カテゴリー: General-jp

• The webinar was held within the European Sustainable Development Week 2021 and featured high-level speakers from the EU and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
• Topics included Latam-EU common goals like the sustainability, inclusion, awareness-raising, innovation, and recovery of tourism.
• There are three remaining Next LATAM-EU Generation events. The European Commission’s StartUp Europe Awards will be delivered down the line.

Brussels [22/09/2021].

The sixth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation was held within the European Sustainable Development Week on Tuesday 21 September 2021. It focused on exchanging ideas on sustainable development and the circular economy in tourism to tackle climate change and environmental degradation. It underlined the importance of cooperation and the exchange of innovative practices between the EU and Latin America to support a deeply affected sector by Covid – tourism.

Finnova Foundation European Funds Director Juan Viesca kicked off the webinar and chaired the institutional and expert panels. Finnova IT Manager Eduardo Mercado took over later on.

The institutional panel featured the contributions of Natalia Bayona (video presentation), Director of Innovation, Education and Investments at World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and Noelia Barriuso, EU-Brazil Policy Dialogues Support Facility. Both speakers encouraged entrepreneurship, training, inclusion, investment and EU-Latam cooperation to ensure a sustainable and resilient tourism sector.

The second panel was devoted to EU funding programmes, and it was run by Juan Viesca, who discussed economic recovery tools like NextGeneration and the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework. Both programmes are available for Latin American countries. Mr Viesca mentioned some projects where Finnova is engaged. These include CirCoAX, a COSME project working to find out circular and social-minded business models in the textile and fashion industries (including textiles in hotels); LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0, a project harnessing wastes to generate energy on an efficient manner, and NAPOCTEP, a project fostering cultural tourism in Napoleonic routes.

The webinar also hosted a roundtable where experts debated about the circular economy and sustainable development in tourism. It featured Eduardo Parra-López, Ex-chair of AECIT – Spanish Association of Scientific Experts on Tourism – and a professor at Universidad de la Laguna; Luis Lehman, Circular Economy and Economic Sustainable Development Consultant; Estrella Torrecilla Crespo, Director-General of Tourism in Castilla y León; Javier Bello Lecuona, Nogal Studios, CEO; and Álvaro Reina, Energy Projects Officer at Finnova Foundation.

As a keynote address, Eduardo Parra-López pointed out that “collective intelligence is increasingly important, which translates to interconnectedness and collaboration to reach a digital and innovative tourism sector”.Luis Lehman, an expert on the circular economy, further added that “it is fundamental to bear in mind all the factors enabling to upgrade the tourism sector and to integrate much-needed innovations”. Estrella Torrecilla stressed that switching current practices into increased sustainable ones may enable to reduce the negative impact of tourism on the environment and to boost destinations, which, according to Javier Bello, should turn to more digital and new technology-based practices. Álvaro Reina considered the tourism sector to be one of the most interesting sectors to implement the circular economy. He also discussed several projects Finnova Foundation is currently involved in.

The last panel was headed by Luis Javier Parra, who discussed a success story – City Scan. Being its Co-founder, Mr Parra explained that this software (which was created in Colombia) is a digital tourism app which uses audioguides based on augmented reality and which connects tourists with local guides.

The webinar was wound up with a questionnaire about the tourism sector.

Next LATAM-EU Generation is broken down into nine online events which will take place every second Tuesday of each month on the occasion of a particular World Day in line with SDGs. Next LATAM-EU Generation will be topped off with the delivery of the European Commission’s StartUp Europe Awards.

About Finnova Foundation 

Finnova Foundation is a Belgian-Spanish foundation working to support innovation through EU funds. It seeks to promote private-public cooperation through innovation to address societal challenges, e.g. employment, training, entrepreneurship, SDGs, circular economy, etc. Finnova is in charge of organising Startup Europe Awards, a joint initiative by Finnova and the European Commission to reward the best social European start-ups.

For more information, click on www.finnova.eu.

About Startup Europe Awards 

Startup Europe Awards is an initiative set up by DG CONNECT and implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards are an open innovation mechanism which aims to identify disruptive start-ups and to promote private-public partnerships. They also seek to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, they also contribute to the circular economy, sustainable tourism and fighting against climate change.

For more information, click on https://startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/.

About Red Business Market 

Business Market is a forum connecting investors, businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups from Ciudad Real aiming to create a network of business, financing and support for economic and business projects in that area. All this funding can be coupled with venture capital, business angels, personal investments and corporate or financial funds for innovative and disruptive initiatives with an added value which need funding to start operating.

For more information, click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-vd9gSy19s.

About Next Talent Generation

Next Talent Generation aims to create a pro-Europe alliance bringing together different entities – non-profit organisations, enterprises, universities, EU institutions, Spanish authorities, etc. This initiative offers in a single platform training opportunities across the EU. Next Talent Generation shows internship opportunities and mobility schemes in Europe to foster cross-border mobility and to enhance the level of employability of youth. Finnova currently offers the chance to do internships across all EU countries through the Garantía Nacional Juvenil scheme. 

For more information, click on https://nextalentgeneration.eu/.

