Among youngsters, in particular teenagers, in Japan and in recent times also in Western countries, we assist an increasing number of people who voluntarily decide to withdraw from society, cutting their relationships and social interests, a phenomenon known internationally as Hikikomori (from the Japanese “self-isolation”). The analysis on needs and level of awareness of the phenomenon among countries highlighted various issues, from a lack of reseach to a misleading representation on media, which often flatten the phenomenon to a mere addiction to internet and videogames.“Beyond the doorstep” intends to raise awareness and work on prevention on the topic of Hikikomori in the 4 countries involved (IT, TR, AL, BA). Through non formal methods in international workshops, local labs in schools and local Training of Trainers with educators, teachers, youth workers, the Consortium aims to work on prevention and awareness raising and on the correct representation and narrative of Hikikomori. Stakeholders, associations and institutions working on the topic will enrich the discussion and bring real cases and practices, which will be collected in an open access Toolkit and an OER traslated in all languages. Specifically, the partnership will work towards the following objectives:- Raising awareness on the phenomenon of Hikikomori among youngsters, families, youth associations, schools and institutions, conveying a correct narrative of the phenomenon, its possible causes and dynamics;- Training youth workers, educators and teachers to work on prevention and identify the signals of social withdrawal, providing with knowledge, techniques and materials for their local action;- Creating a network at local and international level to foster the recognition of Hikikomori and its integration among local and national priorities;- Contributing to the implementation of EU Youth Strategy and Youth goals, and supporting the development of youth work, especially in partner countries.

Today's scientists strongly believe that game is an important part of the human experience. Gamification is increasingly used in educational settings as a way to enhance student motivation and consequently learning outcomes. It is also a very evolving trend in youth work. Many researches show gamification in education can improve motivation and engagement, thanks to more participative and learner-centered tools. Furthermore, as the youth is the most dynamic social group exposed to the constant information flow and due to that being less responsive, the youth workers are constantly looking for new ways of engaging young people and communicating with them in their language. Gamification creates the opportunity to meet the needs of youth and its better involvement in different activities.To meet the needs of the youth workers in creating a new, more engaging, and participant-centered environment, the partnership of 6 countries (Italy, Greece, Spain, Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro) decided to design and implement the project GROW – Gamify youR yOuth Work. The project's main goal is to build the capacity of youth workers in the participating countries and beyond on gamification methods and innovative tools that can be used in their daily activities with young people, especially the ones with fewer opportunities. The GROW project focuses on creating a blended training course (including training curricula, video tutorials and handbook) for youth workers. Training will be delivered on the local training courses in each of the partner country and all the materials will be freely accessible on the project and partners’ websites and social media, to foster their reusability and sustainability. Furthermore, youth workers interested in the topic of gamification will gain an open space for the exchange of experience and good practice in a form of Community of Practice established during the project lifetime.

The 21st century demands raising skills and competences to respond to fast technological development and a shifting digital realm. Media literacy is defined as the ability to access, analyse, evaluate and communicate information and messages in various forms and online platforms. Digital skills are an essential component in using digital devices, communication applications, and networks to access and manage information. They are critical for job creation and social inclusion, enabling people to create and share digital content, communicate and collaborate, and at the same time, solve issues effectively by learning and participating in social activities at a larger scale. Young people are exposed to mass media daily; they watch television and movies, read books, newspapers and magazines online, listen to music and explore the internet. This broad spectrum of exposure to media outlets leads to the need for education about media literacy and digital skills.JOUR-YOU aims to develop and implement innovative methods and practices to foster inclusive activities and promote common values by enhancing the media literacy and digital skills and competences of young people. The project will build the capacity of youth NGOs to use innovative tools and practices, which encourage community engagement of young people through new media technologies. The project aims at developing youth work through the application of training materials and NFIL methods to enhance the critical thinking, media literacy, digital and leadership skills of youth and youth workers. The project consortium from 7 Programme and Partner countries will implement a set of capacity-building activities to reach the set objectives. They include a seminar of youth workers, training materials on citizen journalism (online course, training toolkit, best practices guide), international and local training activities on citizen journalism for Youth Workers and young people in each country and international competition.

The main objective of the VET4GSEB project is to transfer the experience and good practices in the field of VET from the EU countries to 4 third countries participating in the project. It intends to provide the national VET providers with adapted solutions, training materials, case studies, tools and guidelines, which will allow them to update their training practices and programs in order to meet the skills needs of the labour market in the building and RES sector. The objective will be reached by a series of activities using an innovative approach: trainers from VET providers from all participating countries will be provided with comprehensive information through an on-line networking Platform including:•Database of companies from the building and RES sector from all partners to update the information on the needs of the labour market in different countries;•Database of innovative training methods and tools, digital technologies implemented in the energy systems in smart buildings, innovative technical solutions for the application of PV systems in buildings; •Training materials on 5 modules and a Guidebook for the VET trainers.The partners from Bulgaria and Turkey, owing extensive experience in VET regarding new training methods, soft skills, smart electrical installations and PV systems in buildings, incl. the necessary digital skills for them, will create training materials in order to transfer their knowledge to the participants from third countries not associated to the Programme: Albania, Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine, through the networking Platform.Trainings for VET providers from all participating countries will be performed in 2 phases: 1 pilot training in English for 18 trainers and 6 national trainings for 10 trainers each - in national languages.The expected results are 78 up-skilled VET providers who will improve their training practices and deliver updated training, adapted to the new needs of the market for electricians from the RES s

Path4Med is a multi-participatory and multidisciplinary project that will pave clear pathways towards zero water and soil pollution in the agro-hydro-system of the Mediterranean sea basin and other European seas through an innovative triple bottom line approach achieving economic, social, and environmental sustainability to ensure human well-being and ecosystems functioning. Path4Med will advance and consolidate agricultural management technologies and solutions within an inclusive and open participatory environment, it will evolve and mainstream novel monitoring technologies and integrated solutions, it will assess the technical feasibility and socioeconomic viability of cascades of solutions through an integrated modelling framework, it will quantify the effectiveness and the net impact of these solutions, and ultimately it will empower Citizens to take action against pollution of soils, waters and the ocean, through clear measurable evidences, increased awareness, and water literacy. Path4Med pathways will be applied and demonstrated in large scale, integrated, Demonstration Sites established in representative Mediterranean areas, in areas representing other European seas and in associated regions. A digital platform and other relevant digital tools will be established to facilitate Path4Med actions, information and knowhow communication, and to support data exchange and data feeding to international Observatories and Knowledge Systems.