Learning in old age is becoming increasingly important due to demographic trends (changing age balance), social, economic, and health challenges that are being addressed by Active and Healthy Aging policies. This includes learning in old age through different educational activities, in different places and settings, offering different contents and learning tools. Since the introduction of the concept of lifelong learning in the 1990s, new challenges for learning have been found precisely in demographic change and the use of advanced digitaltechnologies (White Paper). Trying to integrate digital tools opens many opportunities and challenges for organizations involved in the senior education. The important question is what are the benefits of using digital technology and what are its limitations? How to assess where the limit is on using digital technology and when it cannot replace immediate contacts, direct physical activity, actual movement and tactility. We have faced some of these challenges in previous projects (e.g. cooking), but have not dealt with it systematically.Digital Approaches for Intergenerational Cultural Education (DAICE) will share experiences regarding advantages and disadvantages of using digital tools and content in learning in later life. Focus will be on sharing experiences of using digital tools and content in culture/creative and education programs that play an important role in senior education, especially in COVID-19 pandemic period. Culture/creative and education programs will cover different forms such as art, literature, handicraft, cultural heritage, music, dance, etc.Different learning approaches – from clasical lectures (about tradition, national culture etc) to face to face contacts are the reasons why we choose culture/creative programes and similar activities to study the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning. Two essential dimensions are included. The first is cultural, identity. It can be seen as part of the intangible cultural heritage, it contains part of the urban and rural tradition, national and regional identity. This can be learned as a cultural, social, anthropological fact important for our national or local cultural heritage. In that view, the results of scientific and professional analyzes are transmitted to the participants (they can actively participate by adding their own experiences)..For the second approach, we will se what is the importance of implemented culture/creative programes in real environment. For example dance is not only a cultural and social fact, it is a relation to one's body. It can be pure recreational activity and a simple endeavor to get active and healthy aging and may take a more ambitious approach (somatic education being a discipline using methods of body consciousness within a given space). Body is not understood only as an »organism«, but as a place of feeling, experiencing and changing oneself. The programme is meant for improving body flexibility, coordination of movements, maintaining equilibrium, resistance and body understanding. Partners will be able to choose other culture/creative programs to present digital tools/contents advantages and disadvantages.Partners would gather and share different experiences about the using of digital tools and content available so far, and how can they be used when immediate physical contact and closeness are irreplaceable, how much blended learning can help, exchange experience about how these tools and content can achieve personal goals (wish fulfillment, cognitive curiosity, desire for healthy and active aging, need for self-actualization, emotional and social contacts needs), how these tools facilitate goals for enabling active and healthy aging, and to identify compensatory mechanisms that can remedy the digital limitations in times when no physical contact is possible but the need for physical activities remains.Advances in sharing experiences about how different groups (e.g. older people) learn and how neurolearning knowledge is used are opening up new dimensions of learning in old age and are looking at the role of digital devices in a new way. The project is aimed for people who organize programs for seniors.Several competencies will be improved: responsibility for further adult learning development; using different learning methods, styles and techniques (new media) and awareness of new possibilities and e-skills assessing them critically; able to deploy different learning methods, styles and techniques in working with seniors; designing and constructing study programmes as a programme developer.It is necessary to use experiences (lesson drawing method) of partner organisations to understand all the possibilities and dimensions in specific programs that have intellectual outcomes, physical activities, health and identity dimensions. Richard Rose lesson drawing model will be used, learning about solving certain problems from other countries communities and organization

The project’s objective is the creation and implementation of an online Method-toolbox, which can be used in European education programs and actions in the context of adult and especially older adult education. Central task will be the development of criteria for the analysis of projects and methods with the focus on good practices in the areas of fostering critical thinking, European consciousness and solidarity and the reduction of prejudices. The Method-Toolbox should help to improve and extend the supply of high quality learning opportunities tailored to the needs of different target groups and individual learners.Partner organizations from Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria are members of the educational networks Danube-Networkers, the international association DANET e.V., the FEDERUNI Network of Italian Universities of the Third Age and in Bulgaria the Platform AGORA. All partners are experienced in national and international work with different target groups, especially older learners.Collected will be methods of learning and transnational European cooperation, which will then be analyzed and adapted for work with the target groups of this project, especially older people, women, people with low education, and for learning settings (formal, non-formal, informal) in general adult education in Europe.There will be four partner meetings and cooperation via online tools. Taken into consideration will be various learning arrangements, target groups and differences in work conditions, culture, languages, as well as the educational and social framework of the respective countries and the applicability of the methods in the respective countries, focusing the cooperation of education providers from West, middle and Southeast Europe.To identify projects suitable for dissemination, a survey will be carried out on national and international level. Learners in the partner organizations will be asked about the effects of their participation in European projects. In the first partner meeting, criteria for good practice will be developed. In the second and the third partner meeting the partners will present and analyze selected relevant projects with focus on lifelong learning for older people, social participation, intergenerational dialogue and new media, related to the issues of EU citizenship, EU awareness and democracy.The results of the analyses will be documented in a method-toolbox which can be used free of charge by other education and learning providers, stakeholders and interested individuals. Dissemination of the results will be made via mailing lists and newsletters of the partners’ networks and other educational associations and networks. Each partner organization and their networks will offer learning activities identified and influenced by the processes of the project. The cooperation in the project and the utilization of the method-toolbox will promote European networking of education providers.