• 様々な分野のパネリストが参加し、日EU関係について議論しました。
• このウェビナーは、起業家、研究者、学生、スタートアップ企業、官民の関係者を対象に、新たな協力の機会を学び、生み出すことを目的として開催されました。
• 日EU経済連携協定（EPA）の署名3周年を記念し、「EU Sustainable Energy Week 2021」に合わせて開催されました。

ブリュッセル [20/09/2021]

9月16日、「Next Japan Generation EU」が開催され、日本とEUの企業や、起業家、若者にとっての機会と可能性について議論されました。このウェビナーには、専門家やこの国境を越えた関係について関心のあるゲストスピーカーが参加し、日本とEUの新たな相乗効果の可能性を知る場となりました。 本イベントは2018年に署名された日EU経済連携協定（EPA）締結3周年を記念し、「EU Sustainable Energy Week　2021」の枠内で開催されました。

このイベントは、EU基金を専門とする非営利団体であるFinnova財団が主催したもので、4つのセクションに分けて開催されました。

Finnova財団のJuan Manuel Revuelta CEOは、日本とEUの間の貿易、経済、外交、雇用面でのつながりの背景を説明するパネルディスカッションを開始しました。このパネルでは、駐日欧州連合代表部通商部Sylwia Czerska一等書記官、日欧産業協力センターの三田典子EEN Japanマネージャー、日西商工会議所のMiguel A. Martínez Massa所長の代理としてManuel de la Gándara氏、Diplomatic WorldのJean Aznar事務局長兼共同創設者など、EU関連の専門家が登壇しました。

ゲストスピーカーはそれぞれの専門分野から、技術、外交、メディア、貿易、そして何よりも日EU間の連携関係によって生み出される相乗効果を紹介しました。また、これから生まれる新しいプロジェクトやアイディアのために日本が提供する様々なプログラムについて説明しました。

第2部では、慶應藤沢イノベーション・ビレッジのインキュベーション・マネージャーである上田将史氏が、未来の起業家たちに率先してビジネスを拡大することを呼びかけ、AZUL EnergyのCEOである伊藤晃寿氏が、持続可能な電池を実現するための革新的なプロジェクトについて紹介しました。

第3部では、ヨーロッパと日本の若者に提供される育成の機会について議論しました。EUでは、EU加盟国や提携国でのモビリティプログラムを用意しています。Finnova財団のAlberto Navarro育成・人事マネージャー、駐日欧州連合代表部科学技術顧問のTom Kuczynski氏、EURAXESS JapanからはJudit Erika Magyarカントリーマネージャーがそれぞれ大学生や若い起業家、研究者が応募できるプログラムの概要を説明しました。これらのプログラムは、日EU関係の強化にも貢献します。

最後の第4部では、Finnova財団のEU助成金ディレクターであるJuan Viesca氏が日EU関係におけるEU助成金の役割をテーマにしたプレゼンテーションを行いました。2030アジェンダで掲げられた目標を達成するために最も重要な軸のうち、持続可能性、エネルギー、デジタル化の分野の革新的なプロジェクトに対して欧州が提供する資金提供の機会について説明しました。

Viesca氏は、日本で活動している企業や、ヨーロッパへの進出を目指すプロジェクトが利用できるEU基金について言及しました。

日EU関係と若者向けプログラムの成功例として、Finnova財団で日EUイノベーション協力推進担当を務める前村隼人氏が、自身の経験を参加者に語りました。

最後に、Juan Manuel Revuelta氏が、日EU間の協力における可能性について意見を述べ、ゲストスピーカーと参加者に感謝の言葉を述べました。Revuelta氏が指摘したように、「Covid-19をきっかけに、欧州と日本の双方が協力することで得られるメリットを知り、新たなプロセス、新たな相乗効果を生み出す時が来ている」。その一例として、「LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0」のような欧州のプロジェクトでは、日本の廃水処理管理などを参考にできます。

ウェビナーは日本語と英語で行われ、前村氏が両言語の同時通訳を担当しました。Finnova財団は、このイベントの開催をきっかけに、日本から欧州へ、欧州から日本への距離を縮め、このパートナーシップを成長させることを目指しています。

駐日欧州連合代表部 

駐日欧州連合代表部の使命は、日本における欧州連合の利益と価値を前進させ、促進し、代表することや、欧州連合と日本の間の政治、経済、文化、教育、科学、その他の分野における協力を発展させ、強化することです。また、必要に応じて、日本との協力を通じてEUが世界および地域レベルでEUの利益と価値を促進し、前進させます。

詳しい情報はこちら:　https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/japan/18689/node/18689_en.

日西商業会議所

日西商業会議所は日本とスペイン間の商業分野における関係を円滑に促進すること、会員や顧客に合わせたコンサルタントを行うことです。 スペイン日本商工会議所は、実りある貿易関係を築くためには文化的な知識が不可欠であることを認識し、取引を成功させるために日本のプロトコルやコードに関するノウハウや専門知識を提供しています。

詳しい情報はこちら: https://camarajaponesa.com/.

Finnova財団

Finnova財団は、ベルギーとスペインの財団で、革新的なプロジェクトのための資金を獲得する機関や組織を支援しています。その目的は、雇用、トレーニング、起業家精神、SDGs、循環型経済などの社会的課題に取り組むために、イノベーションを通じた官民の協力を促進することにあります。Finnovaは、Startup Europe Awardsの開催を担当しています。Startup Europe Awardsは、Finnovaと欧州委員会が共同で実施しているイニシアチブで、ヨーロッパの優れたスタートアップ企業を表彰するものです。

詳しい情報はこちら:　https://finnova.eu/en/home_eng/.

