Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

On December 22, 2020, the Milan Woman Award, a contribution made available by the central administration to reward the associations that work for gender equality in the city.

The projects presented by the associations won:

• Telefono Donna, which deals in particular with combating gender violence, which won in Municipalities 2, 4 and 6;
• Cetec Theater Laboratory/inside and outside San Vittore, winner in Municipalities 1 and 8;
• Mondo Donna, an important community center that brings together hundreds of members in its headquarters in Quarto Cagnino, won in its municipality, the 7th;
• Blimunde, and Naturantica both promote physical and mental well-being and won in Municipalities 3 and 5 respectively
• Isolamusicaingioco, committed to spreading music and culture in the city, won with projects dedicated to future new mothers and young children at Municipality 9.  

On 28 July 2021 it was held in Sala Alessi, a Palazzo Marino, the delivery of the second 'Milan Woman Award' in the presence of the Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala, the Mayor's Delegate for Gender Equal Opportunities Daria Colombo, the footballer Regina Baresi, godmother of the event, and the representatives of the nine municipalities.

“The presence of the associations – states Mayor Sala – allows us to see first-hand the incredible work that has been done in the neighborhoods in favor of women, even in the difficult period of the 'lockdown'. The projects we reward aimed at promoting integration into the social fabric, promoting autonomy and independence, and preventing the scourge of mistreatment and violence within the home. Projects that brought benefits to women and indirectly represented support for families, creating that irreplaceable support and proximity network in the neighborhoods." 

“This year too – explained Daria Colombo – the Municipality of Milan has made an economic contribution available to each Municipality to be assigned to the best project to support women. The Milano Donna Award is one of the many actions we have introduced in recent years to make Milan a city attentive to equal gender opportunities and close to the small businesses that work towards this objective with extraordinary commitment in the neighborhoods".

• The 'Telefono Donna onlus' association, which has been committed to combating gender violence for decades, has obtained recognition in five municipalities.  
  In Municipality 2 with the project, “Independent”, aimed at women who 'love too much' to allow them to overcome emotional dependence through recovering self-esteem.  
  In Municipalities 4, 5 and 9, the association held a series of meetings led by experts to offer support and prevent mistreatment and violence.   
  Finally, in Municipality 6, the project intervention focused on the prevention of bullying and cyberbullying with meetings in schools and youth aggregation centres;
• For Municipality 1 the prize went to the 'Teatro inverosimile' association which with “Riscatti” combined a photographic exhibition dedicated to disabilities with a theatrical show inspired by the life of the painter Artemisia Gentileschi; 
• Municipality 3 has chosen to reward the "Women from the world, in the world" project of the 'COGESS' association, aimed at foreign women to strengthen their participation in the life of the community;  
• The volunteer organization 'ITAMA' (Italian for mothers) was awarded in Municipality 7 for offering free Italian language courses to encourage the integration of foreign women; 
• Municipality 8 has chosen the cultural association 'Errante' which, with the “ITINERARI-e” project, has created wellness and self-knowledge itineraries through the places of the Municipality.

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On 13 June 2023, the presentation of the third "Milano Donna Award" was held at Villa Scheibler in the presence of the Mayor's Delegate for Equal Opportunities Elena Lattuada, the President of the City Council Elena Buscemi, the Councilor for Civic Services, Participation and Transparency Decentralization policies Gaia Romani, the Vice President of the Education Council Commission Alessandro Giungi, the President of the Equal Opportunities and Rights Council Commission Diana De Marchi and the President of Municipality 8 Giulia Pelucchi.

The 2022 Milano Donna Award is recognized to some associations that deal with immigrant women, with their difficulties in linguistic communication, work and sometimes domestic violence.

“Milan must be an increasingly intelligent and welcoming city – states Mayor Sala – capable of proposing a virtuous model of coexistence that combats abuses and gives rights and freedoms to those who have unfortunately lost them due to human violence, conflicts , of injustice. […] I am extremely convinced that the success of our city depends on female talent, on the recognition of the dignity of every woman and the assurance of fundamental rights.” 

“The Milano Donna Award – explains Elena Lattuada – is an opportunity to raise awareness of projects that are good working practices with women in the city. Projects built by associations in the area that work every day to improve the condition of women, to affirm rights and equal opportunities, to build collaboration networks and activate participation, to combat violence and stereotypes.
The 2022 edition of the Milan Women's Award focused on the activities carried out by and with migrant women, with the many women who, coming from distant countries, often with different cultures, populate the city every day and who, rightly, claim dignity, rights and respect.”

