Havana, Cuba - 20-21 April 2018
Havana, 20-21 April 2018 - UNIDO ITPO Italy organized and participated at the “WEIC - III International Workshop for Women Entrepreneurs”, held from 20 to 21 April 2018 at the Palacio de las Convenciones in Havana, Cuba. The workshop was organized in association with AIDDA, Italian Association of Women Entrepreneurs and Executives, and Grupo Empresarial PALCO and with the support of the Embassy of Cuba in Italy and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region.
The International workshop provided a valuable platform for more than 90 participants, mainly from Cuba and Italy, to create a productive dialogue between women executives, professionals, scientists, artists, artisans and local farmers. The event offered an opportunity to exchange experiences on the role of women in relation to education, training and work activities and to discuss solutions on how to improve economic participation of women and thereby create conditions for inclusive and sustainable growth. Furthermore, the event strengthened women’s networks globally by giving a public space for women’s advocacy to give voice to their own experience, aspirations and needs. UNIDO ITPO Italy held a Panel on the theme “UNIDO - Promotion of women empowerment for sustainable and inclusive industrial development” explaining the activities of UNIDO to improve the business environment for women entrepreneurs through the contribution of experts of the staff and a key speech from the Head of the Office, Ms. Diana Battaggia. During the second day, training courses and BtoB meetings to share best practices, individual experiences and create possibilities for future collaboration were successfully organized.
During the mission, UNIDO ITPO Italy held meetings with representatives of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment (MINCEX) and the Ministry of Industry of Cuba (MINDUS) to discuss the status of the joint project to support Cuban entrepreneurs in sectors such as agroindustry, in particular in the packaging area. Additional meetings involved the ‘Centro de Superación del Comercio Exterior y la Inversión Extranjera’, and the ‘Oficina del Historiador’ regarding the launch of the project Heritage4 Cuba.
Finally, another key action of UNIDO ITPO Italy was to support an institutional delegation from Friuli Venezia Giulia Region in La Habana, with the aim to evaluate potential collaborations between FVG and Cuba in the restoration, maritime-cruise and health sectors. As a result, basis was laid for a future collaboration between the maritime industrial cluster MARE FVG and local services in Cuba for their improvement and representatives from Marlin Marina Hemingway port were invited to Friuli Venezia Giulia to present the investment and business opportunities in the Cuban Marinas. This mission represented an important opportunity to enhance bilateral relationships between Cuba and Italy in order to establish fruitful cooperation synergies with economic and institutional actors of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and Cuba.