Empowering Disadvantaged Women via Distance Education for a Sustainable Development Project

Project No.: 2021-1-NO01-KA220-ADU-000033467

Project coordinator: Prios Vest /Norway

Participating countries and institutions:

1. Learnmera Oy/ Fınland

2. VAEV/ Austria

3. ARDA Beratung & Bildung /Germany

4. AKETH / Greece

5. Mersin University Anamur MYO /Turkey

In the global agenda, women are regarded as the key driver for economic empowerment and employment. Gender equality (GE) is at the center of EU values and is supported within the legal and political framework. Our project is related to key policy areas such as employability, social inclusion and economic growth. The project aims to provide special learning opportunities to low-skilled adults and women, to encourage women to education by removing the space and time limits, and by increasing women's economic empowerment/basic skills and competencies through distance education. In particular, our project focuses on housewives, immigrant or refugee women with multiple disabilities who want to be educated but couldn’t, who are responsible for housework, sick and elderly care, who are out of the education system, who cannot work. Project aims to increase the employability of the target group through an innovative method and continuously renewed open access online courses. Our Strategic Partnership which consists of 6 different organizations from Norway, Turkey, Greece, Germany, Finland and Austria will contribute to addressing sectoral and horizontal priorities: HORIZONTAL: Addressing digital transformation through enhancing digital readiness, flexibility and capacity A user-friendly e-learning tool for women with fewer opportunities in our target group will improve their employability, digital and financial literacy, social and economic entrepreneurship. ADU; It is our horizontal and sectoral priority to develop high-quality digital learning opportunities designed for fulfilling the needs of low-skilled adults, to create skills development pathways, to improve accessibility, to ensure diversity and inclusion, to promote Erasmus+ among all citizens and generations. Our project focuses on creating online, open courses in the field of ICT skills, financial literacy and entrepreneurship, high quality innovative employability courses e-learning platform, mobile application to facilitate access to the platform in order to improve the skills and competencies of women with multiple disadvantages. The project aims to economically strengthen the target group, to contribute to gender equality through education and skills development, to integrate women into the economic system for sustainable living, to develope skills and competencies and to ensure their social inclusion. The problem of gender inequality and low female employment is a global problem.Studies show that men's participation in non-formal education remains at 19.8% and women at 13.8%. ''In European countries, the proportion of women who report not being able to go on their education due to family-related, cost, time and place problems is twice that of men''(UNESCO;2020) ''Participation in adult education is 39% in Finland, Norway 27%, 12% in Germany, 10% in Turkey, 11% in Greece, while in Austria is 18%.and “Digital gender gap"is increasing sharply.(Eurostat) According to Norway(SSB) 2020; 6% of the population is immigrants and the unemployment rate for immigrant women is 7.5%.The female unemployment rate in Austria is 5.5% in 2021.The rate of non-Austrian citizens is 11.3%.Unemployment rate for immigrant women is %8.3 in Finland.The problem is same in Turkey,Greece and Germany but biger. And Also;Gamification applications emerge as the new face of education in the information age.It is an ideal and innovative method for adults to achieve positive outcomes in education. According to the data of Google statistics, this new term is most actively used in adult education in Australia, America,Canada and the Netherlands .In other countries, studies on this area are needed.(Schacht 2019)Our aim is to bring this innovative method to our own institutions and European countries in the field of adult education. We are going to use this innovative approach to produce e-content.

Recent researches and statistics show that the integration of women with fewer opportunities in the Covid -19 process has slowed down not only in partner countries, but in most European countries. This fact is an opportunity to rethink strategy, be successful and find new ways. To increase the qualifications of more women, to develop their digital and financial literacy skills, to attract, encourage, educate and follow up in business life will provide important results for individuals, families, communities and society as a whole. In the needs analysis we conducted, it was concluded that women want a job but have traditional roles as childcare and chores, inadequacy in ICT skills and difficulties in accessing face-to-face education,time/space and transportation problems, lack of knowledge and skills as obstacles to their work. Our goals regarding these needs are:

* To create an e-learning platform that can be integrated into the systems of institutions that will reduce women's poverty and are based on lifelong learning

* To certify the compulsory domestic work done by women, to turn this disadvantaged situation into an advantage for them

* To contribute to increasing the employment of disadvantaged groups through education

* To develop a solution proposal for women's poverty.

The activities listed below will also constitute the milestones to achieve the ultimate goal. Our results to achieve our goals; IO1.E-learning platform(MOOC) /Mobile application IO2; Employability Modules IO3: Ict / Digital Literacy Module IO4: Entrepreneurship / Financial-Literacy Module.

Next activities planned to do in future:

4. TPM 13.-14. March 2023 Austria

5. TPM 5.-6. Juni 2023 Germany

6. TPM 2.-3. October Finland

Project links