Month: January 2022

The month of January concludes with three key dates for the sustainability of the planet: International Education Day, International Day for Environmental Education and World Day for Action against Global Warming. From its commitment in the textile and fashion sector, the CircularInnoBooster project and its accelerator CirCoAX join the commemoration of these dates highlighting the fundamental role of education in raising awareness and building critical thinking in the face of environmental and social challenges.

Quality education with an environmental basis is a necessary starting point to provide both professionals in the sector and future generations with a solid foundation for the preservation of our environment. For CircularInnoBooster, education is the tool for building social awareness that facilitates a paradigm shift in both producers and consumers in the fashion and textile industry, one of the most polluting industries. Thanks to it, each actor in the sector is encouraged to work together to achieve objectives.

In fashion and the textile sector, the only thing that can be exploited is creativity in order to change the model and combine it in parallel with its best ally, education. This ally is the toolbox for building a sustainable world and transforming the production and consumption model that has made the sector one of the most polluting ones. Thanks to it, each actor will not cease to be indifferent to the need to re-establish a better relationship with their social environment and with the planet, with the clarity of where we are going, where we are going and why we are going there.

We need to bring relevant information from different educational levels about the consequences of our actions on nature, the impacts of climate change and our responsibility to reverse this dramatic situation. Through education, we can help to dismantle the large amount of false news and half-truths that unfortunately prevail today. Only well-educated societies will be able to develop critical thinking capable of identifying the best opportunities in this sustainability roadmap and those that are not.

At CircularInnoBooster, we support universal education that guarantees the sustainability of our planet and forges the foundations of a citizenry committed to protecting the environment. To this end, we work to disseminate quality information related to the textile and fashion industry, and we have launched the #CircuLearn initiative, a collaborative dictionary with the key concepts for understanding the sustainable transformation of the sector, which also complements its content with documentaries, reports and readings.

Agents of change in the fashion and textile industry, this week we remind you that, with a book, a pencil and a piece of paper we have managed to change the world, but also with a thread and a needle we have done it and we can continue to do it.

About COSME

COSME is the programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises by the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).

This programme assists SMEs to develop their business models, to receive funds, and to internationalise. This scheme also supports public administrations to enhance the entrepreneurial environment and to facilitate the economic growth of the EU. During the funding period of 2014-2020, this programme allocated €2.3 billion to support SMEs.

About IED

Istituto Europeo di Design is an academic institution working in education, training, and the research of fashion, design, visual communication, and management. IED has offices in Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Milan, Rome and five other cities) and Brazil (São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro). IED works in several EU and COSME countries through collaborations and arrangements with institutions, business support organisations, teachers, experts, and mentors. IED has an extensive network of connections in the fashion and textile sector (F&T).

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova is a foundation working to promote and develop innovation and entrepreneurship across the EU. Headquartered in Brussels, it works through collaborations and partnerships across all EU countries. Finnova’s experience in communicating and disseminating European projects is coupled with an extensive and grounded experience in creating businesses and programmes to support enterprises, such as accelerators, incubators, and the selection and organisation of ceremonies and events.

About Texfor

Texfor is a leading textile association in Spain with roughly 400 members. Founded in 2010 and based in Catalonia, Texfor brings together enterprises from the textile value chain, i.e. from weaving to fabrics as well as accessories, textile finishing, printing, and dyeing for the dressmaking industry, textiles for households, and technical and industrial applications. Texfor has an extensive expertise as it has worked in relevant expert committees at an EU level: university and professional training, developing financial capacities, cross-cutting collaboration, fostering RDI, specialised services, and leadership in sustainability focused on the circular economy.

About Circulab

Circulab is a laboratory and design studio specialising in developing transformation methods, tools and programmes to help enterprises adopt circular and sustainable business models. Circulab has designed several tools to implement a circular business model in enterprises. It works in 23 countries – 9 out of them in the EU – and it supports projects via 60 independent entrepreneurial consultants. It applies circular methodologies and tools.

