On the occasion of the International Migrants Day celebrated on 18 December 2016, several local authorities in Portugal organised events to mark the day. The Lisbon City Hall opened its doors to immigrants living in Lisbon, assuring the continuity of the City Council's work for a 'welcoming city' and reaffirming the municipal commitment to build a city opened to differences and interculturality. The municipality of Lisbon hosted 13.3% (51,690) of all documented foreigners living in Portugal (388,731) and 1/3 of those living in the Lisbon region (173,521) in 2015, according to the Aliens and Border Office.

During the event, immigrants were given the guide Lisbon’s Immigrant Roadmap which contains useful information to facilitate their integration in Lisbon city. The 30-pages booklet is available in both English and Portuguese, and comprises 16 items, ranging from finance services, public hospitals, Support Centres for Immigrant Integration to police stations, parishes and registry offices. After a guided tour of the City Hall, members of various immigrant and refugee support associations, as well as those of the Municipal Council for Interculturality and Citizenship explained their work, projects and services to foster integration in the city life and in the Portuguese society in general. As a consultative structure, the Lisbon's Municipal Council for Interculturality and Citizenship plays an important role in integrating various associations and promoting their active participation in the civic life of the city. It helps establish a dialogue of proximity. Continue reading

Examples from other Portuguese cities include Amadora Paladares do Mundo (Amadora World’s Flavours), an event by the Municipality of Amadora featuring outdoor cooking demonstrations showcasing traditional delicacies from some of the 40 countries of origin present in the municipality's territory. 11% of the resident population in Amadora has foreign nationality.