The WIDE project set the following specific goals: - improvement of digital skills among women from rural areas in order to develop entrepreneurial abilities; - improvement of digital skills among women from rural areas who already have a business idea in mind, but lack of ICT skills; - addressing digital transformation through the development of digital readiness, resilience and capacity of AL providers to deliver high quality training; - networking and building a solid consortium representing all the different actors of the AE ecosystem, small and medium enterprises, ICT and digital expertise, as well as the third sector (NGOs), which promotes common values, civic engagement and participation, and the adoption of pan-European perspectives. - supporting women entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs from rural areas by providing innovative and modern trainings that will help them improve digitally in order to strengthen themselves and make their business more competitive; With its goals and activities, the WIDE project is in line with the priorities set by the European Commission and at the national level with the digital needs of adult women entrepreneurs in the countries of the Consortium.
Recent data from the EU Commission highlights the worrying trend that the level of IT skills of women in Europe is still too low. In addition to the economic aspect, the digital empowerment of women is also a concern from a social point of view: so it is stated in the document of the EU Commission "Women in the Digital Traffic Light" from 2019, that only 17% of specialists in the ICT industry are women and that they earn 19% less than men. So, in digital skills, there is a gender gap of 11%. The WIDE project took an innovative approach to bridging the gaps identified in the EU document "Equality Union: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025" (March 2020), through the improvement of digital skills for entrepreneurial purposes. In rural areas, women often do not use ICT to empower them due to several barriers such as lack of self-confidence, illiteracy, reluctance to use modern technologies, and another reason is accessibility of training schools, etc. That's why REDASP, as the coordinator, decided to apply for this project, and to face the challenge through the WIDE project, by providing very innovative tools and resources to women living in rural areas who lack entrepreneurial and digital skills.