On Thursday, 27-03-2025, a working meeting on issues of social inclusion of Roma was held at the office of the Social Inclusion Observatory, with the presence of the Deputy Governor for Social Policy and Solidarity, Mr. Vorgias, Roma representatives and executives from the Community Center of the Municipality of Heraklion, Roma Branch and the Social Inclusion Observatory of the Region of Crete.
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The 2nd Participatory Workshop, organized by the Region of Crete within the framework of the European Project GRANDIS Interreg Europe, was completed with great success.
The event was held at BIZRUPT, aiming to highlight the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs in the green and digital transition.
The Workshop attracted great interest as it was attended by women entrepreneurs, experts in the field of green development and digital innovation, and local government officials. The participating women expressed their views in discussion groups on the obstacles women face in ‘entrepreneurship’, especially in times of digital and environmental change, and submitted proposals.
The European project GRANDIS is coordinated by the Region of Crete and the Regional Advisor for European and International Affairs, Alexakis Giorgos, and is implemented by the Independent Department of European and International Affairs & Development Cooperation under the supervision of Head Vasiliki Madoulka.
The Workshop began with a greeting by Panagiotis Ignatiadis, on behalf of the Deputy Regional Governor for Entrepreneurship Michael Vamvoukas, followed by a greeting from Giorgos Alexakis, Delegated Regional Advisor of Crete for European and International Affairs.
The introduction to the GRANDIS project was made by Maria Apostolaki, Project Coordinator, Environmental Engineer at the Directorate of Environment and Spatial Planning of the Region of Crete.Afterwards, Tzina Apostolaki, associate of the Autonomous Department of European International Affairs & Development Cooperation of the Region of Crete, presented the structure and purpose of the participatory Workshop, as an innovative way of extracting results.
These thematic groups, with the help of experts Aikaterini Vlassaki, Head of the Regional Observatory for Social Inclusion of the Region of Crete, Alexandra Karapidaki, co-founder of BIZRUPT, Elina Mikroulea, Head of Publicity & Partnerships of the Development of Lassithi and Evelina Bakinta,President of the Development Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Crete, they discussed work-life balance, skills, access to financial support and available support services/networks.
The conclusions were then commented on by a panel of experts, which included Maria Kassotaki, Head of the Special Management Service of the Region of Crete, Nektaria Kalogiannaki, Head of the Directorate of Regional Economy & Extroversion of the Region of Crete and Giorgos Alexakis, Delegated Regional Advisor of Crete for European and International Affairs.The discussion was coordinated by Tzina Apostolaki, associate at the Independent Department of European International Affairs & Development Cooperation of the Region of Crete.
The event closed with positive comments from all attendees, highlighting the importance of the participatory process.
The important results of the event include the commitment to initiate a dialogue for the creation of a special financial tool by the Special Management Service for the "CRETE" Program (NSRF 2021-2027) with the aim of supporting female entrepreneurs, confirming the commitment to a more inclusive and sustainable entrepreneurship in Crete, by the Region of Crete.
You can see the Press Release here.
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On Tuesday, November 5, 2024, 10:00-16:00 in the Karousou Hall of the Heraklion Chamber, the round table on "Co-shaping proposals for inclusion, health and cohesion policies" was successfully concluded, opening the dialogue to strengthen inclusive health policies and equal social inclusion.
Through discussions, participants identified needs and formulated proposals, taking into account past initiatives as well as current challenges and opportunities.
The event was organized by the Symbiosis-School of Political Studies of the Council of Europe in Greece, in collaboration with the Development Authority of Heraklion and the Regional Observatory of Social Integration of the Region of Crete, within the framework of the European project #EMV_LII
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The first cycle of training and information activities of the European project "EMV-LII - Strengthening the Voices of Migrants for Integration & Social Inclusion at Local Level" organized by Symbios - School of Political Studies of the Council of Europe in Greece, in collaboration with the Heraklion Development Agency and the Regional Observatory for Social Inclusion of the Region of Crete, was successfully completed. The activities were hosted in Heraklion in the first ten days of October 2024 and concerned, on the one hand, strengthening the participation of migrants in the civic and public spheres and, on the other hand, increasing the capacity of local and regional authorities to implement participatory processes in social integration and inclusion policies for migrants. In this direction, the objectives and priorities set by the National and Regional Strategy for Social Inclusion (ESKE, PESKE of Crete) are utilized, following the principles of the European Social Pillar ("Europe 2030"), as well as the current institutional framework and new technologies.
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The text is available here
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Download publised text here
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