<< Background >>Food sustainability is an important issue for the food sector, not only because it’s ethic, fair and appreciate by the customers, also because EU rules are going more and more strict in order to face this challenge. From this point of view, sustainable food businesses have a great economic value and a solid potential of growth. Building a stronger and more equitable food system requires the fresh thinking, talents, and a renewed spirit of entrepreneurship. However, in order to facilitate the creation of future sustainable food production and service entrepreneurs, the young must be made aware and trained about sustainability.With these aims, the education system can develop programs of training in the sustainability field. Tourism and Food sector are strictly linked to the environment, and they are encouraged to make their methods healthier and more environmentally friendly: they need professional profiles that are able to guide them towards this transition.Sustainable food system and VET education innovation can provide high-quality green jobs and permit to create new professional and entrepreneur profiles to fight unemployment and at the same time combat climate change and environmental decline from the food (and in part tourism) industry. The EU can only benefit from such efforts.If we add a specific vocational training module to food related VET programs and curricula, recognizable by the member states, we will promote the knowledge and development of new skills and abilities in the food sector. In this way we can create sustainable green jobs in food businesses, as well as promote the green transition of existing companies and the creation of new ones.This model can lead to improve sustainability awareness of the future professionals of the food system, that will also improve their employability.Before 2020, tourism and food service sector suffered a rapid and somehow chaotic growth that has left its mark on the economy, the society, and the environment of countries as Spain, Portugal and Italy. If the impact on the economy has been particularly positive, with tourism boosting the national GDP growth, on the contrary the society and nature have suffered. On one hand the residents felt the pressure of this “explosion” of tourists with increasing rent prices and a general inflation and competing for space in the big cities such as Barcelona, Rome and Lisbon. On the other hand, the environment has also suffered with the increasingly damaging use of natural resources now needed for all the extra visitors. The post covid19 pandemic recovery of tourism and restaurant service sector must be based on sustainability: increasing the tools at its disposal is essential. Among them, the green skills of its human resources is, probably, the most impressive.At the same time, the Covid19 pandemic has widened the gap between those who have digital skills (or financial means to achieve them) and those who do not. This is especially serious in the poorer areas of Western Europe such as Portugal and southern Italy. Recognizing the need to overcome digital illiteracy that is still prevalent in education and that contributes to social and economic inequality in these areas, the project partners have decided to include the improvement of digital skills between the goals of VET4FOOD, in order to improve the competences of future professionals of the food related sectors and, at the same time, also the digital and professionals skills of teachers, empowering both in the face of the new challenges posed by the pandemic.<< Objectives >>The project has four main objectives:1. to reduce the training gap within food VET schools with regard to food sustainability issues, by improving the competence and skills on food sustainability of teachers and students and their awareness of its importance in the fight against climate change; 2. to improve the quality and efficiency of mainstream vocational and educational training in order to meet the needs of tourism and food related sectors that requires staff capable of correctly taking on food sustainability related issues.3. to impulse the embedding of food sustainability topics in food VET schools curricula, facilitating the implementation of a food sustainability module.4. make VET teachers aware of the importance of increasing student participation using learning methodologies based on experience. Improve their skills in the use of educational entertainment techniques, and their digital competences to stimulate both face-to-face training and training online.<< Implementation >>During the project VET4FOOD, two activities addressed to VET teachers will be implemented:• A first online synchronous training on food sustainability preceded by a Moodle-based asynchronous self-learning. Teachers of the three partner schools will attend this training event as learners who need to acquire the theoretical knowledge necessary to deliver high quality training on food sustainability.• A second face-to-face training on the use of edutainment approaches to training, focused on experiential learning, also through the use of digital technologies and tools.Other two activities will be addressed to VET students:• A first online short-term exchanges of groups of pupils on food sustainability topics specifically related to nutrition and health (Nutritional sustainability) and to ecological, energetic, water footprint, biodiversity, food waste, etc. (Ecological sustainability).During this first students’ exchange the online training activities will be based on e-learning by doing, web-based edutainment, online team activities, testimonies and interviews with operators of the sustainable food production and/or service.