European Youth Health Champions (EYHC) was a strategic partnership between 8 organisations from 6 European countries. Project objectives:1.To convert knowledge & experience from cross-sector stakeholders in youth peer education in health enhancing physical activity into learning resources that can be used transnationally by organisations in youth work, health, & community sport.2.To create an online learning portal of project resources, open & accessible for all.3.To ensure that young people with fewer opportunities are integral to the design & testing of the resources.4.To drive the impact of European Youth Health Champions by advocating & disseminating to policy stakeholders in each participating country & Europe-wide at local, regional, national, & European levels.Participating organisations:StreetGames UK (Lead coordinating partner) The leading UK charity committed to ensuring disadvantaged young people & communities lead healthy active lifestyles. With an Alliance of over 1,000 locally trusted organisations, StreetGames engages over 30,000 young people aged 12-25 each year.Royal Society for Public Health UK (RSPH) The organisation is dedicated to the promotion & protection of collective human health & wellbeing. They advise on policy development, provide education, encourage research, disseminate information & accredit health improvement programmes. With over 6000 members, they represent a broad range of organisations across the UK. Birmingham City Council UK (BCC). BCC’s Health & Wellbeing Service provides a range of programmes promoting & improving the health & wellbeing of the residents of Birmingham. BCC engage with residents through participation, education & volunteering programmes, & collaborate with a range of organisations. International Sport & Culture Association, Denmark (ISCA) With over 230 member organisations, ISCA is a democratic, not-for-profit umbrella organisation who’s tag line is MOVING PEOPLE. The organisation develops capacity building projects & promotes cross-sector collaboration to increase citizens’ involvement in community sport & physical activity. Vlaams Instituut voor Sportbeheer en Recreatiebeleid vzw, BELGIUM (ISB) The Flemish institute for sport administration & recreation management is a non-profit institution specialised in local & regional recreation management. ISB is a member organisation & a knowledge centre. ISB promote sport & exercise on a local level through a ‘sport for all’ policy. BG BE ACTIVE, BULGARIA (BGBA) The purpose of the organisation is to increase the popularity of sport & physical activity. BGBA work on a local, national & international level & use sport as a tool to decrease physical inactivity across all ages. A key priority of the organisation is to use sport & physical activity as a tool to build a socially responsible society, particularly working with young people. Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, MALTA (AZ) As the National Youth Agency of Malta, the mission is to promote the interests of young people & help them to achieve their potential. AZ work collaboratively to address the needs & aspirations of young people. They do this by providing community spaces, advocating young peoples’ voices, developing engagement & empowerment programmes & conducting research. Mine Vaganti NGO, ITALY (MVNGO) The mission of the organisation is to promote intercultural dialogue, social inclusion through sport & environmental protection using non-formal education. MVNGO is an educational training provider at local & European levels & has a consultant role for public & private bodies in order to promote & develop international projects. Project activities: 3 intellectual outputs (IOs) (evidence review, online training course & online portal); 5 transnational project meetings (TPMs); 6 multiplier events (MEs); 1 learning/teaching/training Blended Mobility (BM) event.The project has achieved the following impact:EYHC has created high quality research & leaning resources that are relevant & fit for purpose. 246 young people have supported the research & design & testing of the training which will enable others to develop the skills required to be an effective peer educator within their community. 55 participants have become peer educators themselves.13 Young people have travelled abroad, as a direct result of EYHC, since the BM event.263 people attended multiplier events in 6 countries.Over 550,000 people have been reached through online media, events, & dissemination of open-access resources.Longer Term Benefits: The resources are available online via open access. SG will maintain this platform for at least 10 years. Continued promotion, & inclusion in ongoing projects will ensure that the resources continue to be used. As a result of EYHC & the research, there is a commitment from all partners to continue to advocate & disseminate ‘Peer Education’ at a European level, to bring about sector recognition.