StartUp Europe Awards

Startup Europe Awardsは、DG CONNECTのイニシアチブで、2016年からFinnova Foundationが実施しています。Startup Europe Awardsは、先進的なスタートアップ企業を表彰し、民間と公共のパートナーシップを促進することを目的とした、オープンイノベーションの枠組みに基づいています。また、雇用創出の原動力となる「セルフアントレプレナーシップ」の重要性についての認識を高めることも目指しています。また、国連のSDGsや「欧州グリーンディール」の目標を達成するためのネットワークを促進するだけでなく、循環型経済、持続可能な観光、気候変動対策にも貢献しています。

詳しい情報はこちら: https://startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/.

• These awards are being held on the occasion of Feria Internacional Mindtech, which will take place from 14 to 16 September.
• The jury have awarded enterprises – out of thirty participants – upholding sustainability and innovation in several sectors.
• Awardees will be handed their prizes in a gala dinner on Tuesday 14 September.

[Brussels 08/09/2021] The second edition of SEUA-Mindtech Awards, an initiative endorsed by the European Union, has been recently celebrated – and the final winners have been announced. These awards are being held within Feria Internacional Mindtech (in English, Mindtech International Fair), which will take place from 14 to 16 September in Vigo.

The SEUA-Mindtech Awards are being organised within the framework of Startup Europe Awards (SEUA), an initiative headed by the European Commission and implemented by Finnova Foundation to reward innovative ideas. SEUA specialise in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship as well as helping businesses to obtain EU funds.

The jury in charge of selecting winners is made up of enterprises and institutions which have a relevant role in the business and innovation sector, viz. Asime, Finnova, Igape, Gain, Concello de Vigo (Vigo Local Council), Deputación de Pontevedra (Pontevedra Regional Government), Icex, Ifevi, CZFV, and Abanca.

Awardees include:

• Industry 4.0: Senseye, UK. Senseye is a company headquartered in Southampton offering a scalable predictive maintenance solution.
• Circular Economy: VERSA Real Projects, Vigo. VERSA Real Projects is a spin-off of Soltec Ingenieros based in Galicia. VERSA uses modular constructions utilising shipping containers for commercial purposes. This innovative idea enables reusing industrial equipment, thus stimulating the circular economy.
• Corporate Social Responsibility: Grupo Davila, Vigo. This company has been awarded due to its educational, social, and environmental approach, i.e. working with mentally disabled persons, favouring the social insertion of vulnerable groups, fostering the protection and care of the environment, and promoting equality in sport.
• Innovation: Congalsa, A Pobra do Caramiñal. The jury has awarded Congalsa for its leading role in the food industry 4.0 sector in Galicia and its project on connected industry. Congalsa has developed a smart factory model which allows cybersecurity, digitalisation, eco-sustainability, and data analysis.
• Mobility: Digamel, Vigo. Digamel is an electricity distribution company which promotes the installation of recharge points for electric vehicles. These recharge points are located in buildings, public institutions, hotels, fuel stations, etc. They offer a turnkey solution aiming to foster electric mobility.
• Startup: For the first time, the jury has decided to award two enterprises which scored equally after the experts and the public voted. The voting process has been open during the whole month of August and it has received a remarkable number of votes from social media.
• TripleAlpha, Padrón. TripleAlpha bases its operations in three fundamental elements: machine learning, cloud computing, and data science. The goal of TripleAlpha is to extract data via its own machine learning platform (AlphaCloud) whereby the value of each datum is obtained to turn it into knowledge helping improve profitability and productivity of clients in a sustainable and active manner.
• UARX Space, Nigrán. UARX Space focuses on RDI, particularly the creation of spatial missions and the design of transport satellites to launch small satellites to unconventional orbits and to deep space from low orbits from the Earth.

The SEUA-Mindtech awards will be handed during the gala dinner on Tuesday 14 September in Vigo.

For more information, click on http://www.metalesymetalurgia.com/?p=382871.

About Feria Internacional Mindthech

The industrial sector and particularly the metal sector and its associated technologies make up over 20% of GDP in Galicia. One of the key areas of any industrial sector is internationalisation. In fact, most current companies work at an international level, and they have extensive expertise in implementing highly complex and difficult tasks.

The Feria Internacional Mindtech was created to develop highly specialised activities focused on innovation and the achievement of key competences to turn the metal sector into a highly competitive industry at a global level. The metal sector and its associated technologies comprise a wide range of intertwined industries, which makes the metal sector one of the most potent sectors. It also has a great potential to diversify new products and markets.

For more information, click on https://mindtechvigo.com/.

About Startup Europe Awards

Startup Europe Awards is an initiative by DG CONNECT and has been implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards are an innovative mechanism aimed at identifying disruptive startups promoting private-public partnership alliances. They also seek to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, they also contribute to the circular economy, sustainable tourism and the fight against climate change.

For more information, click on www.startupeuropeawards.eu.

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova Foundation is a Belgian-Spanish foundation working to finance innovative ideas under EU-funded programmes. Finnova aims to promote private-public cooperation through innovation in order to address social challenges, e.g. employment, training, entrepreneurship, SDGs, and the circular economy. Being committed to innovation, Finnova has been organising Startup Europe Awards since 2016 – an initiative launched by the European Commission’s DG Connect.

Finnova is headquartered in Belgium and Spain. It is also present in Chile, Panama, and other Spanish regions – the Valencian Community, the Basque Country, Andalusia, Madrid and the Canary Islands.

For more information, click on https://web.finnovaregio.org/.

• The third Info Day will be held online on 15 September at 17:00 CET to outline the requirements and the application procedure for participants.
• Deadline for applications will close on 13 October at 17:00 CET.
• The chosen projects will be given 12,000 euro to develop their ideas towards the environment.
• This call seeks to promote the sustainable transition of the textile and fashion sectors through social innovation.
• Registration for the Info Day on 15 Sep.: inscripcion.circoax.eu.

