<< Background >>The project “Fair News” is a cooperation partnership to support innovation in the field of school education. The project aims not only to enhance understanding among high school students of the operation of fake-news, but also to work with students on a deep level in order to strengthen their understanding of how knowledge and media content is created and distributed. The project aims to help students to become more conscious readers, co-creators and co-distributors of knowledge.The project is addressed to high school students in four European countries (Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Austria). As leading organisation, Fondazione Spazio Reale has a long tradition of developing and implementing social and cultural projects in the field of education, with an emphasis on multiculturalism, inclusion and ‘giving voices to difference’, thus motivating Fair News as a project designed to address the defined needs of high school students.In the current landscape, in which young people are exposed to multiplying media perspectives, the question of how knowledge is created, disseminated, and consumed is ever-more important. Young people need the ability to recognize bias and identify fair and trustworthy sources of news and information. Further, as the digital world becomes increasingly atomised, and much of social and civic life takes place online, many young people risk disconnection and isolation from the local, national, and international communities. A recent OECD Report, Developing Literacy Skills in a Digital World (2021) has highlighted the need for new skills in media literacy given the “massive information flow of the digital era.” The report shows that less than 50% of 15-year-olds in OECD countries were able to distinguish fact from opinion, with students in Italy and Austria below the OECD average. The report makes clear that schools are not, currently, fulfilling the role of teaching the skills necessary to navigate ambiguity and manage complexity in the digital world. New approaches are needed to develop these skills among high school students by creating broader educational communities beyond formal education and including a range of stakeholders.This necessity has been foregrounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has not only led to increased social isolation, but has also highlighted the importance of the ability to navigate and participate in digital media. The questions of what makes news fair, and how the voices of young people across Europe can be heard in the media landscape, is now of pressing importance. This means that there is a need to create broader connections between young people, to enhance their understanding of their reality, and to offer them spaces where they can not only reflect on their situation but can experiment with and experience a knowledge community. Recent movements, such as FridaysForFuture, have shown the depth of desire among young people to be heard, to participate in society, and to imagine alternative futures. We want students to possess the skills to take the lead in reshaping media discourse. As the future voters and makers of our reality, we believe that these skills are vital in supporting and enhancing democracy and we aim to create a community of mature listeners, media consumers and media creators.We believe that these needs can be approached from a holistic perspective by bringing together conceptual and practical knowledge in critical thinking, media literacy and news creation. By partnering with educational organisations, media producers and communication specialists in five European countries, we aim to facilitate and develop the skills and knowledge needed to understand and create news which is fair and inclusive, and so to foster a new form of educational community capable of enhancing social engagement and cohesion, in relation to the Key Competencies for Lifelong Learning laid out in the Recommendation of the Council of the European Union in May 2018.<< Objectives >>This project aims to help high school students to learn to navigate ambiguity and manage complexity.It will introduce them to the theory and practice of Fair News by:-Developing a deeper understanding of how knowledge is created, co-created, distributed and amplified in an increasingly complex digital landscape;-Improving awareness of the power of words and images from a holistic, multidisciplinary, and long-term perspective;-Offering a space in which students can learn and teach, enabling them to become media literate by listening as well as speaking to them, to prioritise the needs and voices of students;-Empowering students as digital citizens and participants in democratic life through new ways to consume, create, present and distribute their own news content.The innovative aspects of the project derive from:-The holistic approach which emphasises the transdisciplinary nature of knowledge and the need for a bottom-up approach to education, in which students are active co-creators of knowledge, and not placed solely as consumers or recipients; -The creation of educational communities at a local and transnational level, seeking to overcome disconnection and disengagement among high school students by bringing together schools, non-formal educational organisations, online student groups, and a broader network of stakeholders such as families, cultural organisations, and media producers.In accordance with the Erasmus+ General Objective of building a European Education Area and supporting the implementation of the European strategic cooperation in the field