Nell’ottica di promuovere l’inclusione sociale tra i più giovani, la creatività, la coesione e la contaminazione tra culture diverse e forme artistiche atipiche, giovedì 1° ottobre 2020 si è tenuto ad Arcugnano in Piazza Rumor il laboratorio artistico di pittura “I fiori di Europa” come attività del progetto STAR.

L’evento ha riscontrato un ottimo successo, con la partecipazione di circa trenta bambini, di età compresa tra i tre e i dieci anni e provenienti da tutte le scuole del Comune, che si sono dilettati con le attività ludiche proposte. A disposizione dei partecipanti al laboratorio, una grande tela orizzontale di 160mq realizzata dall’artista Jerico, filippino d’origine e romano di adozione. Dopo un primo momento di esplorazione della tela, guidati da Jerico i bambini presenti hanno giocato con vivida immaginazione ed hanno poi dipinto utilizzando i colori dell’artista ed i loro stessi corpi per dipingere.

Coinvolti anche gli adulti presenti, dal momento che nell’occasione sono stati inoltre raccolti 27 questionari di indagine cittadina al fine di trovare un’intesa sul luogo in cui realizzare il murales che sarà l’output del progetto STAR.

Al termine dell’evento, la grande tela di Jerico è stata ritagliata in 14 pezzi suddivisi in regalo tra i partner di progetto, il Comune e le sue scuole; mentre sabato 3 ottobre si è poi tenuta l’inaugurazione della mostra temporanea “I fiori di Europa”, introdotta da un discorso del sindaco di Arcugnano e aperta al pubblico fino al 10 ottobre p.v.

Una manifestazione unica per celebrare la STreet ARt.. con una tela di 160mq!

Il progetto STAR – STreet ARt, nel cui ambito è stato organizzato l’evento, ha l’intento di promuovere l’amore per l’inclusione e di trasmettere ai più giovani i valori dell’unione e della solidarietà. Co-finanziato dal programma dell’Unione europea “Europa per i cittadini”, il Comune di Arcugnano ne è capofila, accompagnato nel consorzio da organizzazioni e Comuni europei appartenenti a 14 paesi tra cui Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Repubblica Ceca, Francia, Germania, Italia, Kosovo, Lettonia, Polonia, Portogallo, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia e Paesi Bassi. 

BRIGHT’s Community of Interest is finally complete! Five European actors have joined the Community, through which BRIGHT is creating a wide network of local stakeholders across Europe for the protection of the rights of women seasonal workers who are employed in agriculture in their hosting communities. The members of the Community will now have the chance to participate in the most interesting activities that are organized by the project partners, such as technical and awareness-raising webinars and capacity building training.

Who are the CoI members? Let us present them!

URBAN2020, Romania is a Bucharest-based NGO that stands up for the improvement of citizens’ quality of life in Romania and across Europe, by supporting good governance, promoting sustainability and equity, and creating partnerships between the public, academic and private sectors. URBAN2020 strives to reduce the gap between Romania and Western Europe and between the rural and urban dimensions by fostering development through urban planning and architectural services. It also encourages the active participation of citizens and youth in decision-making and city life, as well as the redevelopment of urban spaces and the integration of disadvantaged groups through training and educational services.

IPRES, Italy, i.e. the Apulian Institute of Economic and Social Research was founded in 1968 as an Association of public bodies, expression of the local and functional autonomies’ system of the Puglia region in the South of Italy. In July 2018, IPRES was turned into a Foundation: its members are the Puglia Region; the Municipalities of Bari, Taranto and Brindisi; the University of Bari; the Chamber of Commerce of Bari; and ISPE Association. The mission of the Institute is first and foremost to support the designing, adoption, implementation and evaluation of regional development policies and the multilevel institutional relationships; within this context, the Puglia Region is involved in promoting participatory governance systems under the regional law n. 28/2017. As a technical body, the IPRES Foundation is strictly concerned with training to support participatory processes and to provide recognition to best practices on participation methods.

