On November 10th, the official closing conference for the project GIRLACT was held in Belgrade, Serbia.
The project, launched in November 2018, started a new programme for social and financial education for young people, and it primarily aimed at supporting girls in Albania and Serbia. The project’s objective was to answer the need to reduce the existing skills gap amongst young people and girls from a content and methodology perspective, and ultimately empower them socially and economically.
GIRLACT was implemented by Aflatoun International, Pomoc deci (Children and Youth Support Organisation), EPTO (European Peer Training Organisation) and Partnerë për Fëmijët. It was co-financed by the ERASMUS+ Programme of the European Union, and the programme combined elements of the Aflateen+ curriculum and EPTO’s Peer Training for Youth.
The project promoted civic inter-cultural, social and relational competencies, mutual understanding, respect, and ownership of democratic values and fundamental rights, enhancing critical thinking, financial and cyber literacy of young people.
The programme relied on the exchange of best practices between Programme countries (The Netherlands and Belgium) and Partner countries (Serbia and Albania), learning mobility, and cooperation between youth Civil Society Organisations and non-formal education providers. Several activities were carried out throughout the project, such as trainings of trainers and four study visits to Albania, Serbia, The Netherlands, and Belgium.
The most crucial feature of GIRLACT was the synergy between social responsibility and entrepreneurial competencies and the application of innovative and active pedagogies, including open and digital learning tools, which allowed mobilising and empowering youth, especially girls, to become peer educators, thus strengthening non-formal education in Partner Countries.
On the one hand, the project contributed to the increase in the level of skills and knowledge necessary for active participation in society, with a particular focus on the high youth unemployment rates in the Partner countries. On the other hand, it improved the adaptability of the Programme countries’ trainings and trainers’ approaches in different international contexts and environments.
GIRLACT Training in 2019.
The closing conference for GIRLACT brought together over 50 young people accompanied by their trainers. The event was successful, engaging, and informative; the participants showed eagerness in speaking and working together, demonstrating a high level of critical thinking and active involvement, reflecting the project’s positive outcomes. Moreover, youth shared their experiences of the programme, and the Peer Education Manual and a Handbook based on Aflateen+ were developed and launched.
GIRLACT Closing Conference in Belgrade, Serbia (November 2021)