[Brussels. 14/09/2021]

The third Info Day organised by the European project entitled ‘CircularInnoBooster’, which is funded by the European Commission under COSME, will be held online on 15 September.

The goal of this event is to inform about the open call for projects committed to the environment and focused on the sustainable transition of the textile sector.

The deadline of this call is due on Wednesday 13 October at 17:00 CET. This is the last day to register in CirCoAX’s call.

Some €12,000 will be awarded to 30 enterprises having innovative ideas and undertaking to create new products, processes, services or business models which may have a direct impact in terms of adopting sustainable and circular approaches and practices within the textile and fashion sectors.

The chosen applicants will also benefit from additional business support services such as training workshops, mentoring sessions, and backing to get additional funding to ensure their commercialisation.

This call focuses on the textile and fashion sectors owing to their high levels of pollution. CirCoAX, the European accelerator, and its project entitled ‘CircularInnoBooster Fashion and Textile (F&T), is part of the EU’s COSME programme. It has an initial duration of two years, a €1,128,000 budget and it is co-financed by 75% by the European Commission. Its goal is to reward sustainable projects upholding the circular economy and to make their processes more eco-friendly and social innovation-minded.

Led by IED (Istituto Europeo di Design) together with Finnova Foundation, Texfor, Circulab and The Circular Project with HumanNation, CircularInnoBooster’s aim is to transform the highly polluting textile and fashion industries via innovation. It also pursues to foster entrepreneurship to create business models based on the circular economy, thus turning SMEs and start-ups into circular and sustainable enterprises.

Building on the regenerative economy model, the project seeks to become a framework for a complete transformation of the textile and fashion industry – from raw materials to the end of the lifetime of products. The project aims at resolving the structural issues the conventional industry poses.

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 programme 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 sectors (F&T).

For more information, click on https://iedmadrid.com/.

About Finnova

Finnova is a foundation working to promote and to develop innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit across the EU. Headquartered in Brussels, it works and engages in partnerships in all EU countries. Finnova’s experience in leading communication activities and disseminating European projects is coupled with an extensive expertise in creating enterprises and entrepreneurial support programmes such as accelerators, incubators, and events.

For more information, click on https://web.finnovaregio.org/.

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 houses and technical and industrial applications. Texfor has 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.

For more information, click on https://www.texfor.es/.

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 methodology and tools.

For more information, click on 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 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 thought, 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. For more information, click  on https://thecircularproject.com/ and https://humannation.earth.

• The webinar was held on 10 August 2021 to commemorate International Youth Day. It focused on training and mobility opportunities for young Latin American people
• The main goal of Next LATAM-EU Generation is to promote business cooperation between EU and Latam countries
• The event was assisted by Red Business Market and the Congreso Iberoamericano de Empresas Familiares y Pymes
• A meeting will be held in Medellin (Colombia) in late 2021 to deliver the LATAM Startup Europe Awards

Brussels, 11.08.2021 – On Tuesday 10 August, on the occasion of International Youth Day, Finnova Foundation and Startup Europe Awards, together with Red Business Market and the Congreso Iberomaericano de Empresas Familiares y Pymes, held the fifth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation, named “Training and Mobility Opportunities for Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs”. The goal of this session was to forge partnerships bringing together different types of entities to offer in a single platform training opportunities in the EU, to promote cross-border mobility and to enhance the level of employability of young people. This event was attended by His Excellency Mr Darío Chiru, Ambassador of Panama in Belgium.

The fifth session, which was held from 16:30 to 18:30 (CEST), was broken down into five panels chaired by Juanma Revuelta, CEO of Finnova Foundation. Throughout the event, Mr Revuelta stressed that “young Latin Americans have numerous mobility and job opportunities in Europe at their disposal”.

Panel 1 (institutions) featured Bruno Castro Benito, EU Relations with Latin America Officer at DG EAC (Directorate-General of Education, Youth, Sport and Culture) in the European Commission as well as Moisés Álvaro, ecosystems developer in Southern Europe at EIT Climate-KIC – European Institute of Innovation and Technology.

Mr Castro kicked off the panel by introducing finance and cooperation opportunities both for individuals and institutions offered by European schemes like Erasmus+ (higher education, vocational training and youth organisations) and Marie Skłodowska-Curie (doctoral and post-doctoral research). Later on, Moisés Álvaro declared that “EIT Climate KIC is tasked to tackle climate change through public-private partnerships. Thanks to EIT Climate-KIC’s climathons, the most important hackhaton in terms of climate innovation among others, we manage to give a hand to young entrepreneurs”.

Panel 2, presented by Alberto Navarro (entrepreneurship and innovation director at Finnova), centered on Next Talent Generation EU, Finnova’s internship search engine. “Next Talent Generation enables users to look for internships offered by private and public institutions in Europe. Each offer includes additional information such as duration, economic retribution, etc.”

The following panel was devoted to European funds. In it, Adrián Noheda talked about the different ways non-EU countries can benefit from EU funds. He stated that “Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay and Venezuela, among others, may be eligible for funds under Horizon Europe”.

As regards other funding facilities, such as LIFE, Mr Noheda pointed out that “although it is quite difficult to integrate enterprises from non-EU countries, we in Finnova propose creative solutions such as incorporating branches in Spain or justifying the implementation of an innovative technology”. A good example of this is LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0, by Global Omnium and Finnova. It has a €1 M budget and will last for four years. In essence, this project will implement new technologies promoting the circular economy and the mitigation of climate change.

