This morning, in the women’s area of the Italian Pavilion,the results of the joint project“Jeunes filles pour l’agro”were presented. This is a three-year program for professional development in the agro-food industry dedicated to young African women and held in the Savannah region, north of Togo. Antonio Colombi, President of theMovement To Stop Global Hunger, together withAlice Riva, President of theYear Out AssociationandDiana Bracco discussed these in theME and WE-Women for Expo Area in the Italian Pavilion, in an event chaired byCamilla Speriani, expert in processes of sustainable change.
Until June 27, from 10:30 to 20:30, visitors can visit the exhibition“Tomatogo/Fruitogo, links between excellence and sustainability”in theME and WE-Women for Expo area of the Italian Pavilion; the exhibition aims to describe a cognitive and emotional path, made with images, stories, objects, and the story of“Jeunes Filles pour l’agro”. It aims to highlight the successful collaboration between Lombardy businesses represented by theMilan Foundationfor Expo 2015, the NGOMovement To Stop Global Hungerfrom Lodi, other Foundations with common objectives, as well as local institutions and partners.
Women at the center of the agriculture system
The initiative, which was designed to promote important agricultural local resources such as tomatoes and local fruit, has sustained 250 young women with no school education, from the training process to production, processing and trading stages. Five agricultural cooperatives have been launched and two eight-product lines have been launched on the local market: two different sizes of Tomatogo tomato paste and six Fruitogo fruit juices and nectars (mango, pineapple, fruit cocktail, tamarind, ginger, and hibiscus).
Today, after three years of work, the 250 beneficiaries, cooperative members, have a professional placement and a recognized social role. Reinforcing the industry has, indeed, enabled the results to be extended beyond the direct beneficiaries, thus generating positive outcomes also for tomato and fruit producers, potential local businessmen and consumers.
‘Jeunes Filles pour l’agro’ was one of the winners of the Projects for Women contest, promoted by Women for Expo and the Italian Pavilion
“The professional and personal growth of women has been a central theme of the projectJeunes Filles pour l’Agro, which has helped them become one of the winners of theProjects for Womencontest, promoted by Women for Expo and the Italian Pavilion", stated Diana Bracco, President of the Milan Foundation for Expo 2015, President and General Commissioner of Italian Pavilion. "A beautiful story of 250 African women who have created, with their enthusiasm and hard work, the possibility to communicate a message of positivity and hope for future generations in particular.” Bracco underlined the special attention thatExpo Milano 2015 has paid to women from the beginning: “Paying attention to the role of women has been an integral part of the Expo Milano 2015 project since the initial phases. The Women for Expo initiative, conceived together with friendsLetizia Moratti and Emma Bonino, is an attempt to prepare a Universal Exposition that on one hand organizes initiatives designed to promote the role of women and, on the other hand, involves a transversal attention paid to general themes concerning the contents of the exhibition and the ways in which Expo Milano 2015 is organized”.
“Jeunes filles pour l’agro”: women’s empowerment and the battle against waste
Antonio Colombi underlined that “Movement To Stop Global Hungeris the party that implements this project. Five cooperatives have been created to realize this project and 250 women have been involved. A women’s alliance against malnutrition is a winning element for a sustainable future, in particular on the African Continent, where we are aware of the value of women both in the family equilibrium and the family economy. This project has also promoted the microcredit to women so they can proceed in setting up businesses: we go then from an agriculture project to a business project.‘Jeunes filles pour l’agro’ is also a way to battle against waste: often products were not consumed because the markets were too far away and communication was difficult. This project aims to transform the agricultural product and transform it into tomato passata and fruit juices”.
Enrico Selmi, vice president of the “Movement To Stop Global Hunger”, added: “Thanks to this project, women can be the businesswomen of themselves. I had the chance of participating in on-site monitoring missions: I saw many changes and women have acquired precious elements. I found them happy to have taken the step they took and confident of their role in society and in the family”.
