News

Co-founded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission, the OPSIZO project joins together seven partners from six different European countries to develop operational instruments that advance diversity & inclusion in microenterprises. Through its work, the project aims to make maganers, employes and all staff more expert about gender and sexual stigma, microaggressions, discrimination, equity and capable of dealing with these situations. On October 22, 2024, the closing meeting of the OPSIZO project was held in Naples at the SInAPSi Center in the Botanical Garden. All partners were present and effectively discussed their work on project implementation and the results achieved, which highlighted the excellent work done during the two-year duration of the project. The meeting was a time to exchange on work done but also on how the partnership cooperatively worked together. The partnership also noted how useful the work done can be to managers and staff of microenterprises, noting the effectiveness and clarity of the material and tools developed and their applicability. At this point, the last formal steps are missing to say successfully concluded the OPSIZO project.   For more information, please visit opsizo.eu.

The OPSIZO project has just launched two resources designed to foster diversity & inclusion within microenterprises: guidelines for diversity & inclusion and a manifesto for diversity & inclusion in microenterprises. These interesting tools aim to address access barriers, promote equality, and create inclusive work environments across the EU’s microenterprise sector.   Co-founded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission, the OPSIZO project joins together seven partners from different European countries to develop operational instruments that advance diversity & inclusion in small businesses. Through its work, the project aims to eliminate discrimination and microaggressions that hinder socio-professional development. A key focus of the OPSIZO project is on the drafting of guidelines and a manifesto for diversity & inclusion in microenterprises to ensure long-term policy impact in vocational education and business contexts. These resources aim to improve competitiveness and efficiency in microenterprises, promote a culture of diversity and inclusion as a corporate welfare tool, and contribute to workplace equality. In more detail, the guidelines provide practical strategies and step-by-step instructions for trainers and entrepreneurs to implement OPSIZO’s tools and training suite. Designed to foster inclusive workspaces, they address the unique challenges small businesses face. On the other hand, the manifesto intends to be the first European-level policy paper on gender and sexual orientation in microenterprises, shedding light on how inclusive practices improve competitiveness, especially in the post-COVID era. It serves as an operational guide to diversity management, aiming to mainstream diversity & inclusion across microenterprises beyond the project’s co-funding period. Thus, the OPSIZO project calls on policymakers, business leaders, vocational training providers, and stakeholders across the European entrepreneurial ecosystem to adopt these resources and foster inclusive environments. Microenterprises play a crucial role in Europe’s economy, and promoting diversity & inclusion is not only a social imperative but also a strategic necessity for business growth and resilience.   For more information, please visit opsizo.eu. For accessing the guidelines and manifesto, please go to opsizo.eu/guidelines.php.

OPSIZO Project have developed a suite of resources as part of this innovative project exploring Diversity and Inclusion in Microenterprise. OPSIZO focuses on promoting social inclusion and involving people with fewer opportunities, to reduce/eliminate access barriers and helps to create inclusive environments that improve “creating inclusive environments that foster equity and equality”.  The overall objectives of OPSIZO include: - Improve the competitiveness and efficiency of microenterprises, through innovative training and operational tools - Promote a culture of diversity and inclusion as corporate welfare tool in microenterprises - Contribute through innovative training courses to equality in the world of work - Enhance individual and organizational resources, supporting personal and professional growth processes  As part of this, the suite of resources developed include a number of training and operational tools which can be found on the project website https://opsizo.eu/. The development of these resources has been carried out as part of Work Package 3, involving all partners. Following a successful launch in November 2022, OPSIZO has developed a high quality Open Educational Resources Platform (OER) which will showcase all of the project results, including the suite of resources. The platform and resources will be available in five languages (EN, ES, IT, PT, DE) with all content available free of charge, without requiring any kind of registration/identification by the user.  

Through the Erasmus+ OPSIZO project, partners developed a Toolkit aimed at assessing the current situation in terms of Diversity and Inclusion within micro-enterprises. The Toolkit aims to provide tools that support these types of economic-productive environments in becoming more aware with respect to issues of inclusion of people who experience exclusion and episodes of micro-aggression on the basis of gender and sexual orientation. The joint effort of all project partners from 5 different countries (Italy, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Germany) led to the provision of innovative operational and self-assessment tools on the dedicated OER platform (https://opsizo.eu/). The various tools include: 7 training paths 7 operational tools 1 common taxonomy to describe sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual characteristics 1 collection of situations related to various contexts: micro-aggressions, inclusion, gender stereotyping, etc. 1 self-assessment tool for micro-enterprises 1 checklist on Diversity and Inclusion in micro-enterprises. All tools are freely accessible and available in English and partnership languages.

The aim of OPSIZO WP2, coordinated by the University of Naples Federico II, is to develop the innovative corporate welfare model in micro-enterprises for diversity and inclusion in gender and sexual orientation in the Countries involved in the partnership: Italy, Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Germany.   The scenarios that emerged in the international post-COVID landscape have further exacerbated the state of marginalisation of the gender and LGBT+ communities, stressing exclusion mechanisms at various levels, including the professional one.   7 Reports in English language on the various dimensions and dynamics of D&I in enterprises were created by partners and an Innovative Model “D&I for Corporate Welfare in Microenterprises” is being finalized.  

