The Observatory for the Dissemination of Gender Studies and the Culture of Equal Opportunities – OGEPO[1] - was established in 2011 on the initiative of a group of female professors from the University of Salerno. Today it is an Interdepartmental Centre.
In these 11 years, OGEPO has always been the University's reference point for scientific research in the field of gender studies, equality, equal opportunities and gender-based violence. Research has been complemented by teaching, with curricular courses on these topics. These activities are carried out in collaboration with the entire university, regardless of the specific research interests of the lecturers. OGEPO has also acted locally, in collaboration with institutions and associations. The actions implemented are manifold, from the Violence Week, held in November with interdisciplinary seminars on this topic, to the Documentation Centre on Gender and Equal Opportunities of the Equal Opportunities Department of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
OGEPO is also active at national level, e.g. with its collaboration on the magazine "Camera Blu", and at international level. In particular, OGEPO coordinated the EU-funded Project in the framework of Horizon 2020 'Pilot experiences for improving gender equality in research organisations' R&I PEERS, in which, besides Italy, 7 Mediterranean countries participated.
OGEPO has also organised Master's courses on women's leadership and, for several years, a Summer School on women's history, which was held in different places in the Campania Region and involved local women, who worked with the students, creating a synergy between people of different ages and cultures.
For the future, OGEPO wants to take root more and more in the territory, to become a reference point for anyone who wants to talk about gender and equal opportunities issues and to compare themselves with similar realities operating at national and international level.
[1] The Italian acronym for Osservatorio per la diffusione degli studi di Genere e la cultura delle Pari Opportunità.