<< Objectives >>This project have 3 main objectives:1. Exchange good practices between the three NGOs about how to create “sustainable communities” and involve them in rural areas (map and analyse the situation in the three countries by gathering and sharing good practices)2. Raise the capacity of local communities and staff members in rural areas to face climate change challenges by facilitating access to existing educational resources and practices3. Networking and experiencing transnational cooperation << Implementation >>1. Management, evaluation and reporting2. Develop a Mapping and analysing the role of “sustainable communities” in rural areas and how to create and involve them in the fight against climate change threats – Report3. Develop a Handbook of good practices 4. Hold 2 staff capacity building activities one at the beginning and one at the end of the project (2 à 3 participants per country)5. Develop dissemination and promotion material and implement dissemination activities6. 3 Multiplier events<< Results >>Tangible Results:- A Mapping report- A Handbook addressed to professionals- Project branding and promotional materialsIntangible results- Institutional capacity and innovation - Strengthening the competencies of professionals- Improved social and linguistic skills of project partners, specially the use of English- Reinforce regional/national partnerships- Experience cooperation in intercultural contexts.

"CONTEXT The digital revolution is transforming the way young people play, access information, communicate and learn. Youth today have unprecedented learning opportunities. Digital and social media literacy training is now necessary to ensure that young Europeans can harness the potential of online opportunities to build skills, careers and relationships effectively but also safely. OBJECTIVES (1) to support the continuous professional development of youth professionals;(2) to develop key digital and social media literacy training material for youth with fewer opportunities; (3) to create a policy paper to advocate for the promotion of responsible digital citizenship of youth with fewer opportunities. PARTICIPANTS 12 youth professionals will complete the first iteration of the in-service training programme at the transnational training event. A further 40 youth workers will complete the in-service training, 10 in each partner country. 80 young people with fewer opportunities will attend the digital and social media literacy workshops - 20 in each partner country. 5 youth workers in each country will comprise the advisory committees of the partners (20 in total). 50 youth workers, youth trainers/ facilitators, managers of youth organisations and policy-makers will attend the Final Conference in Cyprus. 200 young people with fewer opportunities will be actively engaged in building digital and social media literacy competences. 100 youth organisations will receive information about the project and the resources developed. ACTIVITIES & METHODOLOGY The partners will develop and pilot resources for youth workers working with young people with fewer opportunities. The overarching methodology will be Open Education. Innovative methods will be used such as, in-service training, blended learning. Non formal and experiential learning underline the in-service training and the related Handbook.During the short-term joint staff training event ""TRACES in-service training for Youth Workers"" and the training for young people, the methodology will be a blend of: (1) self-driven online learning (2) non-formal education participatory methods (3) face-to-face instruction on the use of specific online tools.The partners will meet with their advisory committees of youth workers to validate the outputs and to conduct semi-structured focus groups for the creation of the Policy Paper on the Digital Citizenship of Young People with fewer Opportunities.A Collaborative online Learning Database will be created and maintained using the latest methodologies to feature all the outputs and facilitate internal and external cooperation. A combination of dissemination methods will support the visibility of the project, the partners, and Erasmus+. The methods include classic and social media, digital promotion and face-to-face activities such as the multiplier events, and the final conference.The Stakeholder Dialogue Model will facilitate the communication and engagement of people interested in the welfare of the youth and the endorsement of the Policy Paper by policy-makers and managers in the youth field.Management wise, the project will follow a collaborative, results oriented approach with ongoing monitoring and risk-assesment with the traffic lights tool. The partners will communicate face-to-face during the project meetings but they will harness online media for communication and cooperation. RESULTS & IMPACT The partners will develop and pilot innovative tools and five main intellectual outputs:1. Digital and Social Media Literacy Curriculum Resources;2. In-service Training Programme Handbook;3. Collaborative online Learning Database;4. Policy Paper ""Policy recommendations on the promotion of digital citizenship for all young people through digital youth work in Cyprus, Finland, Ireland and Romania"";5. Guidelines for Youth Workers working with Digital