About The Circular Project co-designed with HumanNation

TCP (The Circular Project) favours and promotes a circular and sustainable fashion in different areas, offering the fashion industry a communication strategy based on a cross-cutting and systemic approach of the circular economy. TCP combines social, ethical, environmental, and economic aspects, and has a strong presence as well as connections in the sustainable fashion world. TCP has promoted the Circular Sustainable Fashion Week Madrid, a one-of-a-kind event, and also serves as HQ for the Spanish Association for the Sustainability, Innovation and Circularity in the Fashion Industry. TCP is also ambassador of Sannas (Triple Bottom Line Business Association) and has collaborated with a wide array of Spanish, European, and Latin American institutions and enterprises.

The Circular Project works with HumanNation to co-design and develop CirCoAX. HumanNation is a consultancy enterprise specialising in the development of transformative and disruptive ecosystems of innovation and companies for the ‘new economy’. It is based on the fourth economic sector, the systemic thinking, and co-creation. It raises awareness in organisations and ecosystems to respect the planetary boundaries and the social fabric, creating resilient local economies with a global perspective.

Madrid, 21/01/2022

Once again, Finnova was present at FITUR, the International Tourism Fair, which was held from 19 to 23 January at IFEMA (Madrid Trade Fair Centre). After the hard blow of the pandemic to tourism, the foundation is committed to sustainability and digitalization as the cornerstones for the recovery of the sector through the Next Generation EU recovery funds.

FITUR TALENT, the importance of training in the tourism sector

The Finnova Foundation co-organized an event on European funds for training on Friday 21 January, as part of FITUR Talent, a monographic space that focuses on people, their talent, skills and professional training.

During the panel, the speakers discussed the importance of training in the tourism sector. Frank Babinger, Advisor, Vice-rectorate for Employability and Entrepreneurship at the Complutense University of Madrid, highlighted the importance of internationalization, such as internships outside Spain: “We must make an effort beyond the classroom,” he said. For his part, Manuel Vegas, President of the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers, pointed out the importance of training young people for the sustainable and environmentally conscious transformation of hotels.

Massimiliano Dragoni, from the European Commission, emphasized the importance of digitalization and logistics for the sector and also presented the Digital Europe programme, with 400 million euros to bring digitalization to companies, public administrations and citizens.  Carla Garcia, European projects technician at Finnova, highlighted the importance of programmes such as Erasmus+ that promote inclusion, sustainability and digitalization among young people.

Finally, Juanma Revuelta, CEO of Finnova and moderator of the event, presented two of the European projects in which the foundation participates as a partner. LIFE Ecodigestión, as a replicable model in the HORECA sector, and Circoax by CircularInnoBooster, where companies such as DeleiteWear participate, to recycle hotel sheets and towels, giving them life in the form of clothing.

Interreg Napoctep Project

Fitur was also the setting for the presentation of the Interreg NAPOCTEP project, a development alternative for rural areas based on the rich Napoleonic heritage of Castilla y León and the Central region of Portugal. The project, led by the Comunidade Intermunicipal da Região de Coimbra (CIM Regiâo de Coimbra), has created different tourist routes following the different scenarios of the War of Independence in Spain and Portugal, contributing through cultural tourism to boost the local economy, safeguard the environment and create employment in areas affected by depopulation. Íñigo Bilbao, coordinator of NAPOCTEP at the Finnova Foundation, was present in the space that the Junta de Castilla y León gave to the project in Hall 9, stand 9C10.

The foundation also collaborates with other European projects linked to the tourism sector such as Logroño Enópolis, the European Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe or the Interreg Atlantic MMIAH+.

About FITUR

FITUR is the premier annual event for global tourism professionals and the leading trade fair for inbound and outbound markets in Ibero-America. In the 2020 edition, FITUR broke participation records with 11,040 companies from 165 countries/regions, 150,011 professionals and 111,089 visitors from the general public. It is a unique place to promote brands, present new products, learn about the latest trends and fill agendas with contacts and prospects.

About NAPOCTEP

The NAPOCTEP project: Napoleonic Routes through Spain and Portugal is a project framed within the Interreg V-A Programme of Cross-border Cooperation Spain-Portugal POCTEP and whose aim is to enhance the cultural heritage of the Napoleonic period, through the creation of Napoleonic routes in an area that includes the central region of Portugal (Beiras and Serra da Estela) and the western provinces of Castile and Leon (Salamanca, Zamora, Valladolid, Leon and Avila), generating an innovative and attractive tourist product that generates economic activity and employment in an area affected by depopulation.

