Today marks the launch of the third edition of the Bianca Pomeranzi Award, an initiative aimed at building a living legacy of her extraordinary contribution to the promotion of women’s rights and freedoms at the Italian, international, and transnational 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), served as Senior Gender Expert at the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, directed the Local Technical Unit (UTL) of Italian Cooperation for Senegal and West Africa (2010–11), and was elected to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Award targets graduates in Development Cooperation Sciences (LM81), International Relations (LM52), Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology (LM1), and the Honours Programme Talenti e Territori (TALETE) who have written a thesis focused on feminist and gender policies and practices in political, social, cultural, environmental, and economic contexts.
The Award aims to support the transition from academic studies to the professional world by offering a three-month internship at a leading organisation in the sector. The internship will take place at Oxfam Italia within the Gender Justice Programme and will be remunerated, thanks to the generous contribution of Fondazione RUT and the European Women’s Management Development Network / Rome Delegation (EWMD Roma).
The Promoting Committee of the Bianca Pomeranzi Award is composed of Elena Zambelli (Maynooth University) and Maria Rosa Cutrufelli, who conceived the initiative, along with AIDOS, Casa Internazionale delle Donne, Alma Sabatini International Documentation Centre, Differenza Donna, Department of Political Science of Roma Tre University / PhD in Political Science – Gender Studies Curriculum, EWMD Roma, Fondazione RUT, and Oxfam Italia.
The initiative is also sponsored by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and UNFPA.
The Scientific Committee includes twenty-six women from the aforementioned organisations, together with experts in cooperation, representatives from the diplomatic and parliamentary spheres, university professors, activists, and members of feminist and women’s associations.
Additionally, friends and supporters have contributed texts, images, time, and work to build the initiative’s website.
For more information: www.biancapomeranzi.it; premiobiancapomeranzi@gmail.com