The Bolyarovo Municipality, Bulgaria is situated in Southeastern Bulgaria in the Yambol District. It consists of 20 settlements, of which one city, i.e. the municipal center of Bolyarovo, and 19 villages. The goals of the Bolyarovo Municipality are to develop local conditions for economic development; improve the quality of life, healthcare, educational and social services; improve the quality of administrative services; and create conditions for the improvement of the climate for the development of the local economy, together with increasing employment rates and higher income for the population.

Soffa, Greece – Social Fashion Enterprise is a circular production studio that targets the social inclusion and empowerment of women who have been victims of human trafficking as well as refugees. Using zero-waste processes and circular fashion principles with recycled, natural, vegan and plant-based textiles that support environmental regeneration, they support their female beneficiaries in becoming self-reliant, motivated, and using their own resources to achieve their long-term goals: (1) by offering training, mentoring and the creation of job positions to restore their dignity and self-reliance; (2) by adopting a gender-inclusive approach; (3) by organizing events to sensibilize consumers on these issues.

APDHA, Spain is a non-profit, pluralist, secular and independent association founded in 1990 and based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN, 1948). Their field of action is the Andalusian territory, although their activity also reaches a universal scope as human rights are the heritage of all humanity! In APDHA, the full validity of the Universal Declaration is reclaimed as an instrument for transforming consciences and society itself, denouncing its non-compliance with all the tools at their disposal. The NPO develops its work through four main actions: awareness raising; social complaint; elaboration of alternatives and work proposals; support, accompaniment and solidarity.

Want to join BRIGHT? The CoI might be full, but there are many other ways to join forces! Contact martina@aldaintranet.org to learn more!

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During the last few months, the Covid19-related containment measures have highlighted the strong dependency of several Italian sectors on foreign labour – first on the list, the agrifood sector. Most of the seasonal workers employed in the agricultural sector in Southern Italy come from Bulgaria (55.000) and Romania (1.2 million). Of these, 57% are women. The migration of these workers is accompanied by dangers ranging from the lack of protection that would be provided only by a regular employment contract, to situations of psychological, social, economic and physical violence. Being a woman should not make you especially vulnerable. Read more about the BRIGHT for Women project – Building RIGHTs-based and Innovative Governance for EU mobile women!

BRIGHT’s Community of Interest is coming together. Three European actors have joined the community so far – there are still two spots available!
With its Community of Interest, BRIGHT is creating a wide network of local stakeholders across Europe for the protection of the rights of women seasonal workers employed in agriculture in the hosting communities. The members of the Community will have the chance to participate in the most interesting activities organized by the project partners, such as technical and awareness-raising webinars and capacity building training.

–> Want to join us?

To join the BRIGHT Community of Interest it is necessary to share the project goals and mission by signing a Memorandum of Understanding.The participation is free of charge. For more information: martina@aldaintranet.org

COMMUNITY MEMBERS: LET’S INTRODUCE THEM!

URBAN2020, Romania

URBAN2020 is a Bucharest-based NGO which stands up for the improvement of the citizens’ qualityof life in Romania and across Europe, by supporting good governance and promoting sustainability and equity in partnershipcreation between public, academic and private sectors. URBAN2020 strives to reduce the gaps between Romania andWestern Europe and between rural and urban dimensions by fostering the development through urban planning andarchitectural services. It also encourages the active participation of citizens and youth in decision-making, city life and theredevelopment of urban spaces and the integration of disadvantaged groups through training and educational services. Theinvolvement in the BRIGHT project represents a new challenge, an opportunity to expand its action’s range to cover anincreasingly topical social problem and try to find a connection with urban and territorial politics and strategies that can helpbetter understand the phenomena and develop the right policy toolkit to face it. URBAN2020 expertise may prove useful forthe elaboration of innovative strategies for the creation of local-based partnerships between citizens, private entities andmunicipalities to promote community-based initiatives in the Romanian cities most affected by the phenomenon and raiseawareness on it. (http://urban2020.org/) 

