Named NETRAW (Network for Rural Active Women), the main objective of this European research and training project is to capitalise on practices and provide access to training and support resources for women living in Mediterranean rural areas, particularly in Spain, France and Greece. Led by Université Grenoble Alpes, this project is financed by the European Union’s Erasmus+ program to the sum of €288,000.The rural areas of the Mediterranean have been undergoing profound changes since the end of the 20th century. They have gone from areas of single agricultural activity to territories in ecological, cultural, social and entrepreneurial transition. In this context, relations between rural and urban areas as well as social relations between the sexes in these territories (emancipation of women, recognition of their rights as entrepreneurs) have been transformed.
Despite these transformations, stereotypes of rural women are still very much alive in the collective imagination and associate an outdated image with them.
Faced with these observations, Université Grenoble Alpes, along with Grains d’ici in Ardèche, Resilience Earth in Catalonia and the Ergani Center in Thessaloniki, has built a collaborative research-training program, mainly in collaboration with the Ardèche rural women’s collective Les Odettes. Focused on three main fields, it will make it possible to: analyse the reciprocal practices of rural women’s communities in Europe; identify gender stereotypes; and develop communication tools to change the way rural women are viewed.
The partners have chosen a collaborative and participatory action-research methodology aimed at reporting on current transformations. One of the main objectives is to create a network of European rural women based on the capitalisation of common practices around the creation of media (written, sound, video, web documentaries, photo exhibitions) dealing with current developments.
To support this collaborative work, a study on the theme “Rural women and media”, a portfolio of skills, visual and digital teaching aids (web documentary, MOOC), will be produced and will be used to support the strengthening of women’s skills. All this will take shape in a place of social and territorial innovation called the “Women Living Lab”. The study should be finalized at the beginning of the 2020/2021 university year.
Source: Grenoble Alpes University
