Training and mentorship based adult rural women empowerment in the field of green entrepreneurship

The 2019 European Parliament study on the professional status of rural women in the EU found that rural areas in Europe are characterized by gender-selective migration, with more women leaving rural areas than men. This results in demographic imbalances and hinders the economic and social development of rural regions. Women are central to the sustainability of rural communities and improving rural livelihoods, but their role is often overlooked. Female entrepreneurs represent only one-third of self-employed people in the EU, and women's ideas for innovation are not recognized as much as men's by male-dominated stakeholders.The COVID-19 crisis presents an opportunity to promote digital transformation and sustainable development in rural areas. However, only 18% of entrepreneurial proposals are from women.There is growing concern in the EU to empower women in the agri-food sector, as evidenced by initiatives like the "Empowering Women in Agrifood" program. Green entrepreneurship could be a way for rural women to address environmental and social challenges while achieving financial sustainability, aligning with the Sustainable Development goals

The specific objectives of GREENWORAL are the following: 1. Design and implement an innovative educational package aimed at training adult rural women in green entrepreneurship in the new scenario post-COVID. 2. Launch a Mentorship program to accompany and encourage those adult women who are willing to start their own green businesses. 3. Develop a Toolkit on green entrepreneurship which provides strategies and resources to any woman who wants to take the first steps with her business initiative and learn more about the success factors particularly in rural areas. In a complementary and no less important way , contribute to the networking and cooperation between public authorities, educational institutions and other local agents for the promotion of green entrepreneurship leaded by women in rural areas.

1. Educational package on green entrepreneurship in the new post-COVID scenario for adult rural women: The partners designed and implemented an innovative educational package to train women in rural areas on green entrepreneurship issues and boost female green entrepreneurship in rural areas. The development of the educational package was a collaborative process involving all partners. Using European reference frameworks such as DigComp, GreenComp, EntreComp and LifeComp, we defined objectives, key competences and syllabus for the 4 modules in which the content was structured: Digital Skills for Green Entrepreneurship, Sustainability for Green Entrepreneurship, Business Skills for Green Entrepreneurship and Soft Skills for Green Entrepreneurship. The educational materials were designed and developed to be implemented through a blended scheme, partially online using an e-Learning platform and partially face-to-face, through weekly workshops to reinforce concepts and control the learning progress made by the participants. 2. Mentorship program to empower women green entrepreneurs in rural areas: the partners designed and launched a mentorship program to accompany and encourage adult women from rural areas who are willing to start their own green businesses, applying the "Scrum" methodology. 3. Toolkit on green entrepreneurship for rural women: This innovative tool provides strategies and resources to any woman who wants to take the first steps with her business initiative and learn more about the success factors, particularly in rural areas. It has been made publicly available on the project website and on EPALE. 4. Organization of 4 face-to-face Transnational Project Meetings (TPMs) for the project partners. a. TPM1: Kick Of Meeting in Spain (Cartagena) b. TPM2: Meeting in Latvia (Riga) coinciding in time with C1 to maximize the mobility experience c. TPM3: Meeting in Ireland (Dublin and Drogheda) coinciding in time with C2 to maximize the mobility experience d. TPM4: Closure Meeting in Spain (Cartagena) coinciding in time with the Final Conference to maximize the mobility experience 5. Organization of a Learning Teaching Activities (C1): short-term joint mentors training event for conducting the Mentorship program that will serve for the mentors who will be finally selected to participate in the GREENWORAL Mentorship program. 6. Organization of a Learning Teaching Activities (C2): short-term training event for sharing experiences about the mentorship Program, event where both mentors and mentees of all partner countries participate, offering a unique opportunity to learn, share your business ideas and receive valuable feedback. The event included workshops, project presentations and field visits, and served as a platform to consolidate the learning gained during the mentoring program. 7. Organization of the GREENWORAL final conference to be held in Cartagena, Spain. Where the results of the Project were presented and the toolkit was publicly launched. In addition, a round table was held with prestigious guests from the entrepreneurial and rural world. 8. Dissemination activities: - Greenworal Day: Event to publicize the project to the general public. - Participation in Artisan and Food Fairs: where some of the Greenworal entrepreneurs have attended under the acronym of the project. - Worksops: local workshops of interest, such as "success stories Women Green Entrepreneurs" - Greenworld Pitch: public presentations with a jury to choose the best green entrepreneurship ideas - Conferences Participations

PR1: The partners designed and implemented an innovative educational package aimed at training adult rural women in green entrepreneurship in the new post-COVID scenario. The educational materials were designed and developed to be implemented through a blended scheme, partially online using an e-Learning platform and partially face-to-face via weekly workshops for reinforcing concepts and monitoring learning progress. The materials were deployed applying the Universal Desing for Learning methodology. This innovative educational package was tested through a pilot experience in the four project countries to improve it and obtain a definitive version that could be easily exported and transferred to other geographical contexts and European rural areas. PR2:The partners designed and launched a Mentorship program to accompany and encourage adult women from rural areas who are willing to start their own green businesses. They designed a common and shared methodology for the program and selected a pool of mentors who met agreed criteria. After the training stage, the participating women carried out a second mentoring stage, where the mentors accompanied them in designing their green business model, acquiring the necessary personal and technical skills, and analyzing its viability. This mentorship enabled the rural women to gain as much autonomy as possible, contributing to the successful implementation of their business ideas. PR3: The partners developed a Toolkit on green entrepreneurship that provides strategies and resources to any woman who wants to take the first steps with her business initiative and learn more about the success factors, particularly in rural areas. The toolkit was designed to support end-users (women from rural areas interested in starting a business in the green sector) in a practical and clear way to be successful in the process of starting, managing their business, and guiding strategic decision-making through the use of tailored tools, templates, and other useful resources The project contributed to the design and implementation of strategies and practical tools to reduce persistent inequities between men and women in terms of employment and entrepreneurship, as well as between urban and rural areas, using the green sector as a catalyst. This ultimately contributed to strengthening social, economic, and territorial cohesion within rural communities The project fostered the application of digital learning environments for the promotion of green entrepreneurship in rural areas driven by women, providing tools that can facilitate their access to new opportunities, a better quality of life, and personal autonomy, and encourage better standards for the entire rural community. This need was accentuated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated the existing gaps between urban and rural areas. The project contributed to the networking and cooperation between public authorities, educational institutions, and other local agents for the promotion of green entrepreneurship led by women in rural areas. The outcomes developed, together with the number of adult women trained, start-ups launched, and employability percentage achieved, ensured the project's visibility and feasibility and provided further incentives to government officials to push for and secure further financing of the GREENWORAL concept.