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Co-funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme

MINUTES

Partner Meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria

19.04 - 21.04.2017

Participants: Dillan Assad, Zhaleh Bahraini, Nazira Mehmari, Magdalena Matschek, Nayari Castillo, Angela Peschir, Natalia Skoczylas, Jolanta Gaweda, Soledad Lucero, Angelica Mercado, Lara Veredeana, Rossanka Venelinova, Neda Rozgis, Christina- Irene Karvouna, Oksana Hordiyenko, Usha Sundaresan

19.04.2017: Day 1

All the partners attended the meeting and the participants represented a mixed group of peer leaders, representatives of the partners and trainers. In all, 16 persons participated at the meeting. The meeting was held in Hemus hotel where most of the participants also stayed

The meeting began punctually as planned. The chair was taken by Rossanka who welcomed all the participants and presented the planned agenda as well as a brief insight into the contents of the three-day meeting. She also provided information regarding organizational and administrative issues. After the welcome, all the participants introduced themselves providing information about themselves, their organizations as well as their role in the project.

A short power point presentation was given in order to refresh the main objectives of the project.

The presentation of the progress in the project by each partner was the next main topic. The update on the project was provided from different perspectives – the management of the project, the implementation at the partner level as well as the trainer and peer leader levels. At IKWRO they have 8 peer leaders. 2 trainings were completed and the third one is at the end of April. 4 peer leaders in turn carried out the multiplier workshops. 1 network meeting – a large one was carried out. At the same time, there have been many network meetings at the borough level at which heads of different areas of work like social assistance, housing, employment etc. meet of which IKWRO is a regular member. IKWRO coordinated one


network on a regular basis. At these meetings, the project could be presented and discussed. IKWRO has also been conducting a prevention campaign in schools and has been offering training on sexual harassment.

Omega’s trainer who has gone on maternity leave was replaced by Magdalena Matschek. Omega has 14 peer leaders in the first cycle. The peer leaders are from both ethnic as well as language groups. The seven groups formed are African, Arabian, Turkish, Afghan, Romanian, Serbian and Spanish. 3 modules have been finished and the 4th one will be carried out at the end of April. The peer leaders have also carried out the multiplier workshops. The first network meeting was held in November 2016 and was attended by stakeholders and representatives of important organizations.

Feminoteka started with 10 peer leaders of which 8 stayed on in the project. The trainings were grouped because the peer leaders had to commute from outside of Warsaw. The trainings are almost finished and now the multiplier trainings will begin. They have 5 nationalities – Russian, Belarus, Vietnamese, Chilean and Moroccan. The network meetings are held once a month on a regular basis along with other NGO organizations.

Nadja Foundation is working with 8 peer leaders who in turn are working with communities from Lebanon, Iraqi Kurds, Roma and the Turkish minority. Nadja is also working with a mixed group. Some of the peer leaders come from towns close to the Turkish and Greek borders. Some work is also being carried out in refugee camps. 2 Workshops have been finished. The first network meeting was held in December. Stakeholders form the Agency for social support as well as the social policy ministry participated in the meeting. Monthly coordination meetings are held together with other organizations working in the area. There is much to be done for migrants because they do not have a free choice in the area of employment. Migrants are normally pressed into certain jobs.

Xunta presented their work using a power point presentation (is attached to the minutes) They are working with 8 peer leaders and the multiplier groups are from Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil and Senegal. The workshops were grouped together because of the peer leaders having to travel from around Galicia. Most of the workshops for peer leaders have been conducted parallel to providing multiplier workshops.

EILD also used a presentation (is attached). 3 modules of training have been finished. The peer leaders are from Albania, Ukraine, Africa (several countries) and Syria/Iraq.

Feminoteka has finished all the modules but the multiplier workshops are still going on. Much value was laid on working in an interactive manner using different methods.

Some other points were also discussed during the update. Some of the trainer hours have been used for translating the training modules into the local language. It is possible to report on hours that have been used for translating the materials but the hours have to be realistic.


