Over the last decade, skills competitions in vocational education and training have increased in popularity and visibility. The most well know is the international WorldSkills Competition but also national, regional and local skills competitions have become more common in all European countries, and skills competitions have been a important objective on the EU agenda over the last couple of years. The benefits for the participating students, colleges and companies in skills competitions seem evident. The individual student will strengthen his/hers professional and personal skills. The colleges may gain prestige, especially if their students win a medal. And the companies will be presented as outstanding training places of high quality. Following this, it has often been argued that skills competitions have a major influence on raising the attractiveness and prestige of VET programmes and thereby more appealing for future students. And it has been emphasized that participation in skills competitions creates new learning materials and methods that can be used in the further training of VET students.However, we have only little recorded knowledge about the role of skills competitions in improving the attractiveness of VET and the kind of influence skills competitions has on the daily teaching and training at VET colleges. Participating and organising skills competitions are often costly for the involved colleges, companies and organisation in terms of labour and equipment. And the efforts in development and use of pedagogical/didactic tool are often reserved for a small number of students. Therefore, we need to gain more knowledge on how to use skills competitions to improve the reputation of VET in the broader society, and how talents participating in competitions can create an impact on a wider proportion of VET students. This project “Skills and Talent” will by sharing experiences from partners participating in skills competitions create a handbook of good practice for VET institutions and VET teachers and trainers. The handbook/platform will contain sample material about how to organise skills competitions, preparing students for competition, information materials and exercises for pupils in primary and lower secondary schools, teaching materials for VET students, methods of training of VET teachers and trainers etc.The partnership consists of four partners. The lead partner EUC Zealand (DK), a major VET college with a wide range of VET programmes, was the organiser of the Danish Skills Championship in 2019 and has worked together with primary and lower secondary schools to increase the attractiveness of VET. Krzyzowa Foundation (PL), a non-profit organisation working with education for society, has extensive know-how and experience in developing new learning methods and digital learning instruments. Kauno (LT), a VET college with a wide range of VET programmes, has participated in many skills competitions which has led to better professional and basis skills among the VET students and teachers whilst offering more advanced learning. The project will be implemented from autumn 2020 and throughout 2021. The project will be organised with four transnational meetings, one at each partner, and with representatives from all partners in the project. At each meeting the host organisation will present their experiences of participating in skills competitions and how they integrate components from the competitions in daily teaching. They will also present their experiences from presenting VET education at skills competitions in making VET more attractive for future students. The presentation and experiences from each meeting will be discussed in peer-to-peer sessions and best practice examples will be included in the handbook along with the conclusions and recommendations.

"<< Background >>The 'Anne Frank Youth Network - Remembrance & Action for Equal Rights' (hereafter: AFYN (RE)ACT) project is a cooperation partnership focused on strengthening, evolving and paving the way for the sustainability of Anne Frank Youth Network - a network whose purpose is to foster youth' sense of common values, civic engagement and participation, in Europe as well as beyond. As a growing global network built on volunteering and youth civic engagement, it is inspired by Anne Frank’s diary and her life story. All AFYN activities aim to raise awareness of the dangers of antisemitism, racism, discrimination and the importance of freedom, equal rights, and democracy. Through AFYN activities:— The wider youth public gets an opportunity to learn about the life and work of Anne Frank and the history of her time in an inspiring and meaningful way that connects with their own experiences (peer-education based traveling exhibitions; educational youth activities disseminated through Toolkit training seminars).