Event Press release
“NETWORKING - a precondition for creating an environmen , the garment industry and the administration” D6.4.1
On March 2, 2023, the TEXTILE AND CLOTHING BRANCH ORGANIZATION hosted the networking workshop on topic “NETWORKING – a precondition for creating an environment for effective partnership between NGOs, the garment industry and the administration”, which is organized within the CREATIVE HUB project with title “Development of a Creative Hub for offering support to fashion graduates, young artists start-ups and development mechanisms to the fashion sector of the cross- border area”, financed under the cross border Cooperation Programme INTERREG V-A “Greece-Bulgaria 2014-2020”.
More than 20 representatives of all interested parties in the tripartite dialogue, related to the development of the textile and clothing sector on the Bulgarian side of the border, took part in the networking seminar.
The seminar started with a brief presentation of the project with its goals, activities and expected results, with special emphasis being placed on the activities and services that will be provided by the CREATIVE HUB created under the project in the premises of HELLENIC FASHION INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, which is a partner on the project. The main goal of the Hub is to support SMEs and young graduates in the fashion sector (footwear, leather, jewelry).
The meeting continued with consideration of networking as a tripartite process in which Business, Local Authorities and NGOs as main participants have their role and responsibilities in the context of development of the Textile and Clothing sector in the region. Both the prerequisites for an effective partnership between the three countries and the forms of cooperation between them were presented, supported by concrete examples. Main attention was paid to the most frequent and key problems of the cooperation, and specific measures and ways to minimize and overcome them were identified.
As a result of the discussion, the main conclusion was that for all three parties /business, NGO and administration/ the main problem that predetermines the current state of their cooperation is the lack of clear procedures for partnership. Clear and transparent mechanisms are a major factor that would increase the motivation of interested parties for more active partnership with the administration and participation in the decision-making process. A change in motivation can be achieved through more active cooperation of the target groups. While for the administration this should be supplemented with information on the functioning of public institutions, for NGOs it is important to receive information through an invitation to get involved, and for businesses, receiving feedback will further stimulate them to continue giving opinions and suggestions.
The meeting ended with a cocktail/catering where discussions continued in an informal setting.
