Progetto Donne e Futuro was created by Avv. Cristina Rossello as a catalyst to stimulate the discussion on women and their contribution to the economy.

Progetto Donne e Futuro celebrates women's excellence, facilitates equal opportunities and promotes the image of women who have achieved eminence in their field of endeavour.

The Project, produced by Avv. Cristina Rossello, rewards young talents worthy of being placed on the fast-track to the employment world, with the awarding of scholarships and start of a tutoring and mentoring program. Each award winner is paired with a sponsor - a distinguished personality and expert in her field - possessing the qualities to guide and motivate the young winners, acknowledging and promoting their extraordinary value and talent by placing them on ideal courses to enter the employment world, and providing them with unique opportunities for internships or career openings in a one-year mentoring and tutoring program.

The Project unfolds in an annual event and various intermediate events, at most every four months, held in various regions across Italy.

The events that have followed since the onset of the Project are briefly illustrated in a specific section of the website. Meetings of a scientific character are organized, offering statistical updates and comparative data in the various areas of the economy, the arts, professions, enterprises and sport.

“Cultural moments” are also organized to discover and promote the artistic and natural resources of Italy.

Talk shows are produced specifically for the awarding ceremonies.

The conference proceedings appeared in the first book “Progetto Donne e Futuro. Mentoring e tutoring nella crescita professionale delle donne. Quando è una donna il modello per le altre” published by Il Sole 24 Ore.

Drawing on the fundamental project of a form of “local” Womenomics, dealt with extensively in the conference proceedings, the intermediate results are purposely shown in various other regions besides Liguria, in order to present and propagate Progetto Donne e Futuro, facilitating the adoption of the relating formula also by other local communities.

The great commotion stirred by the “pink network” has already produced further fruitful results: the local initiative continues to receive huge attention from other regions and major Italian and international cities, eager to welcome and present it by offering their support, hospitality and availability. These include Brussels, which already hosted us on 22 March 2011 at the European Parliament, and St. Petersburg, where the Project was presented at the end of May on the inauguration of the “Imperial Gardens of Russia” International Festival, with interesting developments expected in the subsequent months.

Progetto Donne e Futuro was presented in Liguria, Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Latium and Valle d'Aosta, receiving, for each of the organized meetings, the patronage of the local authorities involved: Municipality, Province and Region.

Progetto Donne e Futuro received high recognition from our President of the Republic, who graced us with his attention awarding us with a medal of acknowledgement.

The Project also received the patronage of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and of the Ministries for Youth, of Tourism, of Education, University and Research, and for Equal Opportunities.

Progetto Donne e Futuro launched the series titled “Donne & Economia” a joint endeavour by Gruppo 24 Ore and Progetto Donne e Futuro for the publication in Italy of works on international economy authored by women-leaders of world renown. As an exclusive national preview, the audience was presented with the first Italian edition of Avivah Wittenberg-Cox's book “Womenomics in azienda” on the enhancement of female talent in the workplace and in the employment world broadly speaking, with the aim of enriching our national culture through the dissemination of writings and contributions on the issues concerning women and the economy and women and employment.

The young worthy women who earned their opportunity - as prize-winners - of accessing the mentoring path, accompanied by distinguished sponsors, were included in the boating sector, the hotel industry, in communication science, singing, medicine, agriculture and sport.

The events also bear witness to the awarding of a number of special sectors. Specifically, a tribute to solidarity was awarded to Mother Rossella, vicaress of the Order of the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy, for the bicentenary of the birth of the founding Saint of the Order.

A special prize - the “Woman-Model of the Year” - was awarded for the Armed Forces to Captain Michela Pagliara, Commander of the Legnano Company, first woman-Officer of the Carabinieri to hold such a high-ranking position in Italy.

Awards were also conferred to various initiatives in favour of solidarity projects involving employment in women's prisons.

The Office of the European Parliament in Italy, which dedicated the whole month of March 2012 to discussions on the topic of women, promoting female associational life and establishing the “l'Europa è per le donne” project, invited Progetto Donne e Futuro to this cycle of meetings with the conference titled “Il contributo femminile nelle professioni, nell'arte e nelle imprese per lo sviluppo dell'economia” on 7 March, in Milan, at “Palazzo delle Stelline”.

The next scheduled events are found in the Events calendar.

Visit www.progettodonneefuturo.it to keep up with the developments of Progetto Donne e Futuro, its pupils, patronesses, speakers, events, editorial activities and all other occasions, or access the Progetto Donne e Futuro channel on YouTube.