<< Objectives >>SafeSpace4Youth aims to have a powerful impact on self-development on young people, strengthening their employability prospects through civic and social engagement whilst also recognising the value of youth work in creating safe spaces for young people to flourish and develop. We will work directly with youth workers and young people in their communities to become local advocates and peer leaders in promoting positive mental health and building transversal skills of youth through social action.<< Implementation >>SafeSpace4Youth with train 48 youth workers to use social action to engage at risk young people, empower 40 young people to act as peer leaders in their communities, develop tailored toolkits and educational resources to support the project objectives, host virtual and in-person training activities and showcase events and we will kick-start new social actions at local level on young mental health. All resources and materials developed will be accessible, open source and widely disseminated.<< Results >>1. SS4Y CPD Programme for Youth Workers and opportunities for transnational learning and exchange2. Social Action Toolkit for Employability Skills3. Peer Leadership Programme for young people4. SS4Y Kick-start fund and accessibility grants to support inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities5. Comprehensive dissemination and communication strategy to guarantee local, regional and EU impact of the project results6. Multiplier Events and training activities for project target groups

<< Objectives >>1.Develop a comprehensive set of resources and tools to promote awareness and support structures for the promotion of the mental wellbeing of youth 2.Support youth’s mental wellbeing affording them with the capacity to overcome challenges and obstacles3.Empower youth workers to offer comprehensive support and services to young people 4.Promote mental health-informed youth work to aid young people to respond and overcome challenges5.Develop quality resources for youth workers/ youth<< Implementation >>BENEFIT puts forward a comprehensive plan to empower youth workers and youth on mental wellbeing and further youth employability. Following a participatory approach it will develop and make available catered tools for youth to identify and overcome mental strains that derive from challenges in the labour market as well as resources to educate and empower youth workers to offer mental-health informed support. All its work will be available via an interactive eLearning environment.<< Results >>The main results of the BENEFIT project will be: -A Toolkit on Mental Wellbeing for Youth-A Training Package for Youth Workers on Mental Health Informed Youth work-An Interactive eLearning Environment-At least 100 Youth will participate in trainings and workshops of the project-At least 250 Youth workers will participate in trainings and info events of the project-5 Information and Dissemination events-More than 10,000 youth workers and youth will be engaged via its work and actions

SAFE YOUTH focuses on supporting and empowering youth workers combating the social obstacles young people face nowadays, because of their gender, sexual orientation and mental health status and help youth to build resilience and improve their well-being.According to Eurostat (2017) 28% of young people aged 16- 29 years were at risk of social exclusion in the EU. This lies to the fact that young people may enter the process of social inclusion at different points and move toward both poles – either marginalisation or achievement of autonomy; depending on the choices they make, the support and opportunities they have.The development of essential socio-emotional life skills may act as protective factors for youth’s empowerment especially in relation to their sexual behavior, mental health, quality of life and well-being. As proven, youth struggling with disadvantages are generally less active citizens and have less trust in institutions; something that leads them to isolation and to feel less included in their social environment. Sexuality Education comes to respond to this challenge by empowering youth workers on providing young people with the knowledge, skills and efficacy to make informed decisions about their sexuality, well- being and lifestyle as to feel more included in their social environment, be more confident about who they are and to become active citizens.Youth workers can facilitate and respond to this need empowering young people on a personal and a social level. According to the National Occupational Standards for Youth Work 2008, youth work enables young people to develop holistically- their voice, influence and place in society and to reach their full potential; something that the formal educational system cannot achieve solely.The project’s objectives which are also in line with the European Youth Strategy 2019- 2027 and the ERASMUS+ Guide 2020 in the field of Youth, are to:1. Educate and support youth workers and trainers’ acquisition of sexuality education, mental health, resilience and well- being competences by developing learning resources and innovative tools using non- formal education;2. Empower the development of attitudes of self-respect and self-value of youth target groups by developing a visual online space where all the OERs & Gamified learning resources produced will be available (learning kit, visual storytelling, digital escape rooms);3. Increase knowledge and awareness of youth workers and young people, regarding social inclusion, sexuality education, mental health, resilience and well-being issues building on European values through the implementations and study visit to take place during the project;4. Stimulate youth workers to connect, engage and empower youth to challenge the social taboos and stereotypes building more inclusive social environments and5. Contribute to practice policy development regarding sexuality education and validation and recognition of youth work at national and EU level.In order to achieve the above, the involvement and expertise of organisations of different types is needed (NGOs dedicated to youth, civil society organisation, technical partners) to highlight their needs, bring in experience and expertise that is applied in different European countries (Cyprus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland) to support youth, while it also involves new coming organisations. This EU perspective will target needs in the participating partner countries, and support the sharing of lessons and experiences from working with youth workers and youth in order to ensure that young people-especially marginalised- are well equipped with the knowledge and the skills required for sharing their opinion concerning their own sexual health rights and interests; have better mental health; and fight stigma and discrimination.SAFE YOUTH aims to reach 10,000 individuals during its lifecycle and more than 50,000 people at long-term. Specifically, more than 2000 young people -with a special focus on marginalised youth who seek of support- 2000 youth workers, 200 policy decision makers, and more than 100 other stakeholders will be reached directly and indirectly with various means.Through innovative learning modules that will be developed in the learning kit of the project touching sensitive issues, an online visual space which also includes visual storytelling/ narratives, digital escape rooms in the form of challenge-based learning activities, and a policy and practice report, SAFE YOUTH will raise awareness, educate, and support key stakeholders, youth workers and youth (including marginalised youth) throughout Europe regarding the importance of sexuality education, mental health and well- being of youth. The active involvement of youth workers will empower the field of youth work and lead young people to a more socially inclusive environment.

The RESILIENT PRESCHOOLS project focuses on building the capacity of preschool teachers in order to foster to pre-school psychological resilience and safe proof their overall wellbeing. Research shows that early childhood education plays pivotal role in the child development and future success. However, very little is done in the area of preventive and proactive education that will build the social and emotional skills of young learners.Traditionally the focus of most pedagogical methods was put on the notion of achievement and academic performance, thus other important aspects of children’s development such as their psychological resilience, character strengths and moral principles have been marginalised (Shoshani & Slone, 2017).According to WHO European Region (2020), emotional disorders like anxiety and depression fall into the top 5 causes of overall disease burden among children and adolescents. Studies report high levels of chronic mild to moderate mental health and behavior problems, even in young children (Egger&Embe,2011). However, the benefits of Positive Education, such as prevention and management of psychosocial problems, increasing psychological resilience and shielding children from a young age are not well known among EU school staff (Shoshani et al., 2016). While there are valid and developmentally appropriate ways in which strategies and research from positive psychology can be meaningfully applied in early childhood settings – for the benefit of children and educators –these are currently underutilised/unknown (Baker et al., 2017).RESILIENT PRESCHOOLS Project proposes a more holistic approach to preschool education and gives emphasis on traits and capacities that will enable children to adapt efficiently to a fast pacing world with constant changes and challenges. In addition, by fortifying them with qualities that will shield them from possible future unwanted implication like emotional disorders or problematic behaviour. The importance of cultivating these capacities as early as pre-schooler’s age is pivotal, since the earlier children start to become aware and built on their own capacities and character strengths, the greater will be the results in the long-run. Although Europe has been making progress in recent years regarding finding new innovative ways to support both Educators and Students, the recent events with the general lockdown and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, will have a significant impact on education. Such bleak events, forces the scientific and social community of EU to turn the attention when it comes to Education from explicitly focusing on academic achievement to how we can support children emotionally and psychologically during challenging times.To achieve the aforementioned aims, the following objectives will be targeted:•Build the capacity of teachers, in nurturing children’s wellbeing, character traits and resilience.•Develop quality resources for positive culture in preschools, based on Positive Psychology practices and scientific findings.•Improve the overall quality of early educational system in the participating countries•Increasing awareness on the role of various actors on the importance of wellbeing and resilience in young children. To achieve these goals objectives, the RESILIENT PRESCHOOLS project will develop a multifaceted toolkit and training package that will address several psychological characteristics that derive from Positive Psychology core principles, Positive Education approach and Seligman’s (2011) PERMA model. OUTPUTS: • IO1: Toolkit for Preschool teachers aiming to cultivate resilience and character strengths in young children. • IO2: Training Package for enhancing preschool teachers’ skills on how to foster resilience and wellbeing in their students• IO3: eLearning Space and OERsThe RESILIENT PRESCOOLS CONSORTIUM includes 6 partner organisations from 5 EU countries (Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Romania and Czech Republic)For the dissemination and communication of this project, a website will be developed along with the project’s Facebook page. A social media campaign will also take place in order to spread awareness on the need for raising awareness on project outputs and its value.The impact of this project will be of great value for the education system. Preschool teachers will be able to obtain a deeper knowledge on how to nurture their students’ resilience, wellbeing, character traits and enable their holistic development. The experts and stakeholders themselves will be also able to better understand the value of promoting resilience and how it can contribute in improving the overall landscape of Education in EU premises and beyond.

