SHUTTLE Coaches ready to support Women’s Social and Economic Engagement

On the 15^th of March, Action Against Hunger completed the 5-day workshop in Tbilisi on the transfer of its social and economic inclusion “Shuttle” methodology to local partner NGOs under the EU-funded project “Empowering civil society to increase gender equality and counter gender-based violence in Georgia.” The project consortium is led by the Center for Information and Counseling on Reproductive Health - Tanadgoma and includes three other national NGOs, the Women’s initiative Support Group, The Union of Azerbaijani Women of Georgia and the Georgian Network of Women With Disabilities.

The first days of the workshop provided a more general explanation of the Shuttle approach to the consortium partners and the importance of the initiative as a means to build soft skills and employability and entrepreneurial competences. The second half of the training, held on the 14^th and 15^th March, was focused more on the training, preparation and knowledge building of the SHUTTLE coaches. The training of the coaches was led by Action Against Hunger South Caucasus’s Social Inclusion Manager, Lela Maisuradze, who provided both theoretical and practical exercises on the core aspects of the methodology.   The coaches were then treated to sessions from a wide array of speakers, including a former coach, Salome Guguchia, who acted as a co-trainer for the workshop and who discussed her experiences in implementing the Shuttle methodology and also Natia Tsiramua, who hosted a role play on individual coaching sessions to provide participants skills that they will be able put into practice in their future work.

Participants also had the opportunity to hear from former Shuttle participant, Sopio Tuaevi, about how the Shuttle supported her in developing her skills and knowledge to set up her own business. She also explained how she continues to use aspects of the approach in the day-to-day running of “Soma Kids” business.

In the afternoon sessions, workshop participants engaged in a series of interactive activities, designed to channel their creativity, resourcefulness and newly acquired knowledge to meet the prospective challenges that they may face in their role as coaches. On the final evening, a closing session was held to take stock on what had been learned and to answer any final questions before the start of the information campaign that aims to attract the first group of 200 Georgian and Ukrainian women – in 6 locations across Georgia – who are interested to develop their employability and entrepreneurial skills.