About the Workshop Facilitator:
Lucas Franco is a specialist in public policy and government management. Currently the Head of the International Cooperation Unit at the Minas Gerais State Research Support Foundation (Fapemig), he holds a degree in Public Administration from the João Pinheiro Foundation’s School of Government and a Master’s degree in International Relations from Kobe University (Japan). He possesses extensive practical and academic experience—both domestic and international—in the internationalization of subnational governments.

About the Workshop:
The workshop aims to equip municipal managers, civil servants, and agents with an  understanding of how paradiplomacy can serve as a tool for territorial development. It enables municipalities to establish international relationships, networks, exchanges, and cooperation initiatives, even without a dedicated international relations department or specialized team. The workshop is based on the premise that paradiplomacy need not be an activity exclusive to large cities or complex administrative structures. Municipalities can begin their international engagement with minimal capacity: identifying local strengths and territorial assets, defining internationalization goals, mapping potential partners and networks, designating internal points of contact, preparing an institutional presentation of the territory, and establishing an initial cooperation agenda. In the creative economy, paradiplomacy can connect cities and territories to international experiences in  culture, gastronomy, tourism, handicrafts, heritage, audiovisual media, design, music, digital technologies, and other creative sectors. These connections can foster knowledge exchange, professional mobility, joint projects, participation in international networks, event attraction , and opportunities for funding and cooperation. Sustainability serves as a cross-cutting theme: the workshop will demonstrate how local creative strengths can be linked to sustainable development, territorial identity, and the competitive differentiation of municipalities, including through engagement with international agendas and networks.

Duration: 2 hours

Event Information Desk: Central Library (BBT) Hall – UFV (1:30 PM – 4:30 PM). Language: Portuguese

Note: Registration fees will be used entirely to cover the operational expenses of the integration event.
The certificate will be made available within 30 days after the event concludes.