All the partners who have a face book page have been requested to send a screen shot of activities concerning draw the line so that it can be included in the report. There were some questions about staff costs and since the budget could not be discussed individually it was decided that each partner sends their questions per Email to the coordinator and will be attended to individually.

The project website - address is: http://omega-graz.at/drawtheline/

There was short discussion on when the next cycle should start. One suggestion was to start on the 15th of July. The partner meeting in Greece was suggested to be held in September.

(The dates were fixed on the last day of the partner meeting)

After the coffee break, the peer leaders held their own meeting until lunchtime. There were some changes made to the agenda on day 2

After the break a review of the project since first partner meeting in London was carried out.

Needs Assessment: All the papers prepared by the partners were received. These will be put

together into one paper and put on the website. Internal contracts which were missing in

original were brought to the meeting and handed over. The awareness raising campaign with

flyers in 15 languages was reported on. All the partners were successful in implementing a

broad campaign reaching both organizations working with immigrants as well as the

immigrants themselves. Some of the flyers have to be reprinted because they ran out. There

was a problem with the flyers meant for Spain. At first there was a delay in receiving the

parcel because the address was not correct. When the parcel finally arrived, it did not have

all the languages needed. This problem could not be clarified because all the other partners

received the right parcel. However, Xunta decided to print more flyers in the language that

they need. All the partners will continue with the campaign during the lifetime of the project

and not only during the months foreseen in the time line. The modules of training were

developed by each partner as planned during the London meeting. Module 1 was developed

in the local language by each of the partners, module 2 IKWRO, module 3 Feminoteka,

module 4 Xunta, module 5 EILD, module 6 Nadja Foundation. At first each partner developed

the contents of the training divided into a theory and a practical part. The format was not

the same. Nadja Foundation is in charge of developing the training pack. They suggested that

all the partners adopt the format which was developed by Feminoteka. This was

http://omega-graz.at/drawtheline/


implemented by all the partners. At present, there are many documents available. This is

also because each partner developed and used additional materials. The process of how to

prepare the training manual and how the rest of the materials will be made available was

discussed. During the implementation of the first cycle, it was observed that the title of the

module doesn’t always fit in with the contents. The contents are broader than the title

suggests. A solution has still to be found.

There was a discussion about translating the manual into the local languages of the partner

countries. Budget for this is foreseen. More than the planned network meetings have been

held because there have been network activities at different levels depending on the local

structures. All formalities like attendance lists, fees etc. have been fulfilled. The project

website will not have a member area. This was discussed at the London meeting but

experiences in other projects have shown that the member area is not used as it should be.

Communication will be mainly with E-mail, skype and telephone. Each partner is welcome to

communicate over face book. This will be mainly to create public awareness about the

project.

Concerning the coordination and administration of the project, the following points were

highlighted.

Important points which were summarized after the Kick-Off Meeting in Brussels were

presented once again (Document attached)

The time line of the project was reflected on. The progress within the project has

been according to the timeline (Document attached)

The work streams of the project were discussed especially in the light of

responsibilities and tasks that have been fulfilled as well as those that are still to be

completed. (document attached)

The expected outputs of the project were presented in a power point and discussed

together with the timeline for the products and outputs. Again, it was emphasized

that each partner carries responsibility both unilaterally and bilaterally. (Document

attached)


After lunch, a discussion on the current problems covered the following points:

Communication with peer leaders. It is often difficult to reach the peer leaders by Email. It works better over the telephone. Coordinating the interests of 8 and more peer leaders is challenging. Some partners have also faced problems finding suitable peer leaders. Due to this there was a slight delay in starting with the training. However, it was possible to find the necessary number of peer leaders covering a wide range of ethnical and language groups. Some time was spent in discussing strategies and exchanging ideas on how to reach peer leaders and how to empower them to take up the role.

