Inspiration from our European Network of Innovation’s Best Practices
The Belgian women’s bias-free entrepreneurship talent incubator, #SheDIDIT, and the Italian project Lazzarelle have been awarded for the best initiatives in inclusive entrepreneurship and social labor integration, respectively
Each year, the European Network of Innovation for Inclusion, led by Action Against Hunger, calls for good practices that highlight innovative projects aimed at inspiring, generating impact, and promoting the inclusion of vulnerable groups. This year, the winning initiatives are gearing up to present their work at the Inclusive Employment and Entrepreneurship Forum.
What awaits you at the 12th Edition of the Forum of Inclusive Employment and Entrepreneurship? Don’t miss out!
What Are Good Practices?
Good practices recognized by Action Against Hunger encompass initiatives, methods, and techniques employed by our network's organizations to innovatively and effectively promote the social and labor integration of vulnerable individuals. These practices address emerging challenges, foster social change, and transform difficulties into employment and business opportunities.
Each year, we invite our network partners to submit their good practices. From the projects presented, two finalists and one winner are selected in each category: inclusive entrepreneurship and social labor integration. The awards not only aim to inspire networking among European entities but also offer the finalists all-expenses-paid study trips to learn from the winning projects in their respective categories.
Learn more about our European Network of Innovation for Inclusion and the good practices competition.
The 2024 Good Practices Podium
This year’s winners of the good practices call are #SheDIDIT and Lazzarelle.
The Belgian initiative #SheDIDIT, awarded in the inclusive entrepreneurship category, stood out for its intercultural approach to empowering women entrepreneurs. Founded in 2018, this project creates a space that empowers, supports, and trains women of all ages and cultural backgrounds to start their own businesses. This is achieved through collective business programs for youth, a store that sells products made by its members, and various financial support initiatives, workshops, and conferences.
The finalists in this category included Spain’s Merlo program by the Ronsel Foundation, which offers personalized, gender-focused support to Galician returnees looking to start a business, and Spain’s Relight initiative by the nonprofit organization DRAMBLYS (Social Creativity Lab), which trains young migrant women using an innovative scenario-based learning method.
In the social labor integration category, the top prize went to Lazzarelle, based in Naples, Italy. This women-only cooperative, established in 2010, sells artisanal coffee and chocolate produced by women incarcerated at the Pozzuoli prison. The initiative aims to reduce revictimization and promote inclusion and rehabilitation through employment for economically marginalized and socially vulnerable individuals. Additionally, Lazzarelle emphasizes the use of eco-friendly products and recycled materials.
The finalists in the social labor integration category included the Odyssea training program for refugee and asylum-seeking women, which empowers them to integrate into the labor market and Greek society, and the online platform Energy Transition Careers Compass (ETCC) by the European Youth Energy Network in Belgium, which empowers youth, women, and unemployed individuals to navigate a career in renewable energy.
Last Year’s Edition
In 2023, the award for Best Practice in Inclusive Entrepreneurship went to the French project Le Laba for its initiative Creative Invisibles. The finalists included HILVANA from the San Ezequiel Moreno Foundation and Go Circular from the Italian Center for Lifelong Learning (CIAPE).
The Best Practice in Social Labor Integration was awarded to the Spanish entity Red FACIAM (Federation of Associations and Centers for Help to the Marginalized) for Futuro&Co, surpassingthe other finalists: International Professionals Finland with Degree AMPLIFY and Zabalduz with Batzen.
Discover our work with European Projects and the European Network of Innovation for Inclusion throughout 2023 here.