of education, the project will prioritise connection and collaboration between young people and educational organisations across Europe, creating an international and transnational educational community.The project aims not only to enhance the ability to identify and decode fake news, but also to work with educators and students to develop sophisticated understanding of how knowledge and content is created and distributed. While fake news is a societal concern for all ages, it has a huge relevance for young people. The ability to understand and evaluate information and knowledge is the foundation of becoming and being a conscious citizen. Further, young people, compared to older generations, use social media and peers on a large scale to access and share information. The focus of the project is not only on the ability to identify fake news, but on understanding and enabling a fair, co-created, and shared media landscape. The project’s objectives thus align with the Key Competencies defined in the EU Recommendation of May 2018 such as literacy and digital competence and cultural awareness and expression.By developing an educational community that brings together young people, educational organisations, schools and media producers, the project aims to challenge the ‘educational crisis’ that affects the relationship between generations and furthers social marginalisation and cultural exclusion. The project’s focus on collaboration and shared experiences resists the impulse to talk down to young people through the transmission of fixed knowledge, but rather seeks to develop new understanding and articulate new concepts through listening to the voices of young people themselves. Through developing the concept of ‘fair news’, we aim to help young people to become more conscious readers, creators and distributors of knowledge. Fair news involves not only the ability to detect and deconstruct disinformation and bias, but also to create and participate in a discourse which connects diverse social groups, fosters intergenerational communication, and allows young people to formulate and express their views, concerns, hopes and aspirations. Fair news is honest, communicative, inclusive, and equally representative of all; we seek to resist the idea of news as objective ‘truth’, and to deepen an understanding of knowledge developed through perception and interpretation<< Implementation >>The project will proceed through four stages of activities, aiming to achieve the project objectives by facilitating educational organisations in the theory and practice of Theory of Knowledge and Media and Information Literacy; training and facilitating high school students as co-creators of knowledge, using a holistic approach which prioritises their needs and capabilities according the the EU Recommendations of May 2018; training young students in the theory and practice of media literacy and media creation, including the production and distribution of knowledge and hand-on experience.The implementation of the project will use methodologies drawn from two disciplines:-Theory of Knowledge (TOK): A purposeful enquiry into ways of knowing, including the interpretative nature of knowledge and its creation across multiple disciplines, enabling students to understand their own perceptions and beliefs, and appreciate the diversity of cultural perspectives. TOK is a key part of the International Baccalaureate curriculum, and the implementation of this project will make the discipline accessible to a wider audience of students and educators;-Media and Information Literacy (MIL): Defined by UNESCO as “a set of competencies that empowers citizens to access, retrieve, understand, evaluate and use, to create as well as share information and media content in all formats, using various tools, in a critical, ethical and effective way, in order to participate and engage in personal, professional and societal activities.” Competencies in MIL are closely aligned with those laid out in the May 2018 EU Council Recommendations for Lifelong Learning.The structure of the project is the following:Phase 1 (4 months): Research, training and facilitation of educators in experiences, needs, and skills in critical thinking, Theory of Knowledge and Media and Information Literacy for high school students.This phase foresees a transnational training activity (C1) for educational workers, involving all partners, followed by a series of webinars through which educators can share their experience of the problems faced by students and develop a methodological approach to solutions. The training will be facilitated by Traces&Dreams. Phase 2 (6 months): Collaborative laboratories with high school students on critical thinking and Theory of Knowledge.This phase foresees a series of collaborative laboratories, hosted by educational organisations in each country with the methodological support of Traces&dreams. Transnational communication and collaboration will be enabled through digital blended learning. The laboratories will foster understanding of critical thinking and the Theory of Knowledge through analysis of how knowledge is created and disseminated in the media. Young people will develop the skills to share their experience and communicate their understanding through personal and group projects.Phase 3 (6 months): Practical workshops on principles of Media and Information Literacy and the creation and distribution of knowledge.This phase foresees a series of practical workshops focusing on media literacy, digital citizenship, and the analysis, production and distribution of news in various media, held with high school students in each country with the methodological support of Traces&Dreams and Toscana Oggi. The participants will produce their own digital newspaper based on the concepts of ‘fair news’.Phase 4 (2 months): Installations and Digital Newspaper launchMultiplier events in each country, through which young people will launch the digital newspaper, share their knowledge and their creations, act as ambassadors to their peers and engender an ongoing educational community including all stakeholders.