— Young people active in the AFYN participate in workshops designed to build their skills and competencies that enable them to make a positive contribution to communities and societies. These skills and competencies are subsequently applied and further developed through the implementation of youth educational and awareness-raising follow-up actions in their local communities.There are currently a number of interconnected threats to common European values that are creating tensions and presenting challenges to European communities, countries, and continent. Such developments include the challenges associated with successfully integrating newcomers, growing nationalism, increasing polarisation and a questioning of European cohesion, identity and future. The need to address these tensions has been recognised in the Paris Declaration (2015), and the AFH has for many years taken up the challenge of promoting citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and anti-discrimination through education.As the institution entrusted with the preservation of the place where Anne Frank went into hiding and wrote her diary during the Second World War, the AFH mission is to raise awareness of the dangers of antisemitism, racism and discrimination as well as the importance of freedom, equal rights and democracy. This is why we were particularly concerned when we witnessed a disturbing increase in antisemitic incidents all across Europe during the period leading up to the pandemic outbreak: ""France reported a 74 % increase in the number of offenses against Jews, and German police announced a 60 % rise in violent antisemitic attacks."" (The Atlantic, Feb. 2019). The resurgence of antisemitic scapegoating can be witnessed in the antisemitism present in Dutch soccer (‘’Jews to the Gas: the antisemitism shaming Dutch soccer’’, CNN, March 5, 2019), and the antisemitic newspaper sold at a kiosk in the Polish parliament (featuring the article advising ‘How to Recognize a Jew’, March 2019). In 2021, we are grappling with a year and a half-long pandemic whose protracted uncertainty is inflicting various harms and negative consequences, from economic ones to mental health repercussions. We spent most of this past period online – working and learning, interacting with our friends, colleagues and peers, and being subjected to an onslaught of (negative) news, some of which classifiable as conspiracy theories or disinformation. The pandemic and its ‘new vocabulary’ and imposed reality of social distancing, self-isolation, quarantines and general alienation from our old lives and habits have only amplified the problems and divisions in society that existed prior to its outbreak. Research indicates that youth have become disillusioned with democracy, and that their apathy and lack of participation is driven by this loss of faith in the system. AFYN is as an avenue for rekindling youth's sense of civic engagement, and for fostering positive personal agency.<< Objectives >>AFYN (RE)ACT project promotes active citizenship and youth civic engagement practices that strengthen European identity, democratic citizenship and European values in order to contribute to a more open, tolerant and inclusive European future.The AFYN (RE)ACT cooperation partnership's objectives are: a) Increasing knowledge and education about the Holocaust among young people, developing new forms of remembrance in the light of dwindling knowledge about the Holocaust and lack of engagement with issues related to it, as well as b) Improving skills of young people who have prior experience as peer educators by increasing their international competences turning youth members of the network into youth leaders. c) Developing innovative (digital, blended and face-to-face) educational materials, activities & tools that increase the capacity and engagement of youth, their schools and communities in prevention and educational and awareness-raising responses to various (modern) forms of antisemitism, xenophobia, racism, discrimination and other types of intolerance;d) Strengthening the quality and relevance of Anne Frank Youth Network and its activities throughout Europe, consolidating its past successes and paving the way for the evolution of its digital and blended-learning materials designed for fostering youth civic engagement, as well as its sustainability-oriented digital and structural infrastructure, including creation of a long-term comprehensive strategy.The partnership is meant to stimulate non-formal educational practices that will generate a critical learning space for a collaborative, inclusive, human rights centered, youth-led and action-oriented experiential education about the phenomenology of antisemitism, polarization, xenophobia, discrimination, exclusion, marginalization and disenfranchisement of various racial, sexual, ethnic and religious groups throughout Europe.<< Implementation >>The project's cooperation partnership will be realized through the following activities: A. TRANSNATIONAL PROJECT MEETINGS1. In “AFYN (RE)ACT Kick-Off Meeting”, the partners will formulate their cooperation fundamental guidelines and processes (communication, timeline, general frame for production of different project results, the utilization of each partner’s networks, project management, reporting, monitoring and evaluation, quality assurance mechanisms). 2. In “AFYN (RE)ACT Materials Draft Review Meeting”, partners will conduct a peer review of the draft versions of produced project results to ensure the materials’ quality. 3. In “AFYN (RE)ACT Materials Finalization & Multipliers Events Planning Meeting”, partners will provide near-ready drafts of their project results, so this meeting’s focus will be on the fine-tuning and final edits of the materials, enhancement of inclusion and multiperspectivity elements, cross-national and intercultural adaptations. It is during this meeting that partners will also make clear plans for the dissemination of project results, especially drafting the plans and programs of different multiplier events andnpartner cooperation and participation therein. 