“Youth Organizations United for Growth (YOUNG) is a Strategic Partnership project of 24 months, involving 2 NGOs from Denmark and Italy and 1 educational institution from Croatia, aimed at supporting the social inclusion and personal development of youth migrants as well as raising empathic and inclusive behaviour among native youths.“The employment of third-country nationals in the public sector promotes diversity in society and fosters integration. According to the 2015 OECD report on indicators of migrant integration, it “gives the immigrant community greater visibility, showing the private sector the way and improving the way the host society perceives them in the long term” (European Union for Fundamental Rights – Report “Together in the EU – promoting the participation of migrants and their descendent” - 2017).In this respect, the problems faced by first generation migrant youth are particularly severe and wide-ranging, as is their overall socio-economic vulnerability. Many youth migrants in European countries face marginalization and social exclusion in due to belonging to fragile components of the wider youth population. These youngsters face substantial inequality with their peers in education, employability, personal development, civic and social participation, compounding them with the cultural and often linguistic barriers typical of migrants.At the same time native youths suffering from the Mass and Social Media influence are hampered in developing tolerance, empathy and inclusive behaviour towards youth migrants.YOUNG project aim at tackling both abovementioned issues through a comprehensive strategy involving both target group. Drawing inspiration from the Danish Red Croos “Fast track to employment” programme in which Asylum seekers had the possibility to meet a volunteer “buddy” from the host community, YOUNG will apply this best practice in its envisaged learning process, establishing a “Buddy system” between native and migrant youths involved in the Mobilities and in overall project activities.Project objectives are: - Fostering empowerment and inclusion of first generation migrant youngsters through international mobilities, peer-interaction and Non Formal Education applied to Employability and Entrepreneurial Education and Intercultural Competences Pathway.- Raising awareness and develop civic sense, empathy and tolerance among native youths towards young migrants peers.- Raise awareness among policy-makers, NGOs, stakeholders and the general public about the role of youth NGOs and non-formal learning as active actors in bridging the gap left from the educational system towards the personal development of first generation migrants as well as the fostering social and cultural interaction between native and migrant youths.- Providing best practices, knowledge and concrete toolkit among NGOs from different European countries in order to improve professionalism of youth workers, variety and quality of educational activities delivered with a view to enhancing quality and effectiveness of youth work in Europe.Tangible Results:- 1 Research Report containing statistics and needs regarding first generation migrant youths in matter of social inclusion and integration in the labour market in participating partner countries.- 1 Handbook containing the instructions on how to establish a “buddy system” between native and first generation migrant youth.1 Manual containing existent best practices on fostering access and integration to the labour market of first generation migrant youth and educational toolkit based on NFE applied to Employability and Entrepreneurial Education and Intercultural Competences Pathway.1 Blog created by the participants during the first mobility which will be the diary of their shared educational learning journey.The project is expected to have a significant impact on participants in emotional, relational and educational terms. Interacting with native peers as buddies and young people from different European countries facing the same challenges and obstacles in a playful and participatory atmosphere, participants will improve their awareness of mutually respectful cooperation, exchange of views, visions and values. At the same time, participating in educational initiatives provided through targeted methodologies that offer young participants a chance to improve their self-esteem, confidence in oneself, sense of creativity, responsibility, teamwork skills, orientation to learning in both formal and non-formal contexts, as well as attitudes of active participation and involvement that will be able to incorporate into educational, social and civil contexts. Long-term benefit it is provided by participants implementation of local activities acting as Multiplier Ambassadors. Furthermore partners will engage themselves in promote the contents and methodologies produced during the project in order to be used by a large spectrum of stakeholders.

