"<< Background >>In words of the EC Vice-President for Promoting European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, “The digital transition profoundly changes the way we live, study and work. We must equip people with the right skills to master this transition and make the most out of the opportunities the future brings”.Technology has been integrated into our daily lives, and its rapid evolution has not gone hand in hand with an increase in the skills and abilities of users. Some data supports these facts: while 86% of Europeans aged 16-74 used the Internet regularly , 42% still lack the minimum basic digital skills .Thus, currently the digital divide is more related to the lack of skills and abilities for an adequate and critical use of technologies than to the difficulty of access to them. Efforts are necessary to improve the level of digital literacy of all people, understood as the ability to relate to today's society: find a job, order takeout, seek an answer to a question, or carry out negotiations with our bank. Similarly, artificial intelligence (AI) literacy also becomes increasingly necessary, as AI systems become more integrated into our daily lives.The term AI is highly influenced by the imaginary generated by science fiction, and is linked to robots or virtual assistants, minimizing its real scope of expansion at all levels, and thus amplifying the risks and dangers derived from it. The manipulation of information and, therefore, of society, the invasion of privacy, or discrimination and bias issues are some of these risks.The EU itself, in its White Paper on Artificial Intelligence, focuses on the need to prioritize the development of specific skills, so that European citizens can ""begin to assume a real awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of AI, more beyond speculation and prejudice"". It is essential that the critical capacity of citizens is fostered, to strengthen them in their interaction with AI. The answer to these needs that we propose is the development of the ArIN project, focused on responding to this lack of specific training aimed at adult AI literacy, especially at those with less qualification and/or digital skills. The project is based on the concept of AI literacy as the capacity of a person to understand what AI is, how it can benefit him/her, how AI systems work, and, most importantly, how to adequately engage and interact with AI.<< Objectives >>The project initiative arises in an environment highly influenced by technology and digitization that, in the last year, has taken off as a result of the mobility restrictions imposed by the pandemic situation. Lockdowns have occurred in most European countries, for weeks or even months, forcing an unwanted isolation that has led most European adults to increase the use of technologies.In this context, training deficiencies have become even more evident, which to a large extent affect all facets of life in a transversal way when it comes to the use and interaction of artificial intelligence.Thus, this project's main objective is to improve the level of competences of European adults and to make them literate in Artificial Intelligence.Other objectives that are raised are:- To contribute to create an all-inclusive ecosystem where all European adults count on the basic skills needed to pursue further learning to better adapt to a changing world where AI will be prevalent.- To innovate in the field of adult education by closing the gap about knowledge, skills and competences on a forward-looking field, such as Artificial Intelligence is.- To empower adults for a critical and secure use of AI systems, increasing their levels of literacy and awareness of AI risks and dangers.- To seize the potential of ICT and game-based education, to design engaging and motivating training resources addressing adult audiences.- To promote digital inclusion and digital active citizenship for European adults, especially those with fewer opportunities.- To increase the capacity and readiness of the adult trainers and organizations to offer up-to-date training opportunities and programmes addressing the topic of AI literacy.- To provide a new upskilling pathway in the field of AI literacy, offering a training programme based on a leveled system, in which lower qualified adults can progress towards higher levels of AI competences.<< Implementation >>The project has been designed so that the activities to be implemented adequately include the 5 main phases: planning, preparation, implementation, dissemination, and evaluation.The planning phase has been carried out prior to the presentation of this project proposal. It has included research, needs analysis and the joint design of its objectives, expected results and timing.The preparation phase includes all the activities necessary for the correct implementation of the project and has to do with the implementation of the action protocols, the formalization of internal and external agreements, the establishment of collaboration and communication instruments, the agreement about the exact dates for the meetings of coordination and follow-up, and the launching of the actions oriented to guarantee the sustainability of the results in the medium and long term. Includes a set of activities, such as:- Contratualization, performance protocol agreements and risk management plan.