<< Results >>OUTCOMES.For partner organisations:The project will introduce partners to theoretical, methodological and practical concepts related to critical thinking, the Theory of Knowledge and Media and Information Literacy. The focus on collaboration and learning-through-doing will enable organisations to develop a new form of education through facilitation, which can be utilised in both their work with students through this project and through future projects with young people.Schools and educational organisations will become increasingly aware of the problems of fake news and social disconnection among young people, and will enhance their ability to adopt a holistic and bottom-up approach when addressing these issues.Strategic relationships will be formed between schools, partner organisations and other stakeholders within and between countries, enabling an ongoing ‘enlarged’ educational community.Traces&Dreams will lead the preparation of educational material on critical thinking, the Theory of Knowledge and media literacy that will be accessible to a broad audience.For students:The project will enable students to understand the detection and deconstruction of fake news, and the principles underlying fair news, using an innovative bottom-up approach which emphasises the experiences, views and needs of students.Students will gain enhanced abilities in critical thinking, Media and Information Literacy and the Theory of Knowledge, according to the EU Recommendations of May 2018.Students will also develop practical skills and abilities in content production and dissemination, including the production of their own media creations based on the principles of fair news.RESULTS.The outcomes of the project will be synthesised, realised and shared through the following Project Results:PR1: Formative report on the creation and development of educational communities using methodologies of Theory of Knowledge and Media and Information LiteracyLeader: Spazio Reale. All partners participate. Based on the training activities undertaken through C1, the knowledge created and the experiences shared will be developed into a document reflecting the needs of students in relation to MIL, and the use of TOK in the creation of educational communities, to be implemented through laboratories and workshops with high school students and designed for ongoing use and adaptation in various contexts.PR2: Framework for innovative pathways in the use of Theory of Knowledge among high school students Leader: Centrul de Resurse si Consultanta in Educatie. All partners participate. Based on the theoretical innovation and practical application of the training activities undertaken with high school students and the methodologies defined through PR1, this result will present a document outlining the use of critical thinking, Theory of Knowledge and media literacy in facilitating the skills and competencies required for high school students to participate in democratic life through the understanding and creation of fair news and the formation of broader educational communities. PR3: Resources for the creation and dissemination of Fair NewsLeader: Traces&Dreams. Toscana Oggi participate. Based on the innovative experimentation defined through PR2 and the practical activities in the production and sharing of news by high school students undertaken through workshops, this result will present a hands-on guide for the creation and communication of fair news from the perspectives of high school students, and its realisation through a digital newspaper.

<< Objectives >>Youth-REC responds to the European Youth Strategy: to engage, connect, and empower youth. It aims to combat low and falling rates of engagement and participation in civic society, and trust in democratic structure, while capitalising on the promise of creative methods for engaging youth. Thus, the project will develop and use innovative creative methods in storytelling, filmmaking, and graphic design to improve the skills of youth workers and engage and empower disenfranchised European youth.<< Implementation >>Youth-REC will conduct research and collect best practices to develop a project manual providing guidelines for the use of the project methods for engaging and empowering youth. Youth workers will participate in a training to use these methods effectively, and will conduct workshops at the local level in 7 European countries with disenfranchised and marginalised youth. Finally, a series of events will be held to exhibit the youth's films and launch and promote their campaigns.<< Results >>Youth-REC will develop a manual, with research, best practices, and a workshop guide for youth workers to use to engage and empower disenfranchised youth. From the workshops, youth will produce films on issues personal to them and/or their communities, and accompanying campaigns, including visual brands. These films and campaigns will be available on Youtube and the project website. Finally, events will be held locally and internationally to celebrate the project and promote the campaigns.

