EmpowHer

EmpowHer aimed to raise awareness and train teaching staff and educators of training centres on gender-based violence and gender equality. The aim was to provide them with a theoretical understand...

EmpowHer aimed to raise awareness and train teaching staff and educators of training centres on gender-based violence and gender equality. The aim was to provide them with a theoretical understanding of the Istanbul Convention and practical and methodological tools to independently address these issues within educational programmes. This initiative targeted filling the existing field training gap, which is often outsourced. It was chosen to focus on this target group because it represents a crucial leverage point for effectively integrating these issues into regular educational programmes, thus ensuring greater awareness and protection of the younger generations. Furthermore, the project targeted contexts with a high risk of social exclusion, such as peripheral areas and socio-economically disadvantaged areas, to ensure an even more significant impact by providing students with the necessary tools to recognise and deal with situations of gender-based violence. Both female and male audiences were actively involved, promoting awareness of their rights and countering sexist and patriarchal attitudes.

EmpowHer actions were instrumental in achieving the objectives. An exchange of good practices between partner countries was activated to have an overview of virtuous projects already present in the different territories. Local workshops and dissemination events on the Istanbul Convention and the prevention of gender-based violence were also organised. These meetings were not limited to a purely historical-legal analysis but adopted interactive and creative approaches to actively involve the audience. We tried to increase people's involvement and awareness of the topics discussed. Finally, we created a Handbook with a theoretical part, which offers an in-depth analysis of the main articles of the Istanbul Convention, and a methodological part, which consists of a series of practical exercises designed to allow trainers to independently build and adapt workshops and lessons to different contexts and age groups. In all activities, we paid particular attention to creating an inclusive environment, targeting our initiatives also in contexts with a high risk of social exclusion, such as suburbs or high drop-out rates.

The outputs of our project were multiple and in line with the project presented. Each partner produced research on good practices in its context and a total of 9 good practices (3 per partner) were identified, divided between local, national and European good practices. Through the organisation of local workshops in each country, we trained 50 educators, providing them with in-depth knowledge on the Istanbul Convention and practical methodologies to deal with gender equality and violence issues. There were 4 local workshops in each country, 2 theoretical and 2 practical. In addition, we produced a comprehensive handbook that serves as a valuable resource for teaching staff and practitioners, offering practical and theoretical guidance for designing and implementing lessons and workshops. To further disseminate our messages and engage the public, we conducted dissemination activities through various platforms, including a Facebook and Instagram page, three press releases and five newsletters that were sent to each partner's followers and stakeholders. We created project graphics and templates to ensure consistent and professional communication.