Project meeting: 4th day

Thursday, 17 May

PBCC and the partners were welcomed by Lithuanian Labour Market Training Authority in Panevėžys. The director presented the main activities of the centre. The target groups are convicts (people in danger of social exclusion), students and unemployed.

The centre provides career guidance, psychological counselling to the target groups and also runs a job club. The LLMTA, which exists in major cities in Lithuania, was founded and is funded by the ministry of social security and labour of the Republic of Lithuania. Special projects are also funded by the European Social Fund.

During the final meeting the project was evaluated and ideas were put forward for further work.

Project meeting: 3rd day

Wednesday, 16 May 07

Project partners participated in the conference “Women’s Roles: Stereotypes and Perspectives”.

The event was aimed at analysing the particular obstacles that prevent women from fully participating in business and social life. The partners made presentations on women entrepreneurship in their countries.

"Feminine Entrepreneurship in Italy”, Michela Calabrese, Tk Formazione Srl

“Feminine Entrepreneurship in Finland”, Satu Laitila, Åbo Akademi

“Feminine Entrepreneurship in Spain”, Maureen B. Lawton, ASEM

“Feminine Entrepreneurship in France”, Severine Bemka, ProGet 83

“Feminine Entrepreneurship in Germany”, Florian Hans, Deutsche Angestellten-Akademie

In the afternoon the time was dedicated to the places of interest within the city of Panevėžys........

Project meeting: 2nd day

Tuesday, 15 May 07


In the morning we visited Vilnius accompagnied by a touristic guide.....

On return to Panevėžys the partners were welcomed by the president of the Active Women organisation.

She presented the organisation and the wide range of regional and national activities. The organisation is one year old and its members are active in different political parties.

The partners intermingled with the members of the organisation over tea and cakes.

Second project meeting in Lithuania 14-17 May 2007

Monday 14 May 07 - Panevėžys, Lithuania

Our second meeting was in Lithuania. The Panevėžys Business Consultancy Centre (PBCC) welcomed all partners in their office.

As first thing, each partner presented its project activities since the last meeting.

It has been a pleasure to meet all partners again!

Afterwards we attended a meeting with the governor of Panevėžys County.

The governor explained the situation of women in employment and in politics. A debate followed focusing on the situation of the female in each country.


Later we were transferred to a local farmstead run by a woman entrepreneur, as an example of agrotourism in Lithuania.


The business woman started the farmstead in 1997. She was one of the first to start an agrotourism business in Lithuania.



In 10 years her business has gone from three rooms to 50 rooms in three buildings. She also provides conference and wedding services. Furthermore she was one of the founders of the rural tourism association of Lithuania.


And in the evening.......we were invited to taste typical local products in the farmstead restaurant.





I sveikata!!

Florence visit photo gallery

Fourth meeting day in Florence - Thursday, 23 Nov

Activities done during the fourth day:

- Brainstorming on new proposal ideas to submit on the next calls (LLP – Lifelong Learning Programme 2007 – 2013): all partners agreed to participate and collaborate in future projects on different topics,

- Definition and validation of the activities timetable,

- Definition of the female entrepreneurs target group who will be interviewed,

- Meetings with Local Stakeholders: CISL – Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori– Coordinamento Regionale delle Donne (Italian Confederation of Trade Unions - The Regional Coordination Women), D.ssa Claudia Russo. The Regional Coordination Women promotes Equal Opportunity policies within the labour market, the reconciliation work/family, etc.
She explained the support of the Confederation of Trade Unions for the enterprises, the initiatives promoting equal opportunity in work places (public and private), and the difficulties to promote the reconciliation between working life and family for women especially in the private sector. Instead in public bodies there are kindergarten to support women with children.
The meeting went off according to the agenda and with fruitful results.

Third meeting day in Florence - Wednesday, 22 Nov. 2006

Activities done during the third meeting day:

- Cultural and historical visit in Florence: guided sightseeing tour, during the morning, of the town to churches, historical buildings, monument, etc. with a tourist guide. The visit was an enjoyable moment to know Florence and its historic/cultural/artistic aspect.

- Development of ideas on the questionnaire to submit to the female entrepreneurs: all partners defined the structure of the questionnaire in 3 sections. We discussed on the opportunity to propose open or closed questions. In order to compare the data on the female entrepreneurs life/working experience it seems better to use closed questions. By other side, with open questions the interviewes would be more free to explain their personal experiences without a fixed path. Maybe the best solution would be the presence of closed questions for objective data (personal data, work experience data) and open questions for personal comments.

- Meeting with local stakeholders: visit by CNA - Confederazione Nazionale Artigianato Piccola e Media Impresa, D.ssa Licia Papini: illustration of the structure and main activities of CNA – Handicraft and SME Association of Florence. The association represent a valid point of contact for all active and dynamic enterprises operating in the province of Florence. The meeting represented an interesting moment of comparison and consideration on concrete initiatives and experiences in the Tuscany economic tissue.

- At the evening with all the partners we had a dinner in a typical Florentine restaurant where we eat Tuscany speciality in a relaxed atmosphere.