About Finnova Foundation

It is a European foundation based in Brussels whose objectives are to promote public-private cooperation through innovation to address social challenges such as employment, training, entrepreneurship, the UN SDGs, the circular economy, etc. Finnova organises the Startup Europe Awards, an initiative of the European Commission and the Finnova Foundation, to recognise the best European startups in the social field.

This Monday, 24 January, during International Education Day, the seven partners of the Erasmus DESTINE project met to celebrate the day that marks the starting point of an innovative proposal that aspires to become a benchmark for inclusive, diverse and tolerant online education.

The covid-19 pandemic has brought about a paradigm shift in traditional education. The digitization of the education system requires specialized knowledge on the part of teachers and other relevant staff.

The Erasmus project DESTINE (DivErSity and Tolerance IN E-Environment) was created with the aim of promoting online Professional Education that guarantees support for diversity, inclusion and tolerance, providing the necessary tools so that all professionals and students can adapt to the e-learning methodology. DESTINE also targets Professional Training students, and in particular learners with fewer opportunities, who need a learning environment that is tolerant of diversity.

The project will respond to the following needs

– To introduce ways of efficiently adapting traditional classrooms to the new digital learning environment, focusing mainly on safeguarding the values of diversity and tolerance.

– Train Professional teachers/trainers/educators to acquire the skills and competences to develop innovative educational activities and methods that promote diversity and tolerance in the virtual classroom environment.

– Promote the attractiveness of Professional Training by fostering the innovative transformation of online teaching and distance learning.

– To provide education that embraces diversity and tolerance and is inclusive for all.

Transnational collaboration project

With the duration of two years, this project is supported by transnational collaboration between entities from different European countries. OSENGO (France), as project coordinator, is joined by SIMPLEXIS and AKMI (Greece), BK Consult GbR (Germany), the FINNOVA Foundation (Spain), Future in Perspective Limited – FIPL (Ireland) and Centrul Pentru (Romania).

In the course of the project, project outcomes, multiplier events and a teaching, learning and training activity will be designed and implemented.

– An online learning platform will be created containing material focusing on tolerance and diversity methods applied in traditional classrooms and how this material could be transferred to the online classroom environment.

– Innovative activities, tools and educational methods for diverse and tolerant learning in the e-classroom environment will be created in the form of Open Educational Resources (OER). The OER will be presented and shared with teachers/trainers/educators through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

– A toolkit containing all the material produced regarding methods and techniques for tolerance of diversity in the virtual classroom. The toolkit will be uploaded on the E-Learning Platform and will be freely accessible to teachers, trainers and mentors as well as interested learners.

– A new environment for cooperation between training institutions will be developed, creating a widely available online repository of OER available to their members and their trainers/teachers/educators. This increases the potential for sustainability, creating added value for the Professional Training system at the EU level.

The launch of the project coincides with the European Year of Youth, through which the European Commission recognizes the courage and resilience of young people, one of the groups most affected by the pandemic. DESTINE aims to provide quality education free of discrimination to increase opportunities for these young people.

The Madrid International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR), held from 19 to 23 January 2022, is the largest meeting point for professionals from the tourism sector and related entities in the Ibero-American region.

Throughout the four days of the event, numerous organizations will work to create synergies and boost the sector’s economic momentum. In addition, innovative proposals and funding opportunities for its sustainable transformation will be welcomed.

One of the fundamental aspects that can contribute to a greater commitment to the environment, taking into account lines of action promoted by the European Union such as the European Green Deal, is the circular economy.

The Finnova Foundation, partner of the CircularInnoBooster project, has been present at a panel on European Funds for Training on the morning of Friday 21 January. During the day, the funding opportunities for innovation through European programmes such as COSME have been presented and the CircularInnoBooster project has been introduced as a successful case of the application of the circular economy for the transformation of the fashion and textile sector. In addition, the great possibilities presented by the project, with a potential applicability to the use of textiles in the hotel sector, were discussed.

About COSME  

COSME is the programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises by the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).