"According to ISCED, a high level of education has a significant impact on employment opportunities, which undoubtedly affects the quality of life of the population. However, it is estimated that 55 million people in Europe between the ages of 15 and 65 have problems understanding a simple text. These figures show how far we are from reaching the level envisaged by the Lisbon Treaty.Among the people with low educational level, a significant percentage are people over 45 years old, who need the motivation to rejoin the educational process and thus improve their skills to improve their situation in the labour market. A key role in this process is played by adult educators, the target group of this project. Although most of them are quite versatile with highly educated students, many do not know how to proceed with students with low-literacy level, nor which methodology to use to work with this kind of students. In this project, we start from the excellent results obtained in our previous Erasmus+ LearnersMot project, where the tools and materials developed within the project are being used successfully in several countries. LearnersMot2 will continue to focus on adult educators as a DIRECT TARGET GROUP and elderly low-educated and low-skilled workers as an INDIRECT TARGET GROUP, as the ageing of the workforce is one of the main demographic changes in EU countries. The ""silver economy"" is growing, which means that elderly people are seen not only as end-users but also as producers. (Memorandum on Silver Economy, Ljubljana, 2016).The main OBJECTIVE of this project is to provide adult educators with the knowledge and skills they need to create productive and effective learning environments for low-educated adults. LearnersMot2 intends to continue this work already started, focusing on the shortcomings identified during the implementation of the previous project, such as digital competences, permanent motivation and constructive feedback. The partners will use all the information gathered in LearnersMot as a basis and will take advantage of the free online educational platform already created, to which they will add the new materials created for this project. At the end of the project, the partners expect to obtain the following RESULTS: 1) concept map with indicators for the development of the 2) online course for adult educators, 3) online application for computer and mobile devices, 4) face-to-face training activity in Ljubljana to pilot test the developed material, 5) database with a collection of resources for adult educators, 6) blended learning course for adult educators, 7) 4 transnational meetings 7) 6 dissemination conferences. Regarding the METHODOLOGY used, each activity will be led by a partner who will provide the relevant guidelines. All partners will participate in the development of intellectual products, always under the supervision of the leader. Once the materials have been developed in English, they will be evaluated internally; the materials will be improved with the feedback received. Then there will be a pilot test, and finally, when the final version in English is available, it will be translated into the partners' languages. This will ensure that it reaches more educators in the partners' countries. This project is expected to have a high impact at the local, regional, national and European level. Due to the success of the previous LearnersMot project, the partners already have a network of contacts of educators interested in this topic, who have expressed their interest in LearnerMot2. The project will focus on fostering international cooperation for a greater exchange of good practices, experiences and knowledge about teaching adults with low educational level. By having the input of several countries, a common shared approach is guaranteed."

According to ISCED, educational attainment is the visible output of education systems and a measure of their success. For individuals, achievement levels have a major impact, both personally and professionally, on the quality of life and job opportunities while EUROSTAT data concerning educational attainment of the age group 55-74 are unfavourable: low educational attainment 37.4%, medium educational attainment 42.6%, high educational attainment 20.0 % (EUROSTAT, Statistical data on educational attainment, 2015) which is far from the level projected by the Lisbon Treaty. A great number of adults with low educational attainment are people aged over 45 that need to be attracted to remain in adult education in order to improve their skills and competences and, thus, be (re)included in the labour market. A key role in this process play adult educators, a target group of this project. While most of them are rather versatile dealing with students with higher levels of education attainment, they sometimes don't know what to expect and how to proceed when they have low literates as students. Adult educators and various practitioners may not be familiar with the phenomenon of low literacy, characteristics of low literate and low educated students (functional illiteracy) and how low educated learners learn. They may lack knowledge and skills about motivation and motivating strategies etc. They might not know how to gain their students confidence. If low educated students become more confident, they forget about their aversion towards changes and can stay in education and keep their job. The project seeks to contribute to empowerment of adult educators with the knowledge and skills necessary for a greater involvement of older people into lifelong education through effective outreach, guidance and motivation. To do this, different motivational strategies and technique will be offered to adult educators who test them in their adult education centres in the partner countries. In order to have these materials available for an international audience, there will be created an open educational platform with interactive resources for adult educators and other practitioners, which includes: national literature on literacy/ motivation/ learning and teaching strategies in partner languages; best practices in the field of teaching of basic skills to adult learners; an online interactive handbook of existing motivational strategies used by adult educators working with low-educated adult learners. The ultimate goal of the project is to elaborate an online learning environment to extend professional competences of adult educators based on learning and teaching strategies: knowledge, approaches, face-to-face and on-line methods and formats (webinars), techniques helping adult educators to train low educated 45+ workers as well as trigger and maintain their primary motivation for learning. The partners expect to have the following results on project completion: 1) benchmarking report on the state of the art of adult educators in EU countries prepared and available on the project website; 2) a user-friendly interactive platform containing pedagogical resources for adult educators created; 3) online interactive handbook of motivational strategies for adult educators working with low-educated learners elaborated; 4) the courses for adult educators developed; 5) 12 adult educators participated in a face-to-face training activity organised in Ljubliana in June 2019; 6) 60 adult educators from partner countries took part in the piloting of the online course; 7) Open Educational Pack for adult educators developed in English and partner languages; 8) 4 transnational meetings organised (1TM - Dec 2017 in Slovenia; 2TM – July 2018 in Italy; 3TM- March 2019 in Cyprus; 4TM – Dec 2019 in Spain); 9) 3 dissemination conferences organised in Zalec (20 local participants), Ljubliana (20 local and 10 international participants) and Nicosia (20 local and 10 international participants) in December 2019. The project will also foster and provide grounds for highly professional national and cross-border cooperation in the field of professional competences of adult educators and learning/education in later life.

