Off The Beaten Track has made a profound impact on women changemakers in Slovakia: learn why

Off The Beaten Track has successfully proven its crucial importance in improving the skills and confidence of numerous female leadership representatives from European Union countries. The Erasmus+ supported project has aimed to empower adult women (30+ years) to foster innovative approaches when bridging CCSs from the UNWTO Action Plan, 2010, with tourism.

Learn more about the direct impact on some of its members who have continuously worked on the project’s assignments, attended its meetings and workshops, and gathered the know-how to promote networking and diversity for different backgrounds and ideas. These female representatives also participated in another EU-supported project via the Visit Košice organization. The CulTourData project aims to interconnect the multidisciplinary field of tourism, creative and cultural industries, and digital sectors to bring about innovative solutions and support for entrepreneurs.

Numerous countries have brainstormed together

The Off the Beaten Track project attendees gathered from all over Europe—industries and non-profit sectors from Italy, Spain, Estonia, and Slovakia met for the first time to discuss and brainstorm during the accompanying activities of the project. Consequently, we can look up to these female role models managing their businesses or projects and use them as examples for our creativity search and brand awareness. Visit Košice, a destination marketing organization from Slovakia, has supported several women standing behind successful brands in the city. Find out more about Andrea Bobbová and Iveta Niňajová in the following paragraphs.

The escape-room boss praises the continual experience of sharing

Andrea Bobbová is a young entrepreneur who manages an entertaining set of escape rooms in Košice, TheRooms, designed to attract curious visitors to the city, as well as the loyal local patriots looking for new ways of adventure in their spare time to connect with their city. Andrea has joined the project Off The Beaten Track, participated in the educational training in Matera,  and today emphasizes one of its greatest takeaways in the form of the financial reservation system that her enterprise was granted access to thanks to another project CulTourData. On top of that, Andrea also praises the advantages of the project—the lower difficulty when dealing with the grant-scheme administration, and, therefore, being supported by the local destination marketing organization Visit Košice, to join the project.

Andrea has also pointed out that while joining the project she connected with other female entrepreneurs who are also mothers when behind the work curtain. ‘I realized that many women have different working conditions in other countries. I see the challenges mothers-entrepreneurs need to face as incredible obstacles when trying to run a successful business. However, I believe these problems must be addressed at the governmental level to make a difference. Last but not least, I can see that every experience transferred from one woman to another speeds up the process and saves a lot of extra time while acquiring the know-how on your own, especially in fields dominated by men.’

Female-based environments may equal less rivalry and competition

Iveta Niňajová has expressed gratitude for taking the initiative and joining Off The Beaten Track and CulTourData projects. She commented on gaining the courage and strength to stand firm behind her digital project in the tourism industry. Secondly, Iveta expressed that the project appeared particularly attendee-supportive and friendly as many of its other women changemakers were willing to share their expertise and ideas. Thus, according to Iveta, this seemed much more different from male-dominated environments that might sometimes share a certain degree of rivalry and competition-driven vibe.

Moreover, Iveta also underlines the importance of socializing, sharing, networking, and cooperation she has gained from joining the project. ‘I truly appreciate when someone creates a platform later shared with others from international projects and businesses. I value and cherish all the informal conversations I had during the project meetings when I could have established deeper and more personal relationships with its attendees. A closer bond leads to a more supportive environment and an emphasis on trust.’

Check out other insights on the ongoing development of the Erasmus+ project Off-The-Beaten-Track on their website and increase your knowledge on leading a successful business!