The Greek Carers Network EPIONI in collaboration with the Panhellenic Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Vocational Rehabilitation (PEPSAEE), Eurocarers, Care Alliance Ireland and La Compagnie des Aidants, to mark the completion of the Erasmus + KA2 learn4carers project has developed a good practice guide for supporting informal carers. The guide is available at www.learn4carers.eu, in Greek, English and French.Owing to the excellent cooperation of institutions from Greece, Belgium, France, Ireland, Cyprus, Italy and the United Kingdom, the “Learn for Carers in Europe” project (Learn4Carers) provided opportunities for1) The organisations involved, to exchange information on good practices in supporting caregivers.2) Exchange of information regarding the support services for informal carers.3) Dissemination of information to professionals supporting informal carers.4) Increasing communities’ awareness of the issues facing informal carers.5) Development of proposals regarding the support of informal carers on local as well as at European level.The project lasted 24 months, from December 2018 to November 2020Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two in situ meetings were held in Athens, and Dublin (2019) and the rest were held virtually.Focus Group Interviews with informal carers, professionals and policymakers.Mapping of caregivers needs and good practices was done by the use of questionnaires and electronic forms. Information campaigns were conducted with the support of the office of the European Parliament in Greece (Caring for Carers 2019 and Caring for Carers 2020)The Website (www.learn4carers.eu) and Social Media (Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin) with information material will remain active for five years after the end of the project and will be available n three different languages. The Video messages from MEPs on the role which informal carers play in the sustainability of national health systems will be available on EPIONI youtube channel. The video for the dissemination of the project is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1Zf2ppU-3M&t=3sAs interest in the topic of family carers is growing rapidly in Europe we accordingly included as partner Eurocarers, the European umbrella association working with carers. This European network representing informal carers and their 67 organisations in EU Member States and beyond supported the project by sharing information on the European policy agenda, due to their representation, actively supported by the European Parliament and disseminating our exchange of best practices in a European level.Our associated partner EUFAMI promoted the project at an EU level. EPIONI as the lead partner is a dynamic organisation of caregivers from Greece with practical experience supporting caregivers. It was the first time that EPIONI was involved as coordinator in an Erasmus+ KA2 project. Despite the challenges of the project we managed to navigate the respective complexities and difficulties successfully.

Mental illness affects around 27% (83m.) of Europeans annually (European Social Work, 2013). Three quarters of mental illness begins by age 24 (WHO), affecting the social inclusion and, due to stigma, the work integration of a big number of young citizens in the EU. While many EU projects have focused in facilitating work integration of European NEETs (young people Not in Employment, Education or Training), little attention has been paid to young people with Mental Health problems that are not in Employment, Education or Training ('MH NEETs'), and in the same time they have to face a lot of extra challenges on their way to education and the labour market. Mental illness is likely to be both a risk factor for becoming NEET as well as a consequence of NEET status. Youth with prior mental illness are likely to terminate school early. Mental disorders are also likely to impede the transition into the labour force due to employment restrictions and social stigma. It seems that, at the moment, there are not any specialized tools facilitating the work integration of MH NEETs. Furthermore, all the main actors involved in this procedure (MH NEETs themselves, mental health professionals, career counsellors and informal carers) are not sufficiently educated, in order to provide the support needed. The big number of MH NEETs remaining outside the labour market constitutes an urgent call for the development of efficient strategies, as well as, the appropriate educative solutions and methodology to integrate MH NEETs in the labour market.Work4Psy has as a main objective to enhance the work and education integration of MH NEETs through the creation of specialized career counselling methodology and the education of the four main target groups involved in this procedure: (a) MH NEETs themselves,(b) Mental Health Professionals, (c) Career Counsellors, (d) Informal Carers (such as family members).In order to achieve that, all the partners will be involved in activities such as a comprehensive literature review, an educational needs assessment, focus groups implementation, creation/translation/adaptation of learning content, career counselling tools and other resources/material, in order to create:1) The first European Career Counselling MH NEETs Toolkit (ECCpsy-KIT)The toolkit will provide Mental Health Professionals, Career Counsellors, MH NEETs and their Informal Carers, local agencies and authorities and all other interested parties, with the necessary knowledge and Interactive Career Counselling tools, in order to enhance MH NEETs work and education integration. The tools will be practical, easy to use and oriented to each target of the project. The ECC psy-KIT will guide all interested parties through the work and education process of MH NEETs from the first stage of self-assessment to the final stage of on-going monitoring, aiming to achieve a higher number of MH NEETs in the labour market and education.2) The European Work and Education Integration Curriculum for MH NEETsThe Curriculum provides the didactical framework of the Toolkit, including details in terms of each unit’s objectives and learning