Empowerment: More Examples!

"Dream Girls / Girl Dreams"

What is this project about?

Eight Turkish girls and one Flemish girl were dreaming of freedom, relations, independency, ... Talking about it was not easy... But writing could help them to express their feelings, to discuss these issues and to make them realise that dreams and desires are not limited by culture, age nor sex.

Their book "Girls dreams - dream girls" is a mixture of creative writing, postcards, poems, photo's ...

This book was the 'cherry on the pie' of an intensive process and resulted into an instrument to raise awareness of their dreams and desires, personal development, expression of feelings and emotions... in order to stimulate them to a positive attitude towards the future.

Aims

• The main aim is to use the creation of the booklet as a way to discuss with the girls specific themes related to their specific situation as a girl from an ethnic minority. Some of the themes are taboo.
  
• Many girls don't think individual, but only in function of the ethnic minority community. They are afraid to dream, to have ambitions. The process of the creation of the booklet is the main focus and is used to stimulate the girls to speak freely about their dreams and ambitions (e.g. the freedom to fall in love, desires, friendship, ...).
  
• To give them a voice: in order for them to make them stronger as an individual, to make them aware they are able to make choices, to make them aware they can make a difference by active participation.
  
• To make them assertive and aware of their personal dreams and ambitions in life.
  
• To improve active participation and play a more active role in society in general and in the ethnic minority community in specific.
  
• To improve and practice social skills: to listen to each other, empathic attitude, to motivate each other, to find solutions together, to make choices, etc.
  
• To improve the relationship with their parents: some parts of the book are interviews with parents. Most of their parents are very concerned with the future of their daughters. By discussing some of the themes this might relieve their parents, because it is not always so easy to discuss certain themes with your children.

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Context

These girls are all member of a local youth club, in the harbour area of Ghent, a city of 250.000 inhabitants in Belgium. They all live in the same remote area, with a high amount of ethnic minorities, unemployment, bad housing, little social life, etc.

Daily life in this neighbourhood is not that easy. Living as a young women in a closed ethnic community is not that simple.

The youth worker of this youth club is the coach of the project. She is leading the girls club. All of these girls are member of the girls club.

The Turkish minority community who live in this neighbourhood all come from the same area in Turkey, from a very traditional village from Emirdag. The education of the girls is very traditional and social control puts it weight on them...

The combination of living in a disadvantaged & isolated area in one hand, and growing up with strong Turkish traditions and values on the other hand, doesn't make life easy for these girls. It often leads to frustration, indifference, desperation...

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Outcomes

• This project is from a very high quality: the learning process these girls have gone through, the skills and competences in this "learning by doing" - process, gave them a new vision at life, a new way of making choices.
  
• This project was coached by the local (female) youth worker, who set the project step by step, in close cooperation with the girls and their surroundings (family, friends, neighbourhood, ethnic community etc).
  
• The way this project has been built up, the process and the learning elements for the girls had a very positive and intensive impact on their personal lives. This project meant an opportunity for them to look at life from an emancipatorical way and gave them new opportunities to make a step forward in their personal life.
  
• This impact would not have been possible outside the educational frame of the Youth in Action programme!

Impact

As explained above, this project had a deep and positive impact on the lives of these girls from an ethnic minority.

During this project, these girls gained skills and competences they can use in their future life, in and outside the ethnic minority. Being a member of this minority group doesn't imply their choices are limited. They learned that being a part of a larger society in general, means to communicate, to express feelings and personal opinions, ...

Participation, emancipation, social skills, social involvement can lead to empowerment of these girls towards their ethnic community, but also towards society in general.

Impact on the ethnic community and the local neighbourhood: this project brought several cultures together and stimulated social cohesion, respect and tolerance.

Dissemination and exploitation of Project Outcomes

Several articles in local newspapers; two presentations towards the inhabitants of the local community.

As a final product: a beautiful book with the result of their dreams, e.g. photo's, texts, poems, etc. spread in Flanders (Belgium) towards organisations working with a similar target group (as an example of good practice when working with a similar group of girls or aiming similar objectives and outcomes).

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