ProFem 2.0, a centre for survivors of domestic and sexual violence from Czechia, is the winner of the 2023 REGIOSTARS award for the category ‘A social and inclusive Europe’.
Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira announced the winners of this year’s awards on 16 November at a ceremony in Ostrava, Czechia.
Congratulating the winners, she highlighted how these projects ‘clearly demonstrate the added value of cohesion policy in responding to the needs of citizens at a local level. Cohesion policy has the power to positively impact citizens’ day-to-day lives – and there’s plenty more to come!’
A total of seven EU-funded projects received REGIOSTAR awards, a label of excellence recognising their innovative, inclusive, and inspiring approaches to regional and social development. Thirty finalists – selected by an independent jury among a record number of 228 entries – were present at the ceremony in Ostrava.
Helping victims of violence find a path to a new life
Since its creation in 1994, the award-winning ProFem 2.0 project has been helping survivors to overcome the trauma of abuse, empowering them through a holistic approach that builds real solutions to the problems they encounter as they leave abusive relationships.
Receiving the award, the project manager Iva Peterková thanked the jury for highlighting this topic and expressed her hope that this award will help to bring ‘change for women and survivors of sexual violence, but also the opportunity for systemic change’.
A REGIOSTAR award for the European Year of Skills
This year the competition featured a dedicated European Year of Skills category, which represented the topic of the year. In a video address, Joost Korte, Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the European Commission, highlighted that there is an unprecedented amount of EUR 65 billion in funding to invest in skills. He praised the finalists as role models of how these funds can be put to good use, encouraging people to upskill and reskill.
The winning project – TechGrounds West from the Netherlands – has developed a sustainable business model for addressing labour shortages in the IT sector, by discovering and activating hidden talent. Even if people are entirely new to the IT world, the project helps them become IT professionals through orientation and education that lead straight into employment.
Discover all the winners
REGIOSTARS 2023 featured a public choice award and six categories, in line with the policy objectives of the 2021-2027 programming period.
The laureates in the remaining categories were:
- A Competitive and Smart Europe - Edificio Fundacion Pasqual Maragall
- A Green Europe - From mine to river. The Water Guardians
- A Connected Europe - Dynaxibility4CE
- A Europe Closer to Citizens - EuregioFamilyPass.
The public favourite, gathering the highest online votes and winning the Public Choice award, was the Cultural Art Centre: museum and library in Burgas, Bulgaria.
Winners across the seven categories will be highlighted in a series of communication campaigns aiming to promote the awarded projects within their respective regions, amplifying their impact and visibility.
