The HERA Lab in Italy, implemented by COSVITEC in Naples, is now well advanced in its journey, and what has emerged most strongly is something that goes beyond individual development: a group that has become, in its own right, a resource.
The Lab began with a phase dedicated to building mutual trust and connection. Through activities rooted in the principles of mutual aid, solidarity, and collective empowerment, participants gradually created a space where personal histories, fears, and aspirations could be shared openly. In one of the early sessions, each participant was invited to reflect on her own vulnerabilities and strengths through an exercise inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi, where broken objects are repaired with gold, and the cracks become part of what makes something valuable. The session produced moments of unexpected depth: women shared stories they had rarely spoken aloud, and the group listened with a quality of attention that the facilitator described as one of the most moving experiences of the entire Lab so far.
By the end of the Team Building phase, participants had created small handmade bracelets, each inscribed with a word of wisdom chosen by another member of the group. It was a simple gesture, but one that captured something real about what had been built: a community of women who had chosen to see each other clearly, and to offer each other something to carry forward.
“I came here thinking I needed to update my skills. I didn’t expect to find people who understand exactly where I am”, said one participant, reflecting on the first weeks of the Lab.
The Learning to Learn phase that followed brought new energy. Working through themes of growth mindset, skills mapping, learning strategies, and mentorship, participants began to connect their inner reflections to the world outside. A recurring theme across these sessions was the gap between how participants saw themselves and how much they actually knew and could do. A collective competence mapping exercise, in which each woman shared her knowledge and offered herself as an informal teacher to others, made this visible in a way that statistics or assessments never could.
What has continued to stand out, as the Lab progresses into its later phases, is the strength of the group itself. Participants have not only engaged with the programme content: they have built something among themselves that extends well beyond any single session. They support each other between meetings, share reflections, and have expressed clearly that they do not want this community to end when the formal programme does. That desire is itself one of the most significant outcomes of the Lab. It reflects what can happen when women aged 45+ are given a structured, safe, and genuinely participatory space: they do not just develop individually. They build something together that neither the programme nor any of them could have built alone.
