From 3rd to 5th November, Equality in Tourism joined FUTOURWORK partners for the project’s second in-person meeting at the American College of Greece, Athens.
We are leading the dissemination, exploitation and communication work package for this Horizon Europe-funded research project, which is dedicated to strengthening the wellbeing and rights of tourism and hospitality workers through social dialogue. The focus is principally on marginalised workers, namely women, migrants and young people.
The three days of workshops and discussions in Athens were an opportunity to review progress across all work packages and plan next steps. In particular, it was a chance to finalise research instruments ahead of collecting data from workers and industry stakeholders. Data will inform the development of critically needed tools and resources that promote decent working conditions, including a Code of Conduct for platform firms and a Wellbeing Index with accompanying benchmarking tool for the wider industry.
Attending on behalf of Equality in Tourism, Communications Officer Kavita Ashton ran a stakeholder mapping workshop for partners, helping them identify which national and EU-level organisations they would engage for interviews and dissemination activities. These stakeholders include trade unions, employer associations, governmental organisations, platform workers and platform firms.
The team also reviewed case studies demonstrating common issues workers face, to help shape upcoming legal manuals that will make information about rights, social dialogue structures, and legal support accessible.
Coordinated by the University of Westminster, FUTOURWORK partners come from nine institutions across six countries: Romania, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Bulgaria, and the UK.
FUTOURWORK’s Principal Investigator Professor Stroma Cole commented, “This meeting marked an exciting point in the project, as we refine research methods and map the next stages in creating FUTOURWORK’s resources and tools. I was proud to see the energy and collaboration among the team.
“We sincerely appreciate the smooth coordination by the American College of Greece’s undergraduate students and the team’s generous hospitality during our stay.”
Visit the FUTOURWORK website for more information about the project and keep up with our progress on LinkedIn and Bluesky.