The joint policy initiative Eastern Partnership - EaP
The joint policy initiative Eastern Partnership – EaP,
aims to deepen and strengthen relations between the European Union (EU),
its Member States and its six Eastern neighbours:
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine
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Are you engaged in the textile sector in Armenia or Italy?
Are you interested in strengthening transnational business relationships?
Are you interested in receiving support to boost your business?
Don’t miss the opportunity to join the Study Visits in Armenia and Italy in order to strengthen business cooperation in the sector of textile industries!
BSOs (Business Supporting Organisations) and companies interested in making transnational business exchanges are invited to apply for receiving a reservation valid for the following activities:
16 participants from Italy and Armenia.
6 SMEs* owners based in Italy (will take part to the Study Visit in Armenia)
6 SMEs* owners based in Armenia (will take part to the Study Visit in Italy)
4 BSOs** based in Italy or Armenia with interest to activate business partnership with Armenian/Italian companies
English language B2 level required
Business based in Italy or Armenia
Interest to activate business partnership with Armenian/Italian companies
The participation of each organisation is covered by the Textwin project funded by the Eurochamber – EU4BC (expenditures regarding the Travel and Subsistence are fully covered).
PIN and Economic Research and Development Support Center will take care of the study visit organisation and of all logistic aspects.
* Small and Medium Enterprise
**Business Support Organisation
- Go to https://learn.skillman.eu/enrol/index.php?id=145, click on the “Continue” button and login or sign-up (if it’s the first time you access the Skillman e-learn platform) to access the Moodle Course.
- Apply for the Study Visit submitting the “Admission Questionnaire – Prerequisites and Selection Criteria” available within the course resources.
- In case of approved request, the applicants will be asked to deposit a 100 euros guarantee before the issue of the flight tickets by the travel agency
- The travel agency will manage the booking process directly with the applicants and will send flight tickets and accommodation arrangements info to the beneficiaries.
- Before the arrival, beneficiaries will comply with COVID 19 regulations for traveling (swabs, green pass, etc. if requested) and all necessary documents that might be required by Italian/Armenian National Authorithies
- After the arrival, beneficiaries will be tutored by partners organisations during the whole duration of the Study Visit in Armenia or Italy.
SEAT RESERVATION: Important information and requirements – PAY ATTENTION:
- After the event, beneficiaries benefiting from the SEAT RESERVATION keep all the eventual receipts and or boarding passes related to flights and accommodation of the conference, upload them within the course resources or send them to secretariat@skillman.eu.
- Within 15 days from the conclusion of the event, the Skillman Secretariat Team sends back the DEPOSIT to the beneficiaries’ bank account.
- In case of a no-show of the beneficiary, the amount for travels and accommodation penalties is charged to the beneficiary. Exceptions are force majeure events, eg. flight cancellation due to COVID-19.
- The travel costs admitted are exclusively air, train, and bus/train tickets. No refund will be granted for other means of transport (taxi is not admitted expenses).
- No refund will be granted for any expense not expressly authorized in advance by the Skillman Secretariat
3 Preliminary Meetings
- First preliminary meeting– The BSOs already identified in the application will be contacted one by one, updating them on the status of the project and its opportunities. The contact persons indicated by the BSOs will receive an invitation via doodle to schedule the first 3 preliminary meetings. The online preliminary meeting will allow BSOs to ‘meet each other’ and foresees the setting of all the contents required for the effective delivery of the services and activities.
- Second preliminary meeting – will allow BSOs to focus on specific aspects to be defined during the meeting itself; this phase represents therefore the first attempt to adapt the activities on-going to the feedback received by the stakeholders, to the characteristics of data gathered etc.
- Third online preliminary meeting will narrow down the listed aspects to the most promising elements allowing for the development of the new TEXTWIN services.
Engagement into the innovative services
- 1 day coaching for the development of TEXTWIN assessment services and TEXTWIN online marketplace in Armenia, involving all the foreseen BSOs
- 1 day coaching for the development of TEXTWIN assessment services and TEXTWIN online marketplace in Italy, involving all the foreseen BSOs
- 1 joint online meeting between BSOs from Italy and Armenia working on the same result to finetune the service after the first coaching
Piloting
- Gathering and analysing feedback, support from the other BSOs to improve the services
- 1 day coaching for each service to further improve the service after the analysis of the feedback above
- 5 Business meetings to be organised involving SMEs of the textile sector, also using existing fairs and event as supporting platform to enrich the opportunities and knowledge transfer
- Online survey to finetune the 2 new services
Exchanging and cooperating with peers entrepreneurs
Understanding and selecting trade environment and investment opportunities available in EaP countries
Understanding innovation factors
Focusing the most innovative trends at worldwide level in terms of skills and technologies
Managing cooperation between transnational companies
Sharing local or international projects and initiatives that can act as a vehicle to encourage mutual exchanges between the two countries
Understanding the opportunities of the joint policy initiative Eastern Partnership – EaP
Valorising / taking advantage from transnational channels and networks such as the Enterprise Europe Network and the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Programme
Understanding and valorising transnational exchanges as a tool for business
Participants receive the Europass Digital Credentials, describing all learning achievements. The credentials include activities, assessments during the Study Visit in Tuscany.
Europass Digital Credentials are signed with an e-Seal, meaning participants will enjoy a legal presumption of authenticity across the EU as well as equivalence to paper-based credentials containing the same information.
At the end of the study visit all participants will be asked to fill in the Study visit evaluation questionnaire to get feedback on the quality and success of their experience.
The general aim of the TEXTWIN PROJECT: TEXTILE SECTOR TWINNING ARMENIA / ITALY is to open new transnational business opportunities and build a permanent partnership between EU and EaP’s SMEs and Business Supporting Organizations, having a keen and common interest in the textile sector.
This ultimate objective will be achieved by establishing direct links between SMEs and BSOs from Tuscany (Italy) and Armenia through study visits and Peer-to-Peer coaching, enabling representatives from both countries to share specific know-how and best practices, thus encouraging the development of new products/services and innovations.
During the project’s life, other services will also be developed and implemented to facilitate the networking process between the two countries: a Self-Assessment Tool for market analysis and SMEs import/export, and TEXTWIN online platform for B2B matching.
Armenia has a strong heritage and experience in the clothing, footwear, textile, and leather sectors. After some decades of severe economic challenges, the textile and clothing sector showed steady growth: the level of production in 2020 compared to 2016 increased by almost 2.5 times, relying mostly on exports: according to the UN Comtrade Database, its dollar value in 2020 totaled $1.52 million and $131.16 million respectively, seeing the Russian Federation, Italy, and Germany as the top three destinations, accounting for 93% of all the exports.
The fashion industry plays a big part in Italy‘s economy and the country is recognized worldwide for its high-quality products. The traditional success factor of the Italian textile industry is the ability to combine innovation, fashion, and creative style with production technologies.
