Amidst a context in which different European countries struggle to integrate the high number of immigrants and refugees who have crossed their borders in the previous years, WomInCreativePower (WIPC) targets one group who require particular attention given their greater tendency to be marginalized within the migrant population: migrant and refugee women. Facing a twofold barrier on the grounds of cultural/linguistic, as well as gender disadvantage, this group is often times impeded from participating in economic activities and, consequently, from socially integrating the communities in which they have settled. Nonetheless, as women amounted for around one-third of all asylum seekers in Europe over the period 2015-2017 (EWSI Editorial Team, 2018), initiatives to integrating women are fundamental within the overall efforts to integrating migrants in Europe. WICP addresses the specific issue of supporting the full integration of migrant and refugee women into their receiving communities by investing in the development of skills related to entrepreneurship and to the creative sector. This approach emerges from the perception that self-employment and entrepreneurship represent a promising pathway for migrant women to access the labor market, as it has the potential to support increased gender empowerment and equality while profiting from skills they might have previously acquired (EWSI Editorial Team, 2018). WICP’s main methodological approach will deploy the notions of inclusivity, diversity, and collaboration in Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) by encouraging migrant and refugee women to develop their creative (artistic and/or cultural) ideas into work, inclusion and self-fulfillment possibilities. The resort to this specific approach is based on the goal of simultaneously promoting inclusiveness and respect for cultural, ethnic, and language richness. Thus, the project seeks to make an important contribution for the full integration of migrant and refugee women in their receiving communities and labor markets, while respecting and highlighting the specific skills they can bring into their new environments. This methodology will be deployed throughout the project’s four outputs and the achievements of its results, which include: - Mapping and Analytical research gathered in a final report, which will identify the needs of migrant and refugee women regarding their economic and social integration into their host communities. This activity will include interviews with at least 5 experts and desk-research. - Mentorship training format for entrepreneurial and business skills to improve the ability of migrant and refugee women to undertake self-employment initiatives particularly through innovative platforms (e.g. Instagram). Mentorship in entrepreneurship: entails a relationship among equals and seeks to transfer knowledge, skills and technical tools between the “mentor”, represented by an experienced professional, and the “mentee”, a less experienced professional, in order to enhance professional and personal growth. The mentorship training format will be tested with 10 individuals in each country (40 in total). - Tandem training format aimed at encouraging collaboration and co-creation in an interactive manner to develop creative, linguistic and socio-cultural skills. The training format will be tested with 10 individuals in each country (40 in total); - The elaboration of 20 videos that will reflect the stories of women who gave gone through the integration process in EU countries; - The elaboration of a board game, which can be used to support the integration process of migrant and refugee women in a sustainable and endured manner after the end of the project's duration. Finally, in order to increase WICP’s outreach and related benefits, most of its results will be available in English and Arabic, languages which are often more accessible for its target group. This integrated approach will allow a participatory effort towards promoting social and economic inclusion of migrant and refugee women.
By implementing the project WICP we wanted to deploy the notions of inclusivity, diversity, and collaboration in Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) by encouraging migrant and refugee women to develop their creative (artistic and/or cultural) ideas into work, inclusion, and self-fulfilment possibilities. The resort to this specific approach is based on the goal of simultaneously promoting inclusiveness and respect for cultural, ethnic, and language richness. Thus, the project aimed to make an important contribution to the full integration of migrant and refugee women in their receiving communities and labour markets while respecting and highlighting the specific skills they can bring into their new environments. Along those lines, the project aimed to promote in local and European contexts: - linguistic and socio-cultural orientation suitable to enter the labour market in creative sectors; - exchange of experiences and creative skills; - the fostering of a network of contacts among migrant and refugee women and local women/women integrated into the receiving communities; - the increased capability of women in business and entrepreneurship skills.
Equal treatment and rights of different groups in society are important for all 4 participating organizations from Luxembourg, Sweden, Hungary and Slovenia. FSL implemented a KA1 project WomInPower. The FSL team is also experienced in the creative sector, particularly in visual and performative arts. SwIdeas had experience in working with EU projects targeting migrants and socioeconomic integration in Sweden. So the idea was to combine the organizational experience of these 2 partners. In Slovenia, there are official programs to support the employability of migrant women, yet these programs lack perspective and informative material regarding social and creative entrepreneurship. So the motivation of Povod was to use their opportunities as migrant women in Slovenia to achieve economic independence through social and creative entrepreneurship. SVF has been involved in many projects aiming to empower migrant peoples’ participation in politics and in their integration into the labour market. So the main motivation was the will to test new methods and opportunities that entrepreneurship can offer to the target group. On the other hand, partners also wanted to upskill their staff by learning new tools for intercultural facilitation.