• A second face-to-face short-term exchanges of groups of pupils on food sustainability issues related to the Circular Economy, Alternative production systems, Local Economy (Economic Sustainability) and to food cultural heritage, accessibility and social economy (Social Sustainability). During this second students’ exchange the face-to-face training activities will be based on learning by doing, edutainment activities, simulations and role plays, team activities and visits to operators of the local food and/or tourism industry who have successfully developed sustainable food production and services. In addition to knowledge about food sustainability and soft skills, this second training has the aim of increasing the students' awareness of the positive effects that food sustainability can generate not only in terms of health, climate change and the environment, but also in terms of social and economic benefits and employment improvement.During all these students' addressed activities, the teachers will experiment and put in practice their knowledge on food sustainability and the competences on edutainment methods and tools acquired during the previous trainings. During all activities, the project partners will have the possibility to validate and improve the project results related to both target audiences.<< Results >>The main project results of VET4FOOD Project are:PR1. The design of a Food Sustainability VET Module for use it in mainstream food VET school programs and formal recognition of their learning outcomes. A VET Training Module structured in different Learning Units, list of contents, learning outcomes and corresponding skills and competence. PR2. Food Sustainability VET Teachers’ Training. This Training will contain the training path and the training materials that will be made available to the teachers of the partner schools participating in the blended training experience, structured in:- A downloadable Moodle-based online learning.- PPT downloadable materials with a resume of all the training contents.These materials will be used for the online teachers' self-learning followed by a face-to-face first Joint Staff Training Event. Both trainings will be very important to validate this 2nd PR with teachers, that are its target.PR3. Edutainment techniques and digital tools handbook for VET teachers. This handbook for VET Teachers will be based, from one side, on the most important elements of edutainment and, on the other side, on the most important digital tools for the teaching improvement.The most important techniques of edutainment and experience-based learning that will be included in the handbook for teachers are:- Learning by doing methodology, teaching techniques that boost proactivity and team work- Peer Education and peer assessment- Storytelling techniques - Experiential learning situation creation The most important open sources digital tools that will be included in the handbook for teachers are (between others):- Productivity resources for teachers and students. - Visual content editors that allow teachers to record their computer screen, in addition to editing the resulting video, adding effects, multimedia, titles, notes and transitions to the material. - Creators of e-learning environments and LMS.- Digital tools for the creation of quizzes, tests and gamifications for learning, self-evaluation and evaluation both individually and in groups.The PR3 handbook will be used by teachers to build the PR4 Food Sustainability VET Students Training.PR4. Food Sustainability VET Students Training. It will be based on the PR2 Food Sustainability VET Teachers Training and will be developed by teachers involved in the Food Sustainability VET Teachers Trainings (C1 and C2) on the main topics of food sustainability of four areas:1. Nutritional2. Ecological3. Economic4. SocialThe module will be structured in Learning Units that will contain the following elements:- Detailed description of the contents. - Definition of learning units and outcomes, skills and competences. - Supporting training materials for the training units delivery both in text and in a downloadable Moodle course.- Detailed experience-based training activities for each training units.All the PR will be available in the public section of the project website and on the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform and they will be therefore available for consultation and download by all food education and food related VET schools who want to introduce food sustainability topics within their curricula.

"<< Objectives >>""The Future in our Kitchens: Social & Sustainable skills for Culinary Trainees"" project aims at giving future cooks and food entrepreneurs professional skills to be committed players for more sustainability & social engagement in the culinary workplace. As vocational cooking education is the primary actor of this change of paradigm, Future Kitchens will develop an innovative cooperation partnership between culinary institutes from all over Europe for 2022-2023.<< Implementation >>The project will implement: -(1) The Brigade: a European partnership of 5 culinary schools working together to Whip Up Skills & Bake Talents-(2) Whip Up Skills: an online training program, both inspirational (thematic sessions) and hands-on (cooking masterclasses) on social & sustainable practices in the professional kitchens. -(3) Bake Talents: a week of international mobility, for immersive training, including site visits and Masterclasses highlighting good sustainable practices.<< Results >>Future Kitchens will foster a change of paradigm in vocational education by: -Designing innovative training methods through the establishment of international cooperation between culinary institutes and the development of a digital culinary training program to transfer knowledge and good practices from global food experts to trainees. -Addressing the issues important for the youth today, as social consideration in the foodservice industry and sustainable practices in restaurant kitchens."

