<< Background >>Climate change and, in fact, environmental sustainability is one of the most crucial challenges in nowadays society. As stated by the EU Commission “the last two decades have witnessed 18 of the warmest years on record, and an increase of extreme weather events” (Going climate-neutral by 2050 - ML-04-19-339-EN-C). The role of youth in implementing good practices and leading sustainable lifestyles are essential to creating a change on a long-term basis and has been recognised by the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE). In particular, two of the six goals of the ACE are the main focuses of this project: education and training.We believe that professionals should play a key role in guiding young people to engage in volunteering activities as they represent the “bridge” between youth and active society.Community media are great tools to empower the young audience and vehicle important messages such as the ones related to climate change, due to their wide networking potential, sustainability, and accessibility for all; they facilitate active citizenship and enable innovative ways for e-volunteering and activism.Based on The National Youth Council of Ireland 2016’s statement “there are a lot of youth work practitioners who lack the digital skills or attitudes to fully benefit from the opportunities created by digital technologies for delivering quality youth work” and also that “many youth workers see digital media only as social media. Their understanding of the possibilities of digital media and technology should be widened” (Developing digital youth work - NC-02-18-021-EN-C). This is the reason why the main goals for this project are:Increasing digital skills and community media literacy amongst professionals working with youth, i.e. social and youth workers, mentors, trainers, tutors, school guides;Raising awareness of climate change through the engagement of youth in e-volunteering activities and activism, using community media as an innovative tool.For the above-mentioned reasons, with this project, we aim to equip social and youth workers, school guides, mentors, tutors, and, in general, professionals working with youth, with useful digital skills and tools based on community media, to promote and raise awareness amongst youth on e-volunteering and activism in the scope of climate change.<< Objectives >>One of the main innovative aspects of the ECO-Media project is its versatility: the creation of community media networks and tailored training are designed to comply with the scope of the project, i.e. climate change, but they can be adapted to any other field related to social change based on volunteering and social activities.The project aims to train professionals working with young people in using community media as a tool to enhance the quality of their work and communication as well as to raise awareness on other volunteering approaches, i.e. e-volunteering and digital activism, with a focus on climate change.The project will consist of 4 project results:R1: Descriptive map of community media approaches for digital youth workR2: Curriculum on climate changeR3: Youth work and young engagement toolkit in the scope of climate changeR4: ECO-Media e-learning platformSpecific objectives will therefore be:- To create a greater understanding of the recent situation of digital youth work around Europe, through the development of comparative analysis;- To provide the target groups with useful knowledge on youth pedagogical framework about community media and digital youth work;- To enhance the level of youth engagement through community media tools;- To create ad-hoc contents related to e-volunteering and youth engagement in climate change matters;- To support youth workers, and professional working with youth with the development of a digital toolkit on digital youth work in the scope of climate change;- To increase the motivation of youth workers on the engagement of young people in climate change and environmental challenges;- To create results that are transferable, versatile, and adaptable outside the scope of this project, to better guarantee its sustainability;- To make the partnership and cooperation of EU countries stronger, by implementing a transnational project based on common needs;- To enhance awareness of climate change through the engagement of youth in e-volunteering activities and activism, using community media as an innovative tool.<< Implementation >>The activities that will be developed to achieve the aforementioned objectives and to produce concrete project results (Rn) will be the following:- Comparative analysis on digital methodologies for youth engagement in volunteering activities (R1);- A pedagogical framework for best practices in youth work (R1);- Curriculum on youth engagement and e-volunteering through community media (R1);- Curriculum on youth work in the scope of climate change (R2);- A digital toolkit on digital youth work in the scope of climate change (R2);- 6 units for youth engagement, i.e. digital activism; E-volunteering for social challenges; networking; European opportunities for e-volunteering; community media for social responsibility; active citizenship.- 3 training units for youth workers, i.e. social media activism; engagement of young people; becoming a better youth worker/trainer/mentor.- ECO-Media e-learning platform, the means to share and make the outcomes of this project available for everyone;- Creation of dedicated social media accounts, in particular Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube;- 1 project website, with news, contacts, description of the project, its goals and objectives, useful links, and updates;- Creation of several promotion materials, newsletters, press conferences, and publications.<< Results >>Concrete results for this project will be:1. R1: Descriptive map of community media approaches for digital youth work, aiming at a more comprehensive understanding of youth work in the frame of community media and digital methodologies, through the creation of a pedagogical framework and the development of a database of community media;2. R2: Curriculum on climate change: aiming at the creation of a digital toolkit on digital youth work in the scope of climate change, to be included in the e-learning platform (R4) and to identify successful methodologies to engage youth in environmental sustainability matters;3. R3: Youth work and young engagement toolkit in the scope of climate change - the structure and the content of the e-learning platform (R4). It will involve the creation of 3 training units that will guide youth workers in their daily tasks as well as 6 units for young people engagement in e-volunteering and digital activism;4. R4: ECO-Media e-learning platform - it will include the outcomes of the other project results including - user-free registration system, divided into two separate entries, one for the youth workers (who will be able to access all of the 9 training units) and one for the young people, potential e-volunteers and digital activists (who will access their dedicated 6 units); - digital toolkit on digital youth work in the scope of climate change (R2); - digital animations, video, for the correct usage of the platform; - forum.4TPMs will be held throughout the project and each hosted by one partner organisation that will attend with 2 representatives. The meeting will be organised at key project milestones, to check on the progress, achievements, and conduct quality and evaluation controls. In this way, we can ensure a smooth implementation of the project activities, guarantee clear and transparent communication, and adjust working methodologies when and if needed.Relevant dissemination activities will be better described in its specific, dedicated section, and they will include, for example, press conferences, newsletters, social media posts sharing, and the organisation of 5 Multiplier Events.

