Projects
The following projects are currently being undertaken by Empower or are recently completed.
Current projects
The aim of the learning partnership was to collect and exchange best practice and information within a European context in each of the partner countries in relation to social enterprises promoting the social integration of lone parents (i.e. men and women raising children on their own).
The completed project has been publicised through a number of channels in each partner country. You can see the local press release on the European Commission Office in Northern Ireland website here.
The Women into Business Project, coordinated by Italian partner C.N.I.P.A Puglia, was intended to improve the exchange of learning and know-how among the partners regarding the establishment and development of enterprises by women. This project involved women who are facing social or vocational difficulties and living in disadvantaged situations.
Starting in October 2010, Possibilities NI is a partner on the Supermom Transfer of Innovation Project, funded by a Leonardo da Vinci grant from the Lifelong Learning Programme. Supermom offers vocational orientation and training in film skills for unemployed single parents, both mothers and fathers.
In 2004, Gingerbread NI, the Department for Employment and Learning NI, GEMS NI, and the University of Ulster came together to create the Possibilities Development Partnership. This partnership, in conjunction with a panel of lone parents, combined empowerment and confidence coaching with return-to-work preparation to create 'Possibilities', a course specifically tailored for lone parents seeking a return to employment. The Empower EQUAL Project (2006-2008) transferred the 'Possibilities' training course from Northern Ireland to other countries in Europe (where it was known as the 'Empower' course).