<< Background >>The project addresses the PROBLEM of insufficient education and awareness of adults of harmful substances in cosmetics, cleaning and washing products (further referred as: cosmetic products) and their incorrect selection and use, which leads to negative impact on their health, health of their families and the environment. Our project is in line with the “EU's chemicals strategy for sustainability towards a toxic-free environment” (2020) which is a part of the EU's zero pollution ambitions (being a key commitment of the EU Green Deal). The strategy aims at better protection of citizens and the environment and calls for actions which would promote the EU's resilience, establishing a simpler “one substance one assessment” process for the risk and hazard assessment of chemicals and increasing the awareness and education of consumers. Thus, our project shows a high relevance to the current strategic focus of the European Union which reflects in strategies of particular EU countries. Our aim is to fill the gaps where industry and government do not efficiently act. Companies are allowed to use almost any ingredient they wish. Czech, Slovak and Slovenia Governments don't review the safety of products before they're sold. Some dangerous ingredients are prohibited but many of them are used anyway. By educating adults we can prevent use of harmful cosmetic products, positively impact their health and protect the environment. The CAUSES of the problem lay in:1/ Lack or insufficient offer of reliable and quality adult education regarding harmful substances in cosmetic products and their responsible use;2/ Lack of methodological support and training for adult educators in the field of healthy and responsible use of cosmetic products by adults;3/ Insufficient ability of consumers to distinguish harmful substances in products and lack of time to find out information about the product ingredients;4/ The absence of a freely accessible platform of educational character where consumers could find all the necessary information about the composition and effects of the products and educate themselves. The CONSEQUENCES of insufficient solving of this situation lead to increase in allergies, diseases and consumer hypersensitivity to certain substances in products and increased environmental pollution due to the use of products containing harmful substances.<< Objectives >>OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT:1/ The main objective of the project is to raise awareness and increase the education of adults about harmful substances in cosmetics, cleaning and washing products and to create an innovative learning content and related tools through which adults will acquire knowledge and skills to correctly select and use healthy products. By 31.10.2023 we aim to train min. 90 adults via pilot testing and expect min. 75% successful graduation rate related to final assessment of substantial increase in their knowledge, skills and competences. Plus another 1,800 adults using the final products.2/ The project also aims to increase the knowledge and professional skills of adult educators who lack methodological tools which would enable them to provide targeted education to adults in this area. By 31.10.2023 we aim to produce min. trained and skilled 15 adult educators, plus another 30 using the products. TARGET GROUPS are:1/ Adult learners: especially mothers, mothers on maternity or parental leave or potential mothers who are the primary purchasers of cosmetic products for their families. Secondarily the project's results will be useful also for people with health problems such as allergies, skin diseases, hypersensitivity and young professionals who are actively interested in a healthy lifestyle and environment and wider adult audience. In total we will involve min. 90 adult learners in 3 partner countries (ca. 40 in CZ, 25 in SK, 25 in SI) in full pilot testing. Besides, we will reach another 1,800 adult learners in 3 partner countries (ca. 1000 in CZ, 400 in SK, 400 in SI) who will download the app and access and use the educational platform and related tools. 2/ Adult educators: active in providing education, counselling and training for adults in the field of healthy and responsible use of cosmetic products, healthy lifestyle, environmental education, environmental ethics etc. In total we will involve min. 15 adult educators in pilot testing (ca. 5 in each country) who will participate in face-to-face/online training and provide feedback and suggestions for improvement to the project expert team. We expect to attract another at ca. 30 adult educators through our dissemination activities.<< Implementation >>The ACTIVITIES are planned in a logical chronology to achieve the objectives and deliver expected results efficiently. Reaching the objectives will be assessed by impact assessment in 9-10/202311/2021: Start of the project, Preparatory work for the kick-off meeting.12/2021: TPM1 Kick-off meeting (Prague, Czech Republic) - Setting up guidelines, procedures, work breakdown structure, time schedule etc. regarding project management and implementation, communication, monitoring and evaluation.1-4/2022: IO development - online work.5/2022: TPM2 Progress meeting (Bratislava, Slovakia) - Revising IO progress development, plan for further IO development. Plan for recruitment of project participants.9-10/2022: IO development - online work, Preparation and recruitment of project participants.11/2022: TPM3 Progress Meeting (Velenje, Slovenia) - Revising IO progress development. Review of recruitment process for piloting. Elaborating plan for pilot testing, discussing pilot implementation details and its ongoing monitoring.12/2022-5/2023: Piloting of IO. Further development of IO based on continuous feedback from participants.6/2023: TPM4 - Progress and Evaluation meeting (Prague, Czech Republic) - Evaluation of pilot results and incorporation of feedback into IO. Discussing preparation of multiplier events. Discussing reached results and impact, dissemination and sustainability plans.7-8/2023: Further evaluation of pilot results, finalisation of IO, dissemination.9/2023: Dissemination and finalisation of IO. Preparation, implementation and evaluation of Multiplier events. 9-10/2023: Dissemination, final evaluation, reporting.<< Results >>The planned RESULTS of the project ACTIVITIES include:1/ INTELLECTUAL OUTPUT GreenGate - consisting of:-Educational portal with interactive learning content-Mobile app and database of products and ingredients-Methodological toolkit for adult educators-Blog-B-Book 22/ MULTIPLIER EVENTS (3 events in CZ, SK, SI - in total 150 participants)3/ TRANSNATIONAL PROJECT MEETINGS (4 TPMs in CZ 2x, SK, SI)4/ PILOT TEST OF DEVELOPED TOOLS5/ PROJECT DOCUMENTATION AND DISSEMINATION RESULTS The expected IMPACT on adult learners will result in increased awareness, knowledge and skills to distinguish harmful ingredients in cosmetic products, increased ability to find reliable sources of information and choose healthier products, increased environmentally friendly behaviour, reduced health problems etc. Adult educators will be positively impacted by enhanced didactic and methodological skills and increased ability to design and implement their own training programmes. The project will also positively impact participating partner organisations through broadened contacts, increased quality of their educational offer and risen public awareness. Positive impact will be also visible by involved stakeholders who will be given high-quality data and ready-to-use tools for their educational, awareness-raising and advocacy activities regarding environmental education and ethics.

