The award ceremony for the Bianca Pomeranzi Prize was held at the headquarters of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in Rome. This initiative was created to honor and perpetuate the legacy of Bianca Pomeranzi’s extraordinary contributions to promoting women’s rights and freedoms at both the national and international levels. Bianca Maria Pomeranzi (1950-2023) was a prominent figure in Italian development cooperation and the feminist movement. She co-founded AIDOS (Italian Association of Women for Development) and served as Senior Gender Expert at the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pomeranzi also led the Local Technical Unit of Dakar for Italian Cooperation in Senegal and East Africa (2010-11), and was elected a member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The Bianca Pomeranzi Prize, now in its first edition, is awarded to graduates in Development Cooperation Studies who present theses focused on feminist and gender policies and practices in political, social, cultural, environmental, and economic fields. The award was presented to Lena Châtreaux for her thesis titled “Women’s Design of Alternative Spaces of Socio-Economic Existence. The Case Study of the Rotating, Saving and Credit Associations in the City of Louga, Senegal,” completed as part of her Master’s in Area and Global Studies for International Cooperation at the University of Turin. “It is an honor to receive the Bianca Pomeranzi Prize for both its history and the opportunities it offers,” said Châtreaux, adding that she is proud to be part of Oxfam Italy’s Gender Justice and Women’s Rights Program. Ugo Ferrero, Head of Communications and Institutional Relations at AICS, emphasized the agency’s strong support for the prize, recognizing Bianca Pomeranzi’s pivotal role in shaping Italian development cooperation’s gender equality strategies and actions. He stated, “Achieving gender equality is essential for social and economic development.” Marta Collu, AICS Gender Equality Officer, concluded the event by reaffirming the agency’s commitment to promoting gender equality in Pomeranzi’s legacy. She highlighted the importance of awareness-raising and training for AICS staff and partner organizations to improve project design and gender mainstreaming.