The TAG project is carried out by an international and multispectral partnership of seven partners from Romania, Spain, Slovenia, Germany, Italy, Portugal and France. This partnership was formed from the strong beliefs of partner organisations that education of older adults is of European relevance because it deals with an undeniable fact all around Europe: the population is aging but is not getting involved in LLL at a due pace or rate. In a rapidly changing world, older adults are forced into new and challenging environments which require new skills and attitudes which can only be gained through education and training. Despite the many efforts made by EU institutions to promote lifelong learning, there still exists a large share of the population, namely older adults, which is back behind. In this sense, adult education is of great importance to encourage the elder to be more active and participative in social and civic spheres. It is also of a remarkable relevance for adult educators to know their learners, their characteristics, needs, emotions, social position, style of learning, etc. Knowing what topics or issues are of their interest will be crucial towards engaging them in learning processes. It is well known that human nature tends to feel identified with communities and groups of people. We all tend to feel represented by a community and its culture; our values, beliefs and the manners in which we relate and interact with other define by the culture of our societies. Culture is an extensively wide concept in meaning, embedding an endless variety of areas: language, music, literature, religion, gastronomy… However, within this long list of cultural fields, gender tends to be forgotten. Gender issues are an integral part of our culture: people of a community, the way men and women understand gender and interact, their roles in the society… Hence, partners have seen the opportunity to take the advantage of gender issues as a triggering point and an untapping tool for the elder motivation to understand EU past, history and common values. If they find an interesting and shared reason for learning - that is understanding the role of important women throughout history - older people will be more engaged in LLL and active in their social circles. The project will use all this cultural background and legacy as a motor for both the professional competences development of adult educators and the boosting of older adults’ motivation to actively participate in LLL activities To address such issues, TAG partners have established the following objectives: - to enhance educators’ professional competences to work with older learners with the aim of motivating them to take a more active part in their communities and LLL activities; - to create safe learning spaces for older people taking the advantage of gender issues as a motivational trigger; - to raise awareness about belittled and invisible women by collecting stories of nationally outstanding female intellectuals and artists from the 20th century having a European dimension;- to generalise the understanding of gender issues through history as EU common values and community cultural heritage;- to create synergies among relevant actors in the educational and cultural fields and entities working with the elder. To achieve such objectives, partners will develop four main intellectual outputs: 1. Handbook-conceptual background: history of belittled and invisible women as a trigger for better understanding common EU values and promoting active participation of older people in LLL.2. Blended Course targeting Adult Educators: ICT Tools for Older Men and Women. 3. Interactive EU Map «The making of a woman through history” created by working groups of older learners.4. Digital Stories elaborated through Collaborative Storytelling with working groups of older learners.TAG project will target directly: · Adult educators: social workers, teachers, mentors, professors, etc.· Older learners, adults aged 55+ · Staff working in adult education contexts -formal, non-formal or informal organisations.Indirectly, the project will target other stakeholders, namely educational centers and organisations working in the field of adult education; public bodies active in the field, policy makers in the field of education and social and civic participation (public bodies staff, managers and heads of departments, etc.)A transversal approach to address such issues in cooperation among educational institutions and public bodies working with the elderly is essential to ensure the creation of safe and comfortable learning paths and boost their motivation and active participation in social and civic life. Similarly, the international and EU approach will guarantee that all target groups around Europe who are currently facing the above-mentioned challenges will benefit from project results and outcomes in the short and long term.