On 12th and 13th of October 2023, partners met in Porto for the sixth and last project meeting. They discussed latest development and next steps of the project, planned its long-term sustainability and how to best communicate the activities and the tools that will ensure a long the impact of the project beyond its end date.
The first day of our two-days event served as a dynamic platform for professionals focused on socio-labour inclusion, primarily within the context of the Net-Works project. A3S, our Portuguese partner, hosted a diverse panel at the Gaiurb (organisation part of the Vila Nova de Gaia municipality) headquarters, with speakers who provided insightful presentations. Diana Mota and Sara Cabral of Gaiurb welcomed participants and highlighted Gaiurb's projects, including Escola Oficina. ENSIE’s project officer Martina Paterniti (ENSIE) subsequently introduced the Net-Works project, emphasizing ENSIE's role, while Duncan Walker and Lorita Constantinescu showcased the activities of ISEN and RISE, social enterprises' networks in Ireland and Romania. A crucial aspect of the event was the interactive session where participants introduced themselves and shared insights on social and work integration.
Following a networking-focused coffee break, Cláudia Araújo from the Municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia presented Portugal Social Innovation and detailed various social and work integration projects in Gaia. The afternoon session featured a study visit to Escola Oficina, a Portuguese WISE, providing participants with a practical understanding of the initiatives discussed earlier.
On the second day of the meeting, the partners discussed the final strategies for the dissemination and the exploitation of the project, and the last steps to make in view of the closure of the project on the 30th of November.