<< Background >>The environmental and social cost of the clothing and textile industry has been increased dramatically in recent years and is expected to continue this linear course in the future. The industry continues to lack transparency, with widespread exploitation of people working in the supply chain. Global fashion consumption continues to gain speed at unsustainable levels and relies on a culture of disposability. Around the world, we produce too much clothing, from unsustainable materials, much of which ends up incinerated or in landfill. The Covid-19 crisis has led to major brands and retailers shutting up shop and cancelling supplier payments and orders, without taking responsibility for the workers in their supply chains who mostly lack sick pay, paid leave, adequate health care and have no savings to fall back on. And beyond the devastating human and economic cost of the global coronavirus pandemic, seven years on from the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, human rights abuses, modern slavery and environmental degradation remain rife within the industry. In order to combat the climate crisis and protect precious natural resources, we must rethink consumption-as-usual. We must rethink the entire system, moving from a model built on overconsumption and disposability to one that is circular, where materials and products can be used for much longer (EUCOM, 2019 ‘Supporting the new Circular Economy’). Social Growth for Circular and Heritage Fashion develops a capacity building program for women in the fashion industry to help them acquire the needed skills of the circular fashion processes and of traditional techniques that are part of each regions culture and heritage. It supports young women NEETs to collaborate with women usually over 55 who possess the knowledge of a traditional heritage technique in garment or/and textile development. The project supports these women to upsill their employability, entrepreneurial, technical and collaborativeness skills. To reinvent and keep alive traditional heritage techniques and designs that are in risk of being forgotten and lost from our european societies.<< Objectives >>Overall, project objectives will be the following:-targets young NEETs women who are in need of practical skills that will enhance their employability and their vision to build a meaningful career. The project provides young women access to peer learning from women over 55 who possess the knowledge of sustainable and heritage craftsmanship techniques on textile and garment production. -targets women usually over 55 and women cooperatives with technical skills who used to thrive in europe, but due to fast fashion and the huge offering of cheap clothes have lost their market shares and are unable to live from their professions. These women could benefit from the upskilling of their employability, communication and digital skills that are offered from the project educational toolkits. -targets educators in the textile and fashion sector who are in need of upskilling on the new circular economy practices, models and processes as the sector is moving to a new paradigm. Current educators need the necessary educational toolkits, handbooks and workshops designs to be able to transfer the new skills to the target groups of young women and current professional, producers and craftsmen in the fashion and textile industries. -The project meets the needs of its target groups by delivering its programs through digital means thus reaching out to geographically dispersed populations of women within european regions.<< Implementation >>R1) the creation of an educational toolkit for women upskilling and empowerment in circular and heritage garment and textile sectors. The toolkit will be created by the different sectoral strengths of partners including:1) empowerment and soft skills for the employability of women at the circular fashion textile and garment industries; entrepreneurial skills to promote micro-businesses and craftsmanship production studios 2) technical skills on how to design and develop textiles and garments using traditions techniques and circular fashion techniques 3) collaborative and co-creation skills on how young NEETs women and women usually over 55 who possess the knowledge of garment and textile development from various regions of Europe can work togetherR2) the creation of a digitised educational program addressed to educators who will be trained on how to apply R1 to the target group of women across regions, borders and age groups. The educational program includes all the needed material for educators of the textile and garment sectors to be able to upskill their own knowledge and deliver the program to the target groups. The toolkit contains handbooks, manuals, and workshop material.R3) the development and pilot testing of a digitised program addressed to the final target group of women building on R1 educational content. The digitised program will contain online modules, online manuals and toolkits. The digital educational platform will also include a mapping of traditional heritage techniques from Europe that will come out of the Teaching Activity. The objective of R3 is how young NEETs women and women over 55 who possess the knowledge of garment and textile development from various regions of Europe can work together at a transnational and regional level to create new entrepreneurial formats, new supply chain partnerships and transfer the knowledge from one generation to the other, from one european region to the other. A Teaching Activity to the final target group in a peer working environment on an exchange activity of young women and women usually over 55 that possess the knowledge of traditional and heritage techniques who will meet together at the European Institute of Design in Madrid for one week to test R1 and R3 results and to map their local regional heritage techniques. The mapping result of the Teaching Activity will be communicated and embedded at project digital educational channels created during R3 and will be showcased through the Multiplier Events of Open Studios that will take place at each partner's region at the end of the project. Trainees will receive a Certification of their acquired skills. Open Studio event to showcase the heritage and traditions techniques of the women from their own labs.<< Results >>The project will deliver its objective through the following outputs:- A Handbook and possible toolkits for educators that will be digitised- An educational toolkit for the training of women (including modules, manuals, workshops)- Digital e-learning educational platform for the training of women (webplatform, e-modules, e-manuals, webinars, selfie short videos of heritage practices)- an Open Studio toolkit to be delivered physically or live streaming

