When: 27-30 April 2012

Where: Ohrid, Macedonia

Who: Youth and Environment Europe

Activity type: Feasibility visit

Contact person: Adriana Harnuskova This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Project description

During the last annual meeting, Youth and Environment Europe decided to organise a long term series of training courses with the aim of promoting and developing women's leadership skills. While many women are active members of society and participate in community level environmental activities they are statistically less likely to initiate and direct environmental and grassroots activities. This feasibility visit provided an opportunity for young people from a variety of different communities to come together with the objective of discussing the situation and position of women in their organisations and local areas as well as brainstorming ideas for how to empower and support them. From this cross cultural examination of role of women in our societies, participants collaborated in order to discuss and produce project ideas with the aim of improving the status of women in leadership positions in their countries.

Participants of the feasibility visit:

• Collaborated with potential partners to clarify details of possilble future projects (created action plans, distributed responsibilities)
• Discussed the aims and objectives of the follow-up projects
• Received constructive feedback on project ideas
• Considered the role of women in their society and the most appropriate methods for implementing community level actions in order to successfully achieve the overall goals of the project

Objectives

Objectives:

• to strengthen the role and the capacity of women in leadership roles
• to create a long term project to develop women's leadership skills and encourage them to become leaders in their organizations and their communities

Participating organisations

• Youth and Environment Europe, Czech Republic
• DEM, Macedonia
• OA PTTK, Poland
• Baltic Regional Fund, Latvia
• Asociatia ‘Tinerii Secolului XXI', Romania
• Associazione Joint, Italy
• Alliance for Society Advancement, Georgia
• Stepanavan Youth Center, Armenia
• Youth for Social Changes, Albania
• Ufa Falcon, Russia
• Sociedade de Estudos e Intervenção em Engenharia Social, CLR, Portugal

Opinions from participants

"Feasibility visit was a great experience that I enjoyed very much. It allowed me to extend my scope of life and make new friends! I had a chance to extend my understanding of gender issues within different cultures. This project raised my awareness of problems that are present in different societies and increased my passion to make an effort to change things. Moreover, the discussions promoting atmosphere allowed developing project idea that I am willing to carry out."
Anete Vitola (Baltic Regional Fund, Latvia)

"The diversity of those participating and the insider's point of view that they provided into the role of women in their society was an eye-opener for everyone involved. It was really amazing how people from such diverse backgrounds came together to think up project ideas that were relevant and engaging for both their community and the wider world. The dedication of the participants involved and the considerate direction provided by the organisers leaves no doubt that many of the projects conceived will be brought to fruition in the future."
Avril Meehan (Youth and Environment Europe, Czech Republic)

Here is a short movie about the feasibility visit made by the participants on the last day of our meeting:

Financial support

The project was funded by the Youth in Action Programme of the European Commission.

Photogalleries

Feasibility Visit 'Women Leadership Program' Photogallery

Materials from the Feasibility Visit