The ASAP Project was addressed to design and experiment appropriate Curricula for supporting the passage from physical to digital production in the publishing sector. The first step was addressed to map the new needed skills and competences as a basis for the creation of the curricula, showing the specific challenges on:• definition of the anticipated short and medium term changes and the new trends and best practices in education and training for the Publishing Sector• implementation of a link between the skills needs/competences gaps and the learning outcomes.Taking into account the impact of the changes in the competences and skills, the following phase of the ASAP project proposed an evolutionary map of the skill needs and designed and delivered flexible training programmes (one for each area of the publishing supply chain) that, according to EQF/ECVET standards, have provided employees, but also unemployed, self-employed, low skilled employees and young VET students the opportunity to update their professional skills and knowledge covering the gap related to the lack of specific skills determined by the “digital revolution”.In particular, the programme is composed of 5 specific professional profiles of the publishing sector (Specialist in production, Specialist in Design, Editor, Specialist in Marketing and Sales, Specialist in Publicity and Communication), one for each step of the publishing supply chain (Production - Design - Editorial - Marketing and publicity - Distribution and sales). A transversal module was developed with the goal of introducing the main innovation of the publishing sector. The profiles are indeed declined in Learning Units and ECVET points are attributed. For each occupational profile the “more innovative” unit is developed into the ASAP MOOC (Massive Open Online Platform); this way the ASAP project gives also the opportunity to attain the course entirely on line.The ASAP consortium believed that workers of the publishing sector who wish to successfully transform themselves into digital skills experts must learn to leverage their existing brand and professional approach considering the new digital channels, and to reduce their traditionally heavy dependence on the traditional skills and competences. So, the idea behind the work done is to support a step-by-step transformation and to lead the learners through a path of improvement where at the beginning they would seek for a fulfilment of their specific needs and at the end they would be ready to face the labor market with updated and new acquired skills. The project promoted a wide cooperation among the different stakeholders using a participatory portal and the MOOC for making the contents at the disposal of a massive target group (it can become the first MOOC of the Publishing Sector), also after the formal end of the project.In the MOOC, each unit is composed by: •Video Lessons (mother tongue video, one for each profile) = minimum 01:00 hour • Reading Materials = at least 30 (10 for each learning outcomes)• Other Videos / Reference materials = at least 30 (at least 10 for each Learning Outcome)• Tasks = at least 12 (4 for each learning outcome)• Assessment exams = Assessment exams = at least 45 quizzes for the assessment of each Unit (for a profile 180 quizzes)All these materials are produced in original, in all partners languages and for all the 5 professional profiles.A wide piloting has been conducted with 1082 learnersFinally a Memorandum of Understanding was signed among the VET partners through which they agree to: - formalise the ECVET partnership by stating the mutual acceptance of the procedures for assessing competences coherently within the ASAP model - define the procedures under which credits, in partner systems, can be achieved and recognized - design specific arrangements for credit transfer for learners for each specific mobility period- continue the LO Units Testing.

Fostering Rural Resilience through Creativity and Arts-driven Entrepreneurship (RURAL CANVAS) is a project that aims to bring the two worlds of arts and creative industries on one hand, and rural areas in Europe on the other, to boost employability and entrepreneurial skillset of artists and creative workers, foster interdisciplinarity and facilitate rural resilience as a result. The onslaught of COVID-19 pandemic has threatened the future of artists, creators and cultural workers in an unprecedented manner. Social distancing and other precautionary measures have hampered the job prospects of this group, creating postponements and cancellations of performances, exhibitions, events and other modes of securing livelihood and having a sense of purpose that one gains through their work. Arts, culture and creative industry is the third largest employer in the EU, following behind construction and food sectors (European Commission, 2016). Therefore, the closure of various venues, institutions and companies and pushing professionals from this industry out of jobs has sent a major shockwave to the economy and has threatened significantly EU’s further growth. As another area has been hit massively by COVID-19, namely rural areas, the project will aim to have artists and creative workers conceive of creative solutions for these areas.However, for that to happen, it is essential that artists and creative workers first upskill themselves in entrepreneurial skills and 21CS. It is widely known that a large proportion of artists lack entrepreneurial skills and mindset (Artenprise, 2018). Collision between artistic skills and creativity on one hand, and entrepreneurial, hands-on knowledge together with the right attitude has a great potential for generative innovative solutions and business models. Given that rural areas suffer in particular from the lack of innovation and have been hit immensely by COVID-19, artists and creative workers will be equipped with entrepreneurial hard skills as well as entrepreneurship-focused 21st century soft skills and use this knowledge to conceive of solutions to the challenges faced by the rural areas.In this manner, artists and creative workers will be ignited with new skills to complement their primary profession, which in turn would foster their employability skills; they would make valuable contribution to the rural development and rural community coping mechanisms; they would garner more garner a bigger sense of meaning and purpose. The project will