www.cityofkavala.gr
Kavala with a City population aproximately 150,000, is located in North-Eastern Greece and administratively belongs to the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, the city is one of the most developed in the North of Greece. It has the 2nd biggest commercial port in the North after the one of Thessaloniki.

The prefectures tourism is an important income source for the area. The main touristic resort within the prefecture is Thassos Island one inflated by tourists throughout the summer period. Kavala, in addition, is considered to be one of the major fishery centres in Greece exporting fish to international markets. Besides fishery, Kavala has a strong service economy sector proved by the 40% of the labour force that is occupied in it. Kavala has dynamic industrial units such as Kavala oil, Phosphorus Fertilizers Industry, Marble and glass Industries occupying thousands of people.

History:
Kavala was reported to be inhabited since the Neolithic age! However, it was no sooner than the 7th century BC that we have our first written historic sources mentioning that the Thassians had colonized the area of Kavala and named it “Neapolis”. During the Roman period this harbour becomes a great commercial one. Important monuments of that period are the Roman aqueduct remains and the ancient theatre of Philippi. The area gains great prosperity in Macedonian rule when Phillip the II annexed Neapolis as his harbour serving the town of Phillipi. In Byzantine times, the area acquires a new name: “Christoupolis” (the city of Christ) and flourishes economically. This prosperous period comes to an end with the Turkish occupation. In the early 20th Century and liberated from the Turks, Kavala becomes again a great economic Greek economic centre due to its emerging tobacco trade (supported by the Greek refugees from Minor Asia) and flourishing cultural activity.

Location:
The Prefecture of Kavala is geographically located in North-Eastern Greece and administratively belongs to the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Moreover, the Prefecture of Kavala borders with the Prefecture of Drama in its north, with the one of Xanthe in its east, with the prefecture of Serres in its west and is embraced by the Aegean Sea on its south.

Education:
The city of Kavala has a Technological Institute that has the capacity of educating more than 10,000 students and is one of the leading educational institutes in the country in the fields of Accounting and Mechanical and Electronical Engineering.

Tourism & culture:
The prefectures tourism is an important income source for the area. The main touristic resort within the prefecture is Thassos Island, one inflated by tourists throughout the summer period. Besides, Thassos Island the Kavala’s inland attracts also an important amount of tourists visiting the ancient citiy of Philippi, the Nestos wetland and Kavala city one of the most picturesque ones in Greece.

Local economy:
The Prefecture of Kavala is one of the most developed in the North of Greece. It has the 2nd biggest commercial port in the North after the one of Thessaloniki. The dynamic of this port is further enforced by the neighbouring one of Nea Peramos and Nea Eraklitsa. Kavala is considered to be one of the major fishery centres in Greece exporting fish to international markets. The emergence of the fish industry enabled the city to develop, establish and maintain one of the three Fishing Research Institutes that the country has. Besides fishery, Kavala has a strong service economy sector proved by the 40% of the labour force that is occupied in it. A leading role in the local economy acquires also the industrial economy sector. Kavala has dynamic industrial units such as Kavala oil, Phosphorus Fertilizers Industry, Marble and glass Industries occupying thousands of people.

www.sabadell.cat / www.vaporllonch.net
Sabadell is the capital of the county of Vallès Occidental (Catalonia), a title shared with Terrassa since 1990. With a population of about 204.000 inhabitants, Sabadell has confirmed its position as a driving force for economic and urban development in the county and also in Catalonia and is facing the future with new projects that will strenghten this status.
The city represents an important communications point and has its own airport which is one of the top seven airports in Spain in terms of traffic for non-commercial passenger aviation.
Sabadell pioneered the Industrial Revolution in Catalonia with its textile mills, together with Terrassa. Thus, in the mid 19th century, it became the most important wool city in Spain, being nicknamed the Catalan Manchester. Even today many mills from that period can still be seen, with most of them having been refurbished as residential buildings or other services.

Location:
Sabadell is the largest city in the county of Vallès Occidental in Catalonia. It is in the south of the county, on the River Ripoll, aproximately 20 km north-west from Barcelona. Sabadell is located 190 metres above sea level and covers an area of 37,79 km².

History:

The first human settlements in the Sabadell area date from the prehistoric period. Farming and stock-breeding community found the Vallès plain to be a good place for crops, pasture and communications.

