DIGITAL Z-WOMEN: Empower Gen-Z women with digital entrepreneurship skills

"<< Background >>Generation Z, born after 1995, represents more than 30% of the population in Europe and is one of the generations most affected by the covid19 crisis. Gen Z is commonly referred to as the ""igeneration"" because they were born and grew up almost entirely immersed in digital technologies. They are also more likely to value independence and are therefore poised to become the most entrepreneurial generation. Developing digital and entrepreneurial skills is what they really need. The fact is that knowing how to use digital technologies and being ready for a digital business doesn't necessarily mean knowing how to do it well, intentionally and with an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset. This can be even more challenging for young girls and women, who tend to face additional gender disadvantages. Encouraging Gen-Z women towards digital entrepreneurship can be an effective contribution to changing this scenario. The DIGITAL Z-WOMEN project aimed to do this by providing Gen-Z women with advanced and meaningful VET learning opportunities, targeting advanced digital literacy, innovation and entrepreneurship skills to thrive as digital entrepreneurs and subsequently improve their work and living prospects and conditions.<< Objectives >>The DIGITAL Z-WOMEN project aimed to empower young women born between 1995 and 2010, as well as VET professionals/mentors who work with them, through an innovative learning journey that facilitates their transition to digital entrepreneurship. Our goal was to promote gender diversity in the field of digital entrepreneurship by inspiring women to pursue their individual aspirations and goals. The aim is to enable entrepreneurs to overcome traditional gender biases and forge their own paths to success. 18 female digital entrepreneurs from Generation Z have been identified who could serve as role models and inspire others to pursue digital entrepreneurship (R1). The training program (R2) offers a practical and engaging educational experience to assist young women and VET mentors/professionals in comprehending the fundamentals of digital entrepreneurship, encompassing various types of digital businesses and their development, thereby enabling them to strategise their own digital enterprises.This is achieved by enhancing the capacity of teams for entrepreneurship through effective mentoring and facilitation of training on the topic, with a focus on Gen-Z women. R3 organises the learning journey into interactive learning.<< Implementation >>Digital storytelling, design thinking tools, and play-based learning approaches were utilised to improve the development of digital entrepreneurship skills among Gen-Z women and digital entrepreneurs. The project also aimed to enhance the capacity of VET professionals/mentors and VET providers to address the targeted issues. Participatory methods were utilised in the development of all project results. The partners have broadened their database of local partnerships. They broadened their experiences and portfolio in supporting entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on female entrepreneurs, to succeed in the digital landscape. The partnership has demonstrated its commitment to social responsibility by empowering women to overcome gender-based challenges in the digital business world. Input and feedback on all project results were provided by the associated partners who participated in the local expert groups. Their role was to provide feedback and input on all project results, as well as to assist in identifying and connecting with the project's target audience. The project's results were disseminated and encouraged for use beyond its duration, with the assistance of others. During the pilot phase, VET professionals/mentors were involved, as well as young women from the Z generation. Partners organised the final international conference (ME1) in Prague.<< Results >>The project has resulted in three significant Results. Firstly, an e-collection of 18 inspirational stories has been created, which showcases role models and best practices in digital entrepreneurship among Gen-Z women. These stories focus on the profiles of successful women and the triggers that led them to pursue digital entrepreneurship. Secondly, a DIGITAL Z-WOMEN learning journey has been developed, which includes booklets for Gen-Z women and tutorials for VET professionals/trainers. The course covers types of digital businesses, key platforms for digital business entrepreneurship, life-role balance, innovation management and business ideation, a range of topics related to development and monetisation strategies, innovation management, business idea generation, product/service development, business plan development, digital business prototyping and testing techniques, marketing strategy, and digital content creation, etc. Additionally, the DIGITAL Z-WOMEN Online Hub and Toolkit offers interactive exercises such as action cards and quizzes to enhance the learning experience. Adding interactive exercises (e.g., action cards, quizzes), inspired by play-based strategies for learning, to the content that has been previously created to facilitate both self-directed learning, and face-to-face, e-learning and b-learning training facilitation on the mentioned topics; digital tools and an online open-access platform will be used to build the toolkit."