Media. TRACES will equip the youth professionals with practical tools to use in their work. The youth workers will support the young people with fewer opportunities to make the most out of digital and social media for their competence development and to protect themselves from digital threads.LONGER TERM IMPACTMost importantly, young people, whatever their status, who complete the curriculum resources developed as part of the project will bring a considerable skill-set with them wherever they go in their life in the connected world. With the use of a Policy Paper, the partners will start a dialogue on the digital citizenship of young people with fewer opportunities. The dialogue will continue long after the project end. Samewise, the open access to the intellectual outputs in combination with carefull dissemination and exploitation activities, will prolong their use by the partners and other organisations in Europe.The project will reinforce the international dimension of youth work and the capacities and international scope of the pa"

Across Europe, mental health issues are on the rise. Statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO), show that one in four people in Europe suffer with poor mental health and that almost 20% of all diseases treated across Europe are linked to mental health illnesses; including anxiety, depression and eating disorders. Research shows that negative mental health does not discriminate - it affects all cohorts of society, all communities and all socioeconomic demographics; however, it is most common among young people. A report published by OECD found that 75% of all mental health illnesses emerge between the ages of 15 and 25 years. These formative years are crucial for young people to cultivate habits, routines and behaviours to support positive mental health. Empowering young people to develop behaviours and habits that will support their positive mental health is critically important especially in the face of the youth mental health epidemic that we are witnessing today. Mental health issues affecting young people are often a direct response to what is happening in their lives. Terms that help to describe this youth mental health epidemic did not exist a decade ago but are now commonplace in our vocabulary. Terms such as FOMO (fear of missing out), social anxiety, social media validation, virtual identities and emerging issues including climate anxiety caused by the unknown consequences of climate change on the future of younger generations, have joined the ranks of more established terms like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia etc. to provide a snapshot of the myriad of serious and mounting mental health concerns that afflict young people today. These concerns manifest themselves in drug and alcohol abuse, self-harm, social withdrawal and in worst instances, suicide. Most children grow up mentally healthy, but surveys suggest that more children and young people have problems with their mental health today than 30 years ago. This research shows that there is a need to engage young people in tackling this issue, if they are to overcome the threats and negative impacts that poor mental health can have on their overall well-being, their personal development, their goals, expectations and active participation in civic and social life. Through the peer leadership programme that will be developed by the Safe Space project, partner organisations aim to work directly with young people in their communities, to empower them to become local peer advocates in promoting positive mental health and to tackling this scourge on the well-being of our younger generations. When young people begin to show the early signs of mental health problems, research shows that early intervention is crucial in preventing mental health issues from getting worse. However, it is not always possible for young people to access the services and resources that they so desperately need. The aim of this project is to train youth leaders to support prevention and early intervention measures on a local level among their peer group, as a means of tackling this issue through a bottom-up approach. The project proposes the following outputs to achieve its objectives:(1) Peer Leadership Programme - this programme will comprise 4 modules that will support young people to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to become leaders in tackling poor mental health among their peers.(2) Self-help Cartoons and Resources - this suite of positive mental health cartoons and self-help resources will support young people who are cut off from service providers and counsellors, to access resources that can help them to develop positive mental health habits. They will also be used by newly-trained peer youth leaders in their local mental health promotion activities aimed at their peers. (3) Safe Space Stories Video Library - this library of Safe Space success stories will act as inspiration and motivation for young people who are currently experiencing mental health problems, but who are looking for support and guidance to overcome these issues. Producing the video case studies will also empower the young people engaged in their production to tell their story of overcoming negative mental health and developing positive behaviours and habits.

