CONTEXT AND NEEDOver 26 million - almost 29% of the 90 million young people aged 15-29 in the EU - are at risk of poverty and social exclusion when rated on the AROPE (at risk of poverty or exclusion) scale. These young people desperately need high quality, accessible opportunities to participate in, and contribute to, their communities. Partners from Belgium, PT, UK, Italy, Spain, France and Romania will be collaborating on working with Innovation Intelligence and Fundraising as an innovative and engaging tool to promote youth participation.Through enhancing the capability and the skills of the youth workers and of young people in the domain of innovation intelligence and fundraising, this project has the long term obective to give young people a chance to increase their commitment and participation to civil society life. OBJECTIVES AND METHODSThe project will produce - with elements co-created and tested with 60 young people (15 per partner):- a Toolkit for youth workers, youth organizations and young people, useful in general to all those who want to take part in a fundraising activity and to be involved in a process to increase organizational intelligence in the sense of innovation - a -coaching set and a knowledge community - a training camp for young people from each partner. The camp will focus on co-creating with the young people elements of the toolkit and coaching sets. - an evaluation framework to assess the impact of takeover days using participatory methods INNOVATIONThe project provides youth workers in BE, ES, PT, UK, RO with new ways of using informal learning to encourage the participation of young people, to help youth workers and young people to increase their participation and their commitment to the Youth Environment

The European Commission adopted a Women’s Charter on 5 March 2010 and committed to strengthening gender equality in all its policies. To translate the Women’s Charter’s objectives into reality, the EC adopted an action plan for promoting equality between men and women –the Gender Equality Strategy.“The actions in the Strategy will help us address some of the remaining gender gaps.The gender gap in the employment rate was 12 percentage points in 2009. We will work to improve women’s participation in the labour market by facilitating the work-life balance, promoting female entrepreneurship,” declared Viviane Reding, former Vice-President of the European Commission Justice, in “Strategy for equality between women and men” 2010-2015.This project raised awareness of equal opportunities especially in VET education and promoted entrepreneurship education as a solution to gender gap in the employment rate. To reach the Europe 2020 objective of a 75% employment rate,particular attention needed to be given to the proportion of female entrepreneurs, at 33% (30% in start-ups),which was some way short of optimum and most women still do not consider entrepreneurship as a relevant career option. Young women should also benefit from the growing emphasis on entrepreneurship as one of the basic skills that schools should teach all pupils, girls or boys.The development of entrepreneurial mindsets is becoming embedded in policy across Europe.It is this new approach that the project experimented in the partners’ organizations, institutions and schools.The GEEA aimed at:• forming a Strategic Partnership of organizations which raised awareness on equal opportunities/ gender equality preparing our target group for the labor market• devising tools to examine gender issues and offer guidance • producing a series of core publications • establishing means and methods for participants to share their experiences, products and expertise • creating a new approach to promoting entrepreneurship education as a solution to gender gap in the employment rate• enhancing value to existing best practice by widespread dissemination • connecting to national and European initiativesThe target group included:1.key stakeholders, policy formulators and decision makers;NGOs,Women Associations,Trade Unions,companies, SMEs,Social enterprises.2.Vet teachers, Primary/secondary teachers,teacher trainers,student teachers, educators, inspectors.The real beneficiaries were our VET students and in the long run those who joined (and are still joining) this type of education later as they are now in lower secondary or primary school.To achieve this, GEEA:1. undertook research and published the “state of the art”2. produced a Code of Practice for decision makers,policy makers, teachers, headteachers, managers of adult education organizations and leaders of NGOs on equal opportunities and gender equality issues.3. trained young female entrepreneurs4. needed analysis for training teachers,student teachers and teacher trainers5. examined pedagogical approaches6. produced a Training Programme and Guidance resources for teachers and educators and a Student Kit 7. created a Web site with services offering access to materials,8.created an online community, training opportunities and GEEA products, research reports, resources, B-learning TP etc;8. disseminated GEEA and widen the community via the extended networks of partners.The main results of the GEEA project are: O1.State of the Art General ReportO2.The Code of Practice was already marketed in the partners countries of the project plus EU-wide.( also in English)O3.INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON STUDY ON THE NEEDS OF DEVELOPING GENDER EQUALITY SKILLS IN RELATION TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRANSVERSAL COMPETENCESO4.EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES/GENDER EQUALITY RELATED TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS THROUGH A PERSONALIZATION APPROACH TRAINING PROGRAMME O5.GUIDE BOOK FOR TEACHERS APPLYING THE GEEA B- LEARNING TRAINING PROGRAMMEO6.STUDENT KIT FOR GEEAO7.ADAPTATION OF TRAINING METHODS TO A B-LEARNING SYSTEM: DISTANCE (WEB ENVIRONMENT) AND WORKSHOP ON USABILITY OF THE PLATFORM AND TRAIN THE TRAINERO8 DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SPECIFIC CONTENTS AND PROGRAMME TAILORING TO EACH COUNTRY CHARACTERISTICS AND NEW TARGET AUDIENCE AND INTENSIVE TRAINING SESSIONS - PILOTING1AND 2The legacy of GEEA project lies in its contribution to and clarifying issues being faced in Europe. It is concerned with the information-rich society, hungry for quick answers but too rarely considering the consequences and outcomes related to it. GEEA outcomes help a range of stakeholders establish their objectives to meet the needs of gender equality-aware citizens. Therefore important competence areas are addressed.It is envisaged that the outcomes are sustainable as increasing numbers of schools, training providers and other training organizations look to adopt and adapt personalized learning method used in the TP.