4. In “AFYN (RE)ACT Project Evaluation & Sustainability Meeting”, following the conclusion of all the multiplier events, the partners will gather to compare the evaluation and dissemination results of the AFYN (RE)ACT project. They will also conduct introspective and reflective analyses of the cooperation partnership, explore opportunities for further cooperation, and outline AFYN (RE)ACT project's follow-up and sustainability action steps within each organization’s purview and networks. B) PRODUCTION OF PROJECT RESULTS, i.e. different sets of mutually-reinforcing and complementary materials that will strengthen and advance AFYN mission and activities through enhancing its digital, educational and structural infrastructure:1. AFYN website2. AFYN digital platform3. AFYN Digital Resources Collection4. AFYN Digital Engagement Strategy5. AFYN Toolkit 2.06. AFYN Activities Set for Civic Youth Engagement7. AFYN Follow-Up Activities Framework8. AFYN Outreach Guide9. AFYN Facilitators' Handbook10. AFYN International Youth Forum Organizers' Manual11. AFYN MERL Policies and Tools12. AFYN Safeguarding Standards13. AFYN Long-term Sustainability StrategyC) MULTIPLIER EVENTS & LEARNING ACTIVITIES:Multiplier events each bringing together 25 youths from 4 countries for 2-3 day project-results dissemination events:1. AFYN (RE)ACT NL Youth Forum '23 2. AFYN (RE)ACT PL Youth Forum '23 3. AFYN (RE)ACT CRO Youth Forum '23 Multiplier events taking place online, each bringing together 25 youths from various European countries for a full-day online training using project results:4. AFYN (RE)ACT Digital Forum - Digital Engagement 5. AFYN (RE)ACT Digital Forum - Historical Human Rights Education6. AFYN (RE)ACT Digital Forum - Civic Engagement7. AFYN International Youth Forum '24 (learning-teaching-training activity bringing 50 youths from 12 countries from throughout Europe for a 5-day training event)<< Results >>At YOUTH level:90 youths participating in multiplier events + 50 youths participating in the learning-training activity, as new AFYN members, will each organize an estimated 3 peer education follow-up activities. Making a very conservative low estimate that each such peer education activity will have 15 peers taking part, it is expected that project results (educational materials, tools) will reach...~6,300 youths. An additional 1,500 youths are expected to be reached through various digital engagement activities (digital multiplier events, social media campaigns, etc.) AFYN new members are expected to have:1.Improved knowledge about the Holocaust; 2.Increased awareness about the various forms in which antisemitism expresses itself in the modern society; 3.Increased resilience in addressing the issues of antisemitism, racism, xenophobia, discrimination, and other forms of intolerance such as hate speech; 4.Enhanced critical thinking and self-reliance skills when it comes to considering own personal responsibility in making a positive contribution to society, especially in the face of various dangers challenging peace, European values and cohesion; 5.Deeper understanding and higher levels of active citizenship and community involvement as evidenced through AFYN youth participation in volunteering, activism, social movements, public interest advocacy campaigns;6.Gained new competences and tools to counter and address manifestations of racism, antisemitism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance;7.Gained the necessary competences to collaborate with young peer educators around ‘understanding, respect and dialogue’ in school contexts;8.Learned how to mentor, collaborate with and support young people who launch social media campaigns/outreach educational activities; 9.Learned how to create and foster an ‘atmosphere of active dialogue and understanding’ in the schools;10. (youth participating in peer-education activities) - Increased inspiration by the youth positive role-modeling of active citizenship. This overall increased awareness and sensitivity towards the problems of antisemitism, racism, xenophobia, and other forms of intolerance in society will be fostered in youth primarily through two modes: their direct involvement in their own educational process (where they will be co-designing their learning experiences, as well as taking charge in passing on knowledge to their peers) and the innovative approaches to Holocaust education.At PARTNER ORGANIZATION level:It is expected that each partner organization will have at least 3 new young people of those actively participating in the project becoming active members and/or interns/junior staff in these organizations. Owing to the emphasis on building both digital as well as structural infrastructure, as well as systematization and standardization of quality assurance mechanisms, it is expected that the partner organizations will improve their own youth work standards and practices in the course of AFYN (RE)ACT duration. They will have an enriched toolbox of innovative methods, approaches and pedagogies in addressing these complex issues through (non-formal) education as well as strengthened expertise in using webinars and social media as educational instruments.At ANNE FRANK YOUTH NETWORK level:The Anne Frank Youth Network overall, as result of this KA2 project, is expected to have1.A consolidated legacy of past successes, in the form of a.Newly created digital infrastructure;b.Updated educational materials and tools (revised and improved existing materials and tools + newly created educational tools and materials in historical human rights education and youth engagement domains);2.A strengthened partnership coalition, with a new model of sustainable functioning, enhanced througha.New digital infrastructure;b.Regional hubs activities;c.Newly created MERL mechanisms and tools.d.Long-term strategy"