To protect against the rapid spread of the virus, all countries around the world have adopted protective measures, some of them drastic, which severely restrict citizens' freedom of movement and choice. As a result, cultural and leisure facilities, schools, day-care centres and universities were closed, as were numerous shops that did not serve the needs of daily life. The entire world economy will not be spared the consequences of Covid-19. Some politicians are already saying that we are facing the worst crisis since the Second World War. Unemployment will inevitably also rise, which is not only a major loss at individual level, but also puts additional pressure on the economy. The consulting firm McKinsey, for example, estimates that around 59 million jobs could be lost in the course of the Corona pandemic. In the EU countries this would correspond to an unemployment rate of 7.6%. This would particularly affect the wholesale and retail sector, restaurants, the tourism industry as well as the arts (music, performance arts) and entertainment sector.The project focuses on key players of the creative sector, therefore, aims at: a) supporting, mobilizing and empowering entrepreneurs (organisations and individuals), active in the creative sector and in the EU cultural tradition, to develop online collaboration and sustainable networks for sharing their knowledge with trainers and adult learners; b) supporting, mobilizing and empowering educators to use online collaboration and tools for raising awareness of the benefits of teaching and creative activities, especially in the EU cultural tradition, including music, performing arts; c) raise interest and offer skills in adults, to develop their creativity in constructive ways and in support of inclusion, especially of migrants and other marginalized groups. So, the target groups are entrepreneurs (organisations and individuals), active in the creative sector, educators and adults.The planned Intellectual Outputs (IOs) are:- IO1 Needs and requirements identification of the target groups.- IO2 Online eLearning and networking platform containing the subsequent IOs.- IO3 Guidelines for trainers in adult education and educators: a manual that will focus on creativity and the use of arts in different settings, and as inclusion promoting activities, the use with migrants and marginalized groups, and on the integration with recent complex EU data and copyright regulations.- IO4 Self-assessment tool: An online questionnaire, which will help to identify and assess the creative strength, interests, challenges and earlier experience of adults. This tool will facilitate the use of the platform by the target groups, by proposing the right exercises, tools and creative areas for each user from a pool (collection) of practices and exercises.- IO5 Collection of practices and exercises: A collection (data-base) of practical, culture sensitive and easy to implement practices and exercises of wide variety will be set up, that can be used in the awareness raising of the benefits of creativity and the development of creativity aided by experts in that field with so far underused knowledge in this are linked through the website.- IO6 Engaging flexible tools: a set of engaging flexible tools based on modern Graphical User Interface such as Anime and/or Avatars that will implement specific exercises. It is addressed to the trainees using the audio-visual language with which they are familiar aiming at increasing the level of engagement.The project, is innovative, first and foremost, for making use of the gamification approach and the multiple benefits for groups especially challenged by the present pandemics related situation. By introducing attractive features of the gaming industry (badges, achievements, avatars, anime) the project will be attractive for its target groups, giving a sense of purpose, of progress, achievement, and finality. It will make it easier for all target groups to “come back” to the platform and complete the training. Secondly, the platform will be innovative for targeting two intertwined target groups at the same time: a. offer new horizons of opportunity for those in the creative professions and arts in the difficult time of the COVID, b. train trainers in adult education on how to collaborate with these groups, effectively and efficiently raise creativity in their adults-clients, and contribute to inclusion and integration in the EU culture and at the same time enhance a very broad and critical ability of adult learners. The project will build upon previously implemented EU lifelong learning projects delivered in collaboration by some of the partners, i.e. “Resilience” and “ARTIP” and a special open source online platform using the successful model developed by the partner Greek University Network.