Students face school failure especially at 9th grade but they face school dropout and school leave problems especially at 8th and 10th grades. In 2017,in Osmaniye, 2142 9th and 10th grade students dropout their schools. The rate was around 15% in Osmaniye, more than 10%in Maramureş,17,8% and 19,3% at different grades in Paredes and15% in Greece .In project application period school failure and school dropout rates were very close to each other in partner countries. According to the Euro-stat database early school leavers from education and training of population aged 18-24 Turkey,Spain ,Portugal and Romania were in the first lines.If we couldn't have taken measures at secondary or lower secondary levels the population of unqualified or illiterate workforce rates would have been higher than 2020 targets. Moreover academically unsuccessful students failed to set goals for their future. And in the long run it became a big problem for our city and country. These students would face problems in finding qualified jobs and this would effect their whole life. Although the countries had different cultural backgrounds,they had almost the same educational problems such as; -Early school leave, -Students' lack of learning motivation, -High rates of dropout and school failure due to disinvestment in school by parents and students -Unwillingness and lightheartedness at setting goals -Students looked after by single parents or grandparents Project Objectives were; - Decreasing school failure and dropout at secondary schools with outdoor learning interventions and effective use of eTwinning school clubs to improve students' sense of belonging to school and improving their academic success as well as raising parents' investment on their child's education. - Sharing best practices and good methodologies that help the educational community to solve their own problems; - Creating a learning community between partner regions, integrated local institutions as schools and non-profit organizations. PARTICIPANTS 120 teachers from partner schools took part in 'outdoor learning' and 120 teachers on 'eTwinning' training activities. So in each local partner schools in Turkey,Portugal,Greece and Romania, partner schools reached 50% of students in risk ,visited families ( around 800 parents) of those students, did various training activities and conferences for them. 50% of teachers were responsible for a school club and they guided club activities at his / her school and all of the students had to take part in one school club. With effective club activities we reached more than 2000 students. And all of the teachers were responsible for family visits and they did. During Covid 19 this is done by digital tools or phone. PROJECT ACTIVITIES WERE -To decrease students' school failure and improve their academic success partner school teachers were trained on the effective use of outdoor learning activities and eTwinning to increase students' learning motivation and academic success. -To develop feeling of belonging to school partner schools organized art activities and eTwinning project at the end of each educational year. An exhibition was planned with the attendance of all local authorities, parents and teachers and students but because of Covid-19 pandemic partners did one virtual exhibition via artsteps web2.0 tool. -With e Twinning School Club activities students improved their use of ICT tools and English. With e Twinning projects students' understanding of different cultures and paying respect to cultural differences developed. And teachers learned new methodologies from their colleagues in partner schools. All teachers and students had gained the understanding of European Citizenship. -Each project partner team worked equally in parents training about the importance of parents investment in children's education and respecting teens. All the project activities were done student centered. RESULT and IMPACT Outdoor Learning Activities for students facing school failure and school leave and making school more livelier via eTwinning and Art school clubs , understood well in national and European level.The importance of family investment in school and their students was understood and accepted by students' families via family visits and workshop activities in small groups of parents. With the decrease level of school failure and school dropout at partner schools, the partner institutions become more visible in local and national level with the increase in school success and decrease in school absenteeism and became visible at European level with the eTwinning projects created by project partner schools (My Heritage My City) and other partners from European schools.

