To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Marloes van Engen

From Peru to Rotterdam

Hailing from Peru, Liesbeth Kerstens initiated an NGO during her volunteer work there, focusing on aiding street children who suffered from sexual violence, poverty, alcoholism, and neglect. When she got back to the Netherlands, she stayed very committed and didn’t change her focus. Initially, she worked on sourcing funds for the Peruvian context before collaborating with Patrick in 2005. Together, they adapted their efforts for Rotterdam’s local children, gradually shaping their initiative into a volunteer organization with a clear mission: from vulnerable to vigorous for those in need we make tailormade solutions by role models that have hands-on experience.”

A tailored digital programme

During the lockdown, Stichting Mano displayed resilience by swiftly developing digital programmes tailored to local citizens with limited literacy. These included personalized coaches for topics like ‘Literacy and Money’ and ‘Literacy and Health,’ along with essential language courses. These online alternatives replaced traditional in-person sessions and cafes, allowing for continued community engagement and education.

Find out more about the initiative

Image by Suad Kamardeen from Unsplash

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Raili Marling

This ambitious project, initiated by the Estonian Association of Pensioners’ Associations, aims to empower elderly individuals by providing them with training modules to enhance their digital literacy skills. By challenging the commonly held belief that age is a barrier to learning and personal development, this initiative seeks to bridge the digital divide among the elderly population.

Empowering the Elderly through digital literacy

Recognizing the importance of addressing the specific needs of vulnerable elderly people across Estonia, the project takes an intersectional approach that considers the influence of both age and socio-economic status. By tailoring the training modules to cater to these individuals, the project aims to create equal opportunities for all elderly citizens to benefit from the digital world.

Addressing seniors’ challenges

Each training programme offered by the project has a duration of 20 academic hours, providing a comprehensive and immersive learning experience. The Estonian partners involved in the development of these programs have contributed their expertise to create a diverse range of training modules that cater to the specific needs and interests of elderly individuals. Among these modules:

• Addressing seniors’ challenges in the silver economy
• Building digital skills
• Social activity in old age
• Memory training
• Physical exercises

Find out more about the initiative

Photo from Freepik

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Ralitsa Golemanova​

Concordia Bulgaria Foundation initiated activities under the project “Life after COVID – psychological support for Children and families affected by the Epidemiological Crisis”, financed under the “IRIS” programme of the “Workshop for Civil Initiatives” Foundation.

An ambitious initiative for vulnerable children affected by COVID-19 and their families

In the upcoming six months, the project aims to strengthen family relationships in at-risk communities affected by the COVID-19 crisis. During the project, the members will work with 50 children in the metropolitan districts of Orlandovtsi and Zaharna Fabrika-poor neighbourhoods in Sofia.

Besides, the organisation will support needy families through various resources – providing food, clothing and shoes for the children, educational support, consultations with a psychologist, social worker and family work. Through these activities, the initiative intends to:

• Strengthening the relationships between children and parents
• Increasing parental capacity with a focus on caring in stressful situations
• Helping children to overcome educational deficits and difficulties
• Preventing violations of children’s rights for a better and healthier family environment

Find out more about the initiative

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Claire Stovell, Charoula Tzanakou, Alexis Still, and Anne-Laure Humbert. 

An Equity Audit to understand the impact of the pandemic on young people

On 20 March 2020, the Scottish Government decided to issue a statement, advising that schools should close to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 virus. This led to (even more) educational difficulties for children and young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. To respond to these issues, the government announced the implementation of an Equity Audit that would “deepen [their] understanding of the impact of [the pandemic] on children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and set clear areas of focus for accelerating recovery”. To compile this Equity Audit, Education Scotland (the educational body of the government) cooperated closely with teachers’ unions and got their extensive input on the new or worsened issues that disadvantaged children and young people faced during the pandemic.

The audit was undertaken through two complementary phases from September to November 2020: 1) an evidence review of local, national and international literature and 2) a detailed analysis based on a sample of 54 schools across all 32 local authorities.

Two sketchnotes to illustrate the key findings

Education Scotland released their equity audit near the end of 2020, containing findings and support recommendations that were thoroughly informed by the experiences and input of teachers and teachers’ unions.