This programme assists SMEs to develop their business models, to obtain funds and to internationalise. This scheme also supports public administrations to enhance the entrepreneurial environment and to facilitate the economic growth of the EU. During the funding period of 2014-2020, this programme allocated €2.3 billion to support SMEs

About IED  

Istituto Europeo di Design is an academic institution working in education, training, and the research of fashion, design, visual communication, and management. IED has offices in Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Milan, Rome and five other cities) and Brazil (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro). IED works in several EU and COSME countries through collaborations and arrangements with institutions, business support organisations, teachers, experts, and mentors. IED has an extensive network of connections in the fashion and textile sector (F&T).

About Finnova 

Finnova is a foundation working for the promotion and development of innovation and entrepreneurship at EU level. Based in Brussels, it operates through collaborations and partnerships in all European Union countries. Finnova’s experience in leading European project communication and dissemination activities is combined with a strong proven expertise in start-ups and business support programs, such as accelerators, incubators and ceremonial event selection and awarding.

About Texfor 

Texfor is a leading textile association in Spain with roughly 400 members. Founded in 2010 and based in Catalonia, Texfor brings together enterprises from the textile value chain, i.e. from weaving to fabrics as well as accessories, textile finishing, printing, and dyeing for the dressmaking industry, textiles for households and technical and industrial applications. Texfor has an extensive expertise as it has worked in relevant expert committees at an EU level: university and professional training, developing financial capacities, cross-cutting collaboration, fostering RDI, specialised services, and leadership in sustainability focused on the circular economy.

About Circulab 

Circulab is a laboratory and design studio specialising in developing transformation methods, tools and programmes to help enterprises adopt circular and sustainable business models. Circulab has designed a number of tools to implement a circular business model in enterprises. It works in 23 countries – 9 out of them in the EU – and it supports projects via 60 independent entrepreneurial consultants. It applies circular methodologies and tools.

About The Circular Project co-designed with HumanNation 

TCP (The Circular Project) favours and promotes a circular and sustainable fashion in different areas, offering the fashion industry a communication strategy based on a cross-cutting and systemic approach of the circular economy. TCP combines social, ethical, environmental and economic aspects, and has a strong presence and connections in the sustainable fashion world.

TCP has promoted the Circular Sustainable Fashion Week Madrid, a one-of-a-kind event, and also serves as HQ for the Spanish Association for the Sustainability, Innovation and Circularity in the Fashion Industry. TCP is also ambassador of Sannas (Triple Bottom Line Business Association) and has collaborated in a wide array of Spanish, European, and Latin American institutions and enterprises.

The Circular Project works with Human Nation to co-design and develop CirCoAX. HumanNation is a consultancy enterprise specialising in the development of transformative and disruptive ecosystems of innovation and companies for the ‘new economy’. It is based on the fourth economic sector, the systemic thinking, and co-creation. It raises awareness in organisations and ecosystems to respect the planetary boundaries and the social fabric, creating resilient local economies with a global perspective.

The sustainable management of natural resources is one of the main axes of the LIFE Ecodigestion 2.0 project. Focusing on the reuse of putrescible organic waste, it is committed to the generation of green energy without the need for raw materials. This 2022 has been chosen as the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development to promote and raise awareness of the need to make sustainable use of the resources that this ecosystem offers us, thus preserving biodiversity and ensuring a sustainable future for the environment.

Pollution has a direct impact on mountains, increasing the likelihood of thawing, deforestation or land degradation. One of the primary objectives of the LIFE project is to contribute to SDG 6 on universal access to water and sanitation. In this respect, mountains play an essential role. They are natural water reservoirs that the planet cannot afford to destroy. Moreover, most major rivers originate in mountains and are areas with abundant rainfall. It is estimated that, in humid areas, up to 60 per cent of freshwater in watersheds comes from mountains.

The joint public-private work and the awareness and commitment of citizens are necessary for the preservation of biodiversity and the resources offered by the mountains and nature in general.

From LIFE Ecodigestion 2.0, we encourage you to learn more about this international year designated by the United Nations and to make responsible use of your water consumption.

To implement the new model of the textile and fashion industry, the CircularInnoBooster project and its accelerator CirCoAX are launching the #CircuLearn initiative. This is a section of the website – within the project’s challenges tab – presenting the definition of the most important concepts when laying the foundations for the sustainable transformation.

