On October 1st, 2024, at the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) headquarters in Rome, the ceremony for the Bianca Pomeranzi Award will take place. This initiative was created to honor the legacy of Bianca Maria Pomeranzi (1950-2023) and her extraordinary contribution to the promotion of women’s rights and freedoms at both national and transnational levels.
Bianca Pomeranzi was a key figure in the field of development cooperation and feminism. Among her notable contributions were the co-founding of AIDOS (Italian Association of Women for Development), her work as a Senior Gender Expert at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and her election as a member of the CEDAW (UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women).
The Bianca Pomeranzi Award is aimed at recent graduates in Development Cooperation Sciences who have written theses focused on feminist and gender policies and practices in political, social, cultural, environmental, and economic fields. For this first edition, 25 theses from across Italy were submitted. The winner will have the opportunity to undertake an internship at Oxfam Italy / Gender Justice Area, made possible thanks to the support of the RUT Foundation and the European Women’s Management Development Network (EWMD Rome).
The ceremony will feature speeches from representatives of AICS, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), UNFPA, and the International Women’s House, of which Bianca Pomeranzi was one of the founders. Other organizations involved include AIDOS, Differenza Donna, the Political Science Department of Roma Tre University, and key figures such as Elena Zambelli and Maria Rosa Cutrufelli, who co-founded and chair the award.
The award’s scientific committee consists of 23 women experts from various fields, including academics, activists, and representatives of international organizations. The ceremony will also be available online for those who register through a dedicated link.
This award is a tangible tribute to Bianca Pomeranzi’s legacy, promoting the commitment to women’s rights and gender equality on a global scale.