"<< Background >>The development of digital technology and its radical exploitation in every aspect of human interaction has led to innovative approaches towards rather conventional concepts. Especially in the educational sector, new teaching and learning techniques have been introduced to complement the traditional ones and offer new perspectives in knowledge exchange and dissemination of information. One of the sectors that can be significantly benefited by this new framework is that of cultural heritage. Bringing cultural heritage to the digital era can lead to new ways towards the access, conservation and promotion of European cultural resources. ARCH is an intercultural program that aims at the collaboration between organisations and institutions in order to improve students' digital and cultural literacy skills by exploiting each country's cultural heritage. Utilising cultural wealth combined with the use of Information and Communication Technologies (hereinafter ICT) in education increases the level of student attentiveness and satisfaction, leads to higher motivation and reduces premature school dropout and failure.ARCH project aims to give students of all ages and levels the opportunity to combine the real world with three-dimensional virtual objects, interact with them and collaboratively exploit their empirical-experiential knowledge through the possibilities offered by multimodal approaches. The introduction and development of an application with a platform for the presentation and dissemination of cultural heritage information, alongside with the development of a digital educational game based on the principles of game-centered learning will give students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with technology applications in order to combine real and virtual elements in a real environment and at the same time work interactively and in real time. In this way, the cultural heritage of each country will be highlighted and it will be demonstrated that cultural heritage and digital technology combined can result in innovative approaches and reforms.At the same time, the opportunity will be given to educators to improve their teaching methods through the implementation of ICT in the educational process. Moreover, local communities and everyone who is involved in education at every level, through the dissemination of the produced material, will have access to a database with rich content. Through it, they will be able to search for information about the cultural heritage of their place and all the countries involved, resulting in the strengthening of the European dimension of education and the formation of a new understanding of the role of the school and its opening to society in a local, regional, national, European and international level.<< Objectives >>The Projects’ main objectives are to:Provide to our target groups a useful online, free, and accessible platform and materialDevelop a digital educational game, based on the principles of game-centered learningHelp students to gain knowledge on their city’s cultural heritage through the use of modern digital toolsEmpower our target groups to acquire new technological and digital skillsGive the opportunity to our target groups to use and familiarise with digital tools and ICTEnhance conventional learning process through the introduction of ICT and game-based learningCultivate a sense of ""belonging"" to a wider community, reduce social inequalities and promote cultural and social participation and inclusion<< Implementation >>This two-year program consists of a series of activities that will give students the opportunity to highlight and develop a set of opportunities and skills that will allow them to understand that technology does not overturn tradition and its notable elements, but in contrast, by the appropriate handling, techniques and experimentation, it highlights it by contributing tothe cultural communication of people and nations.<< Results >>Project Result 1: Application for mobile devices of digital browsing platform and presentation of information of cultural points of interest.Project Result 2: Interactive educational game for elementary school children Project Result 3: Guide to the application of modern game-based learning techniques in secondary education"

ENVISION (Culture and Creativity Sectors’ Entrepreneurship Empowerment in the Digital Era) is a project aiming to develop new and enhance already existing entrepreneurship skills and competencies of Culture and Creativity Sectors’ (CSS) entrepreneurs and stakeholders. The CCS are among the most severely struck by the pandemic consequences, and there is a need for inciting their recovery and building their resilience to withstand such shocks.The ENVISION digital accelerator platform which will be built will provide cultural entrepreneurs with consulting services, as well as an appropriate digital space for presenting their work/projects, and will stimulate creativity and encourage all existing potential in the CCS. The provision of this digital space will offer cultural entrepreneurs and start-uppers the possibility to exchange knowledge and new/innovative practices, and the opportunity to become members of an extended (digital) CCS community and network.The project’s objectives are:-To promote the recovery of the CCS sectors in the COVID-19 aftermath and enhance their resilience through the acquisition of valuable skills-To promote an attitude change for the CCS and encourage participation and openness to the arts’ industry- Strengthening cross-border and -sector collaborations for the CCS-Testing new forms of organisation and management structures in CCS- To facilitate knowledge exchange and culture-led innovation- Improved business culture and boosting entrepreneurship-Design of a digital toolkit providing information for cultural entrepreneurs, as a means of support of the recovery and re-development of CCS-To promote novel and innovative initiative-taking in the CCS- Recognize the important role of cultural entrepreneurship and enterprises to combat unemployment; develop and strengthen policies to increase knowledge on various aspects of culture entrepreneurship- Increase the visibility of cultural entrepreneurship and develop tools for better understanding of the CCS (increase knowledge and promote various forms of cultural and creative enterprises)- Strengthen active cooperation among young cultural entrepreneurs with the relevant business and social partners and other stakeholders that will get involved in the projectENVISION’s target groups are:- CCS SMEs and start-ups, and individual entrepreneurs- Students and researchers in various cultural-art fields.