“Support for Business Women by means of Upgrading Their Professional Skills at German Women’s Enterprises”

A project was made possible thanks to a Program of Belarus Support “Overcoming Boarders” financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Program of Support was carried out through a wide-scaled projects’ contest in which participated Belarussian-German initiatives. One of the winners of the contest was a project “Support for Business Women by Means of Upgrading Their Professional Skills at German Women’s Enterprises”. The project was held by a German company “Dr.Gaulhofer & Partners. Economic consulting East –West”(Berlin) and a Belarussian NGO “Women’s Independent Democratic Movement”.

The primary goal of the project was to establish business contacts, improve professional skills and competitiveness of business women by gaining international experience on running a business.

The project included a study-tour of Belarussian business women to women’s enterprises located in Berlin and Brandenburg, training in Germany and post-program work in Belarus. A fair part of the study-tour was devoted to the participants’ acquaintance with the German policy of business women’s support both at the local, federal and land levels. The Belarussian delegation got acquainted with the mechanisms of gender equality policy realization in the economy, women-politicians from different political parties, representatives of women’s NGOs, visited different business women’s unions and business-incubators, Berlin Senate and parliament.

Within the project, the objectives on up-to-date know-how promotion in management, marketing, advertising and PR and intercultural communication were reached what, in its turn, influenced modernization of the participants’ firms and encouraged the creation of new products.

In economic terms, the project facilitated the upgrading of professional and individual skills of the participants, change of the quality of their activities in the field of management and technology, broadening of contacts and partner relations, and promotion of their competitiveness.

In social terms, the program encouraged public and political activities, promoted understanding of the mechanisms of German business women’s support and social policy pursuing.

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