The peer leaders face the same difficulties in reaching women in their multiplier groups. In this case, the situation is different in each partner country. In one case the women are all in one place (shelter for refugees) but there is a high fluctuation. In the case of two partners, the groups are held outside the city and these groups are relatively easy to organize. In one case the peer leaders must do outreach work and work within the migrant community’s structure. One partner has autonomous groups who have taken full responsibility for their groups. It was also reported that some groups faced the challenge of cultural differences. Some women were ready to respond to the exercises and try them out whereas others were hesitant and some did not expect the exercises to achieve any results. The peer leaders were therefore facing a challenge and had to at first convince the multiplier groups about the importance of the topic and also explain the goal behind the exercises. The peer leaders had to also be accepted in their roles and all this took some time. The effectiveness of the training in cycle 1 was therefore not always optimal. However, the first cycle was like a pilot and a lot of the experiences gathered will flow into the second cycle.

A big challenge is to offer continuity within the project. Some groups are very volatile and carrying out 6 trainings with the same group of women has been difficult. Efforts will be made in the next cycle to work with groups of women who have been in the country over a longer period of time.

In some cases, it has not been easy to motivate multiplier groups for such a sensitive topic. In this case, efforts are being made by offering yoga or similar exercises to animate the women to participate.

One important aspect within the first cycle is that groups which consist of refugees are not constant and this target group is very dynamic.


One aspect which was discussed was the timeline of the cycle. Some participants were of the opinion that the peer training and the multiplier workshops are too close timewise. Some of the peer leaders would like to have more time to prepare themselves for the multiplier training. In such cases, an option would be to combine two topics on one day and use the time foreseen for two trainings as preparation time.

Most of the partners will have the same peer leaders for all the cycles but each multiplier group will be new. However, added value could be achieved by training new peer leaders.

The topics for the trainings will be the same. However, each cycle will go in depth into the topics, thus increasing knowledge and helping the peer leaders to develop real expertise. All materials used during the second and third cycles which provide added knowledge will be made available on the website.

20.04.2017 Day 2

The training manual, the tool kit and treasure chest was the first point of discussion. All the modules are ready as far as the contents are concerned. The deadlines for layout and printing are towards the last half of the project. What still has to be decided is the title of the manual. A fitting title for the first module sis also necessary. There was also discussion on the order of the modules. It was suggested that the topic on stereotypes should be before gender violence. Each partner was reminded that Rossi needs a complete revised list of local organizations in each partner city and country which will be printed at the end of the training manual. Rossi also requested that graphs and photos used in the modules should be sent in print form separately so that these can be used when printing the manual.

Module 1 will be in the manual in the national language of the partners. Module 1 should first introduce European law and then move on to local laws. A summary of the module should be sent to Rossi by the middle of May.

An important aspect that has to be considered is for whom the manual is being prepared. Is it for a broad public or for practitioners? The manual however should be usable by all women’s organizations and not only migrant organizations. The title of the manual is therefore very important as this will inform the reader about the contents. The foreword is also very important so that the manual will really be read. Added value within the project will be all the extra materials that will be collected and also prepared. These will be electronically available. There was discussion whether module 1 should be translated into English???

The treasure chest will contain materials in different languages.


The agenda of the meeting after the coffee break was changed because the peer leaders had worked together on the previous day and during the morning session today it became clear that the peer leaders have a lot to discuss. Instead of their own session this morning, a plenary session was held. 8 Peer leaders attended the meeting in Sofia. The group in itself was multicultural including peer leaders originating from Brazil, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Iran, Romania, Ukraine and Venezuela. The group was very active and the meeting was enriched by the contribution made by the peer leaders.

Reflexion:

All the peer leaders reported that they know that they are carrying out an important task. In spite of similar and differing challenges, all the peer leaders are fully interested and motivated to implement the training in the best way possible. Some of the challenges being faced are:

Language and cultural barriers within the group. Although the groups are in most cases ethnically homogenous, there are differences in levels of understanding and interpretation. There are also differences in formal skills like reading and writing. There are also differences in how seriously the matter is taken. Some of the groups were based on similar language and therefore faced some cultural barriers. The peer leaders were in some cases stressed out and had to use varying strategies to meet the needs of the group.

