Final Conference and Partner Meeting of the WIN Project Held in Hungary

Final Conference and Partner Meeting of the WIN Project Held in Hungary

07.05.2026

The final conference and partner meeting of the project WIN Improving the position of Women in the labour markets of peripheral INdustrial regions, implemented within the Interreg Danube Region Programme, were held on 6 and 7 May 2026 in Oroszlány and Tatabánya, Hungary.

The aim of the project is to improve the position of women in the labour market of peripheral industrial regions by fostering a more inclusive and accessible labour market, as well as by removing structural and social barriers that limit their professional development and employment opportunities.

The final conference took place at the Oroszlány Mining Museum, a symbolic venue of industrial heritage, where partners and participants discussed the future of women’s work in such environments. The event was opened by Ákos Szépvölgyi, Managing Director of the Central Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency, and Jani Kozina, Lead Partner from the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, with a video address by Barbara Willsberger, Priority Area 9 Coordinator of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region.

As part of the opening segment, a keynote session titled “Beyond Good Intentions” was held, during which PhD Erika Nagy, Melinda Topolcsik, and PhD Erika Bálint presented different perspectives on the factors shaping women’s position in the labour market—from structural and scientific viewpoints to experiences from the corporate sector. The discussion that followed raised an important question: who truly limits women’s opportunities in the labour market, and who has the power to remove these barriers?

 

The afternoon session of the conference was dedicated to hands-on work through three thematic workshops (WIN Results Lab), focusing on institutional barriers, social innovation, and capacity-building for increasing women’s participation in the labour market. Participants had the opportunity to exchange experiences through interactive work and to identify concrete recommendations for improving existing practices.

The conference concluded with a guided tour of the Mining Museum, serving as a reminder of the strong influence of industrial heritage on contemporary social and economic developments, followed by a joint dinner in Neszmély, which provided an opportunity for further networking and exchange among partners.

On the second day, 7 May, a study visit was organised to Gedeon Richter Plc. in Dorog, where participants were introduced to examples of good practice in an industrial environment, as well as to local development potentials. The visit was followed by a partner meeting, during which project results were presented, including an overview of achieved objectives, policy recommendations, and activities related to communication, management, and quality assurance.

The WIN project is implemented by a consortium of 10 partners from 7 countries of the Danube Region: Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

Representatives from Serbia at the meeting included Dragana Panajotović, Executive Director of the Association of Business Women in Serbia, Snežana Perić from the Women’s Association Kreativna vizija Loznica, and Jelena Vujičić, Office Manager of the Association of Business Women in Serbia.

The WIN final conference represented not only a review of achieved results, but also an important platform for knowledge exchange, strengthening partnerships, and defining future steps towards creating a fairer and more inclusive labour market for women in industrial regions.