28th of February 2023 marked the official closure of the project “We4Change: Girls and Women Connecting for Environmental Change” aimed at engaging, connecting and empowering young girls and women with digital and innovation skills, increase civic engagement and unlock their changemaking potential to engage in society and have an active role in addressing the challenges posed by climate change.
Over the past two years, partners Digital Leadership Institute (BE), Stimmuli for Social Change (GR), Empow’Her (FR), TEKEDU (MD) and ZERO (PT) have worked together to achieve this mission and had the following results:
The We4Change Changemakers Event Curriculum: a series of educational materials to serve as examples of workshops that can be organized during a We4Change Changemakers Event to develop the skills promoted by the project: digital, social innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership and environmental awareness skills. It includes the specific methodology to prepare each workshop, but also other elements that can be used when organizing a Changemakers Event, such as working with mentors and coaches, and information on the practicalities of organizing the events. The curriculum can be downloaded for free in five languages: English, French, Greek, Portuguese and Romanian.
Handbook for Trainers and Youth Workers on Running a Successful We4Change Changemakers Event: complementing the curriculum, this handbook aims to support trainers and youth workers – including those that may have never applied before gender mainstreaming tools – to organize effectively a We4Change Changemakers Event, to drive active citizenship and empower girls and young women with digital and environmental awareness skills to become the future changemakers of their community. It introduces the guiding principles of the We4Change concept, values and philosophy, describes the competences that trainers and youth workers, as well as participants will apply for the different activities, and includes all practical information needed to organize a successful We4Change Changemakers Event. The handbook can be downloaded for free in five languages: English, French, Greek, Portuguese and Romanian.
Partners organized a We4Change “Train the Trainers” workshop in March 2022 training over 30 youth workers to apply the We4Change principles and methodology to run a successful Changemakers Event in their communities.
Partners organized a total of 14 We4Change Changemakers Events in their countries, with more than 100 girls and young women participating, to inspire them to ideate and design collectively solutions to problems encountered in their environments with the support of other stakeholders from the local communities.
Each partner organized a dissemination event to share about the results of the project and discuss how other stakeholders can use them to achieve the project’s objective.
All the results can be found and downloaded for free on the project website: http://we4change.eu/.
Thank you to the partners, stakeholders, girls and young women for participating to the project activities during the past two years, and supporting us to be changemakers for a sustainable future! Thank you also to the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union for the support to make this international collaboration possible!
On 11th of February, women and girls, alongside partners worldwide, celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The day focuses on the reality that science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This day allows us to recognize the role women and girls already play in science, promote the idea of STEM careers to future generations of women, and educate men on their role in encouraging and mentoring women and girls in schools and the workplace to pursue their technical and scientific passions. Women’s ability to enter STEM fields offers them a wider variety of employment opportunities with higher pay than what is found in many other fields. The demand for STEM skills around the world continues to grow and it is up to us to ensure women and girls do not miss out.
To break down gender stereotypes in STEM higher education ecosystem by creating a Training programme for STEMeducators and staff offering concrete examples that can be used in teaching and supervision in the STEM-areas. This will build on ready-made gender sensitive guiding tools and resources to encourage University staff to use language and interaction patterns free of gender stereotypes and gender sensitive approaches when planning, teaching, assessing and collaborating with students. Professors, lecturers and lab assistants will be trained on how to create a more welcominglearning environment for undergraduate female STEM students.
To boost confidence and empower female students to continue their involvement in STEM during and after their studies. To achieve this goal a Leadership & Inspiration Academy will be developed, offering training, mentoring, inspiration and access to women STEM professionals acting as mentors and role models. Cognitive tools will be utilized to ensure that the resources match the needs and preferences of women. Female students will be exposed to role models and will be encouraged to question the perceived masculinity of STEM. They will be connected with women STEM professionals and receive mentoring and support to continue their studies and develop sustainable careers.
To boost women’s passion for STEM by assisting female students to explore and understand the creativity and social impact potential in STEM. A “Women STEM UP for GOOD” programme will be developed to encourage female students to design and develop state of the art projects for the STEM areas and to practically see the socio-technical importance of the implementation of gender issues in technical projects. To this end, we will follow an E-STEAM approach to extend the STEM skill set to include entrepreneurship and creativity (E standing for Entrepreneurship and A for Arts) as according to evidence ESTEAM has a stronger potential to increase women participation in these fields. Thus, women will be involved in hands-on problem-based learning activities to develop E-STEAM skills while addressing gender stereotypes.
Join us on the 16th of February 2023 for the eventGIRLS AND WOMEN CONNECTING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE – ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS to exchange ideas and best practices on how to foster girls’ and young women’s sense of initiative for environmental action and improve their active citizenship skills and social innovation mindsets. Ultimately, the aim is to create synergies and open up opportunities for collaboration among the participants.
What you’ll gain?
Brainstorm with experts and practitioners on key strategies promoting greater participation of girls and young women in strategic, innovative ESTEAM (Entrepreneurship & Arts powered by STEM) sectors.
Gain insight into the experiences and lessons learned by other organizations and stakeholders and take these best practices back to your community.
Find opportunities of collaboration with a wide network of similar organizations.
What is the format of the roundtable discussions?
There will be four discussion tables set-up, each covering a topic (explained below). Participants can chose the tables they want to join for a 30 minutes discussion, and share their knowledge and suggestions on how to empower girls and young women as changemakers in our society. Participants are encouraged to be as specific as possible, to raise issues that arise in their day-today activities, and actionable ideas for better paths forwards. A follow-up session will present the main takeaways from the roundtable discussions.