María José Valero, CEO of Talent Growth Management, also talked about LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0. Thanks to her support, five girls from Technovation Girls CV developed and app whereby they took part in Finnova’s challenges. This app encourages the re-use of food wastes by drawing inspiration from LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0. These five students subsequently visited the wastewater treatment plant located in Quart the Poblet (where the project is being tested) and operated by Global Omnium.

After the European funds section, the floor was given to His Excellency Mr Darío Chiru, Ambassador of Panama in Belgium. Having an extensive background in international affairs, Mr Chiru expressed his concern vis-à-vis youth employability, by claiming that “young people aged 15 to 29 make up one third of active population. 10 years back, they accounted for 1 out of every 4 jobs; nowadays, young people account for only 1 out of every 10 jobs”.

The fifth session of Next LATAM-EU generation also discussed the role of universities in promoting young entrepreneurship, especially regarding under- and graduates.

Speaking from Ideas UPV – the Entrepreneurship Department of Universitat Politècnica de València –, Lorena Pedros said that her department has been the first one in Spain to assist students and staff to develop their business ideas. From 1992, Ideas UPV has helped over 8000 entrepreneurs.

Later on, Frank Babinger, advisor to the Employability and Entrepreneurship Department of the Vice-Chancellor’s Office in the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, said that “our university has pre-incubators in all faculties. This means that we foster entrepreneurship in humanities, social sciences, exact sciences, etc.”

Jose María Imbert, speaking from Yes Europa, showed attendees the possibility to take part in programmes such as short-stay Erasmus grants (one to three weeks), in which “young people from all over Europe get together to develop a small European project in any city across the Union”. Mr Lambert also talked about European Solidarity Corps, i.e. a volunteer programme whereby young people can improve their employability prospects. In addition, according to the speaker, “any youth irrespective of whether they are EU nationals or not can take part in this scheme. The only prerequisite is for them to be residents”.

The fifth session of Next LATAM-EU was wrapped up by two young people who benefited from European programmes and who shared their experiences with the audience.

Renan da Silva, a youth from Florianópolis (southern Brasil),explained the differences which exist between both continents. As a beneficiary of a Unia Beca grant from Universidad Internacional de Andalucía, he urged Latin American countries to “endorse youth employability just as it is done in Europe. […] I am very lucky and grateful to have taken part in this project”.

Thanks to her experience at Interreg CILIFO, a project under Interreg Volunter Youth, Ana Piñero was able to learn how a cross-border European project is programmed and managed. She also seized the opportunity to encourage attendees to get out of their comfort zone, just as she did – Ms Piñero worked as a communication officer in CILIFO despite holding a BA and a MA in Law.

“I would like to encourage all youth to take part in projects like Interreg Youth or European Solidarity Corps. The downside of it is that you can only take part once”.

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PREVIOUS SESSIONS

The first LATAM-EU session was held on March 8 on the occasion of International Women’s Day. It was run by several female speakers, such as Patricia Llombart, EU Ambassador in Colombia, Liskel Álvarez, External Actions Senior Officer at Cabildo de Tenerife, and Adriana Vargas, head of Trading Links of the Colombian Mission in the EU. The goal of this event was to discuss the role of women in business cooperation between Latam and the EU, especially as regards innovation and entrepreneurship.

The second session, which was held on April 6 – on the occasion of World Health Day (7 April) –, was named “Challenges and Opportunities for Tourism through Cooperation between Latam and the EU during Covid-19”. Its main topics were the challenges that the tourism sector has to face and how to. This session was attended by Manuel Vegas, president of Asociación Española de Directores de Hotel (AEDH); Antonio López de Ávila, co-founder and CEO of Tourism Data Driven Solutions (TDDS), and Irene Sánchez, business creation manager at EIT Health Spain.

The third session, which was held on May 11 on Global Recycling Day (17 May), was named “Challenges of Circular Economy in LATAM-EU Cooperation as a Production and Consumption Model for Sustainability”. Speakers included Isabel Silva Souza, Ambassador of the European Commission’s Climate Pact; Álvaro Hernández, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Inboplast; Sharam Yalda, partner of CirCoAX and founder of HumanNation; Alonso Salguero, CEO at GTA Ingeniería y Medioambiente, and Giuseppe Liberati, Executive Director at Bridging Value.

The fourth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation, “Entrepreneurship and Water: a Driver of Economic Recovery and Social Development of Regions and Municipalities” was held on 13 July on the occasion of World Population Day (11 July) and World Oceans Day (8 June). Speakers included Rafael Heredero, policy advisor at EurEau secretariat in Brussels, Javier Vázquez Hueso, CEO of EMALGESA and deputy mayor of Algeciras City Council, Luis Lehmann, international expert on circular economy, Miguel Lemos, CEO of Águas de Gaia, and Ana Beccar Varela, water project manager at The Nature Conservancy.

Next LATAM-EU Generation is made up of nine online events which will take place every second Tuesday of each month. Each event is held on the occasion of an International Day in line with UN SDGs. To top it all off, if the health situation allows it, an on-site event will be held in Medellin (Colombia) to celebrate the final of LATAM Startup Europe Awards.  

About LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0

LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 is a European project which utilises a digital control system to automatically pump specific amounts of organic wastes into anaerobic sludge digesters in order to maximise the on-demand production of biogas – a renewable energy source.

The project has been designed to make biogas a reliable source of green energy to meet the industrial energy demand and to comply with the EU’s goal to produce at least 27% of energy out of renewable sources by 2030. This system is of special interest to Europe, as there are 18,000 wastewater treatment plants which account for 0.8% of all energy consumption.

