Conclusions of the expert meeting on Employment, Skills and Entrepreneurship Strategies in the Mediterranean

On July 2011 the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean, the OECD LEED Programme and the City of Barcelona co-organized an expert meeting in Barcelona focusing on skills for employment and entrepreneurship development in the Mediterranean countries. AFAEMME had participated by chairing the panel dedicated to skills development to empower Mediterranean women.

With regard to Mediterranean women, some of the main conclusions have been:

• Particular attention should be paid to target groups of high risk of exclusion such as women and young people;
• Mentoring programs from women to women have a high potential to foster women entrepreneurship;
• Policies to change mentalities regarding the role of women in the Mediterranean societies are needed. In order to normalise the role of women in society changes have to be applied in all spheres of a complex society: the schools, the business environments, the public administrations, and even the Diasporas;
• In order to encourage women entrepreneurship it is important to reinforce national, regional and international mobility policies for students, researchers and businesswomen in order to exchange knowledge, skills and best practices;
• It is also important to promote mentorship and coaching of businesswomen

You can download the full report HERE.