As its conclusion approaches, on 19 September took place in Tunis the STAND Up! Final Capitalization Event in the presence of a large audience of institutions, policy makers, textile and fashion SMEs, green start-ups and stakeholders.

Organised by Tunisian partner CETTEX - Textile Technical Centre of Tunis, the event aimed to present and discuss the general outcomes and achieved objectives of the STAND Up! project activities but mostly to focus on main strategic topics such as the role of Open eco-innovation and the increasing demand of circular solutions in the clothing and textile sector as well as the importance of the Intellectual Property Rights and its protection policies and procedures both considered truly strategic for the future of the sector and the basis for significant opportunities that the project has made available to young sustainable Mediterranean start-ups through voucher schemes for development and consultancy.

Through the live contribution of Tunisian companies that launched textile challenges on the Switchers Open Eco-Innovation platform and the start-ups that provided their innovative solutions supported by the STAND Up! eco-innovation vouchers, it was possible to draw an overview of how Eco-innovation helps companies create sustainable value for their business, the environment and society, and how working together on sustainable solutions to common problems can create strong relationships that help develop shared expertise on emerging challenges and risks.

Similarly, thanks to the presence of experts and young entrepreneurs, the importance of intellectual property protection for textile start-ups and their brands and patents was highlighted, presenting the state of play for this topic in the territories involved in the STAND Up! project and illustrating the related activities developed by the project in favour of start-ups, such as the IPR vouchers system and the creation of a dedicated online community.

The event concluded with a session dedicated to the dissemination of National Policy papers curated by the Spanish partner TEXFOR in collaboration with Lead Beneficiary MEDWAVES, to support innovation and development by promoting the integration of good practices in local, regional, national and Euro-Mediterranean public policies and a conclusive focus on circular economy in Tunisia exploring strategies and recommendations.