The project was initiated on 01/09/2020 and will operate until 29/02/2024. It is coordinated by Global Omnium Medioambiente and partnered by Finnova Foundation and Portuguese consortium Águas do Centro Litoral. It has a €970,000 budget.

For more information, click on https://www.lifecodigestion.com/

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova Foundation is a Belgian-Spanish foundation which helps institutions and organisations getting funds for innovative projects. Its objective is to promote private-public cooperation through innovation in order to address social challenges, e.g. employment, training, entrepreneurship, SDGs, circular economy, etc. Finnova is in charge of organising Startup Europe Awards, a joint initiative by Finnova and the European Commission to reward the best European start-ups.

For more information, click on https://finnova.eu/en/home_eng/

About Startup Europe Awards

Startup Europe Awards is an initiative by DG CONNECT and has been implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards are an open innovation mechanism aimed to identify disruptive start-ups and to promote private-public partnerships. They also seek to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, they also contribute to circular economy, sustainable tourism and fighting against climate change.

For more info, click on https://startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/

About Red Business Market

Business Market is a forum connecting investors, businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups from Ciudad Real aiming to create a network of business, financing and support for economic and business projects in that area. All this funding can be coupled with venture capital, business angels, personal investments and corporate or financial funds for innovative and disruptive initiatives with an added value which need funding to start operating. For more information, click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-vd9gSy19s

• On 12 August – International Youth Day –  we commemorate youth as a driver of change
• Finnova Foundation has put in place several initiatives supporting training for young people in European affairs
• Young people wishing to work in European matters can carry out internships both in Spain and abroad
• As a result of this commitment, Finnova has trained over 400 young people in European affairs

Brussels, 12.08.2021 – Today, 12 August, we celebrate International Youth Day. Established in 1999 by the UN General Assembly, this day aims to bring together young people and future challenges in order to raise awareness and to make them become key pivots for change. A committed generation to paramount goals like Agenda 2030 and SDGs needs sufficient tools to learn and forums to pool their ideas.

As part of its commitment on youth talent, Finnova Foundation offers young people training and a professional experience in European matters to learn about European financing and other pivotal subjects, e.g. energetic and digital transition, rural development, circular economy, etc. Up to date, and after 10 years of work, more than 400 young people have been trained in Finnova’s HQs.

On the other hand, EU Training Platform is a training platform created by a team of Finnova experts offering courses in several areas, including the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, EU funding programmes, LIFE, EU funds for circular economy, etc. Each 40-hour course is coupled with mentoring sessions and practical activities which enable students to become real experts. At the end of the course, participants receive a certificate of completion.

Apart from providing this e-learning platform, and due to difficulties young people must face jobwise because of the economic consequences of the pandemic, Finnova Foundation promotes professional experiences in European affairs thanks to Next Talent Generation EU. Once young participants sign up in this platform, they receive relevant information in terms of grants and other financial aid to begin their professional career both in Spain and abroad – mainly in Brussels, the core of the European Union.

In addition, thanks to this platform, young people can cut their teeth in Finnova’s HQ by directly working with the foundation or by getting involved in some of the projects where Finnova is a beneficiary, such as Interreg NAPOCTEP and CILIFO, or LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 and CirCoAx by CircularInnoBooster. All these projects focus on topical issues like the promotion of sustainable tourism; the prevention and fight against forest fires; circular economy to turn organic wastes into green energy, and the transformation of the textile and fashion industries by applying a regenerative economy model, respectively.

Young people are offered the opportunity to take part in grant programmes like Interreg Volunteer Youth, thanks to which six young people from the foundation have benefited. One of such youth is Ana Piñero, who formerly worked as a volunteer in CILIFO in Finnova Foundation thanks to this shceme. As a member of the communication department of this collaborative project between Andalusia and the Portuguese regions of Alentejo and Algarve, Ana was able “to raise awareness about the importance of taking care of our natural spaces and to really be cautious when it comes to forest fires in rural areas”.

Some other programmes where Finnova is involved include the PICE scheme, by Garantía Juvenil, or Eurodyssey, the exchange programme set up by the Assembly of European Regions (AER). Speaking of which, Christel Poignet (24), a French national from Congolese origin, has benefited from a Eurodyssey grant to carry on her professional education in these unprecedented times. As a marketing specialist in Finnova’s HQ in Valencia, Christel claims that “Thanks to Eurodyssey, I have the opportunity to gain experience abroad and to discover a new culture”.

Finnova’s commitment to young people means that its team is always looking for opportunities for those recent graduates who wish to kick off their career in European affairs. That is why the Next Talent Generation EU sessions are held regularly – an event which aims to share information and where representatives from EU institutions and public administrations managing grants and financial aid offer information about their schemes. Young people benefitting from these programmes are also invited in these events to talk about their experiences.

If you are aged 18 to 30 and want to know how to shape your career in European affairs, don’t hesitate to contact our team.

Alberto Navarro,

Project Manager, Training & Employment

E-mail: navarro@finnova.eu

About Finnova

Finnova Foundation is a Belgian-Spanish foundation which helps institutions and organisations to get funds for their innovative projects. Finnova aims to promote private-public cooperation through innovation in order to address social challenges, e.g. employment, training, entrepreneurship, SDGs, circular economy, etc. As part of its commitment to innovation, Finnova has been organizing the Startup Europe Awards since 2016, an initiative by the European Commission.

Finnova’s HQs are located in Belgium and across Spain – the Valencian Community, the Basque Country, Andalusia, Madrid and the Canary Islands. It also has branches in Chile and Panama.