"<< Background >>The growing wave of intolerance in Europe is a phenomenon that begins to materialize in everyday situations of intolerance that have a negative impact on the people affected, their environment, and society.In fact, the latest report (2019) by Human Rights Watch leads the idea that there is currently an ideological trend in the European Union that favours intolerance, and causes serious difficulties for the social inclusion of disadvantaged groups, such as immigrants, people with a different religion, women, children, or disabled people.The European Union Fundamental Rights Agency also published a conclusion that assured that ""harassment and inequality increase while the protection of fundamental rights declines"" (FRA, 06/06/2019).However, many of the people affected by intolerance situations, being mostly low-skilled or low-qualified, and / or belonging to minorities or disadvantaged groups, do not have the skills or knowledge necessary to manage these situations, and the scenario in which are framed; thus minimizing the negative impact that intolerance situations have on their lives, or their influence on those of others.The SAFE Project team believes that one of the most useful, necessary and productive ways of dealing with this situation, and improving the future expectations and the horizon of people affected -or potentially affected- by intolerance, is to encourage their social inclusion potential giving to these people, as -secondarily- to the professionals who work with them, skills and procedures that help them to manage situations of intolerance.Acquiring skills for the management and minimization of these situations is something that not only positively drives the affected people, but also has a very positive resonant effect on their environment, and on the social structure of their environment. Providing these people with a path to improve their skills in this field will be addressed with the following identified needs:- Need 1: Intolerance has increased dramatically in the European Union being a serious problem that must be addressed from its most important operational ramifications.- Need 2: The proliferation of situations linked to intolerance in day-by-day, as well as its importance and consequences, condition the lives of affected and has multiplied the social exclusion issues that they usually face. - Need 3: Fake news has become a strong instrument in the promotion of intolerance and against social inclusion. It's urgent that people affected, directly or around them, learn to manage fake news in a positive inclusion context.- Need 4: The creation of exclusion and intolerance situations is generating a high cost both socially and economically that it's necessary to decrease.Through these objectives, SAFE will create the necessary tools -also promoting its use- to acquire high-quality skills updated to the intolerance problem that has emerged last two years in Europe, and mainly to provide low-skilled/qualified adults valid procedures to manage these intolerance situations in any context, positive values, appropriate notions of social coexistence, and procedures to detect fake news, under a paradigm of equality, integration, solidarity, and respect for differences.The SAFE Target groups are primary low skilled/qualified adults as migrants, racial/social/religious minorities, refugees, women, disabled people, seniors, or long-term unemployed people; as well other adults’ segment currently affected by intolerance. Secondarily, social workers, trainers and staff that supports and work with this groups.<< Objectives >>By implementing this Project, the detected needs will be addressed, as well as the underlying reality in the context of potential intolerance described.With the SAFE Project implementing, will be achieved:- Make a valuable contribution to the reduction of intolerance in Europe, reducing both the emergence of situations of social exclusion and its impact.- Improve the ability of adults to manage situations of intolerance and/or social exclusion through the positive values of the EU.- Reduce the influence and negative consequences of fake news on social inclusion situations, as its potential capacity to generate conflicts around involved groups.- Reduce the social and economic costs that intolerance and its consequences cause today in European society.The most important result that SAFE Project materialization will provide is a contribution in value to the reduction of intolerance and social exclusion in the European Union, through providing adults with high quality skills, procedures and tools to manage intolerance or social exclusion using positive values, distinguishing fake news as such, disabling its practical influence, and promoting a perspective of inclusion based on respect, equality, and justice in European society.Additionally, other equally important achievements will be reached, and whose projection and resonance will contribute to changing the context in which this intolerance arises at the local level, in the environment of these four partners, as well as in the national or international scope that their usual activities and this project reach:- Dissemination of the need of contribute day by day to forming a respectful Europe where intolerance and social exclusion doesn't find a place.- Increase the job and social horizon of adults, and their potential capacity for integration at this levels.- Reduction of the incidence and consequences of situations of social exclusion and intolerance among the most disadvantaged groups.- Better conditions for the social inclusion of minorities or other disadvantaged groups in the target territory.- Creation of a long-term cooperation/exchange network for intolerance/exclusion affected people, around the application of the SAFE contents and methodologies in day-by-day situations, after project have finished.- Reduction of the social and economic costs derived from the proliferation of situations of social exclusion.<< Implementation >>To achieve these milestones SAFE Project will develop the following activities:- Development of a Framework in the management of current exclusion situations and European awareness, defining a context of action for the promotion of social inclusion linked to the European social reality of the last two years.- Development of a common European curriculum in tools, procedures and concept linked to effectively manage the daily situations of social exclusion that are currently proliferating in Europe.