<< Objectives >>- Raise awareness and knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals - Develop an innovative educational tool for youth workers and educators to use with young people from 15+- Inspire young people to take action to implement the SDGs in their local communities and be active citizens- Involve local communities in the implementation of the SDGs<< Implementation >>- Testing the tool with young people- Testing with youth workers in how to facilitate the tool- Develop the tool and methodology with the feedback from the two target groups - Create a website for sharing the tool and other project results- Training of trainers, finishing conference and launching of website- Partnership development<< Results >>When the project is finished we expect to have:- a tool that can be used with young people- guidebook and methodology- website for sharing the guidebook and other project results- 10 trainers who can facilitate the tool- conference about SDGs and youth work- a strong and constructive partnership- the awareness of young people, youth workers and educators who have tested the tool during the project or participated in the training and conference has increased

The aim of the strategic partnership “JustNow – A Toolbox for Teaching Human Rights” was the development of methodological-didactical materials related to human rights education, combined with a simulation game and diversity learning in non-formal and formal youth educational work. The idea of starting this strategic partnership was the outcome of internal evaluations and requests put forward by organizations and schools that previously participated in the Model International Criminal Court (MICC) project. The partner organizations from Croatia, Germany, Netherlands and Poland have been cooperating for eight years on the implementation of the MICC project, which has been funded by the Youth in Action Programme, later on by the Erasmus+ Programme since 2009.During the Model International Criminal Court project, young people simulate final pleadings of historical cases that were heard before the International Tribunals, namely the Nuremberg Tribunal, the International Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Ruanda. Additionally, they are attending human rights workshops, as well as a training in international criminal law. In that context students get to know more about the background of the conflicts, learn who was responsible, but also learn that a fair trial is the basis for sustainable justice and the protection of human rights. These youth meetings happening through the MICC project are designed for a week and they are in English language. This makes the access difficult for many young people because of a language barrier, their economic situation, or their school work, or in the case of refugees – their residency status. The main objective of the strategic partnership was to create a learning platform with various educational materials, which can be accessed and used by everyone.The JustNow interactive learning platform is designed to support teachers, youth workers and young peer educators to actively create and use learning approaches for human rights education, which are part of the MICC project. In order to make the abstract subject of human rights accessible to young people and relate it to their own life situations, the learning platform offers different materials for different types of learners. The platform offers activity plans, exercises and timelines as well as audiovisual content such as short animation movies which will help young people to learn about human rights, diversity, basic democratic values and the rule of law independently or with the help of an educator. With the innovative approach of small-scale learning modules, this toolbox allows everyone to implement needs-tailored, innovative and engaging educational workshops.Beside the cooperation in the MICC project, the initiators have been working together in other projects and fields. During this partnership all of them brought their expertise and knowledge, which is visible in the intellectual outputs and impact of the project itself. The Kreisau-Initiative e.V. contributed to the development of methods related to new approaches and tools in teaching contemporary history, especially with online tools. The Polish partner, Fundacja Krzyzowa brought an expertise in the creation of materials which are using the approach of learning from dilemma. HERMES contributed with new concepts on historical human rights education as well as with experience in pedagogy. The Dutch partner, the