"<< Background >>Cultural tourism is gaining ground against other forms of tourism in the EU, with the European Commission indicating on their website that 4 out of 10 European tourists choose their destination based on its cultural offering. In rural areas, tourism comprises of mostly small businesses which suffer from lack of cooperation, and workforce lack of skills and qualifications. According to the EU factsheet presented in 2017 at the Tallin Digital Summit, 169 million (44%) of Europeans aged 16-74 years old, do not have basic digital skills. In the context of DECODE, the percentage of individuals’ basic digital skills differs, with Cypriots and Greeks reaching 43% and 46% respectively, while Norwegians, Germans and Austrians reaching nearly 70% each. As expressed in the title of the project, DECODE aims to decoding European trends and needs in upskilling and reskilling cultural tourism operators, professionals and volunteers in rural and/or deprived areas. Observing that cultural tourism operators, municipality workers, local rural shops etc. are not offered the needed support to increase the rural and/or deprived area’s cultural potential, we developed DECODE. These workers and volunteers are rarely offered what they need to develop their skills and competencies, which makes them low-skilled and low-qualified for their jobs. The aim of the project is to provide the learners with the necessary skills and competencies, to promote their local rural and/or deprived area in the field of cultural tourism, with a training course and the use of digital means. DECODE addresses these needs of local communities, authorities, professionals, volunteers in the field of cultural tourism with a comprehensive tool to enhance their knowledge, skills and competencies. The course and its results will also be made available to the wide public through the DECODE platform, which will be equipped also with an open badges accreditation system, in order to validate the learners' knowledge.<< Objectives >>The DECODE project aims to train the target group on how to use modern means of communication and digital tools for promoting cultural tourism in the rural and/or deprived areas. Accordingly, the project will foster flexible and adapting upskilling pathways for operators in the field of cultural tourism in rural and/or deprived areas. It will identify skills needed in the field and provide the target group with a training programme with the support of a digital learning environment.The objectives of DECODE are:• To address the needs of local communities, municipal and community staff, service providers, professionals interested in the promotion of cultural tourism in rural and/or deprived areas, tourism students etc.• To enrich the skills of the target group in rural and/or deprived areas.• To advance learning attitudes and the adaptation of high-quality learning opportunities.• To develop and utilise digital tools for the development and sustainability of cultural tourism in rural and/or deprived areas.• To develop recommendations for cultural tourism stakeholders that will improve the practices of cultural tourism across the EU.The project will promote upskilling pathways for tourism operators, aiming to lower the skills and competences gap, and will provide the learners with innovative training based on digital technology.<< Implementation >>The methodology which will be implemented throughout the project is based on project partners’ experience, skills and expertise, and has been already discussed and agreed upon by everyone involved in the project. All foreseen project activities, big or small, play a key role in the smooth operation and development of the project.The project activities that will lead to the project objectives and results involve:• Partners agreement signed between the partners• Financial and management plan from the coordinator and all the partners• Monitoring and evaluation plan from Akadimos and all the partners• Impact plan by the coordinator• Communication, sharing and promotional plan by ISEDE throughout the project• Transnational meetings to monitor and review the activities of the project, which will allow close collaboration with all the partners• Two Project Results:- PR1 will design and develop an online course for tourism operators’ upskilling, with material that can be studied online or offline, as well as the DECODE online resource platform containing all the interactive material and an open badges system for validating the competencies and skills gained by trained tourism operators.- PR2 will provide Policy Recommendations to stakeholders in the field of cultural tourism, which will be informed by the pedagogical framework for cultural tourism, as well as through measures for the impact of cultural tourism in rural areas.• 5 Multiplier Events in all partner countries (M22) with 30 local participants each, so as to promote the project and its results• One Final Conference in Nicosia, Cyprus (M23) with 70 local participants, so as to present the project, its outcomes, results, with the presence of the media• One Learning, Teaching, Training activity, serving as a ""Train the Trainer event"", in Vienna, Austria with 12 adult educators.<< Results >>The project will promote upskilling pathways for cultural tourism operators in rural and/or deprived areas, aiming to lower the skills and competencies gap, and will provide the learners with an innovative, interactive training program and an open badges accreditation system, with the use of digital technology.The results expected during the project and on its completion are the following:Short-term results (during the project life cycle):• Promote upskilling pathways for cultural tourism operators, both professionals and volunteers, in rural and/or deprived areas.