heavily rely on project-based and problem-based learning to upskill the artists and creative workers and will be highly collaborative, as one of the key outcomes of the project would involve teams of artists and creative workers to create implementable projects in the rural areas. The processes of upskilling artists and equipping them to create projects will be driven actively by Rurart Alliances, a group of relevant and competent stakeholders set up at the beginning of the project. In addition, each team will be assigned a mentor either from Rurart Alliances or consortium partner network, who will guide the team in their project creation. The overarching objective of RURAL CANVAS are following:-Equipping artists and creative workers with entrepreneurial and 21st century skills to complement their primary profession-Contributing to resilience and innovative solutions to rural challenges through co-creation, mentorship and project-based initiatives driven by artistic and creative approaches of artists and creative workers-Forging synergies between arts and creative sector representatives, rural stakeholders, entrepreneurship actors and local authorities-Enhancing employability and mental toughness of artists and creative workers-Inspiring novel approaches in using art and creativity as a vehicle to tackling societal challengesThe project will attain the objectives above via 4 IOs:(IO1) Rurart Alliance Blueprint and Skills Prioritisation Map(IO2) RURAL CANVAS Toolkit IO3) RURAL eCANVAS and Mentorship Compass(IO4) RURAL CANVAS AcademyDue to interdisciplinarity and complexity of the project, different institutions are brought together: research-intensive university, university of applied sciences, vocational training centre, international innovation organisation and international quality assurance body focusing on engagement and entrepreneurship. Coming from different regions of Europe they will bring different expertise, perspectives and realities to make this a truly European undertaking.

We are facing very important and long-term changes that go further than the crisis we are undergoing and that have impact in all economic and social changes. These geo-political, economic and social changes are forcing our companies to change their “ways of doing”, to make things better or differently, transforming their value proposals, their international presence and their organisation and management model. They make us innovate permanently in the products and services we offer and question the validity of the business models permanently. We need more and better investment and innovation to back our competitiveness and strengthen economic recovery. Innovation and creativity have to be increased in all levels of Education and Training (ET2020).In this context, the EU has decided to establish for 2020 the objective of achieving a 75% employment rate for woman and men aged between 20 and 64 (Europe Strategy 2020). It is basic to have qualified workers with professional profiles adapted to the new labour market demands and needs in order to reach this objective. The education and training systems should offer the suitable mixture of qualifications and competences to achieve a quick and suitable transition to employment. Talent and innovation are key factors in the equation as a guarantee of employability and competitiveness. In this complex and uncertain context, we use the concept of open innovation as an ally. “In a world that is featured by the disseminated knowledge, we can create more value by integrating external talent and knowledge. When all the talents do not work for the company, it is advisable to find them, get in contact with them and take profit of their capacities” (Henry Chesbrough U:C. Berkeley).Although actual VET Systems are changing the way of doing and starting to collaborate with the business world, it is true than nowadays VET System, in general, are based on a traditional way of doing where the VET student has a passive role and are placed far from the real business world. Our challenge is to address the VET Innovation Systems to generate new opportunities and favour employment creation. Therefore, we need to anticipate the industry/company needs, identify proactively the opportunities to generate new products or productive processes, which improve the competitiveness in the companies and the young people’s employability. We are planning to use all the possibilities and opportunities of the vocational training network, its closeness to companies (particularly the SMEs), to act as a booster for innovation in them, mobilizing the VET young people’s talent. We are willing to use the OPEN INNOVATION MODEL to develop applied innovation projects with companies mobilizing the VET young people’s capacities and talent and strengthening the connection VET–Company (Work Based Learning).Open Innovation is a new innovation strategy under which companies go beyond the internal limits of their organisations and where cooperation with external professionals has a main role. Open Innovation Models combine internal knowledge with external knowledge to develop new and innovative projects and products. Using Open innovation Models, on the one hand, the innovation process is accelerated and the associated costs and risks are reduced and, on the other hand, new possibilities for commercial exploitation of knowledge are opened.The objective of SPACE 4 COCREATE - OPEN AND INNOVATIVE SPACES FOR COLLABORATIVE WORKING BETWEEN VET PROVIDERS AND BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS project is to create an open model, methodology and tools based on the innovation models, addressed to the VET centre professionals (teachers, mentors, guiders…) to develop innovation projects with companies through young VET teams, stimulating VET young innovation and supporting synergies between education and business world.The main outputs will be:1) SPACE 4 COCREATE MODEL (Open Innovation Model) to develop applied innovation projects with companies and young VET teams. It will define the better way to collaborate between VET Systems and Employment, how to improve synergies between Education, Research and Innovation fields.2) SPACE 4 COCREATE TOOL BOX: methodologies, tools and resources to favour the conceptualisation, design, implementation and validation of applied innovation projects addressed to VET Centres, involving both parts: VET and Business Sector.