A change of model implies a work of standardization of bases and concepts that we must learn to articulate and put forward in the projects joining the creation of this new paradigm. Today, we can fall into the excessive use of these key words, without really knowing in depth their content and importance. The sources of information for the definition of these concepts come from European institutions, international organizations, agencies and associations working in the field with a wide experience.

In addition to including definitions, #CircuLearn provides reports and articles that give solidity. One of the objectives of the initiative will be to provide reliable and authoritative sources on the subject of sustainability. Thanks to these, entrepreneurs, designers, producers and consumers in the sector will be able to participate in the fight against misinformation and false information.

From CircularInnoBooster, we affirm our commitment to the quality information and content required to achieve our goals of the United Nations 2030 agenda, the Paris Agreement and the European Green Pact. Therefore, we invite the sector’s transformers to join this initiative in which they will learn, research and have the possibility to bring other concepts to the fore.

About COSME 

COSME is the programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises by the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).

This programme assists SMEs to develop their business models, to obtain funds and to internationalise. This scheme also supports public administrations to enhance the entrepreneurial environment and to facilitate the economic growth of the EU. During the funding period of 2014-2020, this programme allocated €2.3 billion to support SMEs

About IED 

Istituto Europeo di Design is an academic institution working in education, training, and the research of fashion, design, visual communication, and management. IED has offices in Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Milan, Rome and five other cities) and Brazil (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro). IED works in several EU and COSME countries through collaborations and arrangements with institutions, business support organisations, teachers, experts, and mentors. IED has an extensive network of connections in the fashion and textile sector (F&T).

About Finnova

Finnova es una fundación que trabaja para la promoción y el desarrollo de la innovación y el espíritu empresarial a nivel de la UE. Con sede en Bruselas, opera a través de colaboraciones y asociaciones en todos los países de la Unión Europea. La experiencia de Finnova liderando actividades de comunicación y difusión de proyectos europeos se combina con una sólida experiencia probada en la creación de empresas y programas de apoyo empresarial, como aceleradoras, incubadoras y selección y adjudicación de eventos ceremoniales.

About Texfor

Texfor is a leading textile association in Spain with roughly 400 members. Founded in 2010 and based in Catalonia, Texfor brings together enterprises from the textile value chain, i.e. from weaving to fabrics as well as accessories, textile finishing, printing, and dyeing for the dressmaking industry, textiles for households and technical and industrial applications. Texfor has an extensive expertise as it has worked in relevant expert committees at an EU level: university and professional training, developing financial capacities, cross-cutting collaboration, fostering RDI, specialised services, and leadership in sustainability focused on the circular economy.

About Circulab

Circulab is a laboratory and design studio specialising in developing transformation methods, tools and programmes to help enterprises adopt circular and sustainable business models. Circulab has designed a number of tools to implement a circular business model in enterprises. It works in 23 countries – 9 out of them in the EU – and it supports projects via 60 independent entrepreneurial consultants. It applies circular methodologies and tools.

About The Circular Project co-designed with HumanNation

TCP (The Circular Project) favours and promotes a circular and sustainable fashion in different areas, offering the fashion industry a communication strategy based on a cross-cutting and systemic approach of the circular economy. TCP combines social, ethical, environmental and economic aspects, and has a strong presence and connections in the sustainable fashion world.

TCP has promoted the Circular Sustainable Fashion Week Madrid, a one-of-a-kind event, and also serves as HQ for the Spanish Association for the Sustainability, Innovation and Circularity in the Fashion Industry. TCP is also ambassador of Sannas (Triple Bottom Line Business Association) and has collaborated in a wide array of Spanish, European, and Latin American institutions and enterprises.

The Circular Project works with Human Nation to co-design and develop CirCoAX. HumanNation is a consultancy enterprise specialising in the development of transformative and disruptive ecosystems of innovation and companies for the ‘new economy’. It is based on the fourth economic sector, the systemic thinking, and co-creation. It raises awareness in organisations and ecosystems to respect the planetary boundaries and the social fabric, creating resilient local economies with a global perspective.

The CircularInnoBooster project supports the European Year of Youth by recognizing their role in the sustainable transformation of the fashion and textile industry.