MINDtheGaps aims to contribute to the promotion of equal opportunities to young people in vulnerable situations, including those living in residential care institutions, to develop media literacy, digital inclusion and critical thinking and, therefore, conditions to live and participate on the information society and to access the labour market (social inclusion).MINDtheGaps uses a participatory intervention based on programming training and multimedia open educational resources development to empower young people to develop media literacy, critical thinking and to be able to share knowledge and collaboratively solve problems in partnership with young people from other European countries, in a non-formal context. This means that the project is in line with the New European Youth Policy (2019-2027) since it will develop new and innovative ways to achieve the priorities that are set out in national and EU policy: ENGAGE, CONNECT and EMPOWER young people through innovation, quality and recognition of youth work.The general objective unfolds in the following objectives:- To know the characteristics and the young people intersecting disadvantages of gender, race, religion, relation to education, learning disabilities, family status, geographical contexts and citizenship status;- To develop tools to educational institutions, in general, to implement inclusive education approaches and promote common values through digital media;- To promote effective use of existing tools to promote citizenship education;- To deepen knowledge about inclusive educational innovative approaches regarding media literacy with young people living in residential care institutions;- To promote young people and staff cross-border situations contact to experience European identity to prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism through the promotion of common values as a vector of social inclusion;- To raise awareness about the risks and opportunities of the internet and social media;- To develop practical recommendations with regard to the development of media literacy and critical thinking practices both in formal and informal education and training activities among young people in socially vulnerable situations;- To disseminate the produced knowledge evolving policy makers, State care institutions, schools, teacher’s associations, European networks, education administrative staff, etc.The primary target group will involve 100 young people aged between 15-18 years old in risk of exclusion, including NEETs facing educational difficulties, learning difficulties, early school-leavers, low qualified adults, young people with poor school performance, economic obstacles, cultural differences. This target-group was selected because they are facing the transition from the teenage to the early adult age; some of them have equated an eventual school drop-out, which will require them to look for a job, in order to avoid NEET situations.The project's deliveries, namely an innovative practices handbook, online education resources, assessment/testing materials and distance learning platform, are intended to be used and adapted in other educational and training contexts, both formal and informal, ensuring project sustainability and long-term impact. The end-users are schools communities/residential care institution staff (school as an institution: managers, administrative staff, education counsellors, parents, surrounding communities, students – from 12 to 16 years old – and teachers).MINDtheGaps impact envisage is to contribute to develop innovative practices at both partners’ countries and EU level to guarantee “the right to quality and inclusive education, training and lifelong learning in order to maintain and acquire skills that enable [everyone] to participate fully in society and manage successfully transitions in the labour market” (European Pillar of Social Rights, 2017). They are also in sync with the targets of Europe 2020 Agenda, namely at the educational level, contributing to a decrease of early school leaving and to diminish the levels of people in or at risk of poverty/social exclusion and the number of NEETs.

Early school leaving is a real social issue. The unemployment rate among early school leavers is higher than 40%. Dale’s studies confirm that a student learns better when he acts: he retains 20% of what he hears, 50% of what he sees and hears, and 90% of what he does. Non-formal education, active education, make teaching more attractive, more “snappy”. Students change over the years, the same is true regarding their ability to pay attention and to be focused, but teaching methods often struggle to evolve to cope with it. While recent years have seen significant progress in tackling early school leaving, efforts need to be sustained and the focus must be put on prevention.This is the objective that DROP'IN gave itself by allowing the cross between the formal education and the non-formal education environment to keep students and teachers to be into in the educational environment.It is the question of keeping the students motivated that is worked here, in response to the fight against school dropout. DROP'IN is a long-term investment and is therefore a project that worked closely with teachers during 36 months to give them knowledge and skills in the non-formal education sector, to enable them to become trainers for their peers so that the dynamics continue beyond the project. The achievements of this 36-month project were: teacher training on techniques and attitudes / method of non-formal education, research and state of the art in the partner regions, test period and implementation through teacher-expert pairs of non-formal methods for students from 12 to 18, capitalization, dissemination and multiplication of good practices developed for opening up to other schools.The project developed a state of the art, a catalogue of techniques, a training in non-formal methods - a veritable vademecum for teachers - an analysis of the practices tested and their valorisation in the form of an online portfolio as well as a policy paper indicating the specific axes to develop to contribute to this fight against early school leaving. The partners gathered around the project combined expertise from the non-formal education sector with secondary schools as well as a University from 5 European countries impacted by the issues of school dropout (Latvia, Belgium, Italy, Bulgaria and La France). Transversality is a key word of the DROP'IN project: the partners are diverse and complementary in the consortium (associations, municipalities, schools and University) and in each country, a local steering committee was created and developed the adaptation of DROP'IN in the local context, involving all the stakeholders of the wider educational community (teachers, parents, institutions ...). In doing so, these steering committees facilitated the ownership of the project by a broad network of associated partners and the dissemination of results on a large scale.