• Innovative, interactive training programme for cultural tourism oprators in rural and/or deprived areas.• 1 Learning, Teaching, Training Activity for at least 12 adult educators in the field of cultural tourism.• 6 national reports on the outcomes of the LTTA for the improvement of PR1.• At least 60 local operators n the field of tourism in rural and/or deprived areas will be trained on the contents of the DECODE training course.• Provide for an online resource platform containing interactive material and an open badges accreditation system for skill valitation.• Carry out three face-to-face transnational meetings and 1 online.• 6 Multiplier Events (5 national and 1 transnational) • Provide for a sharing and promotional plan and strategy• Provide for networking opportunities for partners.• Internal documents/results developed within the project management and implementation activities, such as project work plan, reports for the National Agency, financial reports,evaluation reports, surveys, presentations etc.All participating organisations aim to integrate the DECODE project results in their daily practice, as our goal is that the outcomes will produce adequate results from the participants involved in project activities. Also, the organisations will raise awareness of the need to provide more quality education and training.Long-term results (after the project life cycle):• Improve and accelerate the training of cultural tourism operators, professionals and volunteers, and people in the cultural tourism sector in rural and/or deprived areas.• Support rural and deprived areas to enhance and develop their cultural tourism product.• Offer networking opportunities for local communities.• Take into consideration a holistic approach for adult learners, and efficient practices to create autonomous learners.• Establish solutions to autonomous learning through the online resource tool, which will offer the potential of expanding and transferring knowledge to other fields, but also extending geographically in other EU Member States and at international level.• Local and national organisations, NGOs, SMEs and other organisations will be equipped to use the project outcomes into their daily practice by providing awareness and relevanttraining to adults."

<< Objectives >>The objectives of the COPILOT project are:- to identify participatory approaches and digital methodologies used by schools to support teachers and school leaders with digital transformation- to explore the creation of dynamic professional environments in schools by identifying synergies with organisation active in different fields or in other socio-economic sectors- to increase the capacity and professionalism of project partners to work at EU/international level<< Implementation >>Throughout this fifteen-month project we will have three transnational shared learning events as well as seven partner meetings. The project will culminate with a multiplier event where our project findings, research, and recommendations will be disseminated to a wider community of educational stakeholders. A project website will be developed which will contain examples of best practice as well as acting as a communication conduit for other educational interest group<< Results >>The project results will be made available in a final project report to be presented at a shared learning multiplier event and made available on our project website. This report will contain key findings and recommendations on how to support teachers and school leaders in addressing the digital transformation of school communities. The results of the project and the transnational partner relationship formed will contribute for a future Cooperation Partnership application.

"<< Background >>The effects of the Covid 19 pandemic, the confinement, the suspension of face-to-face training activities, as well as the various security and social distancing measures have definitively established e-learning as a key element in the education and training industry. Whether at school, higher education or adult education level, distance learning is here to stay, with its advantages and disadvantages.In fact, although this was already a clear upward trend, companies, organisations and public or private institutions have reinforced their commitment to e-learning. In addition to being adapted to health conditions (which can be a possible eventuality), e-learning has shown some of its enormous advantages, as it universalises and democratizes knowledge and access to the sources of knowledge. Therefore, e-learning is an essential element to avoid a gap in adult education, generating inequality of opportunities and social and economic fracture between different sectors of the population.But, as we have seen in recent months, there are also counteracting factors that affect not only learners but also trainers. Some of these are inherent to online learning, such as the struggle with isolation, loneliness, lack of personal interaction or the need to find intrinsic motivation. However, the pandemic has reminded us how difficult it is for learners to juggle their training with uncertainty in different domains, while facilitators have to manage a workload that multiplies stress and anxiety.NEEDS: Thus, and especially in the context of distance education, the importance of socio-emotional skills in the transmission of content is clear, especially in adult education or andragogy. This is the term coined by American educator Malcolm Knowles to distinguish the principles and practices of teaching adults and to contrast it from the theories and practices used to teach children (pedagogy). In this sense, emotional management (whether intrapersonal or interpersonal) in adults is also different from that in children, and although especially during the pandemic much research has been done on the effects of confinement and distance education at school level, little has been said about adult education. The big difference is that while in schools there is a gradual return to face-to-face education, in adult education the trend is definitely towards an online universe.It is therefore essential to take into account the impact of the emotional aspect on the cognitive aspect, as well as the need to harmonise them in order to increase the chances of success of the training process under such particular conditions. As UNESCO itself ratifies, ""the development of socio-emotional learning skills helps stressful situations to be dealt with calmly and with balanced emotional responses, strengthening critical thinking and decision-making"".TARGET GROUPS: Trainers and learners of online adult education, since both need knowledge and management of socioemotional skills to carry out their tasks: Facilitators. To manage groups, motivate and maintain the connection with their learners so that the content reaches them in the clearest and most direct way.Learners. To manage the difficulties of learning alone and overcome the possible emotional and mental problems that isolation, distance and personal disconnection with the group can bring.<< Objectives >>The vision we have for EDL is to transfer to online adult education the enormous amount of literature and research that has been described over the last year on the need to implement emotional management tools in school education. Thus, in the face of the unstoppable trend of e-learning in adult education, we would improve not only the quality and impact of teaching, but also the mastery of emotional, social and human competences of both trainers and learners.For these reasons, EDL aims to develop a training programme for facilitators and students to learn how to manage the flood of emotions generated by online training in an appropriate and operative way. This is a recurring theme in the last year due to the pandemic, but it is a trend that is here to stay and was already on the rise in the months prior to the impact of Covid, making it a recurring theme to face the new reality of the labour market.The main goal of EDL is to generate a positive impact on the mass of European trainers and trainees in the online training industry, improving the management of this situation, which in most cases is anomalous and has been forced in recent months. In this sense, EDL will pay special attention to both intrapersonal management aspects (stress, anxiety, uncertainty, sleep problems...) and interpersonal aspects (social, family and couple relationships, loneliness...).Moreover, we have the following specific objectives:- Raising awareness of the mental and emotional effects of online training.- To take on board the need to emotionally manage the effects of online training.- To understand the implications of online training from both a personal and social point of view- In relation to the previous point, to understand the intra- and interpersonal areas of emotional intelligence.- To know the points of improvement of emotional intelligence applied to the formative process.- Improve professional/family conciliation<< Implementation >>Project is divided into 2 types of work packages:1. PROJECT RESULTS (PR), responsibility for PRs lies with the Results leader. 2. TRANSVERSAL WORK PACKAGES – (financed under the item Management and Implementation) cover whole project duration and are realised at two levels:EDL aims to develop a training program for facilitators and students in formal and non-formal adult education to learn how to manage the flood of emotions generated by online training. Crucial for achieving this objective is how partners will collaborate and how the project plan was designed including consecutive steps and methods.We will provide an open sharing environment for partners to showcase their own work and learn from other partners sharing the same. There is an equally strong commitment to valuing equality, diversity and inclusion, building organisational capacity to increase quality of collaboration and quality of results at the end.High level of cooperation will be combined with strong engagement of target groups in the process of developing results. This is crucial for the project to achieve results that will be tailored to the needs of target groups and this way sustainability and potential impact raises. Active participation of end users, constant feedback analysis, and the circulated process of designing and prototyping will resonate with high quality of products not only in the perspective of content but also in practical aspects and visual attractiveness. Also the project plan, following stages assumed and types of actions are designed in a way that addresses the needs of users (target groups) and translates into specifics of the adult training sector.The KOM will set the bases of the project, going through the goals and dividing tasks and responsibilities. In this way, it will be a key point in the establishment of the Executive, Promotion and Quality Committees. Transversal work packages will cover aspects such as: project management, monitoring and evaluation, promotion and former exploitation of the results and contents of the project. They will last the whole duration of the project as described in the dissemination element of this application. The PRs are the key elements of the project regarding the creation of learning and training materials:* In PR1 the project consortium will