The European Commission has decided that 2022 will be a year dedicated to young people. After a long period of uncertainty in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, issues as significant as caring for our planet, digitization and inclusion have come to the fore. The European Union recognizes the impact that the situation has had on young people. It wants to compensate for their resilience and give space to the voices of a generation that will be key to upholding the principles of the Union.

CircularInnoBooster is committed to a change in the fashion and textile industry in which young people play an active role. For our COSME project, the synergy between generations facilitates the transmission of knowledge and more sustainable means of production. By supporting generational change, we encourage the convergence of traditional, more artisanal practices with new, more modern production methods, favouring the digitalization of the sector. These values are materialized through our CirCoAX accelerator.

The vision and drive of our young people are needed to effect change. A much more internationalized generation, sharing the common EU project, can contribute to closer ties with other countries, revitalizing a sector which, despite employing a significant percentage of the European workforce, is losing its productive capacity to imports.

To achieve this goal, tools such as education, training, financial support or mobility opportunities, among others, are needed. Thanks to European projects such as CircularInnoBooster, it is possible for young people to have the representation and positioning they deserve.

This 2022 arrives as a turning point to achieve the goals of the European Green Deal and the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. The countdown has begun, and this is a crucial year for determining whether we meet climate deadlines. The COSME project CircularInnoBooster and its accelerator CirCoAX strongly reinforce the circular and sustainable transformation of the fashion and textile industry, supporting innovation as a key driver of change.

A sector that is so creative, but polluting has a golden opportunity to reinvent itself. Many disruptive projects are already at the forefront of a cutting-edge movement that has come to stay. But more efforts are needed. Industry professionals have the capacity, but also the responsibility, to settle a new way of producing, including ethical processes, sustainable materials, cooperation for the exchange of good practices, the reuse of waste, and the creation of new services.

Glass is undoubtedly an element that has added value to the life quality and stands out as a facilitator of sustainability due to its properties of durability, strength, and rigidity. For CircularInnoBooster, the International Year of Glass is an example of the immense potential that lies ahead for this industry.

Already in 1983, during the Chicago World’s Fair, the Libbey factory tried to impress the attendees by turning the conventional use of glass on its head. They presented a unique collection, with ties made of braided glass filaments, or a gown made of fibreglass. Nowadays, renowned designers such as Iris Van Herpen are bringing this type of material to the catwalks through 3D modelling creations.

The aim of our COSME project is to encourage independent designers, associations, entrepreneurs and many other agents of change to create innovative products that respond to current problems, by following the circular economy model. CircularInnoBooster is born with the vocation of turning garments into unique items that reflect the commitment to generations, cultures, people and their environment, portraying values of respect for the environment and generating decent jobs.

Join the green transformation!

Contact us:

info@circoax.eu

About COSME

COSME is the programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises by the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).

This programme assists SMEs to develop their business models, to receive funds, and to internationalize. This scheme also supports public administrations to enhance the entrepreneurial environment and to facilitate the economic growth of the EU. During the funding period of 2014-2020, this programme allocated €2.3 billion to support SMEs.

About IED

Istituto Europeo di Design is an academic institution working in education, training, and the research of fashion, design, visual communication, and management. IED has offices in Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Milan, Rome and five other cities) and Brazil (São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro). IED works in several EU and COSME countries through collaborations and arrangements with institutions, business support organizations, teachers, experts, and mentors. IED has an extensive network of connections in the fashion and textile sector (F&T).

https://www.ied.es/

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova is a foundation working to promote and develop innovation and entrepreneurship across the EU. Headquartered in Brussels, it works through collaborations and partnerships across all EU countries. Finnova’s experience in communicating and disseminating European projects is coupled with an extensive and grounded experience in creating businesses and programmes to support enterprises, such as accelerators, incubators, and the selection and organization of ceremonies and events.

https://finnova.eu/

About Texfor

Texfor is a leading textile association in Spain with roughly 400 members. Founded in 2010 and based in Catalonia, Texfor brings together enterprises from the textile value chain, i.e. from weaving to fabrics as well as accessories, textile finishing, printing, and dyeing for the dressmaking industry, textiles for households, and technical and industrial applications. Texfor has an extensive expertise as it has worked in relevant expert committees at an EU level: university and professional training, developing financial capacities, cross-cutting collaboration, fostering RDI, specialized services, and leadership in sustainability focused on the circular economy.

