ARTGORA: Creative Industries for an Equal Baltic

Duration of the project: 2018 September – 2019 September

Aim of the project: To reduce discrimination and empower women in creative industries field in accordance to Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

Objectives of the project: 1. Bringing together the stakeholders from the Baltic Sea and Eastern Partnership regions in order to share experience and promote mutual cooperation in solving common problems through art and culture.

2. Raising awareness of the role of culture in promoting gender equality and sharing various best practices on how to address this issue in the target regions.

3. Develop and generate innovative solutions and project ideas for potential regional cooperation.

The main activities of the project are:

1. Sharing best practice and ensuring it in creative industries that promote gender equality and reduce the gender gap.

2. Organizing the Regional Forum in Riga in 2019 April 10-12 by including partner countries interested in promoting ideas and values of gender equality through art and cultural work.

3. Increase public awareness through a variety of audio-visual means, including the digital series of Talk Real | Art Real show and online publications.

Project partners: the National Museums of World Culture (Sweden); Tartu University (Estonia), Riga Technical University (Latvia), Centre for Equality Advancement (Lithuania), Foundation Laboratory of Research and Social Action SocLab (Poland), Taso Foundation (Georgia), Poruch (Ukraine), and European Alternatives (Germany).

Project activities are supported by the Baltic Institute Baltic Sea Region Cooperation Program.

STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: FROM (A)WARENESS TO (Z)ERO VICTIMS BLAMING

Duration: 3rd April 2017 – 2nd October 2019
Objectives: to develop targeted information & implement practical empowerment actions, education activities and awareness-raising to increase understanding of different forms of VAW & stop blaming VAW victims & ultimately contribute to promoting zero tolerance to VAW & strengthening gender equality.
By using the framework of the “theory of change” the project will aim at finding practical solutions for complex social issues. This will be achieved by implementing three specific goals of the project:
• Empowering VAW victims & women at risk through development of key messages and most effective communication tools to increase women’s abilities to recognise VAW and trigger motivation to reach out for help.
• Building capacity of professionals through training and development of practical information to ensure sensitive support for victims of VAW and input to VAW prevention.
• Raising awareness of the general public through informing society about various forms of VAW & challenging victim-blaming attitudes within society.
The project will address several target groups ensuring sustainability of its results:
• Victims of domestic violence and women at risk to domestic violence;
• Health care professionals (primary health care level doctors and gynecologists);
• Social workers;
• Child rights protection officers;
• Journalists.

Project partners: Human Rights Monitoring Institute, Centre for Equality Advancement, social advertising agency Nomoshiti and Lithuanian Medical Association (associated partner).

Co-funded by Project is partially funded by European Union, Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme and by Global Fund for Women (programme “Voices Against violence GBC Global Initiative: Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Central and Eastern Europe”)

COORDINATED MULTI-AGENCY RESPONSE TO VIOLENCE: FROM AWARENESS RAISING TO BEHAVIORAL CHANGE

By this project we aim to develop and implement the system of multi-agency response to violence against women (VAW) to ensure safety of women victims of all forms of violence in close relation and make perpetrator accountable.

Project activities:

• developing of practical tool & its implementation guidelines for police on risk assessment of VAW
• developing of practical tool & its implementation guidelines for health care professionals on recording of VAW
• testing of risk assessment tool by involving police & victims
• testing of recording of VAW tool by involving health care professionals & victims
• training for police
• training for health care professionals
• training for prosecutors & judges
• training for professionals of different sectors (psychologists, community workers, child rights protection officers, victims’ support organizations, social workers, teachers etc.)
• training for probation officers
• implementing guidelines on risk assessment & monitoring its results
• implementing of guidelines on recording of VAW & monitoring its results
• drafting the recommendations for multi-agency cooperation & coordination
• preparing & publishing articles on good practices of multi-agency cooperation responding to VAW in media
• preparing, publishing & disseminating leaflets to provide both simple & clear description about violent assault & information where to apply for help
• on-going update of information about the project activities & outcomes & its dissemination on the websites of all project partners
• organizing advocacy meetings on multi-agency coordination on local level
• organising round-table discussion on multi-agency coordination on national level
• organising info-days in Lithuanian regions
• organizing community meetings in pilot municipalities
• implementing cycle of radio broadcasts
• implementing public campaigns
• organizing the final European Conference

Expected results:

• developed model of multi-agency cooperation to enable professionals to effectively collaborate to prevent & respond to VAW
• created favourable conditions for the implementation of systematic multi-agency response to ensure safety of women victims of VAW & make perpetrators accountable
• improved knowledge & capacities of police, health care professionals, prosecutors & judges, probation officers & professionals from different sectors to implement multi-agency response to violence
• raised awareness of communities contributing to their consolidation & cooperation with institutions for better VAW prevention

The project is implemented by the Center for Equality Advancement in cooperation with our partners – the Lithuanian Center for Human Rights and the Lithuanian Police School – as well as the associate partners – Kelmė District Municipality, Ukmergė District Municipality, Police Department under the Ministry of Interior, Prison Department under the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Social Security and Labor, and the Association of Hospital Managers Physicians.

Project is partially funded by European Union, Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme

BOYS IN CARE – STRENGTHENING BOYS TO PURSUE CARE OCCUPATIONS (BIC)

Project aim: Create and improve initiatives for gender untypical vocational choices supporting boys in untypical vocational pathways, challenge the under-representation of men in professional care education including health care, elder care, early childhood education and primary school and teaching, challenge a cultural ascription of care work as an extension of women’s ‘natural’ function in the family and foster caring masculinities and challenge rigid gender norms.
Project activities:
1. Review of textbooks, teaching and informational material for vocational choices
2. Developing an online toolkit for gender sensitive educational and vocational counselling for teachers and counsellors.
3. Developing and/or improving gender sensitive online informational material for professionals, boys and parents.
4. Developing and implementing modularized training courses for teachers and vocational counsellors with a focus on gender sensitive vocational counselling for boys.
5. Development of a manual, oriented on the needs of teachers and vocational counsellors (incl. strategies, tools, specific knowledge).
6. Awareness raising campaigns

The consortium consists of Dissens Institut für Bildung und Forschung e.V. – Germany (project coordinator), Verein für Männer- und Geschlechterthemen Steiermark – Austria, The Peace Institute – Slovenia, Instituto degli Innocenti – Italy, Center of Women’s Studies and Policies – Bulgaria, Center for Equality Advancement – Lithuania.

Associate partner in Lithuania – Education Development Centre

Funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship (REC) Programme of the European Union