"The aging of the European population and the need to guarantee quality care for growing number of dependent young and old citizens is one of the greatest political and social challenges for the European Union. People dedicated to caring for these groups can do it formally (health care professionals) or informally (mostly family members). An informal or family caregiver is ""any person, man or woman, who is not a professional caregiver but who, by default or by choice, cares for a dependent person in her immediate circle"" (European Charter for Family Caregivers)Family caregivers in the EU provide more than 80% of all care for dependents, and of these, about a third are women, who provide care often at the expense of their own personal, family and / or work life. The care role can be very difficult due to the complexity of the situations they have to face, and the time consumed (which can exceed 16 hours a day). For this reason, it is increasingly important to address the multidimensional burdens associated with informal care. There is a phenomenon called ""caregiver stress"" characterized by reduced hours of sleep, insomnia, neglect of self-care and consequent fatigue, concentration difficulties, anxiety, irritability, depression, emotional stress, frustration, cancellation of social life, etc.The caregiver burden has both objective and subjective components. The objective components are the demands to which the caregiver is exposed for the care of the dependent person. The subjective component is the way the caregiver perceives the care tasks: their emotional response to the experience of caring for a family member. In addition, there are studies that demonstrate the influence of poor social support on the burden or stress of the caregiver (AA.VV, Social Support, does it improve caregiver fatigue?, 2004). From there, the symptoms of the burden can be controlled and even reversed by reinforcing emotional intelligence and social support.In this context, the PeerCare project has been developed to achieve the main objective of contributing to reduce the symptoms of ""caregiver stress"" through the creation of a Peer Training in Emotional Intelligence (EI) for informal caregivers (IO1) that offers a complete learning environment, which revolves around 3 main elements:- A training itinerary, made up of 5 thematic modules focused on the three main attributes that define EI: self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation.- A set of varied learning resources (videos, lessons, case studies, games), designed to facilitate flexible, dynamic, and motivating access.- An online peer community, which offers a space for the exchange of experiences, resources, and peer learning.Likewise, with the aim of providing the professionals / volunteers who support these informal caregivers with resources and tools to train them in the field of EI, the Manual ""Emotional Intelligence for informal caregivers: training of trainers"" (IO2) has been designed. With a theoretical-practical approach, the manual includes instructions and tips for organizing training sessions with family caregivers, a part of theoretical ideas and concepts around core elements of EI, and tools to use in class (11 studies case study and 7 practical activities)The direct target groups of the project have been:- Family caregivers: people who take care of their partners, descendants who take care of their parents; or people who care for relatives or close dependents.- Family caregiver support staff: people who, professionally or voluntarily, work with family caregivers, providing help, advice and formal or informal training.The direct participation of these groups has been transversal and constant throughout the project, gathering their feedback during:- The needs analysis (IO1 and IO2) - 161 people participated in focus groups, were interviewed, or completed the questionnaires.- The testing activities of the developed prototypes (IO1 and IO2) - 218 people participated in these activities and gave their feedback through questionnaires and interviews.- The multiplier events (6) - 198 people participated in the different sessions organized by the project partners in their countries.This direct impact on the target groups has been expanded with more than 163 dissemination actions carried out which, through different channels and formats, have reached more than 80,000 people.The availability of the two project products openly on the web, and their availability in 6 languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian and Turkish) facilitates their use, both by the participating organizations (which have incorporated these training resources to their day-to-day life) as well as by third-party organizations that have shown interest on them."