- Partnership building activities: organization of the Steering Committee and Technical Committee.- Financial and administrative reporting guidelines and tools.- Preparing collaboration and communication tools: Asana-Google Drive-Zoom.- Formalization of agreements with associated partners and other collaborators.The implementation phase has been designed to lead to the development of the main result: the R1 - Educational Programme in AI Literacy. This phase is structured according to the classical workflow of projects´ development: Research, Development, Testing, and Improvement; following working scheme:A1.- Definition of the training path (RESEARCH – STAGE 1) A2.- Contents´ development (DEVELOPMENT – STAGE 2)A3.- Online platform programming and development (DEVELOPMENT – STAGE 2)A4.- Translation of the prototype into partners languages (DEVELOPMENT – STAGE 2)A5.- Testing of the Educational Programme in each country (TESTING – STAGE 3)A6.- Analysis of the training testing results, implementation of suggestions and improvements (IMPROVEMENT – STAGE 4)The evaluation stage includes a set of activities aimed at supporting partners monitoring that the planned objectives are achieved, resources properly spent, and activities successfully implemented. This is transversal stage, covering all the project lifetime. The activities and sub-activities included under this category are:- Elaboration of the QMP and evaluation tools.- Evaluation reporting (each 6 months)- Regular checking of milestones and indicators.Finally, another key and transversal stage for the proper implementation has to do with the dissemination and exploitation of the project and its results. This phase includes the following activities:- Creation of the dissemination toolkit (logo, leaflet, website, social media profiles…)- Social media campaign.- Communication and dissemination activities: project consortium joint actions.- National communication and dissemination activities – including multiplier events.- Dissemination activities reporting.<< Results >>The ArIN project focuses in the development of one complete Educational Programme on Artificial Intelligence Literacy (PR1). The development of this output will comprise a set of activities that, in 4 main stages (research, development, testing, improvement) will allow the project partners to achieve the planned result. The Educational Programme will be available in an online platform, and formed of:1.Training modules created following andragogy principles, for self-learning: oAdults need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their instruction.oExperience (including mistakes) provides the basis for the learning activities.oAdults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance and impact to their job or personal life.oAdult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented . 2.Digital Breakouts to challenge learners applying acquired knowledge and skills. Those are conceived as evaluation tools.3.Guide and Handouts for adult trainers, for physical or mixed training and breakouts preparation, including other possible engaging activities in the training topics.Thus, the PR1 (Educational Programme) comprises a set of outputs that, although constituting a comprehensive resource for the AI Literacy of adult learners, can be independently and interdependently used under other training programmes or initiatives in the field of digital competences and skills education.In addition to this main project result, some other tangible outputs will be produced as consequence of the activities implementation. We can outline the following:Results and deliverables produced in the preparation stage:D1 – Partners contracts.D2 - Communication plan and tools.D3- Project RoadMap.D4 - Risk management and performance protocol. D5- Financial and administrative management protocol.D6 - IPRA – Intellectual Property Rights Agreement.D7 – Project Management Dossier.D8 – Collaboration and communication tools (internal platforms and tools)D9 – Meetings´ dossiers.D10 – Sustainability Action Plan. Results and deliverables produced in the monitoring and evaluation stage:D11- Quality Management Plan and tools.D12 - Evaluation reports (4): After each six months, partners will evaluate the project quality (management, cooperation and communication among partners, quality and consistence of project results so far, etc.). The results of the evaluation process will be collected in a report by the evaluation leader and shared with all partners to make improvement decisions. The final evaluation report will be relevant also to guide the final exploitation strategy.D13 – Monitoring matrix for the verification of milestones and indicators achievement.Results and deliverables produced in the dissemination and exploitation stage:D14 – Dissemination Action Plan, including updated calendar and reporting guidelines and templates.D15 – Dissemination Toolkit – logo, templates for documents/communications, leaflet, website, profiles on social media…)D16 – Dissemination reports (4): Each six months, partners will report all the dissemination activities carried out so far describing the kind of activity, number of people involved, results, etc. The report will be completed with pictures, lists of attendance and other evidence.D17 – Multiplier Events reports."

