• FEM 2004-2007
  • Project information »
    • Action plans
    • Principles
    • Schedules
    • Best practices
    • Strategic working group
  • Participating organisations
  • Work packages »
    • WP 1
    • WP 2
    • WP 3
    • WP 4
    • WP 5
  • Entrepreneur presentations
  • Advisor and Mentor presentations
  • Studies of female entrepreneurship
  • Gender equality
  • Contact information
  • Useful links

• Feedback
• Suomeksi
• På svenska

Study travel to Rostock and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany, August 22-25, 2005

The aim of  work-package 1 in the FEM-project  is to build up transnational networks of resource centres to strengthen the role of women in the society and in local and regional development. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the former DDR have resource-centres for women been built up during the last decade. The women in Rostock found a model when they had studied the resource-centres in Skåne, the most southern part of Sweden. The first centre started 1999 in Rostock. During 2002-2004 5 more resource-centres were started up in rural areas  and during 2005-2006 another 3 new resource-centres were established. The leaders of the network of 8 resource-centres in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are Christiane Bannuscher and Yvette Dinse , both employed at the IDB ( Institute for Data processing and Management GmbH) in Rostock.

The aims of the network of resource-centres in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are

• to increase the number and share of female entrepreneurs
• to develop business and personal competences of women and use them in local and regional development
• to motivate women to take over a business
• to help women to get more chances and opprtunities, giving them more influence in regional and social developping processes – in the same way as for men .

The results are very interesting  and have resulted in a economic support from the federal government. From 2002-2004 were 400 new entreprises started with support from the resource-centres.  About 75% of the new starters are women , 25% are men .

At August 22 , 21 women connected with the FEM-project arrived at  Hotel der Stadthalle in Rostock from Finland (1 person), Estonia ( 6) , Latvia ( 4), Lithuania (1), Poland (2) and Sweden (7). At Tuesday we had a presentation and information about the resource-centres in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from the responsible persons at the IDB. We had a sightseeing in Rostock at the afternoon and a meeting with the women in the NGO ” Women into Business” in the evening. We drank champagne and some food and had a very nice evening.

Early at Wednesaday we entered a bus to take us out in the region. We went to Stavenhagen, about 120 km from Rostock at 10.00. We were met by the managers of the resource centre and by about 50 entrepreneurs  for a network-meeting with exchange ogf experiences. We had lunch and went by bus to Waren, a beautyful town at the border of a lake, the biggest in Germany. A wonderful place where we went around and had coffee in a sunny weather. Then the bus continued to Grevesmühlen . At 18.00 we had a network meeting with about 60 entrepreneurs connected with the resource centre in this town. We had supper with wine and a very nice meeting. At 23.00 we were back in Rostock. At Thursday some of us visited the Interreg IIIB-office in Rostock where Leena Antila informed us about the future of Interreg IIIB-programme. Then we had a summing-up meeting with discussions of how to develop the cooperation between resource centres in the Baltic Sea region. At noon we left Rostock and a very interesting stay.

Lisbeth Holmquist-Arbrandt

Pictures from the study tour

Back Print page