In Roman times a little village called “Arragone” existed near where the church of La Salut now stands, on the left bank of the River Ripoll. This grew into the town called “Arraona” or “Arrahona” in the Middle Ages. Another little village was built just on the other side of the river. This second village, called Sabadell, located on a plain, began to grow and its population was about 600 people (152 houses) in 1378. Sabadell was enclosed by a wall, but due to population growth in the 16th century, some houses were built outside the wall. At that time the first textile industries appeared in town, devoted especially to wool clothing. The wool industry grew over the next centuries, and in 1800 the town's population was about 2000 people. The 19th century brought two important developments to the town: in 1856 the railroad arrived, and in 1877 Sabadell was awarded the title of city. Specialization in the production of woollen fabrics made Sabadell into the leading wool textile centre in Spain. In the 1897 census the population of the city was 23.044 people. Due to this industrial activity, Sabadell got massive waves of immigration in the 50s, 60s and early 70s leading to an uncontrolled urban expansion and the creation of some new neighborhoods. In this period, the population was multiplied by eight.

Local economy:

During the 20th century Sabadell gained major industrial momentum, specially in the textile and metallurgy industries, and modernised its economy with services.

The 1973 oil crisis and Franco's death in 1975 meant an important change in Spain and, of course, in Sabadell. The economic crisis compelled the city to diversify its economic activities. New commercial and leisure areas (such as the Eix Macià) appeared next to the traditional industries, leading to important economic development for the city. Nowadays, the three principal activities in terms of services are retail trade, financial institutions and wholesale trade.

Sabadell is working to enable the development of nearly 660.000 square metres of industrial and tertiary facilities in several parts of the city. Can Gambús, Can Roqueta, Sant Pau de Riu-Sec and the airport area are the leading locations in this commitment to the productive economy in the city. More specifically, the transformation of the Sant Pau de Riu-Sec zone will provide the finest supply of the industrial land in the entire Barcelona conurbation. This will be one of the driving forces that will make it possible to increase Sabadell’s industrial facilities and create new jobs in forthcoming years.

Economic activity in the city has grown in recent years. In 1991 it had 5.366 companies with 46.439 employees whereas at the end of 2008 there were 6.380 companies and 55.536 employees. Sabadell has a diversified economy. About 71,2% of companies and 76,2% of jobs are in the services sector. Even though the city is a major commerce and services centre, it still holds onto its industrial past: about 14,4% of companies and 14,4% of jobs are directly related to manufacturing. In addition there are many workplaces and jobs which are classified as being in the tertiary sector but which owe their existence to industrial activity. In terms of big industrial sectors, the metallurgy ranks first ahead of other traditional industries such as textiles and garment. The number of self-employed people has also increased significantly in recent years. Sabadell’s business structure is dominated by small and medium sized companies.

Education:

Sabadell is moving towards the society of the future, a society in which information and knowledge will be the leading players. The area where the city of Sabadell is located, is an educational hot spot with the presence of important university campuses such as the University’s Advanced Design School (ESDI), the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). In Sabadell there are already three universities and two university-linked foundations. The Illa Municipal Art School of Sabadell is a municipal centre for teaching art and design which is highly regarded in the state education sector. The Municipal School of Music and Intermediate Conservatory is a music education institution for students aged 6 years and up located in our city.
 

Ulm is still a city with is a historic centre. The first document about Ulm is from the year 854, when it was then a king’s palatinate. In 1181 it became a designated town. In the Middle Ages Ulm was the cultural and economic centre of the region and a “Free Imperial City”, until 1802. During the Middle Ages Ulm was a trade centre for cloth and its citizens were important patrons for the arts. In that times Ulm citizens built the famous huge cathedral with its spire of 161meters, which is still the highest in Christian world. The inner part of the City is still in the structure of a medieval town with its guildhouses and quarters for fisherman and other craftsman. In the Second World War this centre was by 85% destroyed, but was rebuilt after the war.

Location:
Ulm is a city in the southwest of the Land Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Ulm is on the river Danube with important trade routes crossing. Ulm is on the southern edge of the Swabian Alb, a low mountain range and a paradise for walking . Ulm is a regional and traffic hub, with two A-Routes crossing and is on the way of the new to be built European Railway connection “Magistrale” from Paris to Budapest. Ulm, as a city on the river Danube has European connections with the cites alongside the river until the Black Sea. Ulm was always the centre of this part of Baden-Württemberg, the next two big cities are Stuttgart and Augsburg, both 100 km away.

Population: Nowadays Ulm has 120 000 inhabitants.

