Empowering migrant women through building entrepreneurship skills Erasmus Project

Project Title

Empowering migrant women through building entrepreneurship skills

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Migrants’ issues; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship

Project Summary

In many EU countries, including the partners’ countries (Netherlands, Sweden and Italy) migrant women face double disadvantage in the labor market: as migrants and as women. Women perceived as Muslim or African face particular difficulties due to discrimination in access to the labor market. Women with a low educational level and women with a non-Western migration background work less often and are less often economically independent than both migrant men and local women.

Adult educators working with migrants do not have enough competencies to support and help migrant women due to the limited attention and low understanding of the special challenges and needs of migrant women. Encouragement of migrant women entrepreneurship skills is one of the easiest way to create job for themselves, but the courses are mostly focused on language skills and education. Migrant women need support in their integration in the labor market.

The project is focused on developing migrant women competencies and their successful integration into socio-economic life.

Objectives of the project are:
– To improve employability, social integration and civic engagement of migrant women through development of entrepreneurship competencies;
– To encourage social integration of migrant women through social participation and mentoring;

Direct target groups:
– migrant women (especially the most vulnerable groups: non-Western migrant women and migrant women with a low educational level),
– adult educators working with migrant women

Indirect target groups:
– family members of migrant women,
– local and migrant communities in the partners’ countries,
– journalists, policy makers, and citizens of the EU

The project focused on building the following competencies:
– Getting entrepreneurial, leadership and managerial skills
– Getting mentoring skills (setting realistic life goals, gaining positive thinking skills, gaining social networking skills).

Methodology: non-formal learning methods, mentoring, community-based participatory research, open innovation, creative sessions, focus groups

Activities will include:
– Adult educators trainings “Empower, engage immigrant women integration in socio-economical life”;
– Public discussions on how to empower migrant women to integrate in socio-economic life;
– Seminars and workshops to encourage migrant women to establish their own business and gain skills necessary to enter local labor market;
– Social capital and collaborative network of migrant women to support locals and migrants in mutually helpful activities

Intellectual outputs will include:
– Migrant women mentoring program aimed to share experiences of successful female migrants with newcomers and to encourage their integration and social participation by providing aspirational role models, practical advice and psychological support
– MOOC “Migrant women integration in labor market” aimed to improve professional skills for migrant women, increase their participation in the activities leading to employment and building key competences necessary for successful economic integration in the host society.
– Handbook for social workers and adult educators working with migrant women aimed to tailor their programs to the educational and professional goals of migrant women.
All the outputs are interconnected and aimed at articulating, transferring and disseminating the knowledge gained during the project.

Direct impact: higher employment and more active social participation of migrant women; increased capacity of migrant women to interact and feel more confident in their social environment and to participate in social, political and economic life at local level. Direct impact will be for 200 migrant women and adult educators, career advisors, volunteers working with migrant women (100 participants).

Indirect impact will be for 2000 migrant women, migrant families and adult educators.
– positive impact of socially active and economically independent mothers on migrant women children, increased opportunity for education and social participation;
– for community – better socialization and integration of migrant women;
– for municipality/region/country – social and economic benefits;
– for EU – increased common values, better protection of women’s rights, economic benefits of working women and better education of children.

Long-term effects:
– increased migrant women employability and entrepreneurial skills;
– established more possibilities and access to possibilities for migrant women;
– created migrant women mentoring program;
– established migrant women support network;
– bigger social participation of migrant women;
– easier access to education and work for migrant women;
– raised awareness of women’s rights;
– raised awareness among public officials of migrant women needs;
– transfer of knowledge and practices between project partner.

Project Website

http://www.projectsforyou.eu/en/home-2/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 148275 Eur

Project Coordinator

S.A.F.E. Projects & Country: NL

Project Partners

• More Mosaic
• Stichting Welzijn Lochem
• PROMETEO