IPRES, Italy

The Apulian Institute of Economic and Social Research (IPRES) was founded in 1968 as anAssociation between public bodies, expression of the local and functional Autonomies’ system of the Puglia region. In July2018, IPRES was transformed into Foundation: the Puglia Region, the Municipalities of Bari, Taranto and Brindisi, theUniversity of Bari, the Chamber of Commerce of Bari and ISPE Association are members of IPRES. The Institute mission,firstly, aims at supporting the designing, adoption, implementation and evaluation of regional development policies and themultilevel institutional relationships. The Puglia Region is involved in promoting participatory governance systems, under theregional law n. 28/2017. As a technical body, supporting the formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation of theregional policies, IPRES Foundation is strictly concerned in training to support participatory processes and in recognition ofbest practices on participation methods. (https://www.ipres.it/it/) 

Bolyarovo Municipality, Bulgaria

Bolyarovo Municipality is situated in Southeastern Bulgaria, Yambol District. The municipality consists of 20 settlements, of which one city – the municipal center of Bolyarovo and 19 villages. The goals of Bolyarovo Municipality are to develop the conditions for economic development, to improve the quality of life, healthcare, educational, and social services, to improve the quality of administrative services and to create conditions for improvement of the climate.

We receive and publish from Afaf Zaddem, delegate of the LDA Tunisia:

« Agriculture is unquestionably one of the pillars of the Tunisian economy, public policies have continued to aim at improving agricultural profitability without thinking of integrating in their visions and action plans solutions oriented towards improving the working conditions of people working in this sector and mainly women agricultural workers.

In fact, the agricultural workforce is mainly composed of women, more than 70% of whom work mostly as casual workers. Female labor force is poorly valued, poorly remunerated and remains in the informal circuit without a work contract, without social security coverage, without dignified and secure transportation, without the possibility of unionization and far from decent work conditions. 73.5% of female agricultural workers are not insured against occupational hazards. Only 33.3% of rural women working in this sector have social security coverage. By way of comparison, only 93,500 female agricultural workers have social security coverage compared to 377,000 agricultural workers.

Rural women are very vulnerable. 32% of them are illiterate and only 19.3% have economic resources of their own. In fact, they face cultural, social and economic constraints that limit their access to the labor market and to dignified and well-paid jobs. The majority of economically active rural women remain excluded from the social protection system, despite their massive participation in the development of strategic economic sectors such as agriculture. In the absence of collective agreements governing the agricultural sector, and in the absence of adaptation of the legislation in force regarding social security for occasional agricultural workers, they find themselves without any social protection.

Of the 10727 social security contributors declared under the agricultural workers’ scheme, only 1148 (10.7%) are women. Many women, school dropouts and others who have passed the legal retirement age are forced to work in harsh, indecent and uncontrolled conditions to support themselves without any social protection, which exposes them to the dangers of unprotected handling of pesticides and other chemicals used, as well as to poor hygiene and transport conditions, and to the volume of work per hour.

Occupational accidents suffered by rural women are frequent but are not covered by the current insurance system. This system remains unsuited to the specificities of this female agricultural labor force.

Unequal access to social benefits and services and the lack of public and private support for family obligations and responsibilities are an obstacle to their participation in the formal labor market. As a result, they remain excluded from many development programs.

Major deficits in knowledge, monitoring and evaluation of the economic and social situation of rural women, particularly in the agricultural sector, remain and require multi-stakeholder and integrated intervention by the various parties concerned.

For all these reasons, the Agency for Local Democracy ADL, Kairouan TUNISIA launched on the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8), a field study on the situation of « Working Women in the Agricultural Sector: Pillar of Development despite the lack of an appropriate legal status ». For this reason, it adopted the cause of rural women to mobilize and motivate civil society, institutions, local and national partners to develop a legal status that protects them and guarantees their rights.