"<< Background >>The Covid-19 crisis has had a huge impact on vocational education and training, as many professional sectors have had to close or slow down their operations due to the various blockades. One of the most affected sectors is the hotel and restaurant industry. Due to all these closures, thousands of young trainees did not have the opportunity to complete their professional internship. Thus, if there was a 22% drop in internships in companies in 2020, it is 50% in the field of catering. This poses real problems to which this project seeks to contribute a concrete response through e-learning methods and virtual reality, thanks to the active participation of two training centers as formal partners.On the other hand, we note that the Erasmus Plus program is focusing more and more on VET project mobilities. There is indeed a growing interest in extending mobility opportunities to vocational and educational training. This requires a preparation, especially linguistic, for which not all training centers are yet equipped, due to a lack of teachers and time.The various virtual reality projects in which some of the partners have participated in the past have confirmed that virtual reality can be an opportunity to allow students to have a first glimpse of the professional experience they need to validate their diplomas, but also to prepare for internships abroad, as well as to have a glimpse of the context in another country where they cannot work directly, by developing their foreign language skills. As the virtual reality environments will be common to the whole consortium, despite some adaptations, the objective of VET VR ACADEMY, using the e-learning platform, will be to allow the creation of activities or presentation of concepts that are difficult to retranscribe in virtual reality, but adaptable in a more classic theoretical e-learning content.This project will develop and test virtual reality environments to fill this need in the field of professional training for students wishing to work in hotels and restaurants, taking into account the cultural differences between countries. They will be able to experience their own national context as well as the context of other partners' countries.<< Objectives >>VET VR ACADEMY, starting from the needs stated above, has set a series of general and specific objectives, which have been developed to meet them. All of the goals are in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in particular the fourth goal: ""Ensure access to quality education for all and promote lifelong learning"". UNESCO's Global Coalition for Education COVID-19 proposes a goal within this framework that we fully embrace: ""Help countries mobilize resources and implement innovative and contextually appropriate solutions to deliver distance education, leveraging high-tech, low-tech, and non-tech approaches. ""The Erasmus Plus program follows the same perspective by promoting the use of digital tools in vocational education and training to enhance its attractiveness. In the case of VET VR ACADEMY, we focus on training in catering, to develop the skills of teachers by providing them with innovative and attractive digital training tools. The interest of using ICT is also in a sustainable development perspective. Indeed, we can find in online and virtual teaching practices, even if we have to remain modest because contact with the customer remains essential, some impacts of face-to-face training, while limiting their carbon footprint. The overall objectives of the project are to: - Promote the use of digital tools in vocational education and training and promote new approaches to foster the digital transition.- Strengthen the capacity of VET organizations in the field of digital training.- Enhance the attractiveness of learning in VET through innovative methods and more flexible opportunities.- To develop new ecological approaches through e-learning activities.The specific objectives of the project are to - Address the emerging needs of learners in the food service industry, regardless of age, in response to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic- Develop the pedagogical framework for new digital tools for VET schools, teachers, and trainers.- Develop new digital tools for VET schools, teachers and trainers.- Provide new hands-on learning opportunities in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic for VET students for hospitality jobs.- Develop cross-cultural and foreign language skills for VET students in the food service industry.<< Implementation >>To achieve these results, the consortium will implement the following activities- Organisation of 4 transnational meetings to ensure the coordination and management of the project- A European learning activity for VET teachers and educators who will set up the final test phase to familiarize them with the tools to develop and strengthen their digital skills- A curriculum/pedagogical framework that will serve as a basis for the rest of the project- An e-learning platform to complement the virtual reality environments- Virtual reality environments available on consumer headsets- A public test of these results with 25 teachers and 100 learners across Europe - An impact study/policy paper for those who would like to reuse the tools or produce other virtual reality environments with a similar protocol- A dissemination strategy including the following elements: website, 4 newsletters, an infographic, publications on European platforms, making the virtual reality environments available on the download platforms of the chosen manufacturer, etc.