IAIE introduced the scientific dimension to diversity-based learning and contributed a lot with including and having refugees and people with migrational background as beneficiaries of the project.Through the project six transnational meetings and eight multiplier events were organised. The multiplier events gathered 212 participants coming from 25 countries of Europe and the MENA region. The JustNow materials reached over 11 000 beneficiaries from more than 106 countries all across the world, which is an outcome which went beyond the expectations of the partner organizations. The intellectual output of the project contains three animation movies, eighteen activity/workshop plans and four timelines created by the representatives of the partner organizations. The intellectual output is summarized on a learning platform which is translated into five language, additionally the animation movies were translated into eighteen languages. The JustNow Toolbox had a huge impact on the development of new methods in teaching human rights. The benefits of this project are already visible in the formal and non-formal educational field (based on the reports which we are receiving from beneficiaries using the intellectual outputs), which is a motivation for this strategic partnership and other civil society organizations to continue developing this toolbox in the future too.JustNow - A Toolbox for Teaching Human Rights: www.teachjustnow.eu.

<< Background >>The aim of the strategic partnership JustNow - A Toolbox for Teaching Human Rights: Blended-Learning Edition is the further development of methodical-didactic materials for (historical) human rights education with elements of the simulation game as well as the addition of methods of diversity learning for use in non-formal youth education. Since all partners are also networked with schools, the aim is also to use the materials across sectors that is why this project needs to be carried out transnationally. The partner organizations from Germany, Croatia, the Netherlands, and Poland have been working together for more than ten years as part of the Model International Criminal Court (MICC) project, which has been funded several times since 2009 by Youth in Action and later by Erasmus+ Programme. In the simulation game, young people simulate the final phases of historical cases before international criminal tribunals. Through intensive workshops on human rights, the historical background of the situations, and training in criminal law, an intensive and lasting learning experience is achieved. However, these youth encounters are designed for one week and take place in English. This makes access difficult or impossible for many young people due to language barriers or their economic situation, their school or training situation, or their residence status in the case of refugees.The JustNow 2.0. the learning platform is intended to further develop the MICC project but also prepare the learning content in other forms and formats for new target groups. It is intended to support youth workers and young peer educators in actively creating and using learning opportunities for (historical) human rights education. In order to make the abstract topic of human rights tangible for young people and to pick them up in their own real-life, there should be offers for different types of learners on the learning platform. There will be exercises and texts, blended learning concept, but also audiovisual content such as animated films, podcasts, timelines, with the help of which young people can acquire knowledge about human rights, diversity, basic democratic values, and the rule of law, independently or with the support of youth workers or educators. The aim is to enable young people through “JustNow 2.0.” to recognize human rights violations and to stand up for their protection. With the innovative approach of creating small-scale learning modules, youth education institutions receive a method box that enables them to carry out high-quality educational projects that are adapted to their needs and target groups.With JustNow 2.0., the project consortium reacts to the results of internal evaluations and wishes that have been formulated by the youth organizations and schools that have participated in MICC in the past and additionally throughout the experience made in implementing the JustNow project (in the period of 2017-2019), inputs and evaluation of the project. Learning materials are to be developed that are available online as open source so that they can be used more flexibly and by different target groups and require less prior knowledge to be used in work with young people. All materials will be further developed and translated into German, Arabic, Polish, Croatian, and English in order to overcome language barriers in their use and certain materials will be translated in other international languages to have a broader impact (based on the experience from JustNow project 2017-2019 - where the animation videos were translated into over 15 different languages as internal support of our partner network).