Category: Events

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E.C.H.O. Project Launches in Vienna to Amplify Youth Voices Across Europe

On 6 December 2025 in Vienna, Cheryl Miller, DLI Director, joined the kickoff meeting of E.C.H.O. (Amplifying Youth Voices for a Stronger Europe), an Erasmus+ youth cooperation project implemented by a consortium of nine experienced youth organisations from nine European countries. Coordinated by VABCKJS-EU (Austria) as Lead Partner, the project brings together COOLIVING (France), Casa Eslava (Spain), IVAIGO (Lithuania), Hello Youth (Sweden), ECCO (Norway), Digital Leadership Institute (Belgium), San Giuseppe Onlus (Italy), and K-GEM (Turkey). Together, the partnership combines complementary expertise in youth participation, civic engagement, inclusion, digital learning, and policy dialogue.

The project is structured around clear coordination and shared responsibility, with each partner contributing through defined work packages and pilot activities across Europe. Within E.C.H.O., the Digital Leadership Institute supports the project’s digital and participation-focused dimensions, contributing to online engagement, dissemination, and the creation of a sustainable digital space for youth voices. As implementation progresses, the consortium is excited to see this strong transnational collaboration grow into a lasting youth participation network, amplifying young people’s voices and strengthening their role in shaping a more inclusive and democratic Europe.

Project Timeline at a Glance

  • Dec 2025–Mar 2026 – Project launch & coordination
  • Apr–Dec 2026 – Youth exchanges & learning mobility
  • Jan–Sep 2027 – Digital hub & youth-led actions
  • Oct–Dec 2027 – Final events & long-term network

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DIGI-EQUAL Launches to Support Women’s Access to Digital Employment

DIGI-EQUAL – Promote Equal Access to Employment in the Digital Sector for Women officially kicked off as a new Erasmus+ project bringing together partners committed to tackling gender inequality in digital careers. Coordinated by WIDE (Luxembourg), the project is implemented with IOVA (Türkiye), DIGITALSET (Ireland), and the Digital Leadership Institute (Belgium). DIGI-EQUAL focuses on women who have already completed—or are currently completing—digital training, supporting their transition into meaningful and sustainable employment in the digital sector.

At the heart of the project, DLI plays a leading role in advancing equality of opportunity and shaping solutions that respond to real barriers women face in the labour market. Current work includes identifying key digital competences, co-designing employability resources, and preparing pilot activities that will be tested with adult learners across partner countries. DLI also supports dissemination and communities of practice for adult educators, ensuring that project results reach beyond the partnership. As DIGI-EQUAL develops, the team is working towards a strong digital ecosystem that empowers women, challenges stereotypes, and demonstrates the added value of European cooperation.

Project Timeline at a Glance

  • Jan–Mar 2024 – Project launch & coordination
  • Apr–Oct 2024 – Barrier mapping & research
  • Nov 2024–Jun 2025 – Skills & competence identification
  • Jul 2025–Mar 2026 – Employability tools development
  • Apr–Dec 2026 – Pilots & testing
  • Jan–Dec 2027 – Platform, dissemination & legacy
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UNESCO GENSTEMED Project Showcase Event

On 6 February 2025 in Bucharest, the International School Hermann Oberth (ISHO – Romania), in partnership with the Digital Leadership Institute (DLI – Belgium) and the Association of Women in Engineering, Science and Technology (AFIST – Romania), hosted the final event of the UNESCO Gender and STEM Education in Romania (“GENSTEMED”) project, part of the UNESCO program Revitalizing STEM Education to Equip Future Generations with STEM Competency (*science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

In-person and online participants of the event enjoyed interventions by Mr. Bogdan Cristescu, State Secretary of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, Ms. Ligia Deca, Secretary General of the Romanian National Commission for UNESCO, Ms. Magdalena Landry, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Southeast Europe, and Amb. Simona-Mirela Miculescu, President of the UNESCO General Conference. Attendees were treated to a high-level debate featuring global thought leaders, and moderated by Ms. Corina Negrea, Romanian Science Journalist. Key findings of the project’s research activities, capturing Romanian success stories in promoting gender equity in STEM fields, were also shared by project partner AFIST, while DLI and key project stakeholders led several workshops towards young people that showcased best practices in gender inclusion in STEM.

Key project and event outcomes may be found below:

  • Video Presentation of the Final GENSTEMED Showcase Event (including English subtitles) – forthcoming.
  • GENSTEMED Research Outcomes Presentation – featuring Romanian success stories in promoting gender equity in STEM fields.
  • GENSTEMED Emerging Technology Workshop Train-the-Trainer Toolkit – embodying best practices for promoting digital equity through digital skills trainings toward young people
  • Interim Report of the GENSTEMED Project – including Research Activities carried out through the midway point of the project.
  • Final Report of the GENSTEMED Project – including Recommendations and a Way Forward based on project findings and outcomes.

If you would like to learn more about the GENSTEMED project, please contact us.

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SAVE THE DATE: Awareness raising on sexually related online risks

In an era where digital interactions play a significant role in our lives, it’s crucial to be informed and understand potential online threats. Join us 15th December for a 2h engaging and informative online workshop on sexting, sextortion and non consensual intimate image abuse, where we will elaborate on the nature of these trends, identify their consequences on the victims and propose measures to deal with them.

What you will get out of this workshop:

  • Become aware of different online threat types
  • Understand how a harassments case is set in order to recognise its signs early on
  • Learn the coping mechanises and responding strategies

The workshop is organised in the framework of the Erasmus + OnSafe project which focuses at equipping young people and teenagers with the necessary knowledge, skills and tools to prevent being exposed to sexually related online risks and threats, through the development, piloting and implementation of a series of interactive workshops.

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W20 EU at W20 India Summit

Today in Mahabalipuram, India, Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck, Co-head of W20 EU Delegation to the G20 Women20 (W20) official engagement group, joined the Women20 Summit concluding event of the 2023 W20 India Presidency.

Minister Irani & Ms Miller, EU W20
Ms Miller, EU W20
Group Photo W20 India 2023

In her third on-site mission to India in 2023, Ms Miller Van Dÿck joined hundreds of international W20 delegates in celebrating release of official W20 India recommendations delivered to G20 leadership on behalf of the world’s girls and women.  In this context, the W20 India Communiqué 2023 was officially handed over by Dr. Sandhya Purecha, Chair of India W20 2023, to Shri Amitabh Kant, G20 India Sherpa, in the presence of Smt. Smriti Z. Irani, India Minister of Women and Child Development, Dr. Shamika Ravi, Member, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, and Mr. Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator for India. 

In addition to representing EU feminist civil society toward the W20 for the sixth consecutive year, over the course of 2023, Ms. Miller Van Dÿck also had the honour of chairing the W20 India Taskforce on Education, Skills Development and Labourforce Participation. In this capacity, she led global W20 delegates to contribute expertise on these issues critical to the world’s girls and women, resulting in inclusion of the following language in the 2023 India W20 Communique:

Education is a human right. For peaceful, equitable, and prosperous societies, it is necessary to educate girls and women. The economic contributions of women must be appropriately recognized, rewarded and supported through measures that promote decent and predictable work, gender-equitable sharing of care responsibilities, strengthening public social infrastructures, and a guarantee of freedom from gender-based violence everywhere.

Specific Recommendations from the Skills Taskforce, as well as those for all five W20 India Priorities, may be found in the 2023 W20 Communiqué.