outcomes, the content to be covered, the unit’s structure, teaching and learning methods, didactic methods, the approximate workload, tips and advice on the use of activities of the Toolkit, how to apply resources (e.g. video clips, interactive career counselling tools), etc.3) An Open Learning PlatformThe platform, based on the didactical framework of the Curriculum, including all the information and interactive career counselling tools of the Toolkit, as well as a variety of extra resources and material aims to become a digital environment where MH NEETs, Mental Health Professionals, Career Counsellors, Informal Carers and everyone interested will be able to find every information, material and resources needed regarding work and education integration of MH NEETs.All outcomes will be produced using the Co-production model, which involves MH NEETs and their family members in every step of the procedure (through participation in transnational meetings, focus groups, educational needs mapping and design of all outputs), as they are considered experts by experience, having important knowledge of their needs.Multiplier events, as well as, a strong dissemination plan will lead to a wide diffusion of all project’s results all over Europe. The European work and Education Integration curriculum and the Open Learning Platform will also guarantee the sustainability of the project, themselves, as they ensure that members of the target groups and every other interested parties who will not have been part of the project’s core partnership are able to use the Toolkit and all the material produced beyond the project’s eligibility period (e.g. transfer to further countries, organisations or new staff members within a partner’s institution).

"During this project we want to develop the cooperation between dance artists and youth workers in order to contribute the professional skills for young people to develop their competences which enable them to participate effectively in a culture of democracy. The experts in dance and non formal education will collaborate to work out new methods and tools for reaching out to marginalised young people and ease transition from youth to adulthood. The main theme of the research is valuing the diversity. The activities will develop:•specific knowledge, such as critical understanding of the self;•the skill of listening and observing; •openness as attitude; •diversity as a value: both cultural, social, and personal. OBJECTIVES:•To promote interdisciplinary co-operation in arts and non – formal education fields in order to promote the engagement, connection and empowerment of young people, including people with fewer opportunities;•to transfer and implement innovative practices from dance discipline (contemporary dance, dance improvisation, contact improvisation or other practice, which is connected to body movement research that support personal development ) to support youth workers in developing and sharing effective methods in reaching out to marginalised young people, to ease transition from youth to adulthood;•to tackle such a value as acceptance and appreciation of diversity, developing this awareness through critical understanding of the self, skill of listening and observing, and attitude of openness. •to allow groups of young people to put ideas into practice, tackling challenges and identified problems in their daily lives;•to involve the most appropriate and diverse range of partners in order to benefit from their different experiences, profiles and to produce relevant and high quality project results;•to allow organisations to develop and reinforce networks at transnational level, share and confront ideas, practices and methods;•to produce tangible outputs and to disseminate the results of the activities. TARGET GROUPS:We can learn from experience which is different than ours. That is why the range of participants are so diverse both in terms of views and practices and in terms of nationalities.The direct target group consists of 16 experts from youth work and dance field, coming from such partnership countries as Bulgaria, Greece, Latvia and Poland. 4 experts from each country contribute their professional skills to develop methods and tools interdisciplinary in transnational level.The indirect target group consists of young people from participating organizations. Most of them are young people with fewer opportunities, having physical disabilities or living in peripheria of their countries or/ and living in poor economical conditions. They participate at the project in local level.THE STRUCTURE of the project is built so, that all participants could give their full value in a safe and comfortable way:There will be 3 transnational project meetings in different partnership countries where participants get to know each others working conditions, environment, meet their communities, discuss the process of work.There will be ""Kick off Seminar"", where participants of the target group will gather to share their best experiences. Each national team will host on day training day, tackling the theme of the research.There will be period of time for ""Research and testing the tools"" where national teams work on research together and provide at least 4 local activities for the young people. And there will be period of time for ""Development of the method"" where national teams will continue explorations and develop their methods, providing at least 6 local activities. Transnational work shading will be another opportunity for the participants to learn each from others' experience.TANGIBLE OUTPUT will be a digital tool kit for youth workers - the material will include the descriptions of worked out methods and materials from the process of the project ( photos, videos). Each partner will disseminate the project through at least 2 follow up activities outside of their organizations.As a result new, interdisciplinary partnerships will be developed, based on strong experience in transnational scale. Small communities will be engaged in creative processes, allowing young people with fewer opportunities to put their ideas in practice, being an active part of the community."