• The Portuguese municipality of Lourinhã hosted the second meeting with debates and multicultural activities under the theme of cooperation and equality.
• Finnova continues to bring its European dimension to the project: it will organise the last event in Brussels.
On Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th October, the second activity of the WomenEquity project took place in Lourinhã, which is part of the Cities Networks call of the Citizenship, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV), and which aims to address women’s access to the labour market with solutions to reduce existing barriers and improve their conditions. Finnova participated as a one of the partners of the six participating countries (Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Romania, Italy and Greece), bringing its European dimension to the project.
The Cultural Centre and the Municipal Library of Lourinhã were a perfect setting for cooperation, dialogue and cultural exchange. The women who participanted had the opportunity to tell their life stories and to share their experiences of mobility in the European Union and in the world. In addition, the Local Focus Association and Sombronautas, at the Teatro Inefável, created a creative space for participants to design women’s empowerment projects based on the choice of 2 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. The working sessions culminated with interesting artistic presentations that encouraged dialogue and reflection on the barriers women face in accessing the labour market.
Finally, the conference ended with Humans, a moving participatory concert by the author Nuno Trindade, to reinforce the emerging importance of equality, respect, diversity and peace.
About WomenEquity
With a budget of €137,435EUR, the project is led by Benaguasil Town Council togehter with a consortium of six other organisations from Italy, Portugal, Greece, Romania, Slovenia and Belgium.
WOMENEQUITY is part of the Networks of Cities call of the Citizenship, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV), and seeks to address women’s access to the labour market from a European perspective, thanks to the collaboration between municipalities such as Benaguasil, Botosani, Lourinha or Guardistalo in cooperation with private entities such as Finnova or Fifty-Fifty. Through this public-private partnership, the aim is to raise awareness and seek solutions to reduce these barriers and improve their conditions. The project also aims to raise awareness and involve all citizens in this reality, as well as public and private entities, offering work tools based on equality to achieve greater inclusion of women in the labour market.
About the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme
The Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme funds citizens’ engagement, equality for all and the implementation of EU rights and values. The programme brings together the former Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme3 and the former Europe for Citizens programme4 . It thus promotes exchanges between people from different countries, strengthens mutual understanding and tolerance and provides the opportunity to broaden perspectives and develop a sense of European belonging and identity through town twinning and networks. The programme follows a bottom-up approach while offering, in particular to city networks, the opportunity to focus on EU priorities.
About Finnova Foundation
Finnova is a foundation working for the promotion and development of innovation and entrepreneurship at EU level. Based in Brussels, it operates through collaborations and partnerships in all EU countries. Finnova’s expertise in leading European project communication and dissemination activities is combined with a strong proven track record in start-ups and business support programmes, such as accelerators, incubators and ceremonial event selection and awards.