Another challenge has been as to how to measure how the relayed information and knowledge really reaches the multiplier group. The evaluation of participants’ satisfaction will be carried out at the end of the 6 modules. However, the peer leaders were not sure whether the contents, the materials, the methods are fitting. When the participants are asked, they say that they are satisfied but there is no objective method to measure. If it were possible to find out objectively, then the peer leaders will feel more secure and endorsed in their work.

In some cases, the women’s group changed with each module – not completely but there were drop outs and replaced by new persons. This is a problem that has to be tackled because the 6 modules have to be provided to a constant group.

As mentioned earlier, the duration between the peer leader training and the giving the multiplier training was too short.

There were some formal restrictions concerning the formation of the multiplier groups. Some peer leaders found too many women and some less than the minimum of 8 women.

The tool kit has become a necessity from the very beginning of the first cycle. The tool kit was planned to be filled up as the project moves on. However, the peer leaders reported that they needed extra material right from the start. This applies to both peer leader training and the multiplier groups. The tool kit will play a role in the sustainability of the training


because the peer leaders want to carry on individually with the trainings after the end of the project. Therefore, they find it important to augment their trainings by preparing individual materials which will come in handy at a later stage. The peer leaders see their training as the foundation on which they can build up individual strategies based on the circumstances in their country, on the cultural background of their communities and the specific needs of their groups.

Sustainability and the replication of the training are two challenges that the peer leaders are very much occupied with. This approach is being emphasized by the peer leaders and is a huge enrichment for the project

One challenge that is very present in the minds of the peer leaders is that of being able to warrant for the contents of the trainings. To be able to vouch for the validity and accuracy of the contents especially legal information is a challenge.

Most of the peer leaders will continue in the next cycle and will be able to deepen their knowledge.

All the materials used and collected have to be put together. They have to be sorted and assigned to the various modules.

The session moved on to discussing solutions and exchange of good practice.

The challenge of cultural differences has to be approached in a very sensitive way. One suggestion was to work with case studies and scenarios so that the group does not feel that they are being addressed personally. Peer leaders need more time to prepare themselves. They have to develop self-confidence especially younger peer leaders. Very often they face the situation of their role being put in question.” What do you know?”” What would you do in this situation?” It is important to mention at the beginning that “I am not lecturing you, I am providing an information pack but not telling you how to go about it, not telling you how to live, but things to think about, perhaps something that you are not aware of”. It is helpful to offer a compendium of information. Case studies are a good means of making the topic transparent. The case study can be altered to suit the characteristics of the community. It is important to keep an eye that the peer leaders are not superficial when offering training. The concept of feminism was also discussed intensively. The peer leaders who were present at the meeting had an open view but there are peer leaders who have a conservative approach and this has its effects on the group as well.

An important factor in the project is the feedback that peer leaders give to the trainers. It is also important that peer leaders are able to reflect on the topic after receiving the training and before they offer trainings themselves. It was suggested that the two peers who lead a group should meet after the training and reflect on the contents and then prepare the multiplier training together. This is a horizontal learning process. Passing on knowledge and


information can be dangerous. Information can be misunderstood. There is also a difference in knowledge levels or language and formal skills levels within the group. Therefore, a peer to peer meeting is good in order to be prepared for all eventualities. Two questions were asked. How do we solve the problem now? How do we solve the problem in the future? A central aspect is that the peer leaders are responsible for what they deliver and therefore they have to be very sure of themselves. The peer leaders would like to evaluate after each module. This would help to offer the best. Peering has nothing to do with nationality. It is about the problem.

The question arose as to how to focus on the problem without frightening the women. The use of case studies is a good suggestion. The tool kit is important. A lot of practical practice using for example cards with case studies could be useful. The goal of the training plays an important part in the success of the trainings. The knowledge provided is not only to identify sexual harassment but also to react when it happens. The trainings are like planting a seed which empowers reaction in the wake of sexual harassment. It was also suggested that experts from various fields could also be included into the training modules so that more expertise is available. This extra expertise should be available for both peer training as well as multiplier training. Another valuable input was to make digital versions of specialists talking available on the project website. IKWRO has developed self-confidence training packs which will be provided for this project as well. They also have a video on a counsellor talking on the subject. This will also be sent by Nazira. Another suggestion was to motivate women to talk on the various topics and post these on the online platform.