<< Results >>The project will develop 4 results: PR1: VR ACADEMY FRAMEWORKThanks to the experience of the partners in the field of virtual reality and vocational training in the hotel and restaurant industry, we will develop a curriculum focused on this working environment, taking into account in particular the tasks performed in the hotel and restaurant industry that can be transferred, for a first practice or to get an overview of the working context abroad, in the digital world. The program will be available in the following languages: French, Spanish, Greek, German and English.PR2: VR ACADEMY ONLINEWe will use an online learning platform, complementary to the virtual environment, to host online lessons complementary to VR. This platform will be designed to prepare and accompany students who will first test and then benefit (after the end of the project) from the virtual environments. It will include language learning elements to enable students to develop their foreign language skills, whether in preparation for internships abroad or not. The results will be available in the following languages: French, Spanish, Greek, German and English.PR3: Development of environmentsThis project outcome, led by Ludus XR, will mainly focus on the technical development and testing of the virtual reality environments, following the development of the curriculum, as well as the content of the e-learning platform. The results will be available in the following languages: French, Spanish, Greek, German and English.PR4: Evaluation Report / Policy Paper / Impact AnalysisOne of the most important parts of the project will be the evaluation, the assessment of the impact through a guidance document that will allow the consortium to have a global perspective of the results and impact of the projects in order to ensure its sustainability. The guidance document will be available in the following languages: French, Spanish, Greek, German and English."

Games Without Barriers project aims at developing, within the initial VET on tourism, new training contents on accessible tourism and at experimenting innovative game-based approaches and digital tools for their delivery. Context/Background Accessible Tourism is an important sector with great economic value and a solid growth. However, the percentage of tourism operators that can benefit from this market is still low also linked to the lack of staff trained to cater for customers with access needs. There is therefore a big need for training on accessible tourism but, in this respect, the situation throughout Europe is significantly inadequate. Permanent and recognised vocational training offers are very few and mainly directed to continuing VET while training for accessible tourism services is neither part of any mainstream educational provisions nor initial VET. In recent years the spread of new digital technologies and Internet has fostered the implementation of new teaching approaches, including those based on edutainment which, by applying gaming dynamics in educational settings and using new media (educational software, digital games, video games, etc.), encourage learning, making it more enjoyable, engaging and effective. Nevertheless, in the current formal educational context these innovative approaches are still under-represented. New forms of training based on gaming using digital technologies require new competences of the teaching staff. This creates additional challenges to the teachers who need to be creative, prepared for life-long learning and professional development in order to provide high-quality education.Objectives and results• to reduce the training gap within tourism VET schools with regard to accessible tourism issues, by embedding accessible tourism topics in their curricula • to develop and experiment edutainment approaches and tools in training, by integrating game-based and experiential learning in the teaching practices and using new media and digital technologies in a creative and collaborative way • to improve the knowledge of accessible tourism by teachers of tourism VET schools and increase their expertise and skills in the use of game-based learning approaches and digital training tools• to increase students’ engagement and boost their participation in training activities.• to increase students’ awareness and sensitivity towards disability and social inclusion of people with specific needs • to provide students with new knowledge, skills and competences with regard to accessible tourism• to increase the capacity of tourism VET schools to operate at transnational level, share and confront ideas, practices and methodsNumber and profile of participantsAround 15 teachers of three tourism VET schools in Italy, Romania and Spain will participate in the project activities. All of them have been teaching subjects belonging to the domain of tourism for many years 72 students, aged between 14 and 19, attending the three tourism VET schools will participate in the experimental training activities during transnational exchanges of groups of pupilsActivities• Organization of joint staff training events addressed to teachers of the partner schools who will be trained on accessible tourism issues and on the use of edutainment