Within the Tourism sector, which employs over 12 million people, many employees and especially young people, work on short term contracts and follow a pattern of intense high season activity followed by low season unemployment. The issue of seasonality in tourism has long been a source of concern expressed in EU publications and it is feared that the intense concentration of touristic activities in a relatively short period of time “may have dramatic negative impact on local economies for the whole year” (Ecorys Study in support of policy measures for maritime and coastal tourism, 2013). This is particularly true with regard to employment prospects of the tourism workers in the areas of a “marked seasonality” that is, those dependent on the “sun and beach” model or winter skiing resorts. Official reports have proved this cross-border trend is evident in most seasonal tourist hot spots. This cycle disproportionately affects young people who resort to seasonal work to escape unemployment, but often become trapped in this cyclical process, where they are unable to follow more sustainable career options. And yet, seasonal workers within the tourism sector have already gained valuable skills that could be utilised for more professional careers. The main objective of the VALITS project was to break this cycle and help young people working in seasonal tourism to find longer term employment opportunities. Five project partners from Spain, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria and Italy cooperated in this project: - Sea Teach (ES) is a VET provider organisation active in tourism 'hot spot' of the Balearic Islands and experienced in the field of validation and comparison of qualifications.- Danmar Computers (PL) contributed its extensive expertise in developing software applications within an educational environment.- Know and Can Association (BG) brought to the project its experience in the field of applying specialized programs to develop social and civil skills using modern methods in non-formal education.- Euro (IT) runs the Alcamo National Park and employs seasonal workers as well as being a training center for the tourism sector.- SMC (AT) is a training centre situated in a winter alpine centre, experienced in offering re-education training and working with seasonal tourism workers.To reach its objectives, the partners undertook the following activities: 1.)The partners identified through extensive desk and field research the 10 most fundamental informal transversal skills and competences, inside and outside of the tourism sector.2.)The consortium developed an assessment methodology that is based on an objective assessment and not self-assessment. From this methodology the partners developed the 'Validation Tool' that assesses the users for their perfomance in all 10 informal transversal skills and provides them after test completion with a meaningful and graded assessment certificate. 3.)Finally the partners created and developed the 'Career Guidance App' that matches the users' identified informal transversal skills to longer term career opportunities that are required by other professional sectors. The VALITS project has provided the two tools, the Validation Tool and the Career Guidance App that have the potential to break the unemployment cycle for short season workers. These VALITS tools have a variety of important impacts and will 1.) provide young seasonal tourism sector workers with new career pathway options that match their informal transversal skills identified in the assessment and are in demand by longer term jobs and careers,2.) help young seasonal tourism sector workers to accelerate their pathways to quality employment in a more linear, less interrupted or detoured way,3.) save employers time and effort firstly in attracting and filtering the right kind of skills in their candidature that can also help them to base their recruitment decision on a transparent and concrete foundation instead of having to rely on subjective assessment and experiences,4.) make employers in the tourism sector more aware of the utilities of their employees’ skills and add new employment plans for them, including job rotation or promotion incentives, and 5.) add complementary tools to the existing EU skills and competency tools like Europass, EURES and ESCO.In the long-term perspective the VALITS Tools can be easily transferred to other target groups and other economic sectors, offering a viable Open Educational Resource (OER) to employees and employers, thereby fostering the recognition and use of informal transversal skills and enabling employees as well as employers to close skills gaps and skills mismatches more efficiently.