On 7 August 2024, the Centre for Social Integration signed a SOCO grant agreement No. 2024-1-LT01-KA210-ADU-000254733, Erasmus+, with the Foundation for Educational Exchange Support for the project ” Stress Out Chill Out: a digital sharing and mobility exchange for women professionals: exploring common mechanisms to reduce stress, increase positivity and cope with work-related anxiety”, with the support of the Foundation for Educational Exchange Support.
The aim of the SOCO project is to empower migrant women who are experiencing war-related stress and the challenges of living abroad. It is a programme to empower women from Ukraine who face the twin challenges of war-related stress and the difficulties of living abroad. The aim of the initiative is to help these women reduce stress, build resilience and overcome anxiety.
The SOCO project aims to have a lasting impact on the mental well-being of Ukrainian women and can also be extended to support other vulnerable groups. A comprehensive SOCO manual will be produced for a wide audience to ensure that the benefits of the project will be sustained beyond its lifetime. Stressed Out, Chill Out (SOCO) is a European project for Ukrainian women aged 25-55 who were forced to move abroad because of the war and are now struggling to find their feet in the new reality of Lithuania, Croatia, Greece and Ukraine. It aims to reach women affected by the war, as well as working mothers, women at different stages of their careers, professionals working across Europe, and people belonging to minorities and vulnerable groups.
The project will be implemented with partners from Croatia (Talent Zone Croatia) and Greece (POLITIKO KENTRO EKPAIDEYTIKON LARISAS).
The duration of the project is 12 months.
SOCO Partners Meeting in Greece
The SOCO (Stress Out, Chill Out) project’s international partners’ meeting in Greece took place in Larissa from 14-17 January 2025.
Project partners from Lithuania, Croatia and Greece shared good practices, examples from their countries and ideas that could help reduce stress and promote psychological well-being for women fleeing war. We had the extraordinary opportunity to visit the Koutsocherou Temporary Accommodation Centre (for refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, etc.), where we spent some inspiring moments with the kindergarten children of the refugee camp and their mums. The encounters and experiences of this visit proved that even in the most difficult circumstances, children and their mothers can radiate hope and strength.