An important input was that besides providing the training, it is also necessary to train the women to find the information that they need. They have to learn how to search.

Peer leaders have to be conscious about their own boundaries and these have to be made clear. The approach has to be empathetic, have a workshop character and be participative. The approach should be “I am giving you the information that I have. I could also be in the same situation. I am not lecturing and am on level with the trainer and the women in the group. I will not overstep, nor will I preach”

Information cannot afford to be wrong.

How do you find your audience? Do you go to them or do they come to you? As a result, there is a difference in approach and advantages and disadvantages. If you go to them you have to be well prepared as you want to offer good quality and not waste their time. It has more of a workshop character. If they come to you they have possibly identified their needs and the topic has to do with themselves.

It is important to be able to work flexibly and according to the needs of the women. In some NGO’s this is restricted. For example, there are women who would love to come but can only make it on Sundays. The peer leaders are more than willing to carry out the training.


However, the structural framework does not make this possible. At the same time structure is important and some changes have to be planned for the next cycle. Language groups are easier to form but some peer leaders found the group to be culturally demanding. There was confusion between the different ethnic groups. It is planned to change the structure during the next cycle and work more on the basis of ethnic groups. There are also some contextual points that have to be discussed before the next cycle for example: the line between sexual assault and racially motivated assault is not clear.

It was also suggested that the peer leaders in each partner country should meet at regular intervals and exchange their experiences and also suggest changes and improvements.

The peer leaders have asked for a one page description of the project. These minutes will be sent to all the participants. Communication should not be only top to bottom but also horizontal. The peer leaders would also like to be informed. In the future, the partners in the project can redirect information to peer leaders. The link to the website has been provided in these minutes.

In the afternoon session, the agenda that was planned for the morning was attended to. The structure of the first cycle for peer training and multiplier workshops was presented once again and discussed. There have been minor changes in the implementation but on the whole the structure has been observed carefully. 6 modules of peer training and 6 multiplier workshops will be finished by the end of June. There was a question on the hours planned for the peer leaders for each training. Unfortunately, not many hours were budgeted for preparing the training. There is a lot of work to be put in starting from translating the material into the mother tongue or collecting material in the mother tongue. Each partner is requested to send their queries on the budget per Email.

There was a discussion on the evaluation of cycle 1 and the progress report that has to be prepared in July. Regarding the evaluation there was an important feedback. The questionnaire for the multiplier groups is too long and too complicated. It is available only in English and has to be translated to be of any use. It is too demanding for the women who attend. Time will be lost while translating and explaining the questions. No extra time was planned for the questionnaire. Therefore, it was suggested that we request XUNTA to simplify the questionnaire down to just 5 simple questions. The coordinator will approach XUNTA on this. All the quarterly reports should be in by the 15th of July. The progress report will be completed by the end of July.

All the templates being used in the project were shown and reflected on. Emphasis was laid on the quarterly reports and the time sheets. It was made clear that the quarterly reports only need to report on activities that were relevant in the quarter. Not every point has to be filled up. The time sheets were explained. It was also emphasized that all activities have to be documented with attendance lists, contracts, invoices etc. The division of responsibilities of partners according to work streams was once again discussed.


21.04.2017 – Day 3

The peer leader presentation in the agenda was dropped because the plenary discussion on the previous day covered the most important points.

The rest of the agenda remained the same.

Next steps in the project

There was a discussion as to how the internal evaluation of cycle 1 should be implemented. The evaluation is based on the 4 questionnaires provided by XUNTA. The one for the multiplier workshops has to be simplified. It was suggested that the coordinator will send out an excel sheet which has to be filled out by each partner based on the questionnaires that they collect. The deadline for the excel sheet is the 20th of July 2017. Each partner has to send scanned copies of the questionnaires to the coordinator.