<< Background >>The mental health challenges that have erupted due to the quarantine and social distancing measures as a result of Covid-19, accentuated the need to introduce new technologies which will ensure their social participation and inclusion in the digital age. Active ageing and social wellbeing importantly, stand as an integral part for a progressive and inclusive society. WHO estimates that between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world's population over 60 years will nearly double from 12% to 22%, emphasizing the need to create innovative solutions which will curb social challenges and mental health challenges the population faces. Considering the increasing number of the growing population of the elderly and the rising phenomena of social isolation and loneliness among seniors in the EU, promoting wellbeing can prevent social isolation among seniors. According to AGE Platform EU, seniors are more likely to develop depression symptoms which lead into higher risks of suicide compared to other groups of population. To this extent, the 2019 Active Ageing Index stressed that the capacity of seniors to socially participate is strongly connected with receiving education, e-literacy and mental health. EC notes that in 2019, 18% of adults in Europe face social isolation while the majority refers to the seniors’ population who find obstacles in engaging in social activities due to social and health constraints. The global pandemic has put into a sharp relief the necessity to develop ICT-technologies which promote mental health, education and lifelong learning for seniors in relation to the digital transformation to ensure their social and digital participation. Moreover, WHO Europe demonstrates that the mental health crisis in Europe refers to the anxieties around virus transmission, the psychological impact of lockdowns and self-isolation, financial worries and social exclusion which all will have a long-term impact and far-reaching. For instance, mental health services have been stretched and reduced as a result of pandemic and there is a decreasing likelihood that they will be able to be reconstructed soon. Based on the EU Agenda for Adult learning ‘highlights the need to significantly increase adult participation in formal, non-formal and informal learning whether to acquire work skills, for active citizenship, or for personal development and fulfilment’.However, digital illiterate seniors find it more difficult to operate their smart phones, have lower computer skills and a different approach should be developed when introducing seniors in modern gadgets as they were mostly not introduced to e-learning from an early age. Seniors face a number of challenges, such as they mostly live alone, face mobility restrictions and one of their aspirations as reflected in the Active Ageing Index, is to live independently securing social inclusion and civic engagement.Moreover, the EU Committee of the Regions stresses the importance of recognising the value of volunteering and its capacity to increase the performance of the European economy. Eurostat emphasises the role of seniors in society and the necessity to bridge the generational gap by the development of opportunities to exchange ideas. The Treaty of Lisbon moreover made inter-generational solidarity an explicit aim for the functioning of the EU. The Council endorsed in 2012 the Guiding Principles on Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations which focuses on promoting participation in society including social inclusion, lifelong learning and senior volunteering. The project emphasises the need to develop a digital driven intergenerational programme based on volunteering principles and advance the competences of professionals working with seniors to be able to support their mental health through digital means.<< Objectives >>The main objectives are to ensure social inclusion, civic engagement, active participation in the society and mental wellbeing of seniors. The project seeks to address the need of developing innovative tools which will promote active ageing of seniors as well as upgrade the services provided by adult educators and organisations that work directly with the group. Specifically, the project aims:-To promote innovative methods and pedagogies used by adult educators -To develop learning materials and tools as well as actions that support the effective use of ICTs in E&T-To enhance access, participation and learning performance for seniors-To promote recognition as well as transparency and comparability of learning outcomes ant to promote innovative solutions for the recognition and supporting the validation through the use of OPEN BADGES-To promote social inclusion through innovative and integrated approaches by enhancing mental health of seniors facilitate social cohesion.-To enhance ownership of shared values, equality, social inclusion, diversity and non-discrimination through acquiring mental health skills and competences.-To support and assess new approaches by reducing disparities in accessing and engaging with formal and non-formal education regarding the introduction and provision of mental health intervention programmes.-To encourage the establishment of sustainable links between organisations active in education, training, health community and the society at large including at the local and the regional level.