools, youth groups, and civic centres can also participate. In 2026, these solidarity weeks will take place throughout October and November, featuring various cultural activities.
District 11: Barcelona's International Cooperation Initiative
District 11 (D11) is an international cooperation initiative by Barcelona City Council. Its purpose is to provide a stable framework for organising, coordinating, and strengthening cooperation with Palestinian cities, adopting a municipalist perspective. This involves municipal departments, social organisations, professional actors, and other allied institutions when appropriate. District 11 projects are organised into three main areas: technical cooperation with Palestinian cities, humanitarian action for Palestinian refugees, and solidarity and citizen engagement.
Within the framework of District 11, Barcelona has previously signed two cooperation agreements with Ramallah and Bethlehem. These agreements aim to promote institutional development, modernise municipal service administration to ensure better provision of basic public services, and foster technological development that contributes to the well-being of citizens in both cities. The government commission has approved an allocation of €375,000 to start these direct cooperation projects with Bethlehem and Ramallah City Councils, as well as other programmes in Lebanon.