identify the 12 emotional menaces for teachers/trainers in their online activity, and will check them with a self-assessment tool. * PR2 will develop a training system for trainers/teachers based on the findings of R1. * PR3 will create a toolkit with 36 tools for adult students on their emotional management while learning online. Anyway, the series of five transnational meetings will facilitate cooperation and partnership working amongst the project partners and support the management and delivery of key project activities and outcomes.A series of Multiplier Events (one per partner) are designed to promote the PR created by the project and facilitate ongoing engagement with target groups in order to maximise the impact of project activities in general and PR in particularAll the results, conclusions and information of the project will be available on line in the website and platform, but the consortium wants to make an emphasis on the importance of the face-to-face contact between the facilitator and the final user (managers, leaders and workers in general) in order to implement this approach.<< Results >>TANGIBLE OUTCOMES- In R1 A self-assessment system for trainers on the emotional threats for adult trainers in distance learning. - In R2 A training system for trainers on emotional management of distance learning. Both intra and interpersonal areas will be taken into account.- In R3 An online toolkit for students/trainees on self-emotional management applied to distance learning.- Six workshops in the Multiplier Events (E1-E6).IMPLEMENTATION OUTCOMES- agreements between the partners- Gant chart- the detailed project plan- distribution of responsibilities between partners- budget plan- overview of qualitative and quantitative indicators- dissemination strategy- risk register - communication and collaboration agreements. OUTCOMES RELATED TO WORK PACKAGE MANAGEMENT- Managing guidelines;- Reporting procedure and administrative guidelines;- 4 Transnational meetings + meeting minutes. - 4 Intermediate online meetingsOUTCOMES RELATED TO WORK PACKAGE QUALITY AND EVALUATION- Evaluation plan and tools: meetings evaluation questionnaire, project progress questionnaire, Intellectual Outputs evaluation tools and multiplier events evaluation questionnaire.- Evaluation Reports: mid-term and final evaluation report, Intellectual Outputs reports;- Project Risks Analysis (PRA).OUTCOMES RELATED TO WORK PACKAGE SHARING AND PROMOTION- Project graphic design;- Project website;- Project mailing list;- Newsletters;- Informative brochure."

"<< Background >>Promoting employment of women is not only important for equality of gender but also important to boost economy and a better business performance. According to EC, one of the Europe 2020 headline target is increasing labour force participation and improving employment of women. However, in all member states, the employment rates of women are still lower than those for men, especially in Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Poland and Spain there is a big difference between female and male employment rate. And in overall Europe, average hours of women and men in paid and unpaid work highlights the big difference. While men work 76% of their total working hour in paid work, women only account 53%.In order to demonstrate these needs, the following research has been carried out:As Alcañiz Moscardó, M. (2017) argues that is paradoxical that in a society that takes into account above all education, training and qualification, women suffer the polarisation of employment by productive branches and occupations and the deterioration of working conditions in new contracts to a greater extent than men. Unfortuantely, the spanish entrepreneurs represent only 4.5% of the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem, compared to 11% worldwide (ICEX, 2020). The Spanish Government is supporting initiatives and programmes to empower women and reduce gender inequality. Valencia InnoHub works with different social groups developing workshops, training, seminars especially on innovation & new technologies, career guidance, entrepreneurship, business models and financing.As Thorton research (2019) in Greece, regarding the labour situation, in 2019 the 22% of senior management position was fitted. By women. Only the 1% of Greek women answer that the company in which they work ensures equal access to professional development opportunities and only 4% of those who participated in the survey answer that the company in which they work offers the possibility of flexible work. According to the same research, the No. 1 factor that keeps women away from high positions is family responsibilities (17%) and then the lack of time (13%) for other professional development activities. Inequality in labor market participation and equal opportunities between women and men is a long-standing issue, but today, a year after the pandemic spread, it is becoming relevant, as the crisis may have worsened labor market conditions, especially for low-skilled women (Alpha Bank, 2021).Regarding the needs in Cyprus, recent studies show that men were more likely than women to be self-employed in 2017 (13.8% vs 8.9%). An important barrier to business creation is a lack of entrepreneurship skills. Among the targeted social groups, men (59%) were the most confident about their entrepreneurial skills, and women the least (40.3%). KALYS is actively involved in supporting Women, start businesses, acquire skills (digital and entrepreneurship) and follow self-development methods. It’s a member of the Network of Business and Profesional Women of Cyprus and it organizes events and initiatives that support Women. The involvement in the project will