approaches to training• Design of training modules on accessible tourism for use in mainstream tourism VET school programmes and formal recognition of their learning outcomes • Design of training activities for the modules delivery focused on game-based learning and experiential learning, also through the use of digital technologies and tools• Design, implementation and experimentation of a game-based web app on accessible tourism• Experimentation of the new training modules on accessible tourism and the edutainment methods and tools during exchanges of groups of pupils Methodology Edutainment approaches - “game-based learning” and “gamification” - will be used in producing the game-based web app and in delivering the training activities to test the new modules on accessible tourism. In the implementation of the training activities the methodological approach of “collaborative learning” and “experiential learning” will be also adopted. Impact and potential longer term benefits• Improvement of the ability of mainstream initial VET to make better use of digital technology for teaching and learning• Increase of the efficiency of mainstream initial VET to meet the needs of tourism industry that requires staff capable of correctly taking on customers with specific access needs • Possibility for the tourism industry to exploit the high potential of accessible tourism market thanks to the availability of personnel trained to cater for customers with specific access needs• More travel opportunities for tourists with specific access needs who will benefit from the increase of tourism services adequate to their requirements

<< Background >>The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the Tourism sector more than others and, within the sector, vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities and seniors with aged-related health conditions are among the hardest hit: “they are often excluded from communications on public health and travel updates, decision-making and information on accessibility of basic services. Their health conditions and social isolation can expose them to serious risks” (UN World Tourism Organisation - UNWTO “Inclusive Recovery Guide”, 2020).The central role of management and staff skills in delivering accessibility is seen as one of the pillars for re-building tourism that is safe, healthy and with greater emphasis on customer service, both during and after COVID, as emphasised by the new guidance by UNWTO and the World Tourism and Travel Council (Inclusive and Accessible Guidelines to Aid Global Travel and Tourism Recovery, 2021). People with disabilities and seniors represent an immense market opportunity that is overlooked by the majority of tourism operators (EC Study, “Mapping the Supply and Performance Check of Accessible Tourism Services”, 2015). The tourism sector would benefit greatly by developing facilities and services for this market as a means of driving the recovery after the pandemic: tourism operators and destinations should harness this potential and make accessibility a reality.However, the percentage of tourism operators that can benefit from this potential is still low, due in large part to the lack of staff who are trained to cater for customers with specific access requirements. Courses in disability awareness, accessibility and inclusion are generally not offered in VET institutions as part of the training in tourism management, hospitality and catering. There is, therefore, a need for a major shift towards general training on accessible tourism, especially in this period in which all strategies for a recovery of the tourism sector should be implemented.Despite efforts in some countries and regions, permanent and recognised vocational training offers are very few and are mainly directed to continuing, professional VET while training on accessible tourism for students at VET and higher education levels is not part of mainstream curricula.The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for European vocational education and training systems to offer the tools and skills to provide high-quality digital education. In recent years the spread of new digital technologies has fostered the implementation of new teaching and learning approaches, using innovative digital tools including MOOCs, digital games, Artificial Intelligence and Immersive virtual experiences which are proving to be effective for a wide range of users, especially because they are flexible tools meeting the various learning needs and expectations of trainees. Nevertheless, in the current formal educational context these innovative approaches and tools are still under-represented and relatively untested.New forms of training based on digital technologies require new competences of the teaching staff, who are often little or not at all accustomed to using these tools. This creates additional challenges to the teachers who need to be creative, prepared for life-long learning and professional development in providing high-quality digital education.