Through education we can change outdated mentalities and build a society in which girls and women have equal opportunities, respect and full rights. Education is the best way to prevent sexism, discrimination and gender-based violence.

As part of the Coalition for Gender Equality we are proud to announce that we have started the implementation of the project “EGALIS: gender equality through social change and education”, with the support of the Active Citizens Fund - Romania program, funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants 2014-2021.

We are aware that the Romanian education system has major gaps in gender mainstreaming, both in terms of curricula and textbooks, and in terms of teacher training materials and methods, which often make use of stereotypes and clichés. These shortcomings in education are passed on in society; the 2018 Gender Barometer notes the persistence of prejudices regarding the roles of women and men in the family, at work and in the public sphere.

Through EGALIS we will act in 2 main directions:

1. Youth education and teacher training under the umbrella of the awareness campaign "Feminism for all" which aims to deconstruct, among young people and teachers, the myths and prejudices related to feminism and provide information on gender equality. We are employing a variety of attractive and modern tools: videos, infographics, an interactive game proposed as educational material, and WikiGap hackathons. Teachers and public educational institutions will benefit from a guide and methodology for teaching gender equality in pre-university education.

2. Advocacy activities for the widespread use of the created educational tools, proposals for the revision of the occupational standard for the professions of equal opportunities expert and equal opportunities technician, in order to bring gender equality closer to institutions and companies, as well as monitoring sexism in the public sphere and reporting such instances to the National Council for Combating Discrimination. The project also includes legal assistance and representation in court cases of gender-based discrimination.

The project is implemented by the Centre Partnership for Equality (CPE), in partnership with Front Association, The Romanian Society for Feminist Analyses (AnA), The Equality and Human Rights Action Centre (ACTEDO), PLURAL Association and the SEXUL vs. BARZA / SEX vs The STORK Association, with financial support from Active Citizens Fund Romania, programme funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants Grants 2014 -2021. 

Working together for an inclusive Europe!