https://www.texfor.es/es/

About Circulab

Circulab is a laboratory and design studio specializing in developing transformation methods, tools and programmes to help enterprises adopt circular and sustainable business models. Circulab has designed several tools to implement a circular business model in enterprises. It works in 23 countries – 9 out of them in the EU – and it supports projects via 60 independent entrepreneurial consultants. It applies circular methodologies and tools.

https://circulab.com

About The Circular Project co-designed with HumanNation

TCP (The Circular Project) favours and promotes a circular and sustainable fashion in different areas, offering the fashion industry a communication strategy based on a cross-cutting and systemic approach of the circular economy. TCP combines social, ethical, environmental, and economic aspects, and has a strong presence as well as connections in the sustainable fashion world. TCP has promoted the Circular Sustainable Fashion Week Madrid, a one-of-a-kind event, and also serves as HQ for the Spanish Association for the Sustainability, Innovation and Circularity in the Fashion Industry. TCP is also ambassador of Sannas (Triple Bottom Line Business Association) and has collaborated with a wide array of Spanish, European, and Latin American institutions and enterprises.

The Circular Project works with HumanNation to co-design and develop CirCoAX. HumanNation is a consultancy enterprise specializing in the development of transformative and disruptive ecosystems of innovation and companies for the ‘new economy’. It is based on the fourth economic sector, the systemic thinking, and co-creation. It raises awareness in organizations and ecosystems to respect the planetary boundaries and the social fabric, creating resilient local economies with a global perspective.

https://thecircularproject.com/

https://www.humannation.earth/

• A total of 45 professionals from the sector, from different European and Latin American countries, are participating in this call focused on innovation and improvement of the processes used in agriculture.
• The winners will be eligible for European funding through programmes such as LIFE, Horizon 2020 or Next Generation EU.
• The online semi-final will be held on Wednesday 26^th, January 2022.

[Brussels 22/12/2021]

Finnova Foundation is launching a challenge to the primary sector with the aim of encouraging open innovation to promote disruptive ideas or projects in the field of precision agriculture. The improvement of processes and innovative proposals are the groundwork of the Agritech Startup Europe Accelerathon. This initiative covers three types of projects: those on the use of water and the implementation of new technologies in agriculture, those aimed at green and smart agri-food systems and those improving processes through biofertilizers, recovery of native seeds and degraded soils.

The winner of the Agritech Startup Europe Accelerathon of Finnova Foundation will be awarded with an “acceleration ticket”, whose purpose is to support and present this idea as a project to the European programmes LIFE, Horizon 2020 or Next Generation EU. These are funding strategies offered by the European Union to encourage innovation and promote environmental protection among citizens.

The call has already started with the work and activities planned for the 45 participants who have joined this Accelerathon. Participants, coming from Uruguay, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Italy and Spain, have been divided into ten working teams, mentored by professionals of the sector from Finnova Foundation: Iñigo Bilbao, David Vinue, Héctor Juan, Adrián Noheda, Álvaro Reina, Carolina Lechado, Carla García, Jose Manuel Requena and Juan Viesca.

On next Wednesday 26^th, January 2022, the Agritech Startup Europe Accelerathon Semi-Final will be held, an online event with the participation of judges specialized in the sector. The winning team will be announced on next Thursday, March 3.

About Startup Europe Awards (SEUA) (https://startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/)

It is a methodology of the European Commission’s DG CONNECT, implemented by the Finnova Foundation since 2016. SEUAs are an open innovation tool for identifying disruptive startups that promotes public-private collaboration and raises awareness of the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driver of employment.

It also generates alliances that help to meet the United Nations SDGs and the actions of the European Green Deal, contributing to the circular economy, the fight against climate change, innovation of processes and improved water use, among others.

About Finnova (www.finnova.eu)

European foundation for the financing of innovation based in Brussels and Spain, whose objectives are to promote public-private cooperation through innovation to address social challenges such as employment, training, entrepreneurship, the UN SDGs, the circular economy, etc. Finnova organizes the Startup Europe Awards, an initiative of the European Commission and the Finnova Foundation, to recognize the best European startups in the social field.