Five key themes emerged from both the evidence and lived-experience, highlighting the need to focus on the following in the context of intensified support for learning:
I. Health and wellbeing support
II. Digital infrastructure and connectivity
III. Support to parents and families
IV. Teaching provision and the quality of learning
V. Support for teachers and the wider workforce

Two sketchnotes have been produced to help share the key findings. The first focuses on the impact school building closures has had on children and young people and is organised in three areas: health and wellbeing, education and learner experiences, educational attainment (see above). The second illustrates the support available for children, young people and their families to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 (see below).

Images by Education Scotland Foghlam Alba & The Scottish Attainment Challenge

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Anne Charlotte Callerstig and Tuncer Fatma.

A need to show empathy

People’s everyday life and study situation had changed drastically because of the pandemic. There were a lot fewer opportunities for physical social contact. This raised an even greater need to show empathy and compassion for each other and placed a great emphasis on the importance of continuing to work with fundamental values in mind, especially in digital classrooms. The Raoul Wallenberg Academy (RWA) is able to provide the previously mentioned materials because it is a fundraising organisation committed to anti-racism, anti-discrimination, and anti-xenophobia.

A toolkit to spread compassion

The RWA decided to offer its expertise in a digital format and free of charge by developing a digital kit for teachers with school materials. These materials were meant for both direct use in digital classrooms and for supporting teachers and educators behind the scenes. They included: a list of 10 things teachers could do to spread compassion in times of crisis; a list of 100 ways/challenges to create a better world (which could be shared with students); lessons about human rights; a tool consisting of a film to be shared with students and a teacher’s guide to help prevent racism and discrimination; a free digital seminar in ‘self-leadership’ that kept students and teachers feeling motivated; a video ‘channel’ for teachers made by teachers, who share tips on civil courage, self-leadership and involvement of students in the classroom; and free digital workshops for teachers, as long as the pandemic kept going. All of these tools and materials were (and are still) available on the RWA’s website.

Image by Raoul Wallenberg Academy

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Ewelina Ciaputa.

The ‘Remote School’ programme (‘Zdalna szkoła’) was started to facilitate remote education in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides the measures targeting teachers and educators, there were also aspects of the programme that were designed to assist young people and children in education, as well as their parents.

Supporting teachers in acquiring competencies related to distance learning and digital technologies

The ‘Remote School’ programme, started during the first wave of the pandemic in Poland, had the objective of supporting the education system through various measures when it had to move online. Firstly, teachers (employed in kindergartens, primary schools, and secondary schools) were granted higher quality support and training from the state, especially with regard to remote education. This initiative, given the majority female composition of the teaching profession, particularly improved the competences of female teachers related to distance learning and digital technologies. Teachers were also eligible to receive 500 zloty (about €100) for the purchase of needed digital equipment. The programme also provided internet access to both teachers and students who did not have adequate access previously.

A similar initiative in higher education institution

Eventually, these initiatives were expanded through a similar programme aimed at the qualitative improvement of remote learning at non-public universities, helping educators in higher education institutions to give compelling lectures at a distance.

Image by Hatice Erol on Pixabay

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Vanda Maufras Cernohorska.

SYPO, standing for the System of Support for the Professional Development of Teachers and School Heads, was launched in 2018 by the National Pedagogical Institute of the Czech Republic. When lockdowns were instituted in the Czech Republic, this already existing project provided useful tools to teachers who suddenly found themselves in a (mostly) digital work environment.

An existing system to support teachers

The SYPO Project is an EU- and Czech-funded project that provides support to teachers and principals of kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, and higher vocational schools. It assists educators in the development of various personal and professional skills through the use of trainings and, increasingly so during the pandemic, virtual support tools like webinars, a dedicated forum and other online resources.

A useful resource in times of pandemic

When the first state of emergency was instituted in the Czech Republic in March 2020, the project focused on online teaching and online communication, which allowed teachers to keep connecting with their students in both a digital and an interpersonal sense despite the sudden and widespread adoption of digital education. Moreover, it offers support related to various other digital issues, like digital infrastructure and using ICT for the management of schools.

The SYPO website also offers webinars in specific subjects for teachers to brush up their knowledge and skills, available after registering. These topics range from Czech literature and language to (applied) mathematics to special topics for beginning teachers that allow them to start their careers more smoothly.

By 2021, the tool proved successful, with the webinars having been watched more than 150,000 times and with the forum for teachers being used frequently.

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Vanda Maufras Cernohorska.