Key outcomes
Following the event, we will gather the key insights in a Recommendations Paper and share it with all participants and stakeholders in our network.
Engage and connect community members to collaborate for future initiatives for the benefit of girls and women.
Opportunities for networking with like-minded professionals.
Discussion topics
TOPIC 1: Skills development for youth towards the Digital and Green transformations
Questions to consider: as civil society organizations and providers of non-formal education, how can we ensure young people gain a swift access to the requisite skills to enable them to be part of the solutions and to navigate the social, economic, and environmental challenges the world faces? What kind of skills and knowledge should we focus on? And how to include the gender lens in this process?
TOPIC 2: Gender mainstreaming in youth strategies
Questions to consider: What are the main challenges and opportunities of gender mainstreaming? How to strengthen the dialogue between civil society and policy makers to integrate gender perspective into the preparation, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, regulatory measures and spending programmes?
TOPIC 3: Best practices for impact: Youth – Gender inclusion – Environmental action
Questions to consider: What actionable ways to build gender equality and sustainability? What are the practices and tools you identified in your activities to improve the capabilities of civil society organizations for supporting more effectively their target groups and increase their impact?
TOPIC 4: Opportunities for cooperation for organizations working on youth, gender and environmental topics
Questions to consider: what are the needs of civil society organizations in terms of skills development, engagement capabilities or funding? what opportunities for collaboration are there and how to ensure they are accessible for all stakeholders?
Agenda
5:00 PM: Welcome and presentation of the We4Change project
5:30 PM: Roundtable Discussions
6:00 PM: Discussion on the main takeaways from each roundtable
As Policy Chair and Community Councilmember for the WEgate project promoting women-led entrepreneurship in Europe, DLI Director Cheryl Miller also leads the WEgate Thematic Group on Women Entrepreneurs and the Digital Transition (“Digital Transition TG”).
Over the course of 2022, the Digital Transition TG gathered to analyse and synthesise the impact of the digital transition on women entrepreneurs in Europe. Outcomes and recommendations from this work which address Ethics in AI, Gender and Cybersecurity, Tech-readiness of Women-led Startups, and the Gender Gap in Digital Skills, are captured in a policy brief published by the WEgate project on 22 January 2023.
One of the aims of WEgate is to increase the visibility of women entrepreneurs and to promote discussion on important topics for improving the conditions for women’s entrepreneurship development. To address critical areas of interest in women’s entrepreneurship development, dedicated WEgate Thematic groups (TGs) are formed as ad-hoc groups within the WEgate Community. The third WEgate TG is dedicated to Digital transition, analysing the challenges faced by women in the digital arena.
This policy brief summarizes the findings of the WEgate thematic group on women’s entrepreneurship policy. It highlights the key challenges and recommendations forpolicy-making in four areas: gender mainstreaming, evidence-based policy-making, finance and funding for women entrepreneurs, and stakeholders engagement in policy development. For each policy area, recommendations are being proposed, targeting policymakers at the European and national levels.
Download the WEgate Women Entrepreneurs and the Digital Transition Policy Brief (PDF) here.
The DLI Board are actively involved in outreach activities with partners and stakeholders around the world that promote ESTEAM* leadership by girls and women. Find out more below about our outreach activities in Autumn 2022, including the G20 Ministerial Conference in Bali where EU Commissioner for EqualityHelena Dalli andDLI Founder and Head of the EU W20 Delegation, Cheryl Miller, represented the European Union. For upcoming events by DLI and our partners please visit here, and have a look at our calendar.
*Entrepreneurship and Art powered by Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
24-25 August 2022 – G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment (Bali, Indonesia): On 24-25 August 2022 in Bali, Indonesia, Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck, DLI Founding Director, joined the G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment in her capacity as Co-head of the EU Delegation to the G20 Women20 engagement group, and as member of the EU G20 Ministerial Delegation led by European Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli.
14 October 2022 – W7 Germany Outreach Event “We are Here! We are loud, united against the backlash!” (Berlin, Germany): On 14 October 2022 in Berlin, Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck, DLI Founding Director, joined the W7 Germany outreach event“We are Here! We are loud, united against the backlash!” where G7 Gender Equality Ministers met to discuss how to achieve a more equitable G7. Cheryl joined the event as Head of the EU Delegation to the G20 Women20.
17-18 October 2022 – WEgate Summit (Brussels & Online):Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck, DLI Founding Director, joined the 17 October final event of the European WEgate project, the WEgate Summit, and contributed to a peer-learning session on “Reaching women’s economic independence through entrepreneurship and self-employment.” On 18 October, Cheryl also joined a European Institutions study mission with representatives of women entrepreneurship organisations from across Europe in order to collectively advocate for a strong European policy framework supporting women entrepreneurs.
To browse past activities with DLI and our partners, please click here. Be sure to also visit our calendar, sign up for the DLI Newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram in order to keep up with DLI events and activities!
13-14 November 2022 – G20 Women20 Indonesia Post-Summit Event (Bali & Online): On 13-14 November 2022, 
20 September – Digital Inclusion, Policy and Research Conference (Online): Online on 20 September 2022, 
14 October 2022 – W7 Germany Outreach Event “We are Here! We are loud, united against the backlash!” (Berlin, Germany): On 14 October 2022 in Berlin, 
17-18 October 2022 – WEgate Summit (Brussels & Online): 