WISE Project Kick-Off: Advancing Integration and Empowerment for Ukrainian Refugee Women
28/04/2025
On 28 April 2025, the international consortium of partners gathered online to launch the WISE project (Supporting Ukrainian (UA) Refugee Women’s Socio-Economic Integration and Wellbeing), funded by European Social Fund Agency. The meeting was hosted by the Fondazione International Rescue Committee Italia ETS (IRC), with the active participation of EARLALL and partners from Italy, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands.
The WISE aims to improve the socio-economic inclusion and wellbeing of employable refugee women from Ukraine in Italy (IT) and Bulgaria (BG), by piloting and scaling-up Holistic Support Centres (HSCs) with a trauma-informed and gender-sensitive approach that build on the Women and Girls Safe Space (WGSS) methodology and complement it with employment and social support services.
The consortium brings together partners from across Europe, each contributing their expertise:
The WISE kick-off meeting began with a programme overview, introducing the consortium, project goals, and specific objectives, and agreeing on key definitions such as “job readiness”, structured, semi-structured, and unstructured activities and employment support. This was followed by a deep dive into the project’s core activities, examining the coordination, support services, and innovative tools to be used. The session further addressed a lump sum financial overview, monitoring and evaluation procedures, and key operational topics such as language barriers, timelines, and events planning.
Over the next 18 months, the WISE project will deliver an integrated programme of support and innovation, including:
- Establishment of Holistic Support Centres in Milan, Rome, Turin, and Sofia
- Delivery of individual career counselling, mental health services, and skills assessments using AI technology
- Organisation of group activities such as job readiness workshops, speaking clubs, and cultural orientation sessions
- Mapping and engagement of key local stakeholders in employment, education, and social services
- Adaptation and pilot use of a digital skills profiling tool tailored to refugee women
- Development of a Holistic Support Centre model toolkit to guide replication across Europe
- Implementation of a Europe-wide dissemination strategy reaching at least 2,000 stakeholders
- Delivery of 4 webinars with policymakers and a final conference in Brussels with partners and stakeholders (September 2026), organised by EARLALL with IRC support.
- Support for the replication of the model through partnerships and stakeholder agreements
The physical programme meeting will take place in Milan in June 2025. It will include co-design workshops with women and local stakeholders, detailed sessions on the integration of employment and psychosocial support, and planning for the first phase of service delivery. The meeting will also cover initial dissemination planning led by EARLALL.
In addition, throughout the project, the following activities will take place:
- Regular coordination meetings (every quarter) and Project Steering Committee meetings (every four months), all held online.
- Four co-design workshops with local stakeholders and community leaders to develop and refine the Holistic Support Centre model.
- Local stakeholder workshops and model presentations in Milan, Rome, Turin, and Sofia.
- Community of Practice (CoP) meetings (four online sessions) to exchange good practices among project partners.
- Field exchange visits in Sofia and Rome to promote mutual learning and model replication.