Area: 118,69 km2

Tourism & culture:
Ulm had always European connections along the Danube. Since the Middle Ages Ulm was a centre for trade and for migration for settlers, sailing down the Danube to Hungary and further. Nowadays the connections are more in the field of cultural exchange. Ulm is also the cultural centre of the region. During the last 20 years Ulm started to bring modern architecture into the inner city with a “Stadthouse” designed by the American architect Richard Meier, a pyramid library and the “New Middle”: modern buildings were once big streets divided the city. The latest building is a gallery for modern art in this “New Middle”. Ulm has various museums, galleries and theatres.

Local economy:
Ulm is the logistic and technology centre of the region. In Ulm you find two universities, one of applied sciences. Ulm is a “Science City” with a Science park, which is run by the municipality. Important international enterprises like Daimler, Siemens, Nokia are part of this Science City, but also start ups find their way to it. Science City exists since 30 years now. Ulm is part of many clusters around the region: life science, bio, automotive, logistic and more. The backbone of Ulm’s economy are the small and middle sized enterprises. Together Science City and SME offer 80.000 jobs in the region around Ulm.

www.sundsvall.se
Sundsvall with a city population about 94,000, is strategically located on the Swedish east coast,

350 km north of Stockholm. Today the town centre is a place where commerce flourishes and the alternatives for entertainment are varied and interesting, where the entire centre of Sundsvall is classed as an historical monument. Kulturmagasinet, The Culture Warehouse, is one of Sweden’s most popular tourist attractions with its 550,000 visitors each year and programme activities for both children and adults.

www.leeuwarden.nl Leeuwarden, a town of about 92.000 inhabitants is the capital of the province of Fryslan situated in the north of the Netherlands. Is the centre of financial services in the north of the Netherlands and important agro- and nutri-business-complex. Leeuwarden is the centre for (semi) government, education and health care and the second ‘office’ city of the northern region with an important position in the financial service sector.

Leeuwarden a city with a varying employment structure but Information and Communication Technology ICT is the fastest growing sector world wide. Leeuwarden wants to play a key role in this growth, so the municipality stimulates innovation, brings companies together and creates opportunities for well established companies and young beginners. Leeuwarden has a number of professional universities, although the city has no university, several dependencies are located here.

History:
Leeuwarden arose from a number of three artificial dwelling mounds (terpen in Dutch) at the shore of the Middelzee. Recent archeological research suggests that there were already people living here before 500. From the tenth century these agricultural inhabitants started trading as well. The position at the Middelzee was ideal for this purpose. The contacts reached into Russia. In this way Leeuwarden developed urban characteristics. But in the thirteenth century the Middelzee silted up and from that moment on the trading activities were concentrated in the area. Leeuwarden obtained city-rights in the year 1435 and became capital city of the region in 1504, when the central government and jurisdiction settled down here. Beside that, Leeuwarden became the residence of the Frisian stadtholders. In these centuries the town was flourishing. The number of inhabitants rose spectacularly: from five thousand in the year 1500 to sixteen thousand in 1650. Then Leeuwarden belonged to the ten most important cities in the Netherlands. Several monumental buildings are still testifying to that period. Such as the Chancellery, where justice was settled, the Court of the Stadtholders, the Weighing-house, and the leaning tower the Oldehove. The prosperity of Leeuwarden needed to be protected against enemies. Therefore a canal was dug round about the town and ramparts were thrown up. Later, when these defences became needless, they were broken down or reformed to a public garden. Inside the inner town almost all the canals are still intact. In the nineteenth century Leeuwarden expanded outside the town-canal. As a result of the major social changes in the second half of the nineteenth century, Leeuwarden became important as a town with central tasks in the area. Whereas at national level the importance of Leeuwarden decreased extremely. Nowadays the situation is still the same. Leeuwarden, having around 92.000 inhabitants, is the urban centre with a large number of provisions, within the comparatively sparsely populated province of Fryslan. Famous natives of Leeuwarden include stadtholder Wiliam IV of Orange, graphical artist M.C. Escher, statesman P.J. Troelstra, the exotic danced and convicted spy Mata Hari and writer Jan Jacob Slauerhoff.

Location:
Exact location in relation to the main conurbation areas of the Netherlands:  Leeuwarden (92.000 inhabitants)  The capital of the province of Fryslan (624.000 inhabitants)  situated in the north of the Netherlands (1.656.000 inhabitants)  bounded by the Waddenzee at the North-West side and by the IJsselmeer at the South-West side North Randstad 75 minutes by car, 120 minutes by train.  The governmental, economic, educational and cultural heart of Fryslan. The centre of financial services in the north of the Netherlands Important agro- and nutri-business-complex.