 The goal of Next LATAM-EU Generation is to foster business cooperation between EU and Latam countries

 This event is supported by Red Business Market and the Congreso Iberoamericano de Empresas Familiares y Pymes

A meeting will be held in Medellin (Colombia) in late 2021 to deliver the LATAM Startup Europe Awards

 The fifth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation will be held on 10 August on the occasion of World Youth Day (12 August)

Brussels, 29.07.2021 – On Tuesday 10 August 2021, on the occasion of World Youth Day (12 August), Finnova Foundation and Startup Europe Awards will launch the fifth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation, “Training and Mobility Opportunities for Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs”, together with Red Business Market and the Congreso Iberoamericano de Empresas Familiares y Pymes.

The main objectives of Next LATAM-EU Generation are the transfer of knowledge, the dissemination of information on available funding facilities for both continents, and the development of shared projects among Latin American and Europe countries in order to forge business alliances. Each Next LATAM-EU Generation session focuses on a specific world day based on the UN SDGs.

The upcoming event on 10 August will be chaired by Juanma Revuelta, one of the promoters of Next Talent Generation and CEO of Finnova, a foundation which endorses employment and training for young people. “Next Talent Generation enables to find paid internships across Europe in order to reduce the number of unemployed highly qualified young people”, claims Mr Revuelta.

The fifth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation, “Training and Mobility Opportunities for Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs”, will feature Bruno Castro, EU Relations with Latin America Officer at DG EAC (Education and Culture) in the European Commission; Moisés Álvaro, ecosystems developer in Italy and Spain, whose mission is to transfer EIT Climate-KIC strategic programmes to these countries; Lorena Pedrós, start-up advisor at IDEASUPV (Universidad Politécnica de Valencia); Frank Babinger, advisor to the Employability and Entrepreneurship Department of the Vice-Chancellor’s Office in the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), and María José Valero, CEO of Talent Growth Management and ambassador of Technovation Girls Comunidad Valenciana, among others.

Next LATAM-EU Generation was first launched after the success of the Congreso Iberoamericano de Empresas Familiares y Pymes, run by Red Business Market, and which was held on January 2021. It hosted 558 enterprises, more than 60 domestic and international speakers and nearly 9,000 attendees (enterprises). This event showed that transatlantic collaboration is needed in order to face shared challenges in both continents, such as digitalisation, sustainability and circularity after Covid-19.

Josu Gómez Barrutia, CEO of Red Business Market, says that “there is no doubt whatsoever that in an evolving and challenging era in terms of society, economy and geopolitics, creating meeting points, partnerships and strategic connections in the entrepreneurship, business development and cooperation domains between the EU and Latin America is crucial”.

Click here to register for this event.

PREVIOUS SESSIONS

The first LATAM-EU session was held on March 8 on the occasion of International Women’s Day. It was run by several female speakers, such as Patricia Llombart, EU Ambassador in Colombia, Liskel Álvarez, External Actions Senior Officer at Cabildo de Tenerife, and Adriana Vargas, head of Trading Links of the Colombian Mission in the EU. The goal of this event was to discuss the role of women in business cooperation between Latam and the EU, especially as regards innovation and entrepreneurship.

The second session, which was held on April 6 – on the occasion of World Health Day (7 April) –, was named “Challenges and Opportunities for Tourism through Cooperation between Latam and the EU during Covid-19”. Its main topics were the challenges that the tourism sector has to face and how to. This session was attended by Manuel Vegas, president of Asociación Española de Directores de Hotel (AEDH); Antonio López de Ávila, Co-founder and CEO of Toursim Data Driven Solutions (TDDS), and Irene Sánchez, Business Creation Manager at EIT Health Spain.

The third session, which was held on May 11 on Global Recycling Day (17 May), was named “Challenges of Circular Economy in LATAM-EU Cooperation as a Production and Consumption Model for Sustainability”. Speakers included Isabel Silva Souza, Ambassador of the European Commission’s Climate Pact; Álvaro Hernández, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Inboplast; Sharam Yalda, partner of CirCoAX and founder of HumanNation; Alonso Salguero, CEO at GTA Ingeniería y Medioambiente, and Giuseppe Liberati, Executive Director at Bridging Value.

The fourth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation, “Entrepreneurship and Water: a Driver of Economic Recovery and Social Development of Regions and Municipalities” was held on 13 July on the occasion of World Population Day (11 July) and World Oceans Day (8 June). Speakers included Rafael Heredero, Policy Advisor at EurEau secretariat in Brussels, Javier Vázquez Hueso, CEO of EMALGESA and deputy mayor of Algeciras City Council, Luis Lehmann, international expert on circular economy, Miguel Lemos, CEO of Aguas de Gaia, and Ana Beccar Varela, water project manager at The Nature Conservancy.

Next LATAM-EU Generation is made up of nine online events which will take place every second Tuesday of each month. Each event is held on the occasion of an International Day in line with UN SDGs. To top it all off, if the health situation allows it, an on-site event will be held in Medellin (Colombia) to celebrate the final of LATAM Startup Europe Awards.

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova Foundation is a Belgian-Spanish foundation which helps institutions and organisations getting funds for innovative projects. Its objective is to promote private-public cooperation through innovation in order to address social challenges, e.g. employment, training, entrepreneurship, SDGs, circular economy, etc. Finnova is in charge of organising Startup Europe Awards, a joint initiative by Finnova and the European Commission to reward the best European start-ups.