<< Objectives >>The project DIVETOUR aims at implementing and experimenting, within tourism VET institutions, innovative and inclusive educational approaches and digital tools for delivering new training contents on tourism and accessibility. More specifically, project main objectives are focused at:- reducing the training gap within tourism VET providers on accessible tourism topics, by embedding them in their training offer;- providing VET trainers and learners with new knowledge, skills and competences on possible strategies for the tourism sector recovery after the pandemic, with a focus on accessible tourism challenges and potential;- developing and experimenting new educational approaches and innovative digital training tools by integrating collaborative and game based learning into VET and using new media and digital technologie in a creative and collaborative way;- developing the above mentioned training tools in such a way that they are as inclusive and accessible as possible taking into account the needs and rights of VET learners with disabilities.<< Implementation >>The project DIVETOUR partners are going to:- Share within partnership theoretical and practical knowledge of possible strategies for the recovery of the tourism sector after COVID-19, with a specific focus on accessible tourism challenges and potentials- Develop a portal conceived as an Open Learning Community to be triggered by the implementation of a “connectivist” MOOC containing innovative training modules and immersive 360 videos, and to be integrated with the other project’s results (developed game-based learning, gamification, basic knowledge for the Game-based web App implementation, Chatbots)- Develop 2 learning modules to be integrated in the portal to be used for the MOOC- Develop 4 immersive “360 videos” to be integrated in the portal and to be used for the MOOC- Design, develop, implement and experiment Game-based web app on accessible tourism to ‘learn by playing’ the basics of accessible tourism, customer care and inclusion of people with disability in the tourism sector.- Design, develop, implement and experiment simple and effective Artificial Intelligence tool (chatbot) as both a training and working tool on tourism.- Test created project Results- Evaluate the Results within the partnership- Translate all internally produced material for the Online platform, the game-based web app, the chatbots, the flyer, posters, newsletters and all promotional material from English (the official language of the project) into Lithuanian, Spanish, Italian and Slovenian- Promote the project Results for adoption by VET providers- Share and promote the project results as a whole- Detect strategies for the mainstreaming- Detect strategies for the continuing of the project after its closure<< Results >>The following are the main project results and outcomes that are expected during the project and on its completion:Project Result Id1. Online platform “Open Learning Community”, including:- Design, implementation, and delivery of a “connectivist” MOOC on “New Challenges for Tourism sector after COVID-19” which will be hosted by the Open Learning Community as the core training resource for the tourism sector. The MOOC, targeted to VET beneficiaries, both students and operators in the tourism sector, will include two main training modules: a first one on the appropriate measures to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 crisis in the travel and tourism sector, without compromising accessibility and to accelerate recovery; a second one focused on accessible tourism development as one of the main levers for the recovery of the tourism sector- A digital library of learning materials, including externally available materials (from tourism institutions and from EU-funded accessible tourism projects like TAD, APP TOUR YOU, two Erasmus Plus best practices);- Self-paced and self-directed learning for different target groups (students, professionals)- Digital learning materials, including Good practices (in various fields), delivered via “How to” video Guides, Chat-bots, Gamified learning and immersive “360” video tutorials developed by the partnership. Etc.Project Result Id2. Game-based Web app on accessible tourism - digital innovative and engaging educational tool on accessible tourism to ‘learn by playing’ the basics of accessible tourism, customer care and inclusion of people with disability in the tourism sector. It will be a story-driven game that leads learners to improve their knowledge and skills, based on 4 Missions, corresponding to a learning module and split in several Goals, as intermediate achievements. Game will be built to involve user in a Story based problem which they are required to solve. The application will be integrated in the Open Learning Platform as one of the innovative features available.Project Result Id3. Artificial Intelligence tool (Accessible Tourism chatbot) - simple and effective Chatbots, embedded in the open Learning Comunity portal, which will be developed to give structured information on accessible tourism questions. The Chatbots will also be designed as a practical tool for tourism staff and entrepreneurs who want to enhance the quality of information and communication with customers on inclusive and accessibility issues. In DIVETOUR project, chatbots will also have a didactic function, since learners will be involved in their production and, with trainers’ support, will have to integrate the knowledge of the chatbots, imagining scenarios and possible information needed by customers with specific access requirements, and see if the bot can answer or it needs to be programmed further. So learners will be proactively involved in “training the chatbots”, thus recapping and integrating their acquired knowledge on accessible tourism.