Italian "Women's Toponymy" is the winner of the 2019 EESC Civil Society Prize

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                                                                                                                                 Creator:Sebastien PIRLET

                                                                                                                    Copyright:© European Union 2019

On 12 December, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) awarded prizes to five civil society organisations who stand up for equal opportunities for women and men, raise awareness about women's potential and achievements, and contribute to their empowerment in Europe's society and economy.

The prize of EUR 50 000 was shared among five winning projects. The Italian organisation "Women's Toponymy" walked away with the first prize of EUR 14 000. (...)

This year's winner, Women's Toponymy (Associazione Toponomastica femminile) wants to give women public recognition that is often lacking or long overdue, by raising awareness about their contribution to society and history. Believing that toponymy – the study of place names – is a good indicator of the way a society values its members, the organisation is trying to put more notable women on city and town maps.

Its recent research into the names of public places in about 90% of Italian municipalities has shown that for every 100 streets named after men, only 7.8 were named after women, of which some 60% referred to religious figures. There are almost no places featuring the names of notable female scientists, entrepreneurs, artists and sportswomen and Women's Toponymy is set to change that.

The project has had a very positive response, with many municipalities joining in, and now the organisation is already teaming up with associations elsewhere in Europe to spread these good practices.

Accepting the prize, the president of Toponomastica femminile, Maria Pia Ercolini, said: "You need laws to change a society but they are not enough to change behaviour in a lasting way if they are not supported by a parallel change in people's imagination, you need to combat stereotypes and prejudice. This is not just a feminist battle, but a battle for a society based on solidarity and for civilisation."