learn forever

 

 

Lifelong learning in the age of the information society - new possibilities for women

 

www.learnforever.at

 

Learn forever is committed to increase the participation of educationally disadvantaged women in further training. The barriers in accessing education and information for these women are diverse: low incomes mean that educational opportunities are often not affordable and are perceived as a "luxury". Also, traditional educational programs usually address people interested in further education and can overwhelm those with little education experience. The educational offers are not set to a low enough threshold, there may be no direct benefits to be drawn from them or they are not compatible with the specific situations of women. Limited mobility and insufficient time resources due to the gender division of labour can delay the education until a "far distant future". Due to poor past school experiences, learning often has a negative connotation and is reminiscent of gaps in schooling. The importance of IKT as a fourth cultural technique is recognized by the women and perceived as a requirement to enter the employment market. Emerging fears, bad experience with conventional computer courses and still common stereotypes regarding technical competence of women as well as low self-esteem in relation to their own skills and abilities act as additional barriers.

 

Learn forever - financed by BMUKK and ESF – takes these phenomena into account. The basis of our activity is the combination of the three social and educational policy themes: equality between men and women, increasing participation in training of educationally disadvantaged women and equal participation of women and men in the information and knowledge society.

 

In this innovative collaboration between adult education and research, all the network partners bring along their years of experience and expertise in the areas of women's education, lifelong learning, educational disadvantages and last but not least in dealing with integration and inclusion.

 

The following institutions work together in this experts network :

 

Styria:

    nowa - training, consulting, project management (Graz)

    PERIPHERIE - Institute for practical gender research (Graz)

    akzente - Centre for Equality and Regional Cooperation (Voitsberg)

Upper Austria:

    Women's Foundation Steyr (Steyr)

Vienna:

    abz * austria - competences for Women and the Economy

Salzburg:

    agenda. Equal opportunities in working life and information society

Carinthia:

    eb project management gmbh (Villach)