Full title: Social Innovation in the Agri-food sector for Women’s Empowerment in the Mediterranean sea basin
Priority: Professionalization of young people (NEETS) and women
Countries: Italy, Spain, Tunisia, Palestine
Project duration (months) : 36 - Start date: 25 December 2019 / End date: 24 December 2022
About the project
On both sides of the Mediterranean Sea, there is a common trend in terms of low women empowerment and participation in the labor force. InnovAgroWoMed project aims at boosting women labor participation and entrepreneurship, by leveraging on the potential of the agri-food sector - an industry closely linked to the cultural identity of the Mediterranean region - and showing a significant level of untapped potential in terms of innovation and growth. While countries such as Spain and Italy feature comparatively high levels of growth in the agri-food sector, albeit, with very low levels of women participation, the MENA agricultural business is still fragmented, and with low women employment. This project will focus on two European regions (Valencia, Spain and Sicily, Italy) and two MENA areas (Béja and Médenine in Tunisia, and Palestine), identified as suitable for the implementation and scaling up of a sustainable value model in the agri-food sector: Rural Social Innovation (RSI). RSI redefines the boundaries between organizations and the community, addressing broader societal challenges by seeking economic, social and environmental sustainability, balancing tradition and innovation and explicitly seeking community development at the local level.
What will be improved?
The innovative RSI model, tailored according to the local needs, ensures that the women after the intensive training programs will have the necessary skills to be competitive and more prepared to find a job or become entrepreneurs. This will allow them not only to find a job but also a “sustainable” and desirable job as it will transform them into real agents of change in the rural contexts they live in, reducing poverty and boosting social inclusion.
Who will benefit?
140 young women, especially NEETS, in rural areas of Italy, Palestine, Spain and Tunisia
Local agri-food businesses
Expected achievements
140 women trained in marketable skills in the agri-food sector
4 job profiles defined according to the needs of the agri-food sector
4 coaching and mentoring programmes
4 traineeship programmes for women on Rural Social Innovation
2 agro-business fora to match job profiles with local business needs
4 agreements for a local agri-food stakeholder network to help match between job offers and demand
112 women with a sustainable job by the end of the project
Partnership
The project involves five (05) organizations from four (04) different countries (Italy, Spain, Palestine, Tunisia) including the University of Rome Tor Vergata (UTV) in quality of Leading Beneficiary, a European study and initiative center (CESIE) Jóvenes hacia la solidaridad y el desarrollo (Jovesolides), the Palestinian Business Women Association (Asala), and Center of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR).
For more information about ENI CBC Med program - Link:
http://www.enicbcmed.eu/home
For more information about InnoAgroWoMed project – link :
http://www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/innovagrowomed
Facebook : Innovagrowomed – ENI CBC Med Project
Twitter : Innovagrowomed – ENI CBC Med Project
InnovAgroWoMed (http://www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/innovagrowomed) is a 3 years project funded at 87% by the European Union through the ENI CBC Med Program for a global amount of EUR 2,8 million.
It is implemented and co-financed by University of ROME Tor Vergata - UTV, CESIE a European study and initiative center, Jóvenes hacia la solidaridad y el desarrollo – Jovesolides, the Palestinian Business Women Association - Asala and Center of Arab Women for Training and Research - CAWTAR.
