[Brussels, 22 September 2015]
On 11 September 2015 The European Women’s Lobby delivered the Westart Conference: Women Social Entrepreneurs Changing Europe at the European and Economic Social Committee.
The conference brought to a close the European Women’s Lobby 1-year pilot study that aimed to give visibility to women social entrepreneurship and map the state of women social entrepreneurship in 10 EU member-states. The results of this study were compiled into a report and presented at the conference by the EWL’s project coordinator, Emily Usher Shrair.
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The conference facilitated an important dialogue between EU policy makers and key stakeholders, including national ministers, experts and academics, funders and banks, intermediary organisations, and women social entrepreneurs themselves.
In addition, the unique format of the conference included a working session that allowed the audience to present real solutions to policy makers.
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The WEstart project recently launched a website with a database mapping women social enterprises in the 10 EU member-states. The website also includes the mini-reports of the 10 member-states, as well as the report and further resources related to the project.
To see more photo’s of the WEstart Conference at the EESC 11.09.2015 click here
To read another account of the WEstart conference, read Valentina Caimi’s reportage from the Social Platform here
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Accessibility Statement
womenlobby.org
18 November 2025
Compliance status
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Disability profiles supported in our website
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Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
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Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