provide to the company the means to train and support for free more and more women.According to the report ""Digital Key to Professional Future. Women in the Labour Market in the Context of the Economic Crisis,"" , women's ICT skills, trend and digital competencies remain low, regardless of education. So, a clear example of why there is a need to educate women in Poland on business literacy, numeracy and digitalitation sectors can be observed. CWEP has a long history of constant support for those sectors that are at risk of exclusion. In Romania in 2021, women are still very under-represented in the business world. The impact of BLOSSOM will be very useful for those who are in charge of teaching teachers/trainers about the skills needed to compose a successful business. For CPIP employees, this project will have a significant impact on the skills and competencies<< Objectives >>Main factor to boost women employment and to reach a successful entrepreneurship is business skills; literacy skill to understand the business context, numeracy skill to have an analytical view and be more precise in fast changing market, and digital skills that are highly demanded in the turbulent complex environment. As an answer to above: “BLOSSOM"" project will focus on women entrepreneurship skills, especially on business literacy, numeracy and digital skills that are crucial to successfully survive in business environment. As an added value will prepare a training phase for empowering women motivation & to regain confidence in themselves. OBJECTIVES The main objective of BLOSSOM project is to improve learning opportunities of adult women with low qualifications by strengthening their basic competences as literacy, numeracy and digital skills focused on business development. The specific goals of BLOSSOM are: •Identify the needs of adult women on business development skills as business literacy, numeracy and digital skills. •Support adult low qualified women integration into the labour market and social inclusion. •Encourage low-skilled women to develop business projects by effective and innovative learning outcomes. •Increase female entrepreneurship and improve women´s professional qualifications. •Develop the capacity of adult women and supporting organisations in entrepreneurship. •Develop basic and transversal skills. •Support ICT-based teaching and ICT-based assessment practices. •Perform a validation analysis of needs and gaps as for capacity of low-qualified women and their needs.<< Implementation >>BLOSSOM will design an innovative and environmentally friendly online training course on Business Literacy and Numeracy that will serve as PraCtical ICT tool component for adult education. BLOSSOM training will consist of ELEARNING ENVIRONMENT in form of online platform that will allow to: Up-skill adult women, develop important business skills & equip themselves with skills for entrepreneurial growth. BLOSSOM online training course will focus on modern communication skills including: consuming and producing information, express ideas and knowledge effectively, understanding viewer/customer habits, analytics tools, taking videos, pitching, etc., as well as basic numeracy business tools needed to undertake a business.MAIN PRODUCTS: R1: Design and development of core skills and key competencies model needed to up-skill adult women with reference to empower women motivation for professional development and business literacy, numeracy & digital skills. The aims of the R1 is to ensure the primary and secondary research which assists the development of project results and that suitable levels of user engagement. Based on national results of the literature review and desk research the first outcome of this R will provide Preliminary Study on profile competencies Selection for Adult Women with reference to women professional needs and encouragment to entrepreneurship; & business literacy, numeracy & digital skills. The following action will contain a solid analysis of study outcomes where the partners will prepare a draft proposal of core skills and key competencies model. By involving end-users and experts the draft proposal will be validated and complete the final document of conceptual model & learning outcomes for BLOSSOM project. R2: Plan and design program for women professional growth & business Literacy, Numeracy and Digital skills training for low-qualified adult women in form of TOOLKIT. The BLOSSOM training program in form of TOOLKIT is the primary result from our project and it will form the focal point of all the activities we carry out. In it we will research, design, test and refine a modular training programme built specifically for our target user group. This Toolkit will provide easy access to classroom activities, lesson plans, and related web-based resources. Each module will include: - A module description. -Core training Material. -Lesson plans with handouts. -Recommended websites for additional information.- A glossary for the unit. R3: E-Learning Platform for “BLOSSOM” training program and on-line self-assessment tool. The main aim of this result is to create a platform that will deliver a unique innovative and creative environment focused on providing an online Learning Platform. The platform will provide an online space for low-skilled adult women to to encourage lifelong learning and foster the development of competences & learn on business literacy, numeracy, and digital skills. It will include a section for networking, as it will be used also as a “point of gathering” of the women wanting to participate. On the platform, as an additional module: adult women will have the chance to assess their competencies by the tool implemented to the platform (developed in R4). R4: Self- Assessment Tool for BLOSSOM. The aim of this result is to create an online diagnostic tool assessing the business literacy, numeracy and digital skills and competencies of adult low-skilled women as identified in R1. The diagnostic tool will allow adult women to assess and to receive a written summary explaining their strength and weaknesses as well as suggestions for their professional development in relation to the tested professional characteristics. The diagnostic tool will be available in English. The aim of this tool is to equip target group with valid and reliable tool of assessment after performing the BLOSSOM training course.