The main goal of this project was to include young women as both assets, beneficiaries, and drivers of socioeconomic change by promoting their leadership to have a positive impact on both the environment, gender equality and empowerment. We aimed to provide them with the right tools (e.g., storytelling, critical thinking) to unleash their leadership potential in gender and sustainability matters and to organize themselves using civic engagement/participation. Boosting employability and entrepreneurship of young women is also a prerequisite for them to be able to feel secure and maximize their socioeconomic potential and leadership skills. Another important objective was to create a safe space where women could connect with each other, raising awareness of social and environmental issues that are not usually part of the common discourse. Finally, it aimed to raise awareness on the effects that the changes triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak on younger generations and women. By promoting peer-to-peer connections, the project aimed to explore the potential of social media and other digital platforms, as well as interactive methodologies such as storytelling in an engaging manner.
The idea for this project originated from the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and the negative effects it had on youth in terms of mental health, employment prospects, and gender-based inequalities. In this context, this project addressed the need for the process of sustainable development to be closely linked with the need to uncover gender-based discrimination in socioeconomic, cultural, and legal terms in EU countries. Therefore, the project acknowledged that we need an intersectional and inclusive approach to deal with complex, interconnected socioeconomic and environmental issues such as climate change and gender inequality. The project also recognized thereby the great potential of younger generations, specifically young women, to drive sustainable environmental practices and economic recovery in EU societies. For this reason, the project worked to develop innovative methods to increase young women’s civic engagement, knowledge and capacity to drive both environmental and social change. The needs addressed include therefore the necessity to utilize non-formal education methods and interactive methodologies to break gender stereotypes, enhancing young women’s leadership skills.