-To facilitate intergenerational learning between older and younger generations;-To offer the opportunity to exchange ideas, share experiences and knowledge which will impact on the wellbeing of seniors and younger generations will engage in volunteering programmes;-To promote digital skills for seniors in order to enable their integration in the digital era;-To increase social participation, digital inclusion and prevent loneliness and mental health challenges among seniors-To enable active citizenship and civic engagement of seniors in today’s digital era-To curb the challenges erupted by Covid-19 especially in regards to social isolation and rise of anxiety and exclusion of seniors-To promote volunteering ideals for Younger generations by providing motivations and engagement in volunteering work-To address the need of digital transformation through development of digital readiness, resilience and capacity for adult educators and seniors through the development of a PROGRAMME that targets ADULT EDUCATORS and professionals working directly with seniors such as experts, social workers, gerontologists etc. -To advance digital and life-skills skills and competences of all the population through the e-ACADEMY and the MOBILE APP to be developed.<< Implementation >>The project aims to design, develop, pilot-test and offer an IT solution in the form of a web platform and a mobile application that will address the societal challenges such as social isolation-loneliness, mobility, mental health, wellbeing, LLL and distress of seniors enlarged by the current global pandemic, as well as, offer the opportunity to create a sustainable volunteering and mentoring system for the elderly with the support of younger people ensuring distance learning for digital inclusion. Toward this aim the following activities will be implemented:R.1-A1. Map out the current programmes offered to seniors at the regional level which promote mental wellbeing through digital means during the pandemic-A2. Develop synergies with programmes’ providers-A3. Create the Handbook-Methodology in which the Programme will be based on to guide stakeholders of the main elements of the programme and how should be usedR.2-A1. Create the Competence Framework for Active Ageing which will identify the main topics and skills that seniors need to obtain and to be included in the Educational Pack -A2. Develop the Educational and Active Ageing Activities Pack for both Seniors and Adult Educators, YP (Volunteers). -A3. Prepare the Blended Professional Development Course for Adult Educators and Capacity-Building Training for volunteers R.3-A1. Partners will create the e-Academy to include the project results in R2-A2. Develop the MOBILE APP in which the elements of recruitment – between seniors and volunteers-A3. Develop the e-learning platform for YP and Adult Educators. R.4-A1. Create the Campaign at the local and regional levels by using social media and traditional media tools-A2. Design the STRONG2GETHER TOOL KIT for setting up the Programme in the Community. -A3. Evaluate the Programme to adult educators, YP and Seniors-Conduct an upscaling and policy recommendation pack Moreover, the Train-the-Trainer activity (C1) will provide the opportunity for trainers within partner organisations to gained adequate and efficient knowledge on the guidelines of using the programme.<< Results >>Through the above-mentioned activities the following results are anticipated:R.1 -THE STRONG2GETHER INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAMME: HANDBOOK –METHODOLOGY to guide on how the programme can be used by organisations. It will include the criteria to become as volunteer, the validation methods, the role of EXPERTS (organisations that supervisor the recruitment process between Young People and Seniors). R.2 -The STRONG2GETHER EDUCATIONAL AND ACTIVE AGEING ACTIVITIES PACK which will be based on the COMPETENCE FRAMEWORK for seniors sessions to improve mental wellbeing of seniors will be developed. -The BLENDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE FOR ADULT EDUCATORS AND CAPACITY TRAINING FOR COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS to include didactic guidelines for teaching seniors and a course for volunteers to be equipped with skills and competences to be able to teach seniors new skills through volunteering.R.3 -The MOBILE APP to integrate the recruitment tool between volunteers and seniors -The e-learning platform for volunteers and Adult Educators -The e-ACADEMY platform for SENIORS -A Manual of how the these can be usedR.4 -The TOOL KIT and a Policy recommendation pack will be developed to identify currents needs and gaps in the EU agenda of Active Ageing regarding digital transformation programmes for seniors in the age of Covid-19.The TOOL KIT will include the following:•In-service training of adult educators for professional development focusing on how digital tools can be used to advance active ageing support to seniors•e-Mapping TOOL with digital storytelling videos/written content of seniors and adult educators and providers’ names •Handbook-Methodology in which the Programme is designed (R1)•Competence Framework of Seniors and Educational Pack•BLENDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE FOR ADULT EDUCATORS AND CAPACITY-BUILDING TRAINING FOR COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS•e-Learning platform for Volunteers and Adult Educators, e-ACADEMY for seniors and a MOBILE APP•Web-RadioAmong the outcomes are:-Advance the programmes offered to seniors for increasing mental wellbeing and civic engagement-Upgrade the profile of adult educators working with seniors such as physicians, social workers, trainers, gerontologists etc.-Provide information on the programmes provided at an EU level which will help interested parties to find relevant information and look up for the providers-Define the topics of importance and interest to be included in the ACTIVE AGEING PACK, the TRAINING COURSES for Adult Educators and Young People -Improve civic engagement of seniors through intergenerational learning opportunities that will be placed through the MOBILE APP -Offer the opportunity to Young People to be professionally developed through acquiring the VOLUNTEER Open Badge, their involvement in the organisation of events, live-shows, podcasting etc. and at the same time enhance volunteering ideals.