<< Results >>The project aims to improve learning opportunities of adult women with low qualifications by strengthening their basic competences as business literacy, numeracy and digital skills focused on business development & also empowering women motivation. Upon completion the project will provide an innovative, effective, extensible and pervasive tool that incorporates innovative, online training course on that will serve as Practical ICT tool component for adult education. BLOSSOM training will consist of ELEARNING ENVIRONMENT in form of online platform that will allow to: Up-skill adult women, develop important business skills & equip themselves with skills for entrepreneurial growth in demand & motivation for a further professional development. This project results will help to identify the needs of adult women on business development skills as Business literacy, numeracy and digital skills; Support adult low qualified women (age 35-50) integration into the labour market and social inclusion; and Encourage low-skilled women to develop business projects by effective and innovative learning outcomes; all of that in order to be antagonistic in the labour market of every European country. The main results of the project is the development of: -A training course, a programme that is accessible, straightforward, practical and engaging. The structure of the R2 will have a first layer that focuses on developing, encourage & raise awareness of entrepreneurship activities motivation need to reconsider their professional ambitions & objectives, as a way to reach their own personal fulfilment. The second phase will be based on basic and core skills (as Business literacy, numeracy and digital skills), and the additional enterprise and entrepreneurial layer delivering high quality learning directed towards employability. The aim of these training program is: -To boost progress in business core skills towards higher qualifications provide basic skills and key competences needed to successfully operate entrepreneurial activities for which usually excepted level according to EQF should reach level 4. -To encourage lifelong learning and Increase female entrepreneurship and improve women´s professional qualifications. -To motivate & to regain confidence in themselves, their aspirations & desires for the future. Apart from training course, the main expected results of BLOSSOM will be also: -A Preliminary Study on profile competencies Selection for Adult Women with reference to motivation & encouragement related to women gender-specific societal norms & in knowing themselves to bring out their potentials and build a new vision. Furthermore on women business literacy, numeracy & digital skills situation. The following action will contain a solid analysis of study outcomes where the partners will prepare a draft proposal of core skills and key competencies model. -A Conceptual model & learning outcomes for the project that will be base for the development of project main outcome: BLOSSOM training course. -An e-learning environment - The platform will provide an online space for low-skilled adult women to learn on motivation, business literacy, numeracy, and digital skills, and creating networks among them. -A Self- Assessment Tool - an online diagnostic tool assessing the business communication literacy, numeracy and digital skills and competences of adult low-skilled women as identified in R1. The diagnostic tool will allow adult women to assess and to receive a written summary explaining their strengths and weaknesses as well as suggestions for their professional development. Additionally, the BLOSSOM project foresees a set of management, dissemination, monitoring & evaluation and coordination results, namely. 1. Project Management - Project Roadmap and Management Handbook.2. Monitoring and Evaluation - Quality Management3. Dissemination - Dissemination & Communication Strategic Plan4. Sustainability Plan"

<< Objectives >>OBJECTIVES:Increasing and sharing, with the volunteers of partner associations and their network, knowledge and skills on the following topics: knowing how to prevent and combat the main forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, abandonment, mistreatment or exploitation, including sexual violence on boys and girls, as well as adolescents and young people, adult women.<< Implementation >>ACTIVITIES:(1) Training course for volunteers on the issues of preventing violence in relationships (forms of hatred, bullying and maltreatment, particularly towards minors and women);(2) Involvement of trained volunteers in the participatory planning of prevention initiatives and contrast of violence in individual and group relationships;(3) Open workshop for the involvement of the community (active citizenship).<< Results >>RESULTS:(1) More ability of volunteers to recognize situations of violence in relationships; (2) More awareness of volunteers about their relationship with violence; (3) Development of a support network for the prevention of violence in relationships.