Digital and Critical Women of 21st Century

With the Covid 19 pandemic, online learning and digitalization have accelerated. In this process, the main motivation of this project has been to seek answers to the following gaps: • Adult educat...

This Project aimed to nurture and enhance the quality of disadvantaged women in the societies. The concrete objectives that were achieved are as follows: • We provided training for disadvantaged women about digital and critical literacy skills • We trained trainers at the Aile Yaşam Merkezi to train disadvantaged women in societies • We prepared books and a digital platform focused on critical literacy together with digital literacy • We disseminated the materials and books to the trainers, work at ADEM with women • The materials prepared also include basic training that especially disadvantaged women may need. These are: digital access to health services and secure information, access to useful information on e-commerce to improve themselves economically, digital threats, disaster as basic life skills, the importance and threats of digitalization in risk management Considering the fact that women are also mothers, sections on digitalization and children's creativity and the importance of being critical digital individuals were added to the materials we prepared, Within the scope of the dissemination activity of the project, the project outputs were introduced to more than 500 master trainers.

1- A Kick-off Meeting with a Wide Participation A kickoff meeting was held in Van province with the participation of all partners, Turkish National Agency experts, bureaucrats working especially with women, public education directorate experts, non-governmental organizations, and local media. Our aims here were twofold, firstly our aims were as follows: • to draw the attention of all stakeholders to the importance of education, especially for disadvantaged women • to inform the local press about the importance of the issue • to ensure the cooperation of local partners in the further development of the Project • get the support and opinion of experts at the university • Raising local and international awareness on the education of disadvantaged women The second aim of the kickoff meeting of the project is for the healthy progress of the project with the project partners and these aims are briefly as follows: • To determine how the cooperation with the project partners will proceed • Introducing social media accounts, Google, and similar digital project management tools for healthy cooperation with project partners • To share the suggestions of the national agency experts for the healthy running of the project with the partners • It was to share the activities of the project, opportunities, and possible threats. With the kickoff meeting, all the above-mentioned objectives were achieved. The project was promoted on the basis of both partners and stakeholders. The subject of the project attracted serious attention in the local press and support was received from the stakeholders for co-operation on the subject. Such wide participation in the kickoff meeting provided us with serious support in the training, dissemination, and multiplier activities to be carried out in the following process. 2- LTT- Event- Reggio Emilia- Italy IFOA (Instituto Formazione Operatori Aziendali) - an important partner of the project - provided a 5-day training in Italy for the experts of the project partners on digitalization. IFOA is a partner with significant experience in adult education and digitalization and organizes such training, especially for migrants and refugees. IFOA's experts gave a 5-day training to 15 project partners on digital literacy and being a critical-digital individual. Within the scope of these trainings, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University experts who have experience in critical literacy gave information about the importance of critical literacy. The experts from IFOA, who have been providing training on basic digital literacy to disadvantaged adult individuals for many years, were consulted for their opinions and experiences on what should be considered in the digital literacy handbook, which is an important output of the project. 3- Trans-National Meetings After the kick-off meeting, 3 more trans-national meetings were held as follows: 27.04.2023-28.04.2024- Sweden • In this meeting, the Critical and Digital Literacy Handbooks (IO2-IO3) prepared with partners were evaluated • The website (http://digiandcriticalwomen.com) prepared to increase the promotion of the project was examined and deficiencies were evaluated. • The Digital-Critical Literacy Platform (DCLP), the third intellectual output of the project, was introduced in general terms, and the partners' tasks regarding the content to be uploaded to this platform were distributed. • General evaluation was made of the project management process 24.08.2023- 25.08.2023- Finland • In this meeting, the content prepared by the partners for the IO3 Digital Platform was reviewed • A roadmap for Multiplier events is planned • In order to make the platform more effective, the content to be added was decided • Dissemination activities were evaluated • All responsibilities until the Final Meeting were reviewed 23.01.2024- 24.01.2024- Van- Türkiye (Final Meeting) • The final meeting was re-organized in Van as a kick-off meeting • In the meeting attended by all our partners, all activities carried out within the scope of the project were evaluated • Project management and collaboration were evaluated • Dissemination and multiplier events were evaluated • Our partners were introduced to the local administrators in Van Province. Deputy Governors responsible for education in Van Province, where especially disadvantaged women are concentrated, and the relevant units of the Municipality, which carry out activities for women, met with our partners to establish different cooperations in the future. • Suggestions and evaluations were made for new collaborations and studies that will ensure the continuity of the project. 4 - Multiplier Events Responsible project partners organized multiplier events. In this context, face-to-face multiplier events were organized: • Italy- IFOA- 20 people • Finland- ASDA-RY 20 persons • Sweden- ADEVA- 20 people • Turkey VAN YYU provided training and information seminars to 517 people. The project also conducted virtual multiplier events and the number of participants reached in the virtual events is as follows: • Italy- IFOA- 50 people • Finland- ASDA-RY 50 persons • Sweden- ADEVA- 50 people • Turkey VAN YYU-120 people Within the scope of the multiplier event organized in Turkey, stakeholders in Van Province, where disadvantaged women are concentrated, participated intensively. In this context, field staff of Van Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services working with women in the field, staff of the Family Support Center, managers of the Provincial Directorate of National Education, teachers, and master trainers working in Public Education Directorates, Rector and Vice-Rectors of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University and academicians working in the field of adult education participated. Within the scope of the Multiplier Event, upon the request of the participants, a meeting was also held after the event for future collaborations and needs in the field. After the Multiplier Event, faculty members working at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University and working on the project provided additional information seminars on digital and critical literacy for women upon the request of the Van Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services.

The project produced 3 main outputs. A website has also been prepared to increase the dissemination of the project. Within the scope of the project, 3 important intellectual outputs and a website were prepared. The intellectual outputs are as follows: • IO1- Critical Literacy for Disadvantaged People Manual: This manual was prepared as a resource for trainers on critical literacy and critical awareness. All partners supported the preparation of the manual. The manual was translated into 5 languages and open access was made available on our website and online platform for those interested to use. - IO2- Digital Literacy Toolkit - This toolkit includes topics such as basic digital literacy knowledge, online shopping and commerce, digital entrepreneurship, social media use, access to secure information, digital threats, as well as digital parenting to create a multiplier effect. The aim here is to provide disadvantaged women with digital competencies while ensuring that their children benefit from the advantages of the digital world but are protected against digital threats. In this respect, a multiplier effect is aimed. The Toolkit is written in 5 languages and is openly accessible online through the website IO3 Digital Critical Literacy Platform (DCLP): Available in 5 languages, the platform is designed in a format that can be accessed with a simple registration. The platform includes general information about the project, partnership information, intellectual outputs and useful information. There are also discussion areas within the platform. The address of the platform is: http://digitalandcriticalwomen.com/ Website A website was prepared to increase the dissemination of the project. The website is available in English and Turkish. The website includes the partnership, intellectual outputs and current news of the project. Website address: http://digiandcriticalwomen.com/