ProQvi international women and youth association

Non-governmental non-profit organization ProQvi has been established in 2010 and started as a forum for women with a foreign background to meet and support each other’s ambitions, ideas, and learning. Through time, the activities within the organization have developed. From Saturday meetings when we were practising Swedish and training physically, we have moved on to the local society information support, swimming school for adult women and even widened our views to include youngsters’ and experimental events: culture festivals and exchanges. It is a non-profit non-governmental organization promoting women and youth empowerment, cultural meetings and active citizenship in segregated areas, primarily for women and young people. There are about 50 members in it and we work through personal coaching, opinion building, arranging events and projects to promote cross-sectoral collaboration, social entrepreneurship and intercultural dialogue. Our specific focus lies in raising the awareness and case studies of issues connected to the local policies and conditions for personal development, limitations and problematic premises where needs of an individual or a group of people get underprioritized due to lack of research, attention, knowledge or because of a strong tradition that has an inhibiting effect on local development. The social context that we operate in can be described as area with strong segregated values (e.i. conventional occupations, lack of interest for social innovations and entrepreneurship, a low value of education and career building, low trust in active citizenship position, high rate of inequality and hostile attitudes towards representatives of other ethnical groups).