PROJECTS
Door to Work Programme
AkiDwA successfully completed their Door to Work programme on the 7th of July 2021. Door to Work is an innovative project which partners migrant women in the Greater Dublin Area with employers (public bodies, private companies, and NGOs) for work experience lasting several months. Funded partially by the Access to Employment strand of the Equality for Women Measure, the programme is specifically targeted at migrant women experiencing difficulty in accessing the labour market.
CHAT PLUS – CHange Attitude Plus
AKIDWA is proud to collaborate on the CHAT Plus project, co-financed by the CERV program, in partnership with Fondazione L’Albero Della Vita ETS and esteemed organizations. Together, we are dedicated to eradicating Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Harmful Practices in Europe.
Project Overview
FGM: A Growing European Concern: FGM has become a pressing issue in Europe, with approximately 600,000 women living with its consequences and an additional 190,000 girls and women at risk of undergoing this harmful practice in 17 European countries alone. Widely recognized as a violation of human rights, the EU Parliament, in the recommendation “An EU strategy to put an end to female genital mutilation around the world,” calls for urgent action.
CHAT PLUS’s Ambitious Goal: The CHAT Plus project has the overall goal of preventing female genital mutilation (FGM) in Europe through the activation of young people. The strategy revolves around the pivotal role of empowered youth in fostering dialogue on FGM.
A European Endeavor: This action is implemented with a wide European scope in Italy, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, and The Netherlands, with a final event planned in Brussels to engage members of EU Parliaments and EU stakeholders.
Project Components
Management (WP1): The foundation for project coordination and execution.
Young Change Makers (WP2): A call for participation engages youth to be trained as Young Change Makers (YCM).
Behavioural Change Communication (WP3): YCM conduct 375 Behavioural Change Communication activities targeting diaspora, communities, potential perpetrators, local authorities, peers, and professionals.
Multi-Agency Cooperation (WP4): Multi-agency cooperation to fight FGM is boosted with YCM participation, culminating in a Youth Final Statement presented during a meeting at the European Parliament.
The CHAT Plus project aims to achieve the following outcomes:
Empowered Youth: Young people with migrant origins stand up against FGM at the community level.
Enhanced Professional Capacity: Professionals develop an enabling environment to reduce FGM.
Effective Multi-Agency Cooperation: A partnership is established to improve practices and mechanisms against FGM.
The long-term impact of the action is the reduction of the estimated number of girls at risk of FGM through a change in the attitude of the communities, starting from new generations.
Partner Organizations
AKIDWA – Akina Dada wa Africa
Fundación Wassu-UAB
HIMILO
Associação para o Planeamento da Família
We are committed to working together to eliminate FGM and harmful practices in Europe, and we invite you to join us in this crucial endeavour.