This initiative is in line with SDG 5 and in the continuity of the EU-sponsored PARFAIT project, launched by the ALDA Lead Partner Association in partnership with EPD, the Women’s Coalition and LDA Tunisia, and targeted five governorates in Tunisia; the project aimed to promote women’s participation in local public life in Tunisia, and to raise their awareness of the fact that civil and political rights go hand in hand with economic and social rights.

Through a questionnaire that reached 600 women workers and 300 farmers in 10 delegations in the three regions (Kairouan, Mahdia and Sidi Bouzid), LDA undertook to make this careful diagnosis of the situation of women and to determine the extent of the violation suffered in order to find adequate solutions whose aim is to change the living conditions of women and enable them to participate fully in local governance.

The presence of LDA Tunisia in urban and rural social environments allows it to deepen its studies by being in direct contact with citizens at all social, cultural, economic and political levels … and also helps to raise awareness among local officials, including municipal councils to give priority to the cause of rural women which is part of Human Rights – including the principle of non-discrimination – the fight and prevention of poverty.

Since the appearance of the code of local authorities, local governance has expanded its territory following the merging of marginalized rural areas into municipal districts created in several governorates known by the density of their inhabitants such as SIDI BOUZID, KAIROUAN … where rural women working in the agricultural sector requires the attention of the municipal council. The latter should find her, as a citizen and member of society, concrete and profitable solutions to remedy the precarious situation.

On the occasion of the National Day of Tunisian Women, LDA Tunisia organized a regional symposium to present the results of the study, and invited members of municipal councils in the region, administrative executives, components of local civil society and representatives of national organizations, who actively interacted with the salient findings of the study presented by the expert Mr. Radwan El-Fatnasy.

The first delegate Mr. Abdel-Fattah Al-Taghouti on behalf of Mr. Wali de Kairouan delivered the opening speech in which he expressed the importance of interaction and engagement between the different parties at the local level in order to design practical mechanisms and local initiatives. He also stressed the value of local participatory work that could be initiated by ADL Tunisia as a local energizer, as well as the need for a legislative initiative resulting from a political will to change this reality. He also expressed his willingness to follow and support.

On the program, Professor Al-Nasser Al-Aqrabawi, mayor of Ain Al-Bayda, gave a speech on « Women and Local Authority, the rural woman as a model ». He said that 500,000 working in the agricultural sector without a clear legal framework. And that open local governance requires openness to all social groups, including women in the agricultural sector. He said that the legislator within the local community code focused on political rights while neglecting the rest of the rights, and that the municipal council is responsible for seeking as much as possible to play its role in sensitizing this population.

The symposium was also followed by the regional and national media, and resulted in many important and practical proposals, which highlighted the need for networking for monitoring, study, sensitization, and especially to advocate for the State to assume its responsibilities in the fight against abuses against women workers in the agricultural sector. For its part, the local civil society with the women’s commissions in the municipalities are expected to start awareness sessions on work safety, health of women workers, social security coverage, insurance, etc… the training centers for rural girls can also contribute to training activities on rights and hygiene.

Participants also stressed the need for a legal framework guaranteeing all these rights in order to change the conditions of precariousness.

The symposium concluded with the presentation of the next steps presented by Ms. Afaf Zaddem, the delegate of the Agency for Local Democracy, followed by the presentation of the study both in Sidi Bouzid and Mahdia in the presence of local actors, launch a national advocacy campaign on the occasion of the International Day of Rural Women on October 15, 2020, and form a legal committee to present a legislative initiative for a status that preserves the rights of rural women in the agricultural sector. For its part, LDA Tunisia is responsible for mobilizing national and international partners to support this local initiative that has grown ».

Watch the promotional video of this study: https://urlz.fr/dHsO.