Incubator of Women’s Active Development

Description

According to the 2019 ‘Women’s Rights in the Ombudsman’s Activities’ report, women’s knowledge and awareness of their rights and the principles of civic society is a major social problem in Poland. Activities and research that our organisation has been engaging in indicate that many women in Białystok would like to become members of a permanent self-help group and to know more about their rights, civic initiatives, or the family and work crisis management. Many of them pointed to the need for networking with other females, for exchanging experience, information and mutual support resources, for social meetings and chats. During our initiatives implemented so far, we noticed that women were willing to initiate social activities, but they often lacked knowledge and competence to do so. We address these needs by commencing a mentoring programme for women of Białystok, called IKAR (Inkubator Kobiecego Aktywnego Rozwoju/Incubator of Women’s Active Development). It will include workshops on legal and civic aspects of human rights, self-help, advocacy, leveraging one’s strengths, assertiveness, violence-free communication, and mediating competencies. Each participant will conduct her own project for other women, engaging local community and utilising the acquired knowledge and mentors’ support. Furthermore, we will organise a social campaign on the history and heritage of women in Podlasie, feminist ideas and philosophy, as well as the process of gaining public rights by females. Our experience shows that stories of women who had considerable impact in their environment motivates and empowers other females. We will also create a network for women representing different backgrounds – we will organise a cycle of 8 breakfasts giving participants an opportunity to present their initiatives, discuss social activity, and learn more about the IKAR project.

Summary of project results

According to the report "Women''s Rights Reflected in the Actions of the Civil Rights Ombudsman" from 2019, knowledge and awareness among women about their rights and the principles of functioning in civil society is a significant social problem in Poland. Our organization conducted activities and research in Białystok, which revealed that many women in our city would like to be part of a self-help group and learn more about their rights, civic engagement, and how to cope with family and work crises. Many of them pointed to the need for networking with other women, exchanging experiences, information, and resources, mutual support, social gatherings, and conversations. During the implementation of previous initiatives, we observed that women showed a willingness to initiate social actions but often lacked the knowledge and skills to do so.We responded to these needs by launching a mentoring program for women in Białystok called IKAR (Incubator for Women''s Active Development). Within this program, we conducted workshops on women''s rights, self-help, advocacy, leveraging one''s strengths, assertiveness, non-violent communication, and media literacy. Each participant completed her own project for the benefit of other women in the local community, using the knowledge and support of mentors. These projects included photo reports, herstory walks, initiatives promoting ecology, and films commemorating known and unknown women from local communities. Additionally, we conducted a social campaign about the history and heritage of women in Podlasie, the ideas and philosophy of feminism, and the processes of women gaining civil rights. During our work, we noticed that presenting the stories of women who had an impact on their surroundings motivated and empowered other women. We also established a networking group for women from different backgrounds, organized a series of 5 breakfast meetings where participants presented their activities, discussed social engagement, and learned more about the IKAR project. We also organized two debates on social activism and media literacy.From the evaluation surveys, we know that the participants'' knowledge about human rights and social activities has increased. Furthermore, the emerging leaders are now able to confidently and responsibly undertake grassroots social initiatives.

.

.