Education:
Leeuwarden has a number of professional universities (HBO in Dutch), Such as the Van Hall Instituut (Agricultural, environmental and life sciences), The Christelijke Hogeschool Nederland (retail management, leisure and tourism, economical and educational studies) and the Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden (any meanstream study). Although the city has no university, several dependencies are located here, including the Universiteit Twente and the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Wetsus, the research centre for sustainable watertechnology in Leeuwarden, is an example of university research of several Dutch universities. With its more than 17.000 higher vocational education students, Leeuwarden is the most important higher vocational education city in the northern Netherlands. Among them, an increasing number of foreign students. Leeuwarden is planning to concentrate the professional education in a knowledge campus (Kenniscampus), just outside the historic city. Besides higher education the city is also home to two regional vocational schools (MBO): The Friese Poort and Friesland College. Housing The city has not delayed in revealing its ideas about the future. There is a wide residential ring encircling the old inner city which contains residential districts that are kept up-to-date through municipal renovation. New residential districts are now in the design phase or are already under construction.

Tourism & culture:
Leeuwarden has a lot to offer for tourists. To begin with, the city has a wonderful historic centre the perfect place for a stroll through old narrow walkways and along the city canals. The city has about 750 state monuments. The Tourist Information can gives walking routes for the city (www.vvvleeuwarden.nl) On the streets, one can see students of the three local colleges. In the summer, they can be found at one of the sidewalk cafés on the canals.

Local economy:
Leeuwarden is the centre for (semi) government, education and health care. Besides that, from the 19th century, in Leeuwarden developed a big agro-industrial dairy foods complex. Since the 70’s, one can see that the economy is shifting from a production-economy to a (business) service economy. Leeuwarden has about 54.000 employers. More than half of these people are from outside the town. Leeuwarden has a strong centre function for the province and region. This can be seen by the amount and character of the facilities. Some figures: The (inner) city counts more than 400 shops, there are more than 160 cafes and restaurants. The museums attract more than 140.000 visitors a year. The city theatre ’de Harmonie’ get every year about 240.000 visitors (about 600 performances a year). Leeuwarden is second ‘office’ city of the northern region. De city has an important position in the financial service sector. Besides that, the business service sector, the government, education and health care have developed as important economic factors. This makes Leeuwarden a city with a varying employment structure (see also figure 1). The general employment grow in the period 1995 – 2003 by 19,5%. The growth is not the same for every sector. The employment in the industry, transport and agricultural sector shrunk, whereas the employment in health care, financial and business sector and the public sector rose.

More information:
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ICT is the fastest growing sector world wide. Leeuwarden wants to play a key role in this growth, so the municipality stimulates innovation, brings companies together and creates opportunities for well established companies and young beginners. The ICT Centre in the Leeuwarden Business Park is becoming the Frisian centre for the new growth sector. Leeuwarden exploits a glassfibre cityring and an internet exchange (starting next autumn) Industrial locations Leeuwarden possesses several big industrial and office locations to set up a business. The costs to set up are relatively low. Industrial estate De Hemrik, Industrial estate Newtonpark,  Business Park Leeuwarden, FEC City office location,  Industrial estate Leeuwarden West Full of culture... Leeuwarden is a city full of culture. There are several museums and galleries to visit. The city is filled with monuments of a stylish past, such as the imposing Oldehove Tower. Besides that there are a lot of small cultural events. For example the performances in the Prinsentuin during the summer. But also if you look around in the city: culture is everywhere: the nice streets, the very old stone tablets, the 750 monuments of the city. They all show that the city of Leeuwarden has a rich history. Museums and archives The most national famous museums and archives are: - Keramiek museum Het Princessehof: The only museum in The Netherlands which is specialised in ceramics, www.princesshof.nl - Fries Museum: Highlights of Frisian culture and modern and contemporary Dutch art, www.friesmuseum.nl - Fries Historisch en Letterkundig Centrum Tresoar, www.tresoar.nl - Historisch Centrum Leeuwarden: the centre for historical information and activities in Leeuwarden, www.historischcentrumleeuwarden.nl - Natuurmuseum Friesland, www.natuurmuseumfryslan.nl Theaters and cinemas City theatre ‘De Harmonie’: the fifth theatre of The Netherlands, www.harmonie.nl Theatre ‘Romein’, a small scale theatre, www.theaterromein.nl Parnas: center for art, www.parnas.nl Tivoli and Cinema (two cinemas): In these two cinemas you can find the latest movies. 'Het Filmhuis' ('The Moviehouse') shows actual movies from different cultures. Sights Welknown buildings in the city include the Kanselarij (the former chancellary), The Waag (the old trade centre of the city) and the leaning tower Oldehove. Leeuwarden is also the site of the country’s largest cattle market and on Ascension day, the largest flowers market of the Netherlands is held here. Just outside the city Near the city one can find two recreation areas ( De Wielen and De Groene Ster) and a Aqua Zoo (a zoo with water related animals). Cycling is the perfect way to discover the charming villages with little castles such as Popta Slot in Marssum and in Dekemastate in Jelsum.

