In the framework of the EBSOMED project, the Center of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR), in partnership with Womenpreneur Initiative and with the support of the Union for the Mediterranean (UFM), organised on November 30, 2022, in Madrid the "Mediterranean Tech Women Festival" to connect women across the Mediterranean for networking, learning, and exchanging about talent, opportunities, support, and how to break new grounds to support thriving and sustainable innovation. 

More than 120 participants representing business support organizations, start-ups, researchers, experts, heads of MSMEs and the media from around ten countries in the Euro-Mediterranean Region   reviewed the participation of women in technology and science in the region, with multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder approaches and lenses.

The panels of this roadshow were  dedicated to the opportunities of the future in the Med Region, especially after the COVID-19 crisis; entrepreneurship in the technology sector and the role of financing mechanisms in fostering inclusiveness in the Med ecosystem; as well as Artificial Intelligence and its impact on the future of humanity, especially, that of women.

As technology becomes ever more integrated in our societies and everyday lives, it is of critical importance to foster equal opportunities for women and girls to thrive in and contribute to the emergent digital economy. The EBSOMED roadshow focused on sharing experience and know-how among stakeholders and women representatives on common topics – but with different regional and cultural backgrounds - with the objective of bridging the considerable gap in knowledge and capacity between EU and non-EU countries and strengthening transactional economic collaborations.

The conference ended with the awarding of prizes to some of the women leaders in the technology sector and with a brainstorming session to discuss actions, future business plans where the Business Country Desk platform developed by BUSINESSMED within the framework of the EBSOMED project, was presented as a concrete tool to help and stimulate regional economic activity and create networks and strategic business partnerships, especially for women entrepreneurs.