<< Background >>It is undeniable that we live in a context of uncertainty, in which changes at all levels are becoming larger, faster, more complex, and more interconnected than ever. The speed of these changes imposed by globalization and the digital world has increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and directly affects our patterns of behavior as individuals and as groups.Digital disruption is changing aspects as diverse as: organizational models and business management, production processes, distribution of goods and services, living habits, social relations, consumption patterns and the spread of knowledge, among others. The dizzying development of digital infrastructures, together with an increasingly agile and simple access and interconnection to Internet, are promoting the generalization of the use of new digital technologies by citizens, companies, and institutions.For Third Sector organizations dealing with social-health care of people with functional diversity, ICTs are changing the way in which entities relate and communicate with their users, collaborators and stakeholders. The digital tools used by entities are diverse: a study from the NGO Platform for Social Action (2019) highlights that most entities use Facebook (87%), website (82.3%) and chats, forums or wikis (72.4%), while an intranet system (30.1%) or online training (31%) are clearly less used. The same study points out that the evolution in the implementation of these tools compared to previous years (2015 and 2011), has remained stable or even decreased. The social sector lags behind other economic sectors. The structural lack of financial resources in this area, and the clear orientation to solve the basic needs of their primary users, contribute to delaying the necessary digital transformation of the entities. Beyond the lack of financial resources, 33% of the organizations surveyed for the preparation of the Digital Barometer of the Third Sector pointed to the lack of talent and knowledge as the main barrier to digitization.If anything highlighted the crisis of covid-19 has been the need to make the qualitative leap towards user support based on technology, promoting an inclusive digital transformation that results in a better quality of life for dependent people. For months, many people with disabilities have been confined to their homes, which has led to deterioration in their quality of life. A recent study by the ONCE Foundation confirms that a 55% of this group have experienced sadness, 50% have worsened their mood, 34% have needed anxiolytics and antidepressants, and 34% have seen their general health deteriorate.The imperative of caring for people affected by chronic and disabling diseases has driven the development of virtualized care sessions, carried out by highly motivated professionals, but with limited training and digital skills. Internal research and analysis among the partners’ organizations and their networks of peers results on a detection of opportunities, but also of weaknesses and gaps that need to be addressed. Firstly, third sector organizations from socio-health care of disabled people do not count on digital transformation models from which learn, in a clear and contrasted way, how to take steps towards the integration of user care models based on new technologies.Secondly, the professionals do not have the necessary training to enable them to carry out their work in virtual formats with guarantees and meeting the objectives of customer service.U-Digitalize is a digital transformation project aimed at empowering professionals from 3rd sector so they are capable of virtualizing the care for people with functional diversity, providing them with the motivation and resources to be able to carry out their work through digital technologies.<< Objectives >>The project is based on the fact that digital transformation is obviously supported by technology, but its success depends on the human factor, that is, in our case, on the ability of people and professionals to successfully integrate this technology into the attention and care processes that they provide to people with functional diversity. Thus, the general objective of the project is to offer organizations models and proven references for the adoption of digital services, empowering their professionals to be able to overcome reluctance and fear of change, to take advantage of the potential of technology in an optimal way, so that they feel motivated and secure in these new digital professional environments, and so that they can guide and support users in the integration of this new type of digitized care.Some of the specific objectives of the project are to:- Promote a new organizational culture focusing on empowering professionals working in care sector organizations (65% of digital transformation processes fail because of the resistance to adopting the changes involved in digitalization).- Incorporate new working models that increase the capacity and resilience of organizations: virtualization of services, teleworking, telecare, digital support for technicians working in community spaces or in the homes of people with disabilities, etc., which will contribute to modernize 3rd sector entities, making them more dynamic, and ready to integrate good practices and new methods in their daily activities, basing on their digital skills. - Make professionals aware of the importance of adapting to new working schemes in digital environments in order to offer quality services to users.- Intervene to break the digital divide: while traditionally, the digital divide was identified as the difference between those who had access to the Internet and those who did not, as technology evolves the new challenge poses over barriers such as the inequality of opportunities for participation or the difficulty in acquiring digital skills and abilities in the use of the Internet and ICTs. - Create a model of digitization of care services for people with functional diversity, aimed at organizations and institutions that offer physical and emotional maintenance services and support for community participation, from the private and non-profit sphere.- Design a training itinerary, focused on those professional profiles that offer direct care services to users.