On 7 th of July 2022 in Serres, Greece, was held information event across the project "Upgrading skills for young designers, fashion graduates and start-ups in the cross-border area and development of a fashion employment hub". In this event Mrs. Natasa Sivevska, Executive Director of the Textile Trade Association Textile Cluster from North Macedonia , a partner in the Fashion Employment Hub, described the importance of the textile industry for the economy and development of the neighboring country and pointed out that the goal of the textile workers of North Macedonia in the coming years is to reduce its dependence on the German market (main country of absorption of their exports), and developing new markets. The Vice Regional Governor of Serres, Mr. Panagiotis Spyropoulos, addressed a greeting, praised the importance of transnational cooperation projects for the prefecture of Serres, and informed the guests

about the advantages and possibilities provided by the prefecture of Serres in a number of sectors, among others and in the primary sector with the important crops of cotton, among others. The director of KDVM Mr. Athanasios Kalathas presented the Fashion Employment Hub project which aims at the common cross-border challenges of the fashion sector with the establishment of a "Fashion Employment Hub" that will support SMEs and new graduates in the fields of fashion and fashion-related sectors (clothing, apparel, footwear, leather, jewelry). Afterward, the general director of the SEPEE, Mr. Theofilos Aslanidis, presented the current state of the sector as well as its development prospects, referring to the importance of the production and trade of clothing for the national economy, an activity which, after COVID and the disruption of international trade, it seems to be returning to Greece and reborn. On the event, Mr. Antonis Siarkos, president of the Hellenic Union of Cotton Ginners and Exporters, presented in detail a related program implemented by the European Cotton Alliance, with the

aim of promoting and promoting the entire value chain from the raw material – cotton, to the final garment. Mr. Siarkos underlined the responsible, sustainable and environmentally friendly way applied by Greek cotton producers and emphasized that the goal of all those involved in the value chain is to establish the EU Cotton brand and for the end consumer to know that he is purchasing clothes created from European cotton high quality, traceable and environmentally friendly.