SATA Airlines to ferry Massachusetts Delegation to Azores and Lisbon

(TRAVPR.COM) USA - October 2nd, 2012 - Boston -- Several leading Massachusetts companies are joining the World Class Cities Partnership to build stronger ties between Massachusetts and Portugal. Representatives from the Federal Reserve Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Northeastern University and Massport will board a SATA Airlines jet Friday to head to the Azores, and then to Lisbon. 

According to Michael Lake, Executive Director of the World Class Cities Partnership, an international research organization based at Northeastern University, “we are focusing on Portugal to build on a shared cultural heritage and to learn about certain Portuguese success stories, particularly in the area of urban waterfront development and strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem.”

WCCP Policy Exchange Missions work to identify best practices to shared challenges in urban policy. They see a benefit in adopting and applying solutions from other cities around the world and WCCP has built an international network of cities that fit Boston’s profile – both in the challenges Boston faces and the opportunities for creative solutions. “Portugal is a part of that network and through this mission we hope to find further examples of the benefits of policy exchange,” Lake says.

This trip will include business, civic and academic leaders from Boston.”The Azores are just four hours non-stop from Boston, and Lisbon another two hours. SATA flights run daily in season from Boston and every Tuesday and Friday the remainder of the year. To boost traffic, the Azores and SATA have made a major splash in New England during the past year including recent joint ventures with Legal Sea Foods, United Liquors, and celebrity shef Ming Tsai and WGBH-TV. Recently, new Azores ads debuted on the T, at Logan Airport and in various publications. 

“In this trip, we hope to foster economic ties in several specific ways,” says Lake. “Signing official documents inducting the City of Lisbon and the University of Lisbon into the World Class Cities Partnership. And, building a bridge of communication and collaboration between Massport and the port of Lisbon.”

Other companies on the trip are: Kevin Martin and Associates, Philip W. Johnston Associates, Commodore Builders, Beal Companies, Reimer and Braunstein, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp., and Smart Conversations. According to World Class Cities Partnership, the delegation will meet with U.S. Ambassador Allan Katz, Representatives of Electricidade dos Açores, Deputy Mayor of Lisbon Manuel Selgado, CEO of Cisco Portugal Nuno Ferraz de Carvalho, and representatives from Parque Expo.

“As a result-oriented, applied research organization, WCCP's Policy Exchange Missions focus on concrete areas of exploration and learning,” said Lake.“We will be researching the waterfront city. We will explore the redevelopment of the Lisbon waterfront as it relates to similar city initiatives for Boston’s waterfront. We will be researching the innovative city. We will examine the city’s network of business incubators and the region's creative economy to learn how Boston can foster innovation. And we will be researching the entrepreneurial city. We will learn how Portugal is streamlining bureaucracy to speed up the processes through which new companies are licensed.”

###