- Offer a professional training course for virtualized care for dependent people, including aspects related to professional digital literacy (considering the European Framework of Digital Competences) of the aforementioned professional profiles, as well as the development of soft-skills related to customer service, and emotional self-management.- Improving the levels of digital competence of both the 3rd sector organizations and their professionals, so they can become more competitive and better respond to the needs of those vulnerable collectives (people with functional diversity) they support.<< Implementation >>The project has been designed so that the activities to be implemented adequately include the 5 main phases within a classic project development working scheme: planning, preparation, implementation, dissemination, and evaluation.The planning phase has been carried out prior to the presentation of this project proposal. It has included research, needs analysis and the joint design of its objectives, expected results and timing.The preparation phase includes all the activities necessary for the correct implementation of the project and has to do with the implementation of the action protocols, the formalization of internal and external agreements, the establishment of collaboration and communication instruments, the agreement about the exact dates for the meetings of coordination and follow-up, and the launching of the actions oriented to guarantee the sustainability of the results in the medium and long term. Thus, it is divided into 5 main activities:A1: Contratualization and performance protocol agreements.A2: Partnership building activities.A3: Financial and administrative reporting.A4: Preparing collaboration and communication tools.A5: Formalization of agreements with associated partners and other collaborators.A6: Deployment of sustainability strategy.The implementation phase has been designed to lead to the development of the two main results: the R1 - U-Digitalize Model, for digitalizing care services for people with functional diversity, and the R2 - U-Digitalize Training Program. This phase is structured according to the following working scheme:A7: IO1 – U-Digitalize Model for digitalizing care services for people with functional diversity.A7.1: Research on digitalization experiences from 3rd sector care organizations.A7.2: Drafting the Guide Model for organizations: structure, contents and supports definition.A7.3: Development of the DT Model (contents, audio-video creation, design and publication)A7.4: Validation of the DT Model with representatives from the target groups.A7.5: Analysis of validation results and integration of changes and improvements. Release of the final version.A8: IO2 – U-Digitalize Training Programme.A8.1: Design of the training itinerary, based on DIGCOMP Framework.A8.2: Training development: contents, learning objects and resources creation, programming of the learning environment.A8.3: Translation to partners’ languages.A8.4: Testing the training programme with target groups.A8.5: Feedback analysis and development of the final improved version.The evaluation stage includes a set of activities aiming at supporting partners monitoring that the planned objectives are achieved, resources properly spent, and activities successfully implemented. This is transversal stage, covering all the project lifetime. The activities and sub-activities included under this category are:A9: Ongoing monitoring and evaluation process.A9.1: Elaboration of the QMP and evaluation tools.A9.2: 1st evaluation report.A9.3: 2nd evaluation report.A9.4: 4th evaluation report.A9.5: Checking milestones and indicators.Finally, another key and transversal stage for the proper implementation has to do with the dissemination and exploitation of the project and its results. This phase includes the following activities:A10: Creation of the dissemination toolkit (logo, leaflet, website, social media profiles…)A11: Social media campaign.A12: Communication and dissemination activities.A13: National dissemination activities – including multiplier events.A14: Dissemination activities reporting.<< Results >>The project will focus on the development of 2 main results:R1 – U-Digitalize Model for digitalizing care services for people with functional diversity.The model will gather good practices and examples experienced during the pandemic year and will base on a research (interviews-focus groups with professionals). The analysis of the results will lead to the composition of a DT (Digital Transformation) Model for organizations and professionals from health-care sector, including recommendations, tips, and ideas, complemented by a set of best practices to serve as inspiration.R2 – U-Digitalize Training ProgrammeThe training programme will base on the DigComp, the European framework for digital skills, as a reference, creating specific contents for the 5 basic areas of competence, and applied to the development of guidance and support services for people with functional diversity.Section 1 – How to digitalize your care activities.This section will focus on those digital skills that the professionals need so they can provide support and services from remote settings. We are thinking on transversal areas, such as, for instance:- Get to know your digital skills. Introduction to the digital competence and initial test of users´ level (this will allow guide them towards the most appropriate level in the training programme)- Search and research – getting the most from digital information.- Creation of audiovisual supporting materials (technical and non-technical tips).- Meeting online – how to organize productive online sessions with users.