CIVIL SOCIETY: 45 PRACTICES
The Non- Governmental Organization, Equal Society, was established in February 2010 with actions “Against Social Exclusion, Unemployment and Poverty”. Its principal objective is to raise awareness and inform citizens for the rights of equality and the non-discrimination in all areas of social life.
Read more: www.equalsociety.gr
In the last decade, Greece experienced an unprecedented increase in unemployment, as a consequence of the economic crisis, which affected the entire Greek population, while the effects of the crisis on vulnerable groups of the population were particularly negative. According to the available data of the Labor Force Survey for 2019[1], unemployment stands at 16.9%, while the difference in unemployment rates between men and women is significant (13.7% and 21% respectively). Overall, despite the policies that have been implemented, the unemployment rate, although significantly lower than in 2014, still remains higher than in 2009.
The planning of additional actions to combat unemployment is therefore considered imperative and the role of the private sector in this direction, and the undertaking of relevant initiatives by bodies with experience in employment matters, can contribute decisively to increasing employability.
In this context, Equal Society has designed and implements a nationwide initiative aimed at providing information on issues related to the labor market, education and rights. In particular, the "Open Gate" initiative of Equal Society aims to operate an online platform that offers information services to the general population, giving particular emphasis to the promotion of employment and education for members of vulnerable groups, such as for example women, young people, Roma, released from prison and people with disabilities.
[1] Hellenic Statistical Authority, Labor Force Survey: July 2019, Press Release, 10 October 2019
The initiative is addressed to professionals of social structures and Community Centers that provide advisory support for integration into the labor market, career guidance services and other services related to employment and education issues. The initiative contributes significantly to the services provided by the Community Centers, being a point of reference for the thematic units of the labor market and education and functioning as a parallel OAED. The staff of the Community Centers have the possibility to make use of the platform and obtain information in the context of the provision of counseling support for integration into the labor market, vocational guidance services and other services related to the issues of employment, education and human rights.
At the same time, the platform provides access to employers who want to post jobs or educational institutions who want to post seminars and other educational opportunities (scholarships, etc.). Finally, the platform has direct access to the unemployed as well as people who wish to change jobs.
The platform started operating in May 2019, while it has been integrated into the permanent actions and initiatives of Equal Society, thus ensuring the continuous offering of services to the beneficiaries of the initiative.
The design of the online platform was based on a participatory process, focusing on the needs of the potential beneficiaries as well as the professionals involved in the provision of advisory services to members of vulnerable social groups.
In particular, the design of the online platform is innovative as it was based on the results and experience of Equal Society from the long-term operation of the Information Structure for the Unemployed in the Region of the Ionian Islands, on the proposals of the staff of the said Structure, as well as on the results of qualitative research carried out in social structures operating in the municipality of Athens, Thessaloniki, Lefkada and Corfu. Regarding the latter, it should be noted that interviews were conducted with beneficiaries of the above structures with the aim of collecting data regarding the thematic sections that should be included on the platform as well as the jobs that should be posted. From these interviews it emerged that the platform should satisfy the following needs in terms of design and content:
Based on the above, and regarding the structure of the platform, it is pointed out that it contains the following thematic sections:
-Jobs in Greece (both in the public and private sectors)
-Jobs abroad (reference to the EURES web portal)
-Education and training
Also, a section entitled "Society" has been designed on the platform, in which articles and announcements are registered on issues concerning women, young people, people with disabilities, Roma, released from prison and refugees/immigrants.
Finally, a special section has been designed on the platform for the actions of the Community Centers, with the aim of providing relevant information and recognizing the important role played by these Centers in providing an integrated network of services to vulnerable social groups.
Overall, the platform is designed to provide smart job search options, innovative educational programs and recent articles and announcements on the labor market, entrepreneurship (including social entrepreneurship), education and human rights. The content of the platform is updated on a daily basis by collecting jobs, articles and other information from a multitude of websites, including however the source from which the information was taken.
The platform is able to provide information to all of the approximately 220,000 beneficiaries who visit the Community Centers as well as the social structures that operate during the said period in Greece. The platform can also be used by all the unemployed in Greece, as well as the general population as access to the platform is free.
The initiative is implemented nationwide through Equal Society's collaboration with Community Centers and other social structures and services.
The initiative is implemented with the support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Greece, as well as the cooperation of Community Centers and other social structures that operate at the local level throughout Greece. At the same time, Equal Society works closely with a number of public and private bodies for the constant updating of the platform. Equal Society also cooperates with the European job portal EURES to promote jobs abroad.
6 people who belong to the staff of Equal Society are employed for the operation and updating of the platform. In particular, 1 person provides technical support and maintenance services of the platform, 3 people are responsible for gathering and verifying the information collected, while 2 people are responsible for posting and publishing the information on the platform.
Through this initiative, Equal Society will expand and strengthen its cooperation with social structures, Community Centers and also with public and private bodies active in the field of employment and education. At the same time, it will expand the experience of the Organization in the implementation of actions aimed at promoting employment and education.