"As climate change progresses, with the growing expectation of more rapid increases in global temperature and predictions of more frequent and severe extreme weather events, there is an urgent need to engage the private sector and entrepreneurs in efforts to improve adaptation to climate change. Private sector and entrepreneurs can accelerate the transition to green economy by taking advantage of the synergies that exist between green economy initiatives and climate change adaptation opportunities. Addressing this challenge requires a broad set of interventions that go beyond government action to involve the private sector. In this context, the European Commission placed at the centre of its priorities the need to take immediate and drastic actions to fight climate change and to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050 (Green Deal). Significantly, the European Commission promotes the transformation towards an inclusive green economy that generates growth, creates jobs, and helps reduce poverty through sustainable management of natural capital. Furthermore, European Ministers for VET, the European Social Partners and the European Commission adopted the ''Bruges Communique'' on enhanced European cooperation in VET for 2011-2020, defining common objectives for 2020 and an action plan for the coming years and states that ""the transition to a green economy is a megatrend which affects skill needs across many different jobs and sectors. Cutting edge technology such as Augmented Reality and Simulations are essential for everybody today green skills and will be important to almost every job in the future"". However, one of the most significant challenges is that while many companies are focused on climate change mitigation — slowing the rate of climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other strategies — most have not developed strategies for dealing with the immediate long-term consequences of climate change. In addition, in the vocational education sector, there is a lack of innovation-oriented research and tools to help this transition. Indisputably, the private sector is the engine of growth and plays a vital role in supporting green growth in Europe, while the VET providers play a pivotal role in supporting private sector and entrepreneurs to invest in the green economy by developing their skills, knowledge and competences required by resource-efficient processes and technologies; and integrating these into businesses and communities. VET providers are the key educational bridge between the private sector and education. There is fragmentation on how companies are responding to complex climate change challenges, and opportunities and the onus is on VET providers as key education stakeholders to address it.In this regard, GoGreen – Using Augmented Reality Technology and Simulation-Based Training to Foster Green Economy, is a project focusing on developing the skills and competences of VET providers to support the professional development of the private sector stakeholders and entrepreneurs and those willing to effectively support Green Economy through the development of a tailored VET green curriculum based on augmented reality technology, simulation training and an innovative Massive Open Online Course.The primary target groups for this project include VET providers, trainers, teachers, mentors involved in the green economy, while project beneficiaries include: private entities, entrepreneurs, and others such as unemployed workers, women and young people motivated for green entrepreneurship.The specific objectives of the project are to: 1. Build the capacity of VET providers to use Mobile Augmented Technology and Simulation-based training to train private entities and entrepreneurs on how to address environmental change. 2. Improve the coherence of VET learning strategies for the transition towards a greener economy to engage the private sector and new entrepreneurs better 3. Harness the skills and knowledge of the private sector and entrepreneurs for green growth and climate change 4. Increase awareness about the significance of climate change and support the development of green skills in the labour marketTo meet these objectives, the GoGreen project will develop and provide the following:IO1: VET Green Curriculum using Augmented Reality Technology IO2: Simulation-based training packageIO3: MOOC for climate actionIO4: Toolkit with Policy & Practice RecommendationsThe GoGreen consortium includes 7 partner organization from 6 countries who are experts in the field of Vocational Education, Entrepreneurship and Green Economy. By cooperating in atransnational vocational education-oriented participatory context, project partners will be able to develop innovative outputs and exchange practices to expand VET providers’ knowledge and practice and to support the professional development of private entities and entrepreneurs."