Avlijaš, Sonja Fitting an Octopus into the Serbian welfare state: the Hobotnica initiative All rights reserved info:eu-repo/semantics/dataset application/pdf 551281 bytes 2024 Social innovations in and with the welfare state startpage: 87 endpage: 115 eng https://phaidrabg.bg.ac.rs/o:35787 Keywords: Social innovations, Welfare state, Serbia, gender, woman European Union; Project Welar The "Hobotnica" project ("Octopus" in English) is a social innovation initiative in Serbia aimed at addressing the unpaid labour burden faced by rural women. Developed by national-level gender activists and implemented by a regional women's association, the project was designed to alleviate caregiving and household responsibilities, enhance physical and psychological well-being, and empower women in rural communities. The program provided modular, flexible services across various areas like health, education, legal aid, digital literacy, and social support, allowing women to tailor support to their specific needs. The service also generated broader positive impacts on the users, such as increasing their social connectivity and opening new economic opportunities to them. A unique aspect of Hobotnica is its structure, designed to be adaptable to local contexts with limited resources. By targeting rural women, who are often marginalised in both social policy and economic opportunities, the project highlighted the intersectional challenges of gender, economic inequality, and geographic isolation. Through a user-centred design, it gathered insights on the needs of the women it served, underscoring the importance of addressing specific community needs, which are often overlooked in the more standardised social policy approaches. WeLaR is Horizon Europe research project examining the impact of digitalisation, globalisation, climate change and demographic shifts on labour markets and welfare states in Europe. It aims to improve the understanding of the individual and combined effects of these trends and to develop policy proposals fostering economic growth that is distributed fairly across society and generates opportunities for all. Grant agreement no. 101061388 Deliverable: D7.4 Due date: 11.2024.