EmpowHer in Trieste: institutions, young women and international cooperation in the European meeting coordinated by Mimma Dreams APS

From 30 June to 2 July, Mimma Dreams APS welcomed in Trieste the international partnership of the European project EmpowHer, with the support of the Municipality of Trieste, through the Department for Education and Family Policies and PAG – Progetto Area Giovani.

A leading role was played by the Department for Education and Family Policies, led by Councillor Maurizio De Blasio, with responsibility for Youth and Equal Opportunities, and by PAG – Progetto Area Giovani, which proved to be an essential counterpart in building the entire pathway. PAG, in fact, made the event spaces available at the Polo Giovani Toti in Piazza della Cattedrale 4/a and enabled the strategic and operational link between the international partnership and the city.
 

The morning of 2 July marked the most significant institutional moment, precisely thanks to these synergies. The partners, in fact, were welcomed at the Town Hall, in the City Council Chamber and in the Blue Lounge, where the Mayor meets celebrities and bestows honours; an ideal setting to frame a moment that brought together non-governmental organisations, public institutions and local representatives. For Mimma Dreams APS, the visit had substantial value: showcasing a city able to connect youth policies, equal opportunities, urban regeneration and international cooperation. This is a clear example of institutions close both to citizens and to “intermediate bodies”, such as non-profit organisations, which today represent an important place of growth for many young people.

Along the route inside the City Hall, the reference to Cesare Dell’Acqua’s large allegorical canvas in the City Council chamber, “The commercial prosperity of Trieste”, offered a particularly evocative symbolic frame for EmpowHer: handing young people and women the keys to a more prosperous, free and possible future, through training, digital skills, creativity and the ability to build opportunities in their own communities.
 

Next, the delegation visited the area of the former Porto Vecchio, now at the heart of the Porto Vivo project, with an in-depth briefing curated by Dr. Brunetta and Eng. Bernetti. The transformation of the area was presented as one of the most significant challenges for the city’s future: not only an urban redevelopment, but a process able to generate social, economic and cultural spillovers, also as a possible reference for other European and international cities marked by the presence of port areas. This stop was strongly desired as a closing note to a journey that speaks of innovation and the future, begun the previous day inside the Urban Center, where guests, accompanied by staff from the Youth and Equal Opportunities Office, paid a visit and were able to breathe in science and innovation, experiencing the new technologies inside the FAB LAB, a place created to give space to ideas, creations and synergies born above all from young people.