On the 9th November 2016, CEA-PME organised the MobiliseSME‘s event for the launch of the project’s pilot scheme in Brussels. The event was very successful with around 100 people from different parts of Europe attending to hear about the features of the new mobility scheme for SMEs employees.
The event started with a welcome speech by Ms. Lorenza Badiello, the Head of the Emilia-Romagna Delegation to the EU, the regional representation office on whose premises the event took place. In her introduction, she highlighted the benefits that a project providing international mobility for SMEs can bring to local realities and enrich local communities.
The keynote speech was offered by Mr Jackie Morin, Head of Unit D.1 Free Movement of Workers, EURES at DG EMPL of the European Commission, who presented the reasons for such a project and why it is important to provide new opportunities for SMEs and their employees through the available frameworks of the European Union.
The President of European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME and BVMW, Mr Mario Ohoven, followed with a passionate articulation of the importance of SMEs as economic actors in Europe and why an innovative project for SMEs employees mobility can really help them.
The event then focused on the features of the scheme, with three presentations: the first introducing MobiliseSME in general (download here), the second covering the results of the research conducted by the project in the first six months of activity (download here) and the last exposing in details the features and characteristics of the new mobility scheme and of the related matchmaking platform (download here). The sessions were followed by the showing of two new videos: an animated video about the matchmaking process and a video with the testimonials of SMEs entrepreneurs and employees in Europe, which you can see here below. A closing Q&A session highlighted the desire for such program from different sectors and different parts of Europe.
The event then closed with a panel debate with representative of institutions, industry associations and social partners like trade unions who remarked how the new scheme can bring lots of new advantages to different parties, from entrepreneurs opening the doors to new business to employees learning new skills to European economy and society becoming richer because of the growth brought about by it. The audience had occasion to discuss these points in the more informal context of a networking lunch after the conference.