The concept of the external evaluation will be sent with these minutes.

The quarterly report and financial report is due by the 10th of July.

Cycle 2 is planned to start between July and before the end of August. The peer leaders have requested for a small budget to be able to buy workshop materials. In cycle 2 efforts will be made to form homogenous ethnic groups. However, this could prove to be difficult. It is also planned to prepare materials to deepen the modules for the peer leader training. It would also be meaningful to provide training on didactics and methods of teaching.

The topics of the modules will have to be strengthened for cycle 2. It is not possible to develop an extra curriculum as it is not planned in the project. However, steps have to implemented both in theory and practice. For this purpose, a meeting with peer leaders at a local level is planned to reflect on and improve the training. One suggestion was to install an online platform – a chat group – a forum so that there can be exchange. As a result of this discussion a whats app group was installed. It was also agreed that each partner develops a structure for the 6 modules for cycle 2 and sends the plan to the coordinator by the middle of July.

There was also a discussion on how the peer leaders could receive feedback from the multiplier groups. One method would be to use some time during the last module to ask questions on the training. Efforts have to be made to measure the effects of the training and then incorporate ideas to improve the training in cycle 2. Another method would be to ask the group at the end of each module. For this purpose, it would be an idea to present a scenario and then ask the women how they would go about it or how they would solve the situation. The methods depend on the topic and should be facts based. Regarding cycle 2, there was a short discussion about how best to from the new groups. The suggestions and


ideas were that each partner could analyze the migrant population and find out which groups are present. Word of mouth will also bring new women to the group. The most important feedback from the women is what they want and to be able to give them the feeling of ownership of the project.

Brainstorming to collect ideas for a potential follow up project:

Discrimination at the work place

Finding a job

Breaking out of the system and becoming self-supporting

Domestic violence

Child abuse

Implementation of the results of present project

Empowering migrant women to become decision makers

Peer violence in schools – girls belonging to different ethnic groups

Second generation children – culture at home and in other places

Expand “Draw the Line”

Focus on existing policies and policy making

Where can migrant women find help -individually and in a group – It is one thing to be aware of violence but another thing to use the tools provided to exercise rights. To be able to use laws and policies to benefit from them

Action based projects

Analyzing differences between countries at two levels – at policy level and action level

Networking with law makers

Educating the other side – perpetrators

Istanbul protocol – whether it is being followed

Comparison of laws, enforcement and implementation

Awareness raising also for a broad public

Practical help


Ask the multipliers

Alternative methods of implementation especially for young people.

Law makers at one end and action at the base at the other end

Importance of judicial tools to be able to react

Making consequences of violence clear to perpetrators

Women and disability – double discrimination

Other target groups – LGBT for example

Sexual education for girls, young women and boys. Reaching boys is not easy

Public space and young men – prevention of sexual violence

Project for second generation with migrant parents. They are Europeans and have the same rights

Evaluation of the partner meeting, questions, timetable, next meetings etc.

The questionnaire to evaluate the meeting was filled out by the participants-

The next meeting in Greece will be held between 4th and 6th October

The conference and the last partner meeting will be in Graz from the 18th to the 20th 0f April 2018. All the partners will reflect on the conference and come up with ideas about the topic of the conference etc.

To do’s and deadlines

Assessment paper (Usha)

Training manual - finalizing the manual and tool kit and treasure chest

Title and contents of the modules

Order of the modulesä

Attach documents


Revised list of local organizations for the manual

Graphs and Photographs in print form to be sent separately

Summary of module 1 by 15th May 2017

Summary in English??

Self- confidence training pack and video of counsellor talking on the subject to be sent by Nazira

The quarterly report and financial report is due by the 10th of July.

Develop Excel – Sheet for evaluating questionnaires (Usha)

Send by 15th June to all partners

Excel – Sheet with evaluation of questionnaires to be sent by partners by 20th of July

Send scanned questionnaires to Usha

Concept of external evaluation (document attached)

Cycle 2 should start between July and before the end of August.

Next skype meeting: 24th May 2017 at 13:00 CET

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