- Communication based on ICTs (selecting and using the appropriate channels)- Active listening and constructive feedback in virtual settings.This is a non-exhaustive list, as it is open to additional content. Section 2 – Caring for yourself: overcoming obstacles for a healthy online activity.This second part of the training will be aimed at empowering professionals to be able to make safe and responsible use of technologies, protecting themselves both physically and psychologically from the risks of online activity.In addition to these outputs, the project project will also produce more results as consequence of the activities implementation. We can outline the following:Results and deliverables produced in the preparation stage:D1 – Partners contracts.D2 - Communication plan and tools.D3- Project RoadMap.D4 - Risk management and performance protocol. D5- Financial and administrative management protocol.D6 - IPRA – Intellectual Property Rights Agreement.D7 – Project Management Dossier.D8 – Collaboration and communication tools (internal platforms and tools)D9 – Meetings dossiers.D10 – Sustainability Action Plan. Results and deliverables produced in the monitoring and evaluation stage:D11- Quality Management Plan and tools.D12 - Evaluation reports (4): After each six months, partners will evaluate the project quality (management, cooperation and communication among partners, quality and consistence of project results so far, etc.). The results of the evaluation process will be collected in a report by the evaluation leader and shared with all partners to make improvement decisions. The final evaluation report will be relevant also to guide the final exploitation strategy.D13 – Monitoring matrix for the verification of milestones and indicators achievement.Results and deliverables produced in the dissemination and exploitation stage:D14 – Dissemination Action Plan, including updated calendar and reporting guidelines and templates.D15 – Dissemination Toolkit – logo, templates for documents/communications, leaflet, website, profiles on social media…)D16 – Dissemination reports (4): Each six months, partners will report all the dissemination activities carried out so far describing the kind of activity, number of people involved, results, etc. The report will be completed with pictures, lists of attendance and other evidences.D17 – Multiplier Events reports.

"ART BEYOND GAZE (ABeyGA)CONTEXT/BACKGROUNDArt creation allows the individuals to fulfill themselves, to express their deepest feelings, and to eliminate the intensity of everyday life. It is considered to be the tool for communication and verbal and/or non-verbal expression of intimate feelings in an alternative way. Art creations, in different forms (such as painting, sculpture, music, etc) can also serve therapeutic purposes especially for young learners with Special Educational Needs and Difficulties (SEND). In our digital era, art can be supported by many innovative methods, tools and practices which can offer the chance for a better social inclusion for young learners. Art technology offers a unique opportunity to tackle discrimination through its globalization and accessibility to all individuals. The peculiar circumstances created by COVID 19 highlight the importance of digital art creation as a means of communication and expression, given that during the pandemic the distance between individuals is imposed; art functions as a bridge which unites people and nations world-wide. AIM/OBJECTIVESIn the above frame, the general aim of ABeyGA project is to approach art creations in an alternative way with the total involvement of senses within art workshops and cultural environments in general (e.g. museums, cultural centers etc) and to support young learners especially with SEND, so they can be successfully included in their school and social environment through art education. More specifically, this program aims to design, implement and evaluate alternative innovative activities (through digital, multi-sensory and interactive methods in approaching art), and exchange the good transnational practices/activities between the partners.Also:- to develop a holistic global conception of art using all sensations (look but also touch, hearing, smell)- to adopt a multicultural approach of artworks opened to new worldviews (different perception of colors, sounds, art materials depending on the country of origin)- to engage the young people in the reproduction of known art works using digital or/and natural materials from the regions/countries involved- to support young people especially with SEND to be involved in communication by and for young peopleBENEFICIARIESThe beneficiaries of the project are mostly young learners with SEND and vulnerable young people in general, youth workers, educators and social work organizations, but also families, other young people, schools, colleges, high schools and universities.INTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS/ACTIVITIESThe project's Intellectual Outputs are a “Train the trainer” art Guidebook that will be made by PDETh organization (GREECE) for art teachers and youth trainers that focuses on how to organize art activities in schools and non-formal art & youth organizations. Also, a ""Digital Game for Young Learners"" made by COAT (ITALY) related to the production of artistic material (3D animation and games) by using high-tech technology in order for the art creation to be more comprehensible and accessible to the young people, especially with SEND. Moreover, ""Evaluating Videos"" made by BLUE ROOM (ITALY) to assess the workshops' products and practices through videos. Last but not least, a ""Digital Art Folder"" made by OPENUP (GREECE), as a digital library for the digitized artistic material - work (images, sound, text) created in the art and digital workshops. The ABeyGA project also includes training activities which are the ""Digital Training Activities"" realized by COAT and the ""Art Workshops"" realized by the Escola d'Art d'Olot. Additionally, the ""Local Workshops -Trainings"" activities will involve local cultural centers, galleries, schools special and not, vet schools, public bodies to spread the above mentioned innovative practices and the knowledge acquired to the youth workers and the young people, so they can be implemented. For the accomplishment of the IOs, five consortium meetings will be organized throughout the project every 5 months with the involvement of two participants from each partner. The kick-off meeting will take place in Larissa, Greece, the second one in Trevi, Italy (Digital Training), the third meeting in Barcelona, Spain (art workshops), the fourth one in Lyon, France (discussion about the Pilot Art Workshops) and the final project meeting in Athens, Greece, (assess the overall project cycle and analyze the main success\shortcomings).RESULTSThe expected results connected to the IOs and activities are related to the personal and professional development of the trainers so as to respond more efficiently to the demands of their social role, as parents, teachers, professionals. As for the young, especially with SEND, the project will guarantee the development of their learning skills and the reinforcement of their social- emotional abilities and self- expression to be included in their social and cultural environment."