www.mikkeli.fi
Mikkeli, a town of about 33,000 inhabitants is the administrative centre of the South Savo region and also the province of Eastern Finland. Mikkeli has numerous historically interesting places and events, according to the emphasis in developing tourism in the Mikkeli sub-region has been on its scenic attractions, particularly nature and waters.

Mikkeli's manufacturers are predominantly small and medium-sized companies, and the large production plant in the Mikkeli region is Schauman Wood Oy's plywood mill in Ristiina. The long-established printing industry has maintained its position, metal engineering, electrical and forest industries have also maintained their positions. A new international business is a sawmill built in the town by a Japanese company, other new businesses have also been established, especially advanced and environmental technology companies.

Location:
Mikkeli is the administrative centre of the South Savo region and also the province of Eastern Finland. The town is located at the site of Savilahti, which was the main town of eastern Finland from 1 100 to 1400. Mikkeli became a provincial centre soon after it was established as a town in 1838. The headquarters of the Finnish armed forces were in Mikkeli during all the four wars since independence in 1917. The town is on a shore of Lake Saimaa. Small lakes abound about in this landscape, which makes the area popular with holidaymakers. The town is on the Savo eastern main railway line and main road 5 and 13. There are flights to Helsinki from the town every weekday. Mikkeli is especially renowned as an administrative, commercial, garrison and educational town. Mikkeli town will be merged with the surrounding Mikkeli rural district and Anttola in 2001. The town is compact. Areas of newly built housing surround the town centre, where the streets form a grid pattern. Urban housing extends into the Mikkeli rural district. Over a third of the town's homes are one-family houses. The housing is comparatively new: 85 % of homes have been built since 1960. 

Population:
Mikkeli has 33 000 inhabitants, but with the merger the population will rise to about 47 000. Since the Second World War the town's population has tripled.
 

Education:
Mikkeli has several higher education teaching and services units. The Helsinki School of Economics has the Small Business Centre and the International Centre, which grants MBA and BBA degrees. In the town there is Helsinki University Institute for Rural Research and Training, Institute For Co-operative Studies and some other units. Mikkeli Polytechnic teaches technical, business and social and health care subjects. It also has a research and development unit called Institute of Environmental Technology. It does research in the fields of wood processing, environmental and food technologies.

Tourism & culture:
The centre of cultural life is the Mikkeli Concert and Congress Hall, which was completed in 1988. The Mikkeli Music Festival and Ballet Mikkeli are important annual cultural events. There are frequent performances, including concerts by the Mikkeli Town Orchestra, opera and Mikkeli Theatre plays. Mikkeli is also host to Työväen Näyttämöpäivät, the country's most important amateur drama festival. The emphasis in developing tourism in the Mikkeli sub-region has been on its scenic attractions, particularly nature and waters. Popular tourist attractions include the Visulahti tourist centre and Kenkävero handicraft and arts centre. Mikkeli has numerous historically interesting places and events associated with Marshall Mannerheim and the wartime military headquarters. The town has several museums and tourist attractions related to military history, such as the Headquarters Museum and Infantry Museum. The town is renowned for its football, skiing and trotting, for all of which facilities are first class. The wide range of sports facilities includes golf courses and canoeing centre.

Local economy:
Mikkeli's manufacturers are predominantly small and medium-sized companies. The only large production plant in the Mikkeli region is Schauman Wood Oy's plywood mill in Ristiina. A quarter of all industrial jobs disappeared in the early 1990s, but in recent years the number of such jobs has been increasing. At the same time there has been major restructuring, by companies. The long-established printing industry has maintained its position, with Help-rint at the forefront as the biggest engraving printer in the Nordic countries. Metal engineering, electrical and forest industries have also maintained their positions. A new international business is a sawmill built in the town by a Japanese company. Other new businesses have also been established, especially advanced and environmental technology companies.