2-year ERASMUS+ programme funded initiative aimed at enhancing the entrepreneurial mindset of craftswomen in Europe
WHY W@W PROJECT?
Rural women are the driving force for the maintenance and development of these areas, both in cultural and economic terms, as they contribute to the preservation of traditions and the development of the countryside in the face of a constant process of depopulation.
In recent years, women engagement in traditional handmade products in rural areas is getting wider. Unfortunately, due to conditions such as unemployment, poverty, lack of basic services in the field of education and traditional stereotyped roles for women role, rural women are confronted with major challenges in the achievement of gender equality.
Although today, traditional handmade products are becoming more valuable in the eyes of the customer/tourists, most of the women who are interested in their production are not always aware of the real value of the products or how to make use of them in the commercial perspective. Only a small proportion of women find the opportunity to generate regular income through their talent
WHAT WE DO
W@W project consists in extending and developing the competences of long-term unemployed women without proper education, living in marginalized rural areas in order to assist them in the long run, to access the labor market and further exploit their hobbies. The project is grounded on EU 2020 Strategy with specific measures responds to learning needs of women living in rural areas which are considerable uncapped human potential that are sorely needed to boost economic growth and create new jobs required in todays difficult economic climate.
This will be done via following outcomes:
- Developing An Entrepreneurial Mindset Capacity Building Course
- W@W One-Stop Portal
- Success Stories Videos
- Self Test tool of Appropriateness as an Entrepreneur
The project has been funded by ERASMUS+ programme, Strategic Partnerships for Adult Education and will run from October 2019 to October 2021.
ITALCAM
ENOROS CONSULTING LTD.
Right Now
Dramblys
Salvammame
GIP FIPAN
Proqvi
OUTPUTS
The main objective of this output is to develop an integrated and innovative Capacity Building Course to train craftswomen by providing them with skills and competences necessary to extend and improve their local small-scale business.
Rural and urban women producing traditional craftsmanship are the driving force for the maintenance and development of these areas, both in cultural and economic terms, as they contribute to the preservation of traditions and the development of the countryside in the face of a constant process of depopulation.
The range of products created is wide and include for example tools; clothing and jewelry; costumes and props for festivals and performing arts; decorative art; musical instruments and household utensils, and toys, both for amusement and education. Cultural heritage embodied in these traditional crafts is an integral part of any nation: however, many craftspeople struggle to adapt to the competition caused by mass production and globalization poses significant challenges to the survival of traditional forms of craftsmanship.
Women at Work will thus take into consideration all of these issues and obstacles to develop a course specifically targeted to the needs of women that produce traditional handicrafts on a local level, but whose success is hampered by the perils of mass production, the lack of an entrepreneurial mindset and little knowledge of the business environment outside the local level. The importance of digital competences, transnational cooperation, e-commerce, the very specific conditions of small businesses and of the labor market in certain countries: these and many others will be the main subjects of the interactive and accessible training course developed thanks to the project.
A Web Portal which will serve as:
– an e-learning tool developing/enhancing the entrepreneurship skills of unemployed/ low-qualified women;
– an online space where participants will be able to interact, exchange knowledge, but also seek assistance from entrepreneurs in any related topic concerning developing their business ideas;
– a digital space based on the idea of e-commerce offering the opportunity to women to undertake a private entrepreneurial activity.
One Stop Portal, will host the Capacity Building Course material, including articles for further learning. The Portal will be highly interactive, containing on-line exercises and short quizzes. Multimedia resources will be highly exploited to respond to the needs of users, in order to engage the users and imprint the information in them.
In addition, One Stop Portal will also serve as an innovative online forum where women will be able to seek assistance from professionals in any related topic concerning development of their business.
The One-Stop Portal development will bring together expertise, knowledge and best practices, promote collaborations between the target group, create a social network for exchanging ideas, and help women to make their first step into the world of entrepreneurship.
Female entrepreneurship is a predominantly cultural concept, developed in the era of globalization. However, in most cases, successful entrepreneurship remains a predominantly male domain.
It is therefore absolutely important to remember that there are many positive examples of female entrepreneurs who, with their stubbornness and tenacity, have succeeded. For this reason, the main objective of Intellectual Output 3 is to make shared stories of emancipation, sacrifice and success through the production of digital video.
Through the success stories of some women who have become entrepreneurs, other women can be encouraged to improve their business or embark on a new successful adventure.
The videos will demonstrate that the most difficult goals are achieved with dedication, tenacity and perseverance.
The partnership will create a script to conduct interviews with at least 14 successful female entrepreneurs in Europe. Finally, 7 short videos will be made, as each video will represent a specific topic:
- Exploring the market, learning to fit in
- What opportunities do I have?
- The investment is worth it
- How to avoid failure?
- Μistakes are acceptable
- Go further and faster
- Reaching success, staying high
The successful narrative videos, made in digital format, will be subtitled in English to make them transferable and adaptable to EU countries and the world. These stories represent the cultural and social differences in different European societies, but embody the main objective of creating value for themselves and for others, in terms of personal fulfilment but also of value in the territory in which they are placed.
Self-Test of appropriateness as Entrepreneurs will be created in order to help W@W participants to evaluate their gained knowledge, approaches and attitudes on entrepreneurship challenges but also providing a feedback for their personal development.