Report

The TC ‘' Women in local communities''

General

The TC of the working group ‘' Women in local communities'' brought together 10 experts and trainers from , , Belarus, and to increase the knowledge and skills on social Entrepreneurship and gender equality as well as change attitudes toward the topic.

Members of the working group "Women in local communities" that is a part of EENCE network finished the training full of new ideas and emotions. The experts develop their gender sensitivity, explored gender equality issues and institutions, develop knowledge on social entrepreneurship, created 2 projects on it and agreed on the future work of working group in 2019. Besides it they had a chance to explore and a bit of Armenia. They had visited Etchmiadzin the mother of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is considered the oldest cathedral in the world. It was built in the early fourth century between 301 and 303. They had a chance to see , a medieval monastery in the province of Armenia, being partially carved out of the adjacent mountain, surrounded by cliffs. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The experts from post-soviet countries had a chance to be in the . It is an Armenian monastery located in the in Armenia, near the closed border with , about 8 kilometers.

Hope the knowledge and competencies will be transferred and put in action, the memories will stay forever. The project has been funded by the Federal Agency for Civic Education using funds appropriated by the Federal Foreign office.

#CivilSocietyCooperation #youthispower #eence #bpb #SocialEntrepreneurship #genderequality #womenempowerment

Detailed report Day 1 Get to know each other better, colloboration and ideas for the working group in 2019.

The participants wrote down 6 interesting facts about themselves that they want to share within the group. After they have interviewed each other and explored a lot of interesting facts and common ground for developing future collaboration. Moreover, the "Women in local communities" working group members discussed and shared their expectations, contribution and fears concerning not only working group but also the EENCE network in general. 10 experts and trainers from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine have created friendly, open and positive working atmosphere where everyone’s' opinion is important.

Day 2

Gender. Women empowerment. Gender and social institutions. Gender justice, gender equality and stereotypes. Leading trainer Kojoyan.

2 day of the TC "Women in local communities" working group that was tough, intensive, inclusive and quite informative. The day was fully dedicated to gender issues. Participants of the working group coming from post-soviet countries with quite different background, both personal and professional challenged their knowledge, attitude, competencies toward gender equality. They have deeply analyzed human/women rights, role of social institutions, particularly education, family, religion, media etc toward the creation of the perception of gender. The whole discourse was built through the concept of critical thinking. So, the participants could ask, explore, create, think, and discuss each concept by putting it under suspicion. Moreover, they have space and time to go through statistics, case studies, literature and stereotypes, enlarge their knowledge on feminism movement and get to know some important and outstanding women who fight for the equal rights of people despite gender and sex. Last but not least males of the working group were actively involved on whole discourse and highlight the importance of equal right. Surely, the participants improved their gender sensitivity.

Day 3

Social enrepenership, basics, concept, steps, tolls and mechanisms. Leading trainer Vardan Gevorgyan

With the leading trainer Vardan Gevorgyan the participants go through the concept of Social Entrepreneurship, who is a Social Entrepreneur? What you should ask yourself before you start? How to increase your SE? What is your added value in all this process? It was inclusive, constructive and fruitful discussions. Social Entrepreneurship could be one of the tools that activate women in local and rural communities. “Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.” Margaret Thatcher

Experts from post-soviet countries put the theory into action and create their projects. They identify a relevant problem, brainstorm, vote and choose 2 of them and start to develop it. The trainer introduced successful cases of social entrepreneurship in Armenia.

Day 4

Study visit to TUMO. Social enepeneuship

Study visit to TUMO Center for creative technologies was impressive and inspirational. Referring to successful social entrepreneurship projects implemented in Armenia: Tumo Center for Creative Technologies is a perfect example of it. TUMO is a new kind of educational experience at the intersection of technology and design. At TUMO, teens learn because they want to. They’re given the tools and knowhow they need to reach their maximum potential, and they chart their own learning path through hands-on activities, workshops and projects. The TUMO learning program is made up of self-learning activities, workshops and project labs around 14 learning targets. Teens combine these into personal learning paths that adapt to their evolving preferences and rate of progress.There are four TUMO centers in Armenia: in Yerevan, , and Stepanakert.

Day 5

Exploring Armenia, cultural exchange.

They had visited the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is considered the oldest cathedral in the world. It was built in the early fourth century between 301 and 303. They had a chance to see Geghard, a medieval monastery in the of Armenia, being partially carved out of the adjacent mountain, surrounded by cliffs. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The experts from post-soviet countries had a chance to be in the Khor Virap.

THANK YOU!