For more information, click on www.finnova.eu

About Startup Europe Awards

Startup Europe Awards is an initiative by DG CONNECT and has been implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards are an open innovation mechanism aimed to identify disruptive start-ups and to promote private-public partnerships. They also seek to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, they also contribute to circular economy, sustainable tourism and fighting against climate change.

For more info, click on https://startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/

About Red Business Market 

Business Market is a forum connecting investors, businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups from Ciudad Real aiming to create a network of business, financing and support for economic and business projects in that area. All this funding can be coupled with venture capital, business angels, personal investments and corporate or financial funds for innovative and disruptive initiatives with an added value which need funding to start operating.

For more information, click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-vd9gSy19s

About Next Talent Generation

The Next Talent Generation programme was designed to create an European partnership bringing together entities from different backgrounds, e.g. non-profit organisations, enterprises, universities, European institutions, national administrative authorities… to offer training opportunities in the EU in a single platform. This tool seeks to list all programmes offering internship mobility opportunities across Europe in order to foster cross-border mobility and to enhance the level of employability of young people.

Currently, Finnova offers internships in all EU countries through the Programa del Sistema Nacional de Garantía Nacional Juvenil.

For more information, click on https://nextalentgeneration.eu/

Juan Manuel Revuelta has been part of the forum of the entrepreneurs

Finnova Foundation has once again participated in the Wex Global Water & Energy in the Palace Hotel in Valencia. This congress is one of the international reference events in the water and energy sectors that allows to create contacts and relationships with other business people. The objective of Wex Global is to provide innovative solutions to the challenges and needs of companies in the integral water cycle and in Idrica.

Finnova participated as a partner in the event and his CEO Juan Manuel Revuelta took part in the entrepreneurs forum, together with other business people such as Frank Rogalla, director of innovation and technology at FCC Aqualia, and Patricia Pastor, director of GoHub. And also with Mateo DALL’AMICO, founder and CEO of Mobygis, a company that participated in the Finnova #StartUpEuropeAccelerator programme to access financing. Thanks to this help, he was able to launch Water Jade, a water input predictor. Its implementation optimizes energy trading and operations in production plants.

Moreover, Juan Manuel Revuelta took advantage of the entrepreneurs’ table to talk about the Horizon Europe 2027, Invest EU Program, or Water Startup Europe Accelerator, among others.

On 20 and 21 February, the University of Évora (Portugal) hosted the second meeting of the steering committee of the Iberian Centre for Research on and Fight against Forest Fires (CILIFO) project, which was attended by the technical and financial managers and technical staff of each beneficiary entity.

ÉVORA 21.02.2020. Durante las dos jornadas tuvo lugar la celebración anual del Comité de Gestión (Dirección), bianual del Comité Técnico del proyecto, así como reuniones técnicas trimestrales de los Grupos de Trabajo (GT) del proyecto CILIFO, financiado en un 75% por el Programa de Cooperación Transfronteriza Interreg VA España – Portugal – POCTEP (2014-2020). El objetivo de este comité fue que los técnicos del proyecto pusieran en común las actividades del proyecto para tratar lo desarrollado en cada por cada uno de ellos.

Tras las reuniones se celebró un seminario sobre acciones formativas en prevención y extinción de incendios forestales; captación de fondos comunitarios; soluciones innovadoras para la prevención; y adaptación al cambio climático, incendios forestales. Estudiantes, Start-Ups, pymes, emprendedores, investigadores y técnicos de protección civil asistieron a la conferencia que trató la vulnerabilidad al fuego de ecosistemas mediterráneos.

Los asistentes convocados en Évora fueron los responsables técnicos, financieros y las personas de contacto del proyecto que cada entidad beneficiaria consideró. Además, asistieron representantes de la coordinación Regional CCDR-Algarve; la Coordinación Regional CCDR-Alentejo; la coordinación Regional Junta de Andalucía (DG. Fondos Europeos – Consejería de Economía y Hacienda); la Coordinación Nacional de España (Ministerio de Hacienda); y las autoridades de España y Portugal en materia de incendios forestales.

Los 15 beneficiarios que conforman el consorcio son:

• CAGPDS – Consejería de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Desarrollo Sostenible de la Junta de Andalucía
• Agencia de Medio Ambiente y Agua de Andalucía
• CSIC-EBD – Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas – Estación Biológica de Doñana
• Fundación ONCE para la Cooperación e Inclusión Social de Personas con Discapacidad
• INIA – Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria
• UCA – Universidad de Cádiz
• UCO – Universidad de Córdoba
• UHU – Universidad de Huelva
• AMAL – Comunidad de Intermunicipal do Algarve
• Municipio de Castro Marim
• Municipio de Loulé
• Municipio de Monchique
• Municipio de Tavira
• FINNOVA – Fundación Delegación Fundación Finnova
• UÉVORA – Universidad de Évora

CILIFO es un proyecto de cooperación transfronteriza que dispone de 24,6 millones de euros de presupuesto, de los que la Unión Europea (UE) financia el 75% a través del Fondo FEDER, y un periodo de ejecución de tres años (2019-2021). Gracias al proyecto CILIFO, se está trabajando en la Eurorregión Alentejo-Algarve-Andalucía en la creación de protocolos y procedimientos conjuntos de los operativos portugueses y españoles, con el fin de una ejecución más eficaz en la prevención y extinción de incendios forestales. CILIFO, aprobado por el Programa Interreg POCTEP (2014-2020) España-Portugal, se enmarca en el Objetivo Temático 5 del Programa, que promueve la adaptación al cambio climático en todos los sectores.