This January Babeş-Bolyai University hosted the official kick-off meeting for FUTOURWORK, a Horizon Europe-funded research project dedicated to creating a fairer, more inclusive tourism and hospitality sector, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
This ambitious initiative aims to transform the future of work in the sector, bringing systemic change to how labour issues are addressed. It will promote more effective dialogue among employers, unions, and governments and address the growing concerns related to gender inequality, job insecurity and worker wellbeing at a time of digital transformation.
During the kick-off meeting, partners discussed FUTOURWORK’s aims and objectives and the consortium’s collaborative activities to come during the 3.5-year project. These include producing a worker well-being index for industry benchmarking and a documentary showcasing the stories of tourism and hospitality workers, as well as establishing an observatory platform to provide a one-stop shop for workers’ rights and facilitate ongoing discussions among stakeholders.
The three-day meeting brought together representatives from the project’s eight partner organisations, which are based across six countries – Romania, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Bulgaria, and the UK.
The multidisciplinary team from Babeş-Bolyai University involved in FUTOURWORK expressed their enthusiasm regarding the opportunity to host this important first meeting between partners.
Project Coordinator Dr. Stroma Cole, who is Reader at the University of Westminster, commented, “This kick-off meeting in Cluj was a fantastic opportunity to bring together the incredibly diverse team of experts we have working on FUTOURWORK and begin fulfilling the strategic vision for the project.
“We’re very grateful to Babeş-Bolyai University for their hospitality and ensuring we had a productive, enjoyable experience in the beautiful city of Cluj.”
The consortium will next meet in person in Greece this autumn.
