Replicating the EASE Approach across Europe: A Closer Look at the National Level

Domestic violence has profound and far-reaching consequences including professional repercussions, often hindering survivors’ career development, daily work routines, and long-term growth opportunities. Survivors who have endured domestic violence find themselves in unstable employment situations, including casual or part-time roles, resulting in significantly lower earnings and limited professional prospects.

On December 12 2024, the event titled "Replicating the EASE Approach across Europe: A Closer Look at the National Level" was held by ThinkYoung at the University of Sofia "St. Kliment Ohridski”. This event was part of Project EASE, an Erasmus+ initiative aimed at empowering domestic violence survivors through entrepreneurship, equipping them with the tools to rebuild their lives.

EASE provides an innovative approach to help survivors get back on track by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills and supporting them through coaching and mentorship. The training programme spanned over 6 months and was implemented in 3 pilot projects, successfully launched in France, Bulgaria and Czechia.

The event started with opening remarks from the ThinkYoung team, highlighting the progress and impact delivered so far. This was followed by a panel discussion featuring experts from various fields, who shared their insights on entrepreneurship, national policy initiatives, and the broader implications of the EASE approach in Bulgaria and across Europe.

The event culminated in an interactive session with our panelists, where participants, including students and professionals, discussed potential ways to improve the programme and ensure its successful implementation at the national level and beyond.

Our attendees had the chance to engage in a meaningful dialogue about the future of the project and contribute ideas for addressing the critical challenges of supporting survivors of domestic violence in their journey to regain their financial independence. Some of the key recommendations for enhancing the application of the EASE programme included:

Work with local organisations to enhance and expand their existing programmes using the EASE approach
Further build a network of international and national partners
Engage with the local legislative branch to secure national funding and facilitate the delivery of similar efforts

The speakers that participated in the Panel Discussion included:

Manuela Draganova – Mentor and coach who worked with the Bulgarian pilot group
Denitsa Simeonova – Member of Parliament, 51st National Assembly of Bulgaria
Iliyana Boycheva – Analyst at the Center for the Study of Democracy, specializing in justice for vulnerable groups and gender-based violence
Diyana Videva - PhD in Psychology, forensic expert, and program and project coordinator at the Demetra Association
Daniel Florov – Member of the ThinkYoung project team

For additional information, please contact us at office@thinkyoung.eu

OUR PARTNERS

The organization works in the field of gender equality, prevention of domestic violence, reproductive rights and anti-discrimination by providing information, elaboration and production of researches, analyses and draft laws.

Led By HER is France’s first pro bono to offer reconstruction through entrepreneurship to women victims of visible or invisible violence. Our learners take back leadership of their life and acquire new skills.

The IPAG Business School is a French private business school founded in 1965 by Jacques Rueff. It is located in Paris, Nice, Los Angeles and Kunming. IPAG, French Business School Through a dozen programmes geared towards the professions of tomorrow, it trains responsible, open-minded and committed managers.

Munich Business School is an officially accredited private higher education institution. It offers education programs for more than 650 students, 50% coming from outside of Germany.

The University of New York in Prague is a private higher education institution in Prague, Czech Republic. It was established in 1998 in cooperation with the State University of New York at New Paltz and Empire State College, both part of the State University of New York.

It is a not-for-profit organisation, with the aim of making the world a better place for young people, by involving them in decision making processes and by providing decision makers with high-quality research on key issues affecting young people.