Activity objectives

The Partnership Building Activity aims to:

• exchange practices and approaches for working inclusively with young women;
• explore the barriers that can limit young women’s access to participation, information and opportunities;
• reflect on how youth work can reach young women living in rural, remote or peripheral areas;
• identify ways of making youth work activities and international opportunities more inclusive and accessible;
• explore how youth workers can improve access to information about Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps and other European opportunities;
• strengthen the capacity of youth workers to support young women with fewer opportunities;
• create a space for participants to critically reflect on their own practices and learn from the experiences of others;
• encourage professional connections and cooperation among youth workers from Programme and Southern Mediterranean countries.

Description

Young women living in rural and peripheral areas experience unique realities that present both opportunities and challenges. Rural communities often offer strong social connections, a sense of belonging and growing spaces for community engagement, local leadership and social innovation. At the same time, young women may face barriers such as geographical isolation, limited mobility, reduced access to information, fewer educational and professional opportunities, persistent gender stereotypes and less direct access to youth services and international experiences.

These factors can particularly affect young women with fewer opportunities, influencing their participation in community life and their awareness of, and access to, local, national and European opportunities. Youth work has an important role to play in recognising the strengths of rural communities while addressing the barriers that prevent young women from fully participating, accessing information and benefiting from the opportunities available to them.

Youth workers and youth organisations play an important role in addressing these inequalities. They can create inclusive spaces, provide information, accompany young women in accessing opportunities and develop practices that respond to the realities of their communities.

The PBA will bring together youth workers from E+ and ESC Programme and Southern Mediterranean countries to exchange experiences and reflect on how their organisations engage young women, remove barriers and make opportunities more visible, accessible and inclusive.

The programme will include a visit to a local organisation in Northern Portugal working with young women or rural communities. This visit will offer a concrete starting point for discussion, while the main focus of the activity will remain on peer learning and the exchange of practices among participants.