IMPROVE Consortium Meeting: Collaborative Research & Advancing the Chatbot
The IMPROVE Project Consortium met in San Sebastián, Spain, from October 19th to 20th, 2023, to enhance collaboration and share progress updates. The two-day in-person meeting was held at the University of Deusto campus.
Day 1: Progress and Insights
The meeting began with a warm welcome by Xabier Riezu, Vice Rector of the San Sebastián campus, and Ane Ferran Zubillaga, Faculty Dean of Social and Human Sciences. The agenda was introduced, and a round-table discussion allowed participants to present their contributions.
Participants focused on tasks from Work Package 1 (WP1), led by DHPOL, VICESSE, and CNRS. An update on the AinoAid chatbot in work package 2 (WP2), led by WE, was discussed. Updates on WP6 administration (led by ERS) and WP3 training platform (led by WWU) were provided.
To end the session the "Clotheslines Project" was introduced: We exhibited t-shirts telling the stories of the ones affected by gender-based violence and giving hope with positive messages. The production of the T-shirts was a collaborative effort involving our advisory board, partners, clients who sought their expertise for consultation, and students associated with Deusto Research. This initiative was inspired by our work on survivor interviews as part of our broader efforts addressing the issue of domestic violence.
In the evening, participants visited the Guardia Municipal de San Sebastián, where we learned about a united specialised in helping people in violent situations, mostly gender-based violence. Finally, the day ended at a waterfront networking event.
The IMPROVE project’s version of the Clothesline Project against gender-based violence
Day 2: Building the Future
Day 2 began with an overview of WP5's status, led by YOR, focusing on communication and dissemination. Strategies for stakeholder engagement were discussed, and a WP1 break-out session ran in parallel. Three concurrent sessions took place: Practitioner Meeting, Academic Meeting, and Advisory Board Meeting.
Finally, the session was summarised and the partners would start their journeys back to IMPROVE’s various partner countries.
The IMPROVE consortium anticipates the project's future work and the next consortium meeting and we thank our advisory board for their valuable feedback, and the University of Deusto, San Sebastián, for hosting us.