The adverse effects of long-lasting school closures

On March 11, 2020, the Czech government issued a full stop of in-person lessons in primary and secondary school institutions. Schoolchildren (elementary and kindergarten) first started to come back towards the end of May 2020, though the operation of schools was again reduced from mid-October 2020 onwards and they only reopened at the end of November/beginning of December 2020. Another closure came at the beginning of January 2021, with youths and children only starting to come back in mid-April and an overall reopening at the end of May 2021. The long-lasting school closure impacted not only children (and potentially widened existing inequalities related to education and class/socio-economic background) but also meant additional stress and workload for parents (mainly women), who had to support and oversee their children’s education, and teachers.

A series of interactive school lessons broadcast live throughout most of the pandemic

Czech Television created a series of live interactive school classes called TV Teacher [UčíTelka]. These were broadcast to children at an elementary school level every day between 9.00 – 12.00, while the afternoon programme targeted older pupils. The initiative was launched right after the first closure of schools in March 2020, reacting quickly to the unfolding crisis and compensating for the initial lack of government-issued materials, guidelines or programmes that could have assisted parents and schools with remote learning. The offered classes included mathematics, Czech language and social sciences, while other subjects like foreign languages and PE were added later. The project was reintroduced every time the schools were closed down again, effectively broadcasting during most of the pandemic (with the exception of summer and early fall 2020). The show’s content was created in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Czech Television later launched a dedicated website with additional educational materials, videos, etc. The initiative received lots of praise from both parents as well as teachers of elementary school pupils, who during the first COVID-19 wave received little to no guidance from the Ministry of Education. This type of initiative could feasibly be adapted to other national contexts in crisis situations.  

Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Suzanne de Cheveigné.

As national lockdowns led to the widespread adoption of remote learning across France, various issues, such as the digital divide, aroused or were exacerbated.

Policy measures addressing the growing digital gap

During the pandemic, the French government implemented policy measures to address four issues that arose in education. Firstly, it tried to address the growing digital divide in two ways: by allowing digitally disconnected students to receive and send back their homework by post (free of charge), and by distributing 330,000 tablets and laptops to families who experienced difficulties (as identified by schools). Secondly, there was the increased risk of school drop-outs due to the physical closure of schools and colleges. To address this development, a mentoring system was developed for pupils at risk of dropping out: teams were set up per school that tried to maintain a close contact with these pupils (i.e., via text message or WhatsApp), so that they could swiftly return to school whenever they reopened. Other measures to stop drop-outs included the launch of a communication campaign on social media, the organisation of in-person courses during the summer, and allowing school staff to set aside hours for more personalised support of vulnerable pupils.

Specific actions for pupils most in need

Thirdly, action was taken to maintain a regular educational routine between teachers and students with disabilities and an already existing platform (called Cap École Inclusive) dedicated to gather information and resources for teachers working with disabled pupils. Lastly, dedicated tools and resources were created for pupils who did not speak French as their mother tongue. Important documents detailing the national emergency and the resulting school health protocols, for instance, were translated into twelve different languages.

Image by Hatice Erol on Pixabay

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Kristen Biehl.

The pandemic reinforced the need for internet

With the pandemic, people’s need for the internet has increased immensely. Many official institutions have started to perform their services online, people have started working online and education for children and youth has also moved online. For this reason, access to the internet has practically emerged as a basic human right. But many regions in Turkey still have rural areas that do not have access to the internet. In addition, most of the rural areas with internet infrastructure have insufficient capacity. The Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB) determined the need of its own rural villages in this regard and initiated a project called ‘Internet to Villages’, which has aimed to bring internet infrastructure to nearby villages.

Free internet and devices to access e-learning programmes

After the pandemic started, face-to-face education in Turkey ended and distance-online education began quickly. As a state policy, television channels called EBA were established, on which lectures were broadcast all day. At the same time, students continued their courses through the website established for the EBA. However, students who did not have access to the internet, especially those living in rural areas, had difficulty accessing the EBA distance education system. Some of the rural areas without internet access were also within the borders of the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.

As of December 2020, ABB has achieved their goal, completing the internet infrastructure of 928 villages. Citizens have started to benefit from the internet, which is offered over Wi-Fi, for free. The fact that the service was free was especially important for overcoming inequalities in the economy. In addition, common-use devices were provided for people who did not have a device to connect to the internet. In this way, students were able to continue their education with free internet. The municipality took this service to all rural villages with its own resources.

Photo by Giovanni Gagliardi on Unsplash