<< Background >>Healthy and resilient societies depend on giving nature the space it needs. The recent COVID-19 pandemic makes the need to protect and restore nature all the more urgent. The pandemic is raising awareness of the links between our own health and the health of ecosystems. (…) The five main direct drivers of biodiversity loss – changes in land and sea use, overexploitation, climate change, pollution, and invasive alien species – are making nature disappear quickly (EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030-May 2020).“Biodiversity preservation in rural and maritime areas of EU islands” (BioIslands) project is focused on three of the main sectors related to biodiversity preservation. Increased land-use intensity in agriculture has caused an alarming decline in farmland biodiversity during the last century. Likewise, there is great concern over the degradation of pastoral landscapes by invasive species and soil erosion, the undermining of common property systems, and unsustainable land-use changes, such as mining, inappropriate afforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices.Currently, nearly half of the Earth’s terrestrial surface is transformed by agriculture and pastoralism, and thus, the contribution of agricultural and pastoralism areas to biodiversity is critical for successful long-term conservation.In addition, biodiversity has many key roles in ecosystems, and many elements of biodiversity support fish species and therefore also fisheries. At the same time, cooperation fisheries also often affect seabed biodiversity. Furthermore, fisheries may also change the composition of fish communities, and changes in fish communities can matter to seabed biodiversity. Many ecosystems are affected by cumulative impacts. Although they may not be individually catastrophic, the combined effect of pressures can result in loss or fragmentation of habitats. Furthermore, it can result in ecosystem changes and shifts in biodiversity, associated with the removal of habitat-specific or functional important species.This preamble emphasises an essential intervention in these three sectors and more specifically on the leading players (i.e. farmers, shepherds and fishermen) who should be enabled to actuate biodiversity preservation strategies and actions in their daily work.The BioIslands project meets the needs of our partnership in different ways. First thing, all partners individualised a common need in their country of operation. Secondly, all partners of the Consortium have experience in the matter of at least of the main key pillars of the project (i.e. adult learners, non formal education, agriculture, pastoralism and fishery, technologies) and participating in the project, through the exchange of knowledge and skills inside the Consortium they will be able to acquire comprehensive experience in the other pillars, improving their professional profile. Lastly, the Results produced in the project will enable them to enrich the pool of tools/methodologies they own that can be employed with the selected target group but also other targets, due to their versatile feature.Farmers, shepherds and fishermen care about their job and know the importance of biodiversity preservation in the rural and maritime areas. The challenge lays in adapting their way of work, handed down from generation to generation with the increasing product demand while at the same time not over-exploit the land and the sea. As their job has a specific working hours period it is difficult for them to enroll in physical training courses. Thus, BioIslands project will develop a high-quality up-skilling e-Learning course that will provide them with the required competences and skills as well as providing them with a useful technological tool that will support them in elaborating biodiversity preservation strategies based on various indicators.<< Objectives >>BioIslands project objectives are:O1 foster biodiversity preservation in rural and maritime areas of European islands;O2 provide an adequate and qualitative learning opportunity for farmers, shepherds and fishermen in biodiversity preservation;O3 develop user-friendly digital instruments that can support farmers, shepherds and fishermen in preserve biodiversity in their daily work.<< Implementation >>Activities- Implementation of a transnational focus group with researchers and professors to define which competences related to biodiversity preservation can be transmitted with digital learning (total of 20 participants).- Implementation of the piloting of the R1 with the involvement of 5 farmers, 5 shepherds and 5 fishermen per partner.- Implementation of the piloting of the R2 with the involvement of 5 farmers, 5 shepherds and 5 fishermen per partner.- Implementation of one International Biodiversity Day in 2023 in which partner will involve stakeholders, public authorities at the international level to promote project Results and outcomes achieved so far. Based on their availability, adult learners that will be involved in the testing of R1 and R2 will participate to share their direct experience.- Implementation of one Multiplier Event per each partner with an audience of 20 between stakeholders, public authorities and the general public.<< Results >>Project Results are: - Research report at Consortium level containing current biodiversity status in rural and maritime areas of the countries involved, data analysis of the current level of knowledge and up-skill needs of farmers, shepherds and fishermen in the matter of biodiversity preservation, a grid of required competences for farmers, shepherds and fishermen to implement efficient biodiversity preservation strategies in their work.- Web Platform containing: R1 three E-learning courses, which will be developed based on the findings of the Research Report, one on Agriculture Biodiversity, one on Pastoralism Biodiversity and one on Fishery Biodiversity. The course will be designed in an interactive fashion in order to make the learning process easier and enjoyable for the user. At the end of each course, the user will be provided with a video tutorial about the Biodiversity Analysis & Strategy section of the platform (R2) containing an analysis system of elements and indicators to assess the environmental impact of the area, individualize the presence of alien species as well as providing a specific plan containing suggestion for intervention.Intangible results of the project will be:- Promotion and raising awareness regarding the importance of preserving biodiversity in rural and maritime areas in EU islands and beyond.- Adoption of project Results by different entities that will integrate them in their training offer.- Consolidation of cooperation framework allowing partner organisations to be active on the topic exchanging information and proposing follow-up initiatives, also with the involvement of interested stakeholders.