OPSIZO Project launched the online Open Education Resource Platform, that represents a repository of the project’s outputs, results, news and contacts, and will be the OER platform for target groups to access OPSIZO resources and training materials. The project focuses on promoting social inclusion and involving people with fewer opportunities, to reduce/eliminate access barriers and helps to create inclusive environments that improve “creating inclusive environments that foster equity and equality”.   Objectives of OPSIZO are: - Improve the competitiveness and efficiency of microenterprises, through innovative training and operational tools - Promote a culture of diversity and inclusion as corporate welfare tool in microenterprises - Contribute through innovative training courses to equality in the world of work - Enhance individual and organizational resources, supporting personal and professional growth processes   Partners will carry out a series of well-articulated, timed and sequenced activities grouped in 5 WPs: WP 1 Project Management WP 2 Innovative corporate welfare model D&I in microenterprises WP 3 Developing the OPSIZO Tool-Kit: training & Operational Tools WP 4 Provide training and tools OPSIZO & build the Digital Warehouse WP 5 Guidelines and Manifesto for D&I in Microenterprises   The project officially kick-started on 9th November 2022, with the first online transnational meeting during which partners had a great opportunity to discuss the overall project implementation schedule, define timelines and respective duties in the following months. One of the very first activities was the development, testing and implementation of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Platform. OPSIZO Platform is the main showcase of project’s results and its largest and most tangible channel for international visibility, and is available in 5 languages (EN, ES, IT, PT, DE) with all of its content completely available for free, without requiring any kind of registration/identification by the user. OPSIZO website is now online at https://opsizo.eu/.   For further information about OPSIZO Project please visit https://opsizo.eu/

The EU Investment Bank estimates that in 2021, 23 million micro-enterprises (with up to 9 employees) made up 99% of all businesses and 75% of all jobs in the EU. Exclusion dynamics severely impair the ability of microbusinesses to compete. Some papers (EaSI Report “Gender Equality & Industrial Relations in EU” 2021) refer to “occupational segregation”. The need to transform small enterprises into inclusive spaces that value diversity as a vehicle for economic growth, personal and professional achievement of individuals at risk of exclusion is expressly mentioned in EU plans. Employees and management of small and microenterprises should be trained with “educational and upskilling initiatives” on diversity, according to the “EU Gender Equality Strategy for 2020-25” and “EU SME Strategy 2020”.   Gender equality is closely linked to social justice and is one of the key objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda represents an important opportunity to unite efforts at the global level and develop coherent policies for achieving gender equality. Moreover, diversity management is important because it contributes to enhanced economic and social performance, to build up a better adaptation to demographic and organizational changes and to compliance with the law.   The main goal of the OPSIZO project is to improve the competitiveness and efficiency of microenterprises, through innovative training and operational tools, to promote a culture of diversity and inclusion as corporate welfare tool, to contribute through innovative training courses to equality in the world of work. OPSIZO is tailored to the specific needs of selected target groups: Managers and owners of microenterprises; Staff and employees of microenterprises; VET providers; Users and customers who use the services offered by the enterprises; Families of the enterprises’ employees; Policy makers responsible for social inclusion policies. The Project has 5 main Work Package: WP1: Project Management; WP2: Innovative corporate welfare model Diversity & Inclusion in microenterprises; WP3: OPSIZO Toolkit. Training and operational tools; WP4: Provide training and OPSIZO tools and build the Digital Warehouse; WP5: Guidelines and Manifesto for Diversity & Inclusion in microenterprises. Project Partners: Servizi per l’inclusione Attiva e Partecipata degli Studenti, Italy (Lead Partner) IALFVG, Italy Longford Women’s Link, Ireland Internet Web Solutions, Spain Mindshift Talent Advisory Ida, Portugal IHK – Projektgesellschaft mbh, Germany Institut de Haute Formation aux Politiques Communautaires IHF, Belgium The OPSIZO Project has started on the 1st of November 2022 and its end is on 31st October 2024.

On 9th November 2022, the Kick-Off Meeting of OPSIZO, a Project co-funded by the Erasmus Plus Programme of the European Commission, which brings together 7 partners from 6 different countries (Italy, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium) was held in online mode. OPSIZO – OPSIZO Diversity & Inclusion in Microenterprise - aims to eliminate access obstacles and contributes to the development of welcoming environments that promote equity and equality. The project seeks to eradicate discrimination and microaggressions that hinder the socio-educational and professional development of employees (Women and LGBT+), as a non-inclusive organisation does not support participation in civic and social life as well as the dynamics of personal and collective growth. As a matter of fact, that the European institutions, which established the principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination as a fundamental premise for the realisation of an open, cohesive, inclusive, and sustainable society, have played a vital part in the process of asserting the rights of LGBT+ persons. The prohibition of discrimination is clearly expressed both in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which states that the Union shall aim in all its activities to combat discrimination on the grounds of various factors, including sexual orientation, by taking appropriate action (Articles 10 and 19), and in Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.   Furthermore, numerous millions of people experience discrimination at work. In addition to violating fundamental rights, this unsettling phenomenon also has important economic and societal repercussions. Discrimination exacerbates social tensions and inequities while stifling opportunities and wasting the human talent needed for economic advancement. Promoting good work necessitates combating discrimination. Despite the advancements made in recent years, discrimination against women and the gender pay gap still exist in many developed nations. Recent ILO estimates show that women are still far from achieving gender equality in the workplace and are frequently stuck in low-skilled professions that pay less than those held by men.   During the meeting, the consortium as a whole discussed about the overall project implementation schedule, defining timelines and respective duties. During the project lifetime, partners will carry out research and analysis activities aimed at the development and delivery of the OPSIZO tools to develop and implement. In the Project, IHF asbl brings its expertise and experience as a key social player in international and European projects. In particular, IHF asbl ensures the “European Dimension” of the Project as it carries out all the technical tasks from a “European Perspective”, i.e. carrying out analysis of relevant EU policies and initiatives; extrapolating EU relevant case studies, lessons learned and best practices.