- Everyone interested in the services of the virtual accelerator for the CCS.- Cultural organisations wishing to adopt new and innovative ways of offering cultural products and/or services.- All stakeholders that can be actively involved in the project’s implementation and development as well as to the transmission of its ideas.The project will last for 24 months and will be delivered through 5 Intellectual Outputs, namely:1) Mapping the needs and requirements of the CSS in the partner countries2) Development of the online accelerating platform for CCS stakeholders3) Content development for an e-training toolkit of consulting & mentoring services for cultural entrepreneurs4) Implementation of a cultural Hackathon event / Pilot Implementation5) Design & development of a Crowdfunding mechanism for cultural entrepreneurs

"This project will stimulate open innovation and open education including developing educational tools and materials using digital technologies in efficient, collaborative and creative ways by co-developing an online training program customized for the target groups i.e. personnel from university transfer offices, science parks and technology centers offering a holistic view of the various technologies and available capacities that facilitate innovation and sustainability within the agri-food sector. The program will be designed to facilitate the transfer of knowledge about test beds, new technologies and other innovation infrastructures to companies, above all SMEs, for the enhancement of their innovation processes. Together the partners will develop digital tools and learning materials using Open Educational Resources. The project will also stimulate synergies between participating research and innovation activities, promote new technologies in order to improvement education and access to Open Science.The project will support the target group (educators) in their professional development, especially by exchange with other persons having similar professions, they will learn about communication and strengthen the link between research and innovation with education within the agri-food sector.The project activities have been designed to meet the needs of the target group, and lead to the achievement of the project objectives and delivery of the planned results.The objectives of this project are a) To have increased the knowledge about and the use of participating facilities, helping especially SMEs in the development of food related innovations such as new processes and products. b) To have co-created digital tools/methods for learning and collaborating as tools for development and entrepreneurship for participating organisations, expecting that other stakeholders within higher education, companies and mediators can benefit from the experiences made in this project. The ambition is to create a program that can be further developed, including more testbeds and other facilities for innovation. This project will produce a range of intellectual outputs, dissemination events, reports and other outputs which support the implementation and sustainability of the project. The impact we foresee include:1.Increased exchange, better flow and co-creation of knowledge between higher education teaching staff, company staff as well as staff at mediator organisations.2.More innovative, and multidisciplinary approaches to food related learning and teaching and R&D.3.Higher level of commercialisation of research results in the participating research institutions.4.Increased growth, innovation and empowerment amongst the food companies thanks to better support from the eco-system.5.Participating organisations have extended their networks, knowledge and insights which has resulted in more common activities such as join international projects, improved structures for further development of methods for learning as well as increased knowledge about the industry and the challenges we face internationally.6.Access to each other’s testbeds and networks for increased impact as well as stimuli to develop new concepts and opening of new markets.The project partners were chosen based on their expertise as well as their strategical aims to secure that all will bring knowledge, valuable input in their capacity to engage and create a community of practice at a local level. This was some of the criteria for choosing the partnership as well as knowing that all have a good track record and can bring other added value to the project. This project is seen as the starting point for a collaboration, starting with the development of the project’s online training program for Business designers/developers (mediators), key agents in the dynamization and support of innovation processes, in incubators and other environments that serve as an interface to companies including start-ups, within the food supply chain. The consortium firmly believe that the project will lead to an increased motivation and knowledge about how to participate in international transdisciplinary collaborations such as international projects and networks and is therefore foreseeing that cooperation will continue on the organisations’ own expense. The e-platform will be kept active thanks to the internal resources for a 24 months period from the end of the project. The consortium is also going to support and to ""multiply"" the results of this proposal, exploiting broader contexts of cooperation and it will try to retrieve i) the funds made available for the territorial cooperation and ii) those funds made available by Horizon2020 as well as national and international funds, including the EU. Finally, the associated partners will share the project results among their networks and thus enhance the project visibility and outreach."