Inspired by the Erasmus+ strategic goals, the current project idea has been developed with the aim to ease transitions and contribute in reducing the gap between the labor market and education systems. EAfA continues to identify major problems related to lack of broker actors, able to bridge the education and employment sectors, and offering support in the implementation of apprenticeship schemes. This role could be best handled by youth organizations, since the youth sector has a great potential for leading such networking, due to already well-established expertise in this field, and direct contact with youth.As committed bodies within the education and youth fields, the consortium members have decided to provide their quality contribution for bringing some relevant answers to the above stated situation. Therefore, after implementing a very successful project in the same field for the past 2 years, the current Pan-European partnership seeks to provoke a larger long term impact for enhancing youth empowerment, through the provision of a rich offer of WBL opportunities for young people. “Work Based learning – Pathway to youth empowerment” aims at facilitating the creation of WBL solutions for enabling more youngsters to enrol in. It promotes a deep holistic approach for fostering youth empowerment and employability by bridging non-formal, formal education and labor market sectors, contributing to the creation of a long term multilevel cross-sectorial cooperation. Such follow up initiative is meant to upgrade the already achieved results and to further stimulate quality and excellence within the education, training and youth systems across Europe in the future. The project objectives are described as follows: •To provide youth organizations with further guidance for bridging sectors, in view of operating sustainable strategies that promote WBL paths as complementary educational patterns for boosting youth empowerment•To foster the effective use of EU funding instruments, support the implementation of initiatives and dissemination of relevant EU tools in the field of education, training and youth systems•To strengthen cooperation among youth NGOs and WBL providers, by engaging them in mutual learning and peer counselling, aimed at raising the quality and attractiveness of WBL provision•To reach-out and involve new WBL providers that do not yet contribute or benefit from European cooperation•To launch the development of a multilevel networking system that concretely stimulates learning through other than formal educational means and especially through direct involvement in practical assignments•To support the development of internationalisation strategies at institutional level that increase cooperative work in this directionThe project addresses youth NGOs and educational institutions from 8 EU countries.The overall project idea relates to the creation of bottom up partnerships that will encourage the work in network for transnational apprenticeship providers, in view of further improving youth professional competences at EU level. The created network and partnerships will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of WBL and traineeship schemes across Europe, enhance the impact and relevance of vocational education for the youth, as well for employers. The strategic actions undertaken shall be seen as a prerequisite for building cross-border cooperation that offers greater attractiveness of such educational options. The main final outcome of this strategic cooperation consists of the establishment of cooperative network that will support the quality implementation of WBL schemes and will facilitate the creation of such environments across Europe. Also, sustainable promotion of WBL strategies will be achieved, thanks to new transnational projects and capacity building actions among youth organisations and other types of educational providers, in particular for countries that have limited representation arrangements within the chain of apprenticeship actors. The network of stakeholders, interested to work further for fostering youth employability through WBL, represents a positive long-term impact to be achieved through this project. It will indirectly work for building up professionals skills of youth, through provision of WBL opportunities, in order to allow target groups to easily gain positions in the labor market and make smooth transition from education to work. The fact that various stakeholders and institutions will cooperate together is of significant importance for the future of policy-making procedures regarding WBL and youth employability on national and EU level. The project is a step towards a cooperation which on a long term basis shall impact the EU society on a larger scale and shall become a way to deal efficiently with the youth unemployment, educational difficulties, economic crisis, as well with other relevant EU issues such as social exclusion or school dropout, etc.