• Municipality 1 - FRANCESCO REALMONTE ONLUS ASSOCIATION

The Sociale Linea Adele tailoring was founded in 2013 to promote the orientation and professional integration of female and male refugees. Learning in a safe and community environment encourages the development of previous skills and promotes learning in the new context. 
On the occasion of the Christmas holidays, the tailor's shop promotes a collection of winter products and a dedicated line, delegating the creation to vulnerable women who have attended the course. 
The beneficiaries of the 2022 project were two women, holders of international protection, who have been working in tailoring for some time.
The objectives of the project are to guarantee skills and income, in order to support a path to housing and social autonomy. 

• Town Hall 2 - EVA ASSOCIATION - ITALIAN SCHOOL

The association was born in 2008 from the need of migrant women to know their rights by providing psychological and legal support for women victims of domestic violence.
The association's project is integration through socio-cultural tools, with the belief that integration can occur through knowledge of individual cultures that learn from each other. A knowledge of the Italian language that is functional to the social life of the students and women who attend the courses, which expire every two weeks, offering a free, safe and mutually knowledgeable context. 
In addition to the courses, held by two teachers and a cultural mediator, there is also a calendar of monthly trips for women and children, to areas of particular interest in the city.

• Town Hall 6 - WE WORLD - GIAMBELLINO WOMEN'S SPACE

The Association founded more than 50 years ago is an Italian non-profit organization active in 27 countries with development cooperation and humanitarian aid projects to guarantee rights for the most vulnerable subjects, starting with women, girls and boys.
The Spazio Donna program launched in 2014 in the peripheral spaces of cities is active in the cities of Bologna, Cosenza, Milan - with two centers -, Naples, Palermo, Pescara and Rome. 
In Milan they are located in Corvetto and Giambellino. 
The Giambellino project intends to contribute to developing women's empowerment, against any form of violence and to promote the elimination of discrimination. 
The activities carried out concern spaces reserved for individual support and help conversations, structured group activities and a place for socialization for women, as well as a "child care" service to encourage women's participation in activities.

• Town Hall 7 - ITAMA - ITALIAN FOR MOMS

The Itama association - Italian for mothers ODV is a voluntary organization that pursues civic, solidarity and socially useful aims to support the integration of foreign women and families, made up of 36 members of which 31 are volunteers and whose board and presidency is made up of women only.
The project, which started in 2009 in the San Siro district, offers Italian courses both in person and at a distance to foreign ladies, with care of children from 0 to 3 years old during the lessons.
The aims of the course, in addition to knowledge of the language, are to encourage meetings between foreign and Italian women, to raise awareness of the opportunities and use of the services offered by the city, to teach the use of IT tools, to encourage school-family communication .

• Town Hall 8 - WANDERING ASSOCIATION - PROMISE

Errante is an association founded in 2019 for social and cultural promotion founded by ten girls under 30 with different backgrounds and professionalisms, with the aim of promoting culture and beauty. It is included in the dense network of associations that operate in different territorial contexts. 
The project was presented in collaboration with Promise, an association also founded in 2019, which has the aim of female empowerment with particular attention to international protection and immigration.
The project takes place in the Gallaratese district in the Centro Milano Donna space and has the aim of attracting young women and girls using innovative communication, promoting cultural change, allowing the acquisition of new skills and knowledge through dedicated workshops, offering free consultancy curated by professionals, to increase the spaces for awareness and sociality of women.

• Town Hall 9 - MOLCE ATELIER - TAILORING THAT CARE

The association was born in 2021, thanks to the "neighbourhood school" tender and is a therapeutic tailoring for women victims of domestic violence, in conditions of fragility and insecurity which intends to promote female autonomy - including economic - through learning a trade, as well as empowerment and rehabilitation through manual work accompanied by a path of psychological support. 
The project concerns a tailoring improvement course, aimed at women who have already attended the basic course and victims of violence, in order to create the "Capsule Collection by Molce Atelier" collection which will also be the prototype for future projects. The activities concern all stages of knowledge to create the collection and encourage, in the women who participate, a path to economic and social autonomy.

The event was attended by the Sociology Professor of the University of Milan Mara Tognetti, Camilla Caron - Gender Based Violence Program Officer national response national response in Italy for Unicef ​​- and Laura Canali - Gender Based Violence Technical Advisor for International Medical Corps.

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InComune WebTV Radio - recording of the entire awards ceremony