<< Objectives >>The achievement of the project will be the resulting platform with learning materials that are freely accessible and can be downloaded free of charge. The materials can already be used by future instructors in the four advanced training courses. The target group of these events is youth work specialists, young peer educators, teachers, volunteers, and other interested parties such as scientists and journalists. The aim is to distribute the materials as widely as possible because many organizations are already active in the field of human rights education or history education. These organizations can be supported in creating synergy effects with the materials that are available free of charge. In addition, we will also promote the materials at future training courses and youth exchanges that are funded by Erasmus +. As expected, we will reach more people in the four participating countries, but assume that the method will also spread beyond online accessibility.The consortium expects an intensive exchange from the strategic partnership on the qualitative improvement of youth work with offers that are target group-oriented, diversityconscious, and contemporary. The partners want to supplement existing offers of (historical) human rights education and develop them for new target groups. The high-quality product that is to be created as part of the partnership will be the web-based learning platform “JustNow”, which will make learning materials, animated films, podcasts, timelines, and texts available for use and download free of charge. The same platform which is already created (JustNow project 2017-2019) will be furthermore developed with new intellectual outputs and content and later after the project ends, expanded by the partners. During the project implementation of the previous JustNow project 2017-2019, we engaged 212 multipliers from 25 European and MENA region countries, and additionally, we reached 5000 beneficiaries directly (example: workshop participants) and 6000 beneficiaries indirectly (example: unique website visitors and video viewers).Since the official end of the project, the JustNow materials reached additionally 2450 beneficiaries directly and over 24000 beneficiaries indirectly (Google Analytics for the JustNow website and Youtube views on animation movies). The JustNow animation movie about Migration was viewed over 20000 times on Youtube. Based on the statistics, JustNow materials are approximately used by 840 users every month since the platform is created, which shows the need for such learning platforms.Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in online education throughout Europe, we realized that we needed to enhance the JustNow 2.0. materials by creating blended learning adaptations of the existing content (primarily created for classroom-based/offline use), as well as address the complexity of Europe’s contemporary human rights challenges by developing educational content based on new themes.<< Implementation >>In six transnational meetings, the partners will compose and compile texts, learning materials, and videos mainly in English and translations in German, Croatian, Arabic, and Polish, which are available for download on the website of JustNow 2.0. All downloads are free of charge. Through multiplier events over 250 youth workers, teachers and peer-educators will be enabled to use the materials in their work contexts. At the end of the two-year project, symposiums will take place in one of these countries. These events will reach 100 people directly. As we offer the JustNow materials as OER we expect to reach 25000 people in two years. The high-quality product JustNow is especially aimed at youth to support them in creating and seizing learning opportunities. The openness of the simulation game approach allows self-determined participation. Through the innovative approach to create small learning modules, organizations active in the youth field receive a collection of materials that allow them to conduct high-quality educational programs that are the right fit for their needs and target groups.<< Results >>Creation of learning materials which will include the following content:- Pedagogical concept of (historical) human rights education in the MICC project: basics of non-formal education, use of the simulation method, learning from history, contemporary human rights education, learning from the dilemma, diversity-conscious learning;- Learning modules in the area of human rights of 45 minutes each, which can be used individually or as a series;- Practical manual for the application of the learning modules with information and recommendations on the target group, age of the young people, level of difficulty, dealing with language;- Good practice examples from other providers.Following education materials will be created and added into the JustNow Toolbox:a) 3 - New animation moviesb) 22 - New learning modulesc) 10 - Podcastsd) 4 - New timelinesAll currently available materials will be reviewed and edited as a blended-learning adaption.The new materials will cover the following topics:- Contemporary human rights issues (e.g. LGBTIQ rights, feminism)- Contemporary society issues (e.g. right-wing extremism, populism)- Media Education and Polarization (e.g. media literacy, countering disinformation, digital safeguarding)The concrete topics will be decided on by the project partners upon interviewing focus group teachers (from within the partners’ network), to determine which topics would be of most use and interest to them, to cover with their students.