The tourism sector accounts for almost 25 million jobs in Europe (around 11% of the total employment). The sector provides employment both to highly qualified, as well as to low-skilled workers. It offers job opportunities to both workers who enter the job market for the first time and to people re-entering the job market. It is the largest employer of migrant workers, part-time workers, as well as female workers, and young people. However skills mismatch is among the fundamental problems hampering the competitiveness of the tourism industry. The competences acquired by tourism professionals at all levels of the skills spectrum during education and training often do not match the expected performance. Education providers have a limited understanding of the requirements of employers and expectations of travellers in terms of the service provided. The project partners highlighted the following NEEDS: -VET providers need to ameliorate the cooperation between them and companies to provide a market oriented training offer.-VET providers needs to increase the engagement of companies to be fully involved in training activities; - VET providers needs to provide VET students with enhanced Work Based Learning methods and tools based on the full exploitation of ICT and multimedia. - WBL experiences (internships, apprenticeships and dual paths) are usually related to insufficient number of companies and as a consequence they lack in effectiveness for the trainees. In order to answer to these needs the project AIMS to: - Improve the cooperation between VET providers and companies so as to provide a market oriented training offer and business driven learning paths to the VET students of tourism and enogastronomy - Offer work based learning opportunities (internships, apprenticeships and dual paths) to VET students and improve their effectiveness - Enhance the participation of company managers and responsible of the human resources in the matching their expectations through their contribution to the planning of VET initiatives overcoming the barriers that obstacle their full commitment in cooperating with the VET providers; - Improve the accessibility and internationalization of the VET training offer and of work based learning approaches through the exploitation of ICT The project developed 2 Intellectual Outputs: Intellectual Output 1) On line platform for promoting WBL in the tourism and enogastronomy fields The online platform is organized in different sections: - International WBL Database. This area of the platform contain the profiles of VET students that are interested to carry out their placement at local, regional or international level through an in person or an online WBL experience. This area also contain the profiles of the companies that operate in the tourism and eno-gastronomy sectors and that are interested in hosting VET students for WBL experiences. - Repository of e-learning based video interviews in the fields of tourism and enogastronomy. The e-learning based interviews prepare VET students for local, regional, national or international work placements, acquiring the specific requirements that are necessary to work in the different countries represented within the project partnership (e.g. how to promote a rural house and how to organize activities for it in Italy or Romania). - Repository of video testimonials and interviews delivered by VET students and entrepreneurs that have participate in a WBL experience in the tourism and enogastronomy sector either local or international or in person or On Line highlighting the benefits, the skills acquired, the impact in terms of employability and the benefits for the enterprise. Intellectual Output 2: Guidelines for the organization of WBL local, regional, national or international initiatives in the fields of tourism and eno-gastronomy. - The Guidelines for the organisation of quality local, regional, national or international placement were organized as a package of easy to use tools to effectively plan, organize, follow up and evaluate WBL experiences in the field of tourism and eno-gastronomy to be implemented at local, regional, national or international level either on-site or on line. The quantitative impact of the project on its main target groups is - 40 VET teachers/VET trainers being involved in the project activities Each VET trainer tested the two Intellectual outputs with an average of 70 VET students, leading to a total of: - 2100 VET students involved and therefore benefiting from the project. At least 10 companies’ managers and VET trainers in each country were involved in the production of the Video didactic interviews and 10 company manages to register the video testimonials.The online platform and guides were sent to all teacher training center in Romania and to highschools where students study tourism and enogastronomy. All teachers and students have access to all videos and materials.