Women’s Economic Empowerment WE (2) Design Labs

Program Description

Over this 32-month-program, World Learning will support eight Women’s Economic Empowerment WE (2) Design Labs across Algeria, assuring representation in communities with high potential for alternative energy development.

The Labs will use participatory design to engage women as drivers in identifying, addressing, and resolving the core economic barriers they face. As program creators in the Labs, Algerian women will have ownership and agency in the design and implementation of concrete strategies that improve employment and small-business creation in alignment with green energy and high-growth economic opportunities. Engagement with community stakeholders throughout the process will build sustainability into the resulting program designs and ensure ideas reflect the priorities of people with diverse backgrounds (i.e. age, education, socio-economic status, and gender).

The Labs are based on a citizen-centered, locally led strategy that utilizes training and technical tools to walk participants from civic ideation to action. The streamlined framework includes three design thinking steps: 1) Frame the problem, 2) Imagine the possible solutions, and 3) Make the ideas real.

Project Objectives:

The project will achieve two main objectives: 1) Empower local women to design and implement robust strategies to overcome barriers to employment and entrepreneurship in green energy and high-growth economic sectors. 2) Promote expanded opportunities for women to implement community projects that address key areas such as dismantling systemic gender barriers, promoting entrepreneurship and digital inclusion, and climate change.

Expected Outcomes:

• 50 women trained in participatory design strategies
• 8 total partners selected to implement Design Labs
• 120 women are empowered to design robust solutions to overcome barriers to economic opportunity
• 16 Female Participatory Design Facilitators develop robust design facilitation skills
• 8 Community Action Plans significantly increase the access of 800 women to high-growth economic opportunities
• Qualitative insights and outcomes inform future programming for women in Algeria via a Compendium of Community Action Plans for widespread sharing with stakeholders.