The DigiVET Project aims to address the current challenges of the VET sector emerged from the transition to the digital era and the impact of COVID-19 in the provision of VET for both trainers and trainees. The pandemic outbreak accelerated the long-expected turn to digital technology in education and training, providing for a reliable solution during these turbulent times, while the VET sector has been disproportionally affected since its strong work-based component does not allow for much flexibility and reliance on digital tools. The need for innovative solutions is even more apparent to motivate learners to seek for quality VET opportunities and combat the increasing levels of early leaving. The unprecedented shift to digital tools and resources during the pandemic fed the development of the Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027) to reset education and training for the digital age, focusing on fostering the development of a high-performing digital education system, and enhancing digital skills and competences for the digital transformation. The DigiVET Project aims to contribute to VET trainers’ professional development through improving their digital competences, in particular their capacity to develop digital learning resources to address contemporary needs of trainees. As clearly mentioned in the European Framework for the Digital Competences of Educators (DigCompEdu), professionals dedicated to teaching need to able to effectively use digital technology in various fields of teaching/training delivery. Taking into consideration the challenges faced by VET trainers in their efforts to adapt to the unfolding situation that requires high incorporation levels of digital technology in VET, the DigiVET Project aims to: - Develop VET trainers’ digital competences, in particular the development of digital learning resources for VET, - Build the capacity of VET trainers to adapt their delivery of VET in the digital era, through the incorporation of digital resources and tools, - Support the provision of flexible, high quality VET, adapted to correspond to the requirements of the digital era and the COVID-19 impact, - Develop an online VET Hub that will provide open access to digital learning resources in various VET sectors, - Motivate VET trainees to select quality VET opportunities that reflect their needs and interests, contributing to personal and professional development. To that end, the partnership will first of all, carry out a brief yet comprehensive research to identify in more detail the impact of COVID-19 on the provision of VET, involving at least 360 VET trainers who will respond to questionnaires, participate in face-to-face (or online) meetings and get in-person interviewed on their emerging needs. Based on the research’s findings, the DigiVET Training Programme hosted in the DigiVET e-learning platform will be developed to provide theoretical and practical skills and knowledge on the development of interactive, engaging digital learning resources according to the identified needs of trainees, aiming to keep them motivated in participating in VET, thus contributing to their personal and professional development. The DigiVET Hub, directly linked with the DigiVET e-learning platform and the Project’s website, will act as an open space providing free access to a variety of digital resources, courses, modules, etc. developed by VET trainers who will have completed the DigiVET Training Programme. VET learners and the public in general will have access to quality training opportunities in various fields, improving their personal and professional skills and knowledge, while at the same time having the VET sector adapting to the digital era. Once the Project’s results are pilot tested and finalised, they will be made freely available to the public in English and all partner languages. VET trainers will have the opportunity for professional upskilling through the attendance of the DigiVET Training Programme, hosted in the DigiVET e-learning platform. Once they complete the training, they be able to develop their own digital learning resources to use them in their every-day work on VET delivery, and if they wish, to upload it to the DigiVET Hub to be accessible for free. The Project foresees to equip VET trainers with all the necessary knowledge and skills to incorporate digital technologies in VET provision, thus increasing their adaptability to the digital era, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, VET trainees will have the opportunity to access a variety of VET modules and other digital resources that will be available for free in the DigiVET Hub. The variety of training opportunities offered will substantially contribute in getting trainees engaged with VET, contributing to their personal and professional development.

Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece comprise four national experiments with responses to forced displacement. Undeniably, the two last countries have been impacted greatly by the flow of refugees coming in from both the Eastern and Central Mediterranean migration routes: in 2015 and 2016, the International Organization for Migration reports over 1,3 million arrivals in both countries. Portugal is one of the six most relevant participants in the EU Emergency Relocation Mechanism, having relocated over 1500 persons from Greece and Italy over a two-year period; Spain works as both a participant in the Emergency Relocation Mechanism and as a border country by way of its Ceuta and Melilla border zones. Each country provides this project with a different site for the observation of refugee lives in Europe; each offers us with opportunities for build capacity in refugee communities for these to take control over how they are narrated as human beings and how their lives are represented in European public spheres. The two main objectives of this project are a) to give a voice to people who have experienced loss of control and mastery over their own lives and b) to promote reskilling and upskilling through non-formal education in the context of increasingly digital economies and societies. Although this characterizes at-risk, underprivileged communities everywhere, refugees are particularly affected by loss of control as this is the core defining factor of forced displacement. This project looks to train staff and refugees in participatory methods which promote initial co-creation of digital stories and results in full creative independence by refugees. The threefold approach of empowerment through digital literacy developed through non-formal education is an innovative way of giving refugees a voice in the current European mediascapes, at the same raising awareness.