WEM – Women Entrepreneurs and Mothers is a Leonardo da Vinci Partnerships project funded by European Commission through the Lifelong Learning Programme.
On the actual economic crisis background common challenges European Union faces with – as high levels of unemployment and low birth-rates in addition to a very poor economic performance – escalate to almost dangerous levels. European families have to cope with the increasing conflict between their families and work life and one of the most used way to reconcile job and family is to move the job at home.
From that reason our project addresses to the need of a tailored training for women with children, who want to reconcile the work and family by working home. This particular target group needs training materials especially based on practical activities in which learning by doing is emphasized and real experience with entrepreneurship is gained.
Project Promoter
Fundatia Kristine/Kristine Foundation (Romania)
Project Partners
Camara de comercio Italiana en Espana (Spain)
www.italcamara-es.com
Europe for All (Italy)
www.europeforall.org>
IİL PLANLAMA VE KOORDİNASYON MÜDÜRLÜĞÜ (Turkey)
Asociacija "Senjoru iniciatyvu centras" (Lithuania)
www.senjoru-centras.lt
GOLBASİ DİSTRİCT DİRECTORATE OF NATİONAL EDUCATİON (Turkey)
http://golbasi06.meb.gov.tr/
Junta de Freguesia de Gondomar ( S. Cosme) (Portugal)
www.jf-gondomar.pt
DIA-SPORT Association (BG)
www.dia-sport.org
Discovery of Talents (United Kingdom)
Incultev - Instituto Cultural de Évora (Portugal)
Women with children, who want to reconcile the work and family life by opening a home based business.
The importance of balancing working with family/personal life is the more important in the light of EU2020 strategy – that has among the main targets the reduction of poverty. Through giving families better possibilities for combining their work and family and care responsibilities, more families could have more than one bread-winner, and thus reduce the risk of poverty, and enable them to give their children better education and possibilities for the future.
But the effort of reconciliation work with family/personal life should have two directions. Besides the institutional undertakings an individual effort should be done by each person in order to reanalyse values and priorities, improve time management and other abilities and skills that make men and women better husbands/wives and parents without being worse on their job.
In this respect, the educational aspect related to a right family-work balance seems to be neglected both at institutional and personal level. The efforts from the decision/policy makers, as well as employers to make the labor market more flexible and inclusive and to create a proper legal framework and other facilities for employed parents are at least visible in each European country, just a few private initiatives appeared in order to improve personal abilities and skills for those who want to be as good at their job and at their homes.
One of the most used way to reconcile job and family is to move the job at home. The technological innovations in the past decades have also made working at home easier and more feasible. There are other advantages (related to taxes, costs, career development etc.) but most important is the opportunity to spend more time with the family and take a more proactive part in raising the children.
In this respect, given its workplace orientation, VET should have an advantage over general education in fostering “home based entrepreneurship”. But even entrepreneurship is included at least to some extent in the national curricula for VET courses in all partner's countries, there isn’t a specific focus on home based business. Also is important to understand that "entrepreneurship education" does not mean generic courses in economics or business but courses and training with the goal of enabling individuals to turn ideas into actions by promoting innovation, creativity and self-employment.
01. August 2013 – 31.July 2015