Our project OBLIO aimed to promote a more tolerant and gender-sensitive Europe within the sphere of youth work. Taking inspiration from the animated character who demonstrated that differences are valuable, we wanted to outline how our three partner organizations ensured open and accepting environments for all genders. By assessing internal and external processes related to gender equality, we wanted to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Additionally, we aimed to increase the capacity of other European youth organizations and youth workers to introduce or develop gender equality within their work by the end of the project through the resources created within the project.. A further objective was to develop competences around managing gender inequalities in youth work among professionals from Portugal, Spain and Romania via testing a training design that was a huge success and had a great feedback. Finally, to strengthen our own abilities, we increased the partners' organizational capacity as providers of expertise on gender equality. Aligned with European and international frameworks, we were committed as initiators to achieving our objectives and creating meaningful change in youth work approaches to gender.
We observed over the years that gender inequalities existed in youth work at individual and organizational levels. We saw differences in how individuals were treated based on their gender. Organizations lacked clear procedures and policies to ensure being gender-sensitive and properly dealing with situations of gender-based discrimination. We also recognized that the European Commission's goal through the EU Youth Strategy was to build a more equal European Education Area. We wanted to directly contribute to this aim by educating youth about GE and equipping youth organizations with the tools and competencies to provide inclusive spaces. Each of our three partner organizations brought complementary expertise that could help address these needs. Graal had over a century of experience promoting gender equality. Cazalla specialized in developing engaging non-formal education programs. CVCN, as a volunteer center, focused on training, consulting, and resource creation. However, youth workers often lacked the competencies to properly address these situations or promote gender equality in a meaningful way, so we aimed to give them the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to tackle GE in youth work for a bigger and lasting impact.