NGO CIVIS PLUS hosted the ProWomenmobilityfromMonday 12/6/17 till Friday 16/6/17 wherewomen, whoparticipated in the ProWomenproject, gathered for five days in Athens to complete the training. It wasalso the occasion for all the partners to have a last meeting and discuss the success of the Pro-Womenproject.
Eightdifferentnationalitiesgottogether in the city wheredemocracywasborn. It was the perfect city and occasion to exchange experiences, feelings, impressions about the training but alsocreatefriendships, possible partnerships and shareadvice! The mobilitywasideallyscheduled for participants to make the most of theirexperience.
Theyhad the chance to meet a Greekwomen, EviPapadopoulou, whostartedherown business in Greece. Sheswitchedcareerfrommathematics to icecreammakingand created a unique business bringingtogetherItalian savoir-faire and Greeknaturalproducts. Shesharedherexperience and advicewith the future female entrepreneurs. Shealsoshared the challenges shefacedalthoughshealways made itclearthat the obstacles only made herstronger. Womenfoundthemselvesinspired by Evi’s story and itsurely gave them more strength to followtheirowndream.
Participants alsolearned more about business planning and all the tools the internet offers to start a business on the right foot! Duringthese activities, participants could exchange ideaswith thewomenwhoalready put theirknowledgeinto practice. The participants, whohadalreadystartedtheir businesses,revealed the stepstheyfollowed to launchtheir business.
Nevertheless, the mobilitywas not only about business, but alsoabout friendship and bondingat the same time. For thisreason, NGO CIVIS PLUS, as hosting organisation,organiseda cultural visit of Athens. WomenreallyenjoyedthisrelaxeddaywalkingaroundAthens and its major sites. For some of them, itwastheir first time goingabroad and theirexperiencewouldn’t have been completewithout a day out in the city.
One adjective came out of this five days: inspiration. Womenfoundthemselvesinspired by others, by other’s stories, by the training theycompleted, by the mix of cultures. Indeed, another important point whichemergedfromthesedayswas the idea of connectionbetweenwomen. The sense of unitywasimmediate! Finally, all the participants feltempowered by the Pro-Womenproject and the otherwomenthey met.
At the end of the mobility, NGO CIVIS PLUS, provided all the participants withcertificates of attendance, achievement and professional&cuturalgrowth in order to mark theirachievements. This ceremonyconcluded the training, the mobility and symbolised the start of a new life for the women as future entrepreneurs.
As the hosting organisation, NGO CIVIS PLUS, feltveryproud and delighted to seethat the mobilitywasatriumph! All the feedbacks frombothpartners and participants were positive. Our onlyhopenowis to hear more about all the great businesses the ProWomen participantswillcreate!
Somewords about the ProWomenproject
The Pro.Women (Proposals and Strategies for Women Entrepreneurs) is a projectfunded by the European Commission under the Erasmus + programme (KA 2 – Cooperation for Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices, StrategicPartnership for Adult Education). The projectis a transnational initiative involvingeightorganizations of 8 European countries: Italy, Spain, Greece, Macedonia, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Croatia. Following the Europe 2020 strategy and the ET2020 strategy, the Pro.Womenproject has createdinnovative, productive and effective synergies through a formative experiencebothpersonally and professionally. The projectisaimedatwomenwithchildren, who are seekingtheirownprofessionalfulfilment and they are confrontingwith a doubledifficulty, to find a job and to reconcilework and family. The projectintendsat new interestingproposals and strategies to help mothers in realizingtheirown Home Based Businesses.