A briefing for headteachers, governors and staff in education settings, published in 2014 by Public Health England, states that it is already proven that students with better health and wellbeing are likely to achieve better academically, as well as that effective social and emotional competencies are associated with greater health and wellbeing, and better achievement in life. Within the VET sector teachers and trainers predominantly focus on developing students’ vocational knowledge and skills. Nevertheless, educational and professional accomplishment is determined to a great extent by good physical health, emotional wellbeing and opportunities for personal development. High quality, inclusive and flexible VET provision may prevent and remedy early school dropout, as well as contribute to enhancing students’ employability and potential for success in life. The WellVET project aimed to: • equip VET teachers with innovative knowledge and competences on how to enhance their students’ motivation to learn, practice and work; • to contribute to increasing the attainment levels among VET students; • to assist VET institutions and decision-makers in recognizing the interrelation between emotional wellbeing of students and their success in acquiring vocational knowledge and skills for higher employability; • to foster a truly inclusive education and training based on addressing the common need for wellbeing among students and trainees, with particular focus on those from difficult or disadvantaged backgrounds. Our transnational cooperation involved six organisations from five countries – the United Kingdom, Poland, Bulgaria, Greece and the Czech Republic. As a result of this project, a bespoke online training course was developed, which: - Elevates the role of the VET teacher from a “knowledge and skills provider” to a mentor, offering holistic support for students’ emotional, social and physical wellbeing. - Offers horizontal strategies to be applied across all vocational fields and subjects to contribute to increasing students’ motivation, attainment levels and wellbeing. - Produces a strong added value for VET teachers and encourage them to reflect on their own physical and emotional wellbeing as first condition for better occupational performance. As part of the implementation, extensive testing and evaluation to confirm the applicability and potential for multiplication and transferability of our course involved numerous target beneficiaries across the different countries. The benefits to these so far have been: for VET teachers - improved knowledge base on how to enhance students’ motivation to learn, practice and work through health and wellbeing mentoring; enhanced skill base to apply innovative holistic methods and techniques in VET to support the teaching process; enhanced competency levels to foster inclusive education where each student’s wellbeing matters; expanded professional development opportunities to match students’ real needs for comprehensive support; for other stakeholders - enhanced awareness of the necessity to foster students’ wellbeing to support their vocational and personal development; enhanced knowledge base on how to apply innovative methods to impact the VET system and enhance further its quality. We anticipate the further benefit as a result of teachers implementing what they have learned for VET students as an enhanced physical, mental and emotional wellbeing leading to increased attainment levels and subsequently employability; enhanced motivation to learn, practice and work. We strongly believe that inclusive education and training is built on caring for every student, getting to know and analyse individual needs not only concerning knowledge and skills but also with how and what students feel about themselves, the school environment, their professional aspirations and personal development. We are also convinced that the WellVET course can contribute to transforming VET into a system that caters for all students, irrespectively of their ethnic background, aptitudes, aspirations, since what is common for all of us is that wellbeing is the basic drive for our motivation to learn, work, live.The WellVET course and learning platform developed as the sole intellectual output of the project utilised perspectives from 5 different countries, involving a pilot study with 25 international participants. What we have achieved as a result is an online training programme consisting of 10 units which comprise our holistic approach to health and wellbeing. The learning methods used are designed to help VET teachers be able to implement the knowledge gained in supporting VET students. We see this as having long term benefits for students staying in education and having improved life outcomes.