"Against BubBLEContext/background:Bullying is an increasingly expanding phenomenon in all European countries. Numerous studies have been done on the dynamics that characterize it and on the numerous negative effects that this produces in students. The control and prevention of the phenomenon is still difficult to manage because very often the boys are resisting to report these episodes, not only for the consequences that this would have on a social level, but also for fear of any reactions. The monitoring of these behaviors is even more difficult if the victims do not have the tools to recognize them, let alone a social network that supports them. We're talking about guys with autism spectrum disorder. The few studies on the subject show that the peculiarities that characterize them make them ideal victims, so much so that, compared to boys without disabilities, they are 4 times more likely to be bulled. More and more European countries are adopting an inclusive education, but to be defined as such it must ensure that it is created as a safe and suitable environment for everyone's needs.Main objectives:With our project we aim to fight and prevent the phenomenon of Bullying against boys with high functioning autistic spectrum disorder (and the Asperger Syndrome), but not only, involving all the figures that are part of the boy's life context and that they play the role of main actors in this phenomenon.Our goal is to create a good practice that can then be adopted by other European countries not participating in the project and that can be adapted and revised also to combat different types of discrimination, which are victims of the most varied subjects.Through all these objectives we hope to make a strong contribution to the realization of what we hope will soon be an inclusive school, in the full sense of the term.Description of activities:We have divided our activities in four intellectual outputs: A study on Needs Analysis based on desk survey and in field questionnaires involving teachers and Administrative, Technical and Auxiliary staff, parents of guys with high functioning autistic spectrum disorder (and the Asperger Syndrome) and students between 10 and 14 years old from partner countries' schools; Planning of customized educational activities respectively aimed at teachers, Administrative, Technical and Auxiliary staff and parents of preadolescents with high functioning autistic spectrum disorder (and the Asperger Syndrome), with teaching methods that involve active participation, in order to provide them the guidelines and tools necessary to learn more about the phenomenon of bullying adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, to recognize it, to counteract it and prevent it. Development of a Tool Kit for early detection of risky bullying behaviors involving ""blue"" pupils with ASD, allowing an ""active surveillance"" of key signals. This tool will be customized in three different versions for teachers, Administrative, Technical and Auxiliary staff and parents of ASD students; Preventive action based on involvement of all students in socialising drama-based performances to develop knowledge and understanding of diversity and (on the other side) the ability of ""recognise"" bullying attitudes of the others, so as to defend their comrades and denounce such behaviors.Methodology:Forms of experiential rather than frontal learning will be preferred, using alternative techniques, such as the flipped classroom, the realization of theatrical activities, through which it aims to promote peer empathy and awareness of the phenomenon of bullying. The materials produced will be published on the project's webpage, which will provide step-by-step guidelines and video links that will lead to the project's YouTube channel, from which other schools will be inspired to design interventions to prevent and combat bullying.Desired results, impacts and long-term benefits:We hope that following our project, students will develop a greater sensitivity towards this phenomenon so as to be ready to denounce these behaviors, but above all to avoid their implementation.We also expect teachers, parents and Administrative, Technical and Auxiliary staff to have gained more tools for signal recognition and prevention of bullying in schools."