The ACTE General Assembly will have the format of a cross-border event between the cities of Guimarães (Portugal) and Vigo (Spain). On 28 May, Guimarães will host the Executive Committee in the morning and the XVIII General Assembly in the afternoon. On 29 May, members will visit Vigo to learn more about the local development initiatives and policies of this city.
From
22 to 24 February, the city of Barcelona hosted the European
Summit of Local Governments, which debated the role of local authorities
at European and local level. ACTE was present in the “Meeting
Point Internetworks", the meeting and information point for
European Networks.
In the framework of this event, the City of Igualada and ACTE
organised, on 24 February, the workshop "Future
strategies in the European textile cities. Reinventing the European industrial
DNA”. This session presented some of the innovative policies
that are being promoted in the different member territories of ACTE. 
ACTE has updated the maps of the textile, clothing,
leather and footwear territories of the EU27 according to the latest
statistical Eurostat
data at NUTS 2 level (reference
year: 2007). The maps show on the one hand the share of the employees of these
sectors in each region in total industrial employees and, on the other hand,
the density of employees.
The second edition of Badalona Moda, organized by the City
of Badalona/Reactivació Badalona, the Gremio de Industrias de la Confección
de Barcelona and ACTE, will be held on 7 and 8 July. The
event will feature a "Business Encounter between designers and
entrepreneurs" and the "Joaquim Mercader Competition
for Young Fashion Designers".
On
18 February, ACTE President Teo Romero met the Mayor
of Tetovo (Macedonia) Prof. Dr. Sadi Bexheti and
representatives of local textile companies to present the added value of a
participation in an European network. The city of Tetovo, the second largest
city of the country and with an important presence of the textile industry,
will become a new member of ACTE at the next General Assembly
in May. Mr. Romero was accompanied in this visit by representatives of the
Municipality and the Chamber of Commerce of Varazdin (Croatia).
From 17 to 19 February, students from Winchester
School of Art (UK) and Cenatex School (Portugal)
participated in the second study visit of the Eurotex ID project in
Prato (Italy). During the visit they met some leading companies from
the Prato textile district such as Lanificio Faliero Sarti, Clotilde or Lanificio
Riccieri. The input from the companies and the exchange of ideas will contribute
to the creation of innovative products.
During the conference organised on 24 February in Igualada on the occasion
of the European Summit of Local Governments, the compilation of good practices
"Strategic Reorientation of textile-fashion companies" was
presented. The Guide analyzes a number of Catalan companies which have overcome
the crisis thanks to the incorporation of innovation. This publication is
one of the main results of the project "ACTE: a network for innovation"
carried out by several members of ACTE Spain throughout 2009.
Catalonia
has been awarded with the European
Entrepreneurial Region (EER) Award 2012, promoted by the
Committee of the Regions, which recognizes regions with a strategic project
to develop policies to support SMEs. The jury awarded the Implementation
plan of the Small Business Act in Catalonia 2010-2013.
The first meeting of the project NETWORKWEAR:
Mobilizing citizens and cities for socially responsible procurement of workwear,
took place in Barcelona. This European project aims to contribute to the respect
of the basic rights of workers in factories producing workwear for suppliers
of public authorities. The project Networkwear has started this year and counts
with the participation of partners from countries such as Germany,
Austria, Belgium and Spain. For further information, please contact
Ramon Vives
La Fundación Centro de Innovación
y Tecnología del Textil de Andalucia (CITTA) is looking for
partners to develop a Technical Projects Network of the textile-clothing sector
between Spain, Portugal and France. The aim of the project is to
establish collaborative actions between entities and companies from these
countries to promote the development of international R&D projects. For
more information, please contact
Manuel Mérida.
A new edition of Riccione Moda Italia,
promoted by CNA Federmoda and the Comune di Riccione,
will take place from 19 to 25 July in Riccione (Italy). In
the framework of this event, the XX edition of the National Competition
of Young Fashion Designers will take place. Students under 25 years
attending the final year of public or private schools, institutes or University
may apply for participation. Deadline for the submission
of proposals: 23rd April 2010.
From 7 to 11 May, the City of Lodz will host the FashionPhilosophy
Fashion Week Poland. The final gala of the international competition
of fashion designers "Golden Thread" will take
place on 7 May and the RE-ACT Fashion Show will award the
best recycled designs on 8 May. Also, the TextilWirtschaft Moda Forum
will feature workshops on current consumer trends, visual merchandising and
effective management methods.
The EU has approved a budget of 100 million euros in loans
as response to the crisis and the current lack of credit supply. This initiative
will result in around 45,000 micro-loans of under 25,000 euros
to support the business activities of unemployed and SMEs that usually cannot
get credits because of the economic crisis.
The European Commission has launched "Europe
2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth"
to prepare the EU economy for the next decade. "An industrial policy
for an era of globalization" is one of the flagship initiatives envisaged
by the strategy.
In the framework of the European project IPeuropAware, co-financed
by the European Commission, Practical Guides on Intellectual and Industrial
Property for the footwear and leather, textiles-clothing and furniture
sectors have been released.
The European Commission together with the European Business and Innovation
Network has published a new guide on innovation and entrepreneurship.
The handbook contains several case studies and sets out tips on strategic
aims, networking and evaluation.
The European Commission organizes on 26 April, the 2nd High level
Conference on Industrial Competitiveness entitled "The role
of policy and markets in difficult times".
The second edition of the European SME week which will
take place from 25 May to 1 June, aims to provide information
on EU and national support to SME, and promote entrepreneurship between citizens.
In order to find local and regional solutions to the key challenges
facing SMEs, workshops with inspiring local and regional examples
of best practice will be held and the implementation of the Small
Business Act (SBA) will be analyzed.
The Committee of the Regions is launching a follow-up consultation
of European regions and cities about the new strategy for smart,
sustainable and inclusive growth in the EU. The deadline for
participation is 12 April.
Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is a programme initiated
by the EU. It aims at helping new entrepreneurs to acquire relevant
skills for managing a SME by spending time in a business
in another EU country.