- Development of a European Methodology for promoting essential values of tolerance in relation to the current intolerant situation, updated to this last intolerance trends, and current social barriers.- Creation of an accessible web training platform where target groups will have high quality learning resources to improve their skills, knowledge and procedures, to manage situations of intolerance and / or social exclusion in the current context of Europe.- A SAFE Project online community where additional experiences and resources would be shared around the training of adults to face situations of social exclusion, exchange of opinions and strategies, collaboration between people or entities, or collective promotion of positive values for the tolerance. In addition, this Project involves carrying out the following activities necessary to achieve these developments and comply with the proposed objectives and commitments:- Five Transnational Project Meetings to organize, examine and work around the creation of the above tools.- A five days Learning, Teaching, Training Activity days in Potenza, Italy, with the participation of two members of the staff of each partner, and two people of the target of this project; participating in both learning activities in this field, as well as reflection on this trend of intolerance, and the potential of developing tools.- Four “Congress of Skills & Tools for an effective social inclusion” to be held in Norway, Italy, Ireland and Spain.- An intense dissemination effort, including the creation of a website, leaflets, briefings, newsletters, social networking, local meetings, and creation of material linked to SAFE to distribute among associated partners, stakeholders, and other organizations interested in its products.All these activities will be carried out following a specific work plan, whose continuous monitoring of its control parameters, will ensure its effective materialization according to the planned objectives.<< Results >>The most important result that SAFE Project materialization will provide is a contribution in value to the reduction of intolerance and social exclusion in the European Union, through providing adults with high quality skills, procedures and tools to manage intolerance or social exclusion using positive values, distinguishing fake news as such, disabling its practical influence, and promoting a perspective of inclusion based on respect, equality, and justice in European society.Other outcomes expected by this partnership are four training courses, as well the framework, curriculum, and methodology, as freely resources to be able to be used totally or partially in future training plans in this field; offering to target, associations, public institutions, and organizations or agents that promote equality and social cohesion, valuable tools to learn to manage situations of exclusion in an appropriate way, while promoting values of tolerance and respect.Additionally, SAFE project will provide a virtual community in which will participate disadvantaged groups potentially affected by situations of social exclusion or intolerance, professionals who give support to this group, social workers and associations, and professionals in education or training. The usual activity of this community will promote the exchange of experiences, exchange of values, doubts solving, sharing resources to improve the competences of the target people, sharing cooperation initiatives between professionals and organizations, or promoting cooperation between single participants and entities in the field of social inclusion and tolerance awareness. SAFE sustainability will be achieved with the proliferation and application, updating and reuse of the product results created, as well through the activity promoted from this virtual community; and in future initiatives of the long-term cooperation/exchange network for intolerance/exclusion affected people; as well as in the consequences of dissemination work around education and training decision makers, including members of the educational communities who will collaborate in the outputs development and dissemination.Far from being an isolated initiative, the members of the SAFE Project partnership believe that it must be a step in a long way that is necessary and urgent to face of."

Investment in education and training are the most rewarding investments for the future of European society and investing in the development of entrepreneurial spirit and competences in particular can play a vital role in boosting growth, innovation and job creation. Digital technology enriches learning in a variety of ways and offers learning opportunities, which must be accessible to all. In the Rome Declaration of March 2017, EU Member States stressed their commitment to providing young people with the ‘best education and training’. The October 2017 European Council called for training and education systems to be ‘fit for the digital age’.More than 80% of young people in Europe use the internet for social activities however the use of technology for educational purposes lags behind. Innovation in education systems can help to improve learning outcomes, enhance equity and improve efficiency. It is most effective and sustainable when embraced by well-trained tutors and embedded in clear teaching goals.Digital technology offers new learning opportunities by enabling access to additional learning environments and resources that can be used to attract and integrate learners. Digital technologies facilitate problem-based and interactive learning and enable a personalisation of the learning experience. However, successfully leveraging the potential of digital technologies for education is first and foremost a question of improving education and the focus when integrating new technologies into educational settings needs to focus on the pedagogy.The objective of the GAME-CHANGER project is to harness the pervasiveness of digital and social media environments to build entrepreneurial capacity throughout Europe. In pursuit of this objective partners will:(1) support front-line youth workers to develop new professional competences that enable them to harness the potential of online, challenge-based education to build the entrepreneurial attributes of their youth target group;(2) develop a suite of WebQuest resources to support the acquisition of entrepreneurial competences; (3) develop a bespoke WebQuest platform where all the challenge-based learning resources developed can be accessed by youth workers and youth target group members.