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!
***
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!