The partnership of this project, composed of 10 partners, from 6 different countries, was a well balanced and strong one, as it involved schools, vet schools, universities, SMEs and Order/association of Engineers. All partners were well aware of the respective responsibility in accepting working together in this project and knew what their role was, during the 3 years of project development.The project addressed a common European need related to the lack of qualified staff within technical and engineering professional areas, especially women. A report by the OECD’s Global Science Forum showed that, as a proportion of all enrolments, enrolments in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) areas have been falling for a prolonged period across much of the developed world including most regions in Europe. Supply and demand need to grow together and Engine4F has centred on this key concept and on how we could couple both elements together in a programme for growth, therefore meeting the priorities defined in Europe 2020 Strategy related to the importance of orienting our actions towards the future, in order to achieve economic growth and sustainability. It also intended, indirectly and in the future, to increase labour market relevance of VET courses, specially attracting girls into more technical VET areas so that a balance of gender was also achieved. Aware that the development of the economy depends on an upturn within these areas, our project aimed at intervening among 8th and 9th grade students – and female students in particular. At this age and period in the academic life, students still have the time to learn from experience and to be well informed by the time they have to choose a career area or a VET course (at the end of the 9th grade). By increasing the exposure to technical areas and engineering professions and by promoting the learning of STEM related subjects through creative and innovative teaching practices, to be included in the subjects of Sciences, Maths, Physics and Chemistry, we have also contributed, among others, to deconstruct gender stereotypes, promote gender equality within these areas, increase labour market relevance of VET courses and review negative pre-conceived ideas related to VET learning paths. ENGINE4F has supported an “Awareness > Action Plan” methodology in the first two years and the study of the impact in the third year of its application, followed by the development of a set of activities related to STEM subjects and to be implemented in Sciences, Maths, Chemistry and Physics classes, as a way to complement them and to enhance student’s motivation and predisposition for learning. Activities within this methodology has resulted in an 'e-manual' of different activities. The project has also comprised the creation of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for the upload and download of the above mentioned activities and material, which has acted as a portal giving information on career areas, curiosities on engineering careers, tutorials, examples of career opportunities within each area, professional profiles, etc. At the end of this project it was possible to notice that the number of students interested in technical and engineering careers has increased when compaired with their opinions at the beginning of the project. A better understanding of employment opportunities related to these areas, along with increased motivation for learning Maths, Physics, Sciences and Chemistry, development of soft-skills leading to decision-making, problem-solving, etc. (through activities implemented also in each school of the partnership), was also possible to achieve among the involved students. The project has also allowed for the improvement of partners’ linguistic, management and organisation skills and reinforced partnerships between schools, Universities, Enterprises and other Stakeholders in the sharing of of good practices and scientific knowledge.

<< Objectives >>Living in a “global village” now, the whole world is inextricably interconnected like never before. Thieves do not break into plate-glass windows nowadays, but hack into people’s internet gateways, their private/media/bank accounts either by their misled consent or by force/phishing/cyber-harassment/and cyber-thefts. This project genuinely embarks on providing upward momentum and well-educated, well-trained, and highly skilled workforce for the compelling need in the IT branches of all sectors.<< Implementation >>Each and every one of the activities essentially adopt a novel insight and approach to a real-life perilous situation, thus they pledge special deliverables. The project will consistently and globally implement extensive desk and field researches, eye-opening workshops, large-scale comparative surveys and questionnaries, exculusive competence enhancement sessions, intellectual academic integrities, revolutionary vision, and most importantly reformative zeal<< Results >>The project is meant to yield results of a state-of-the-art framework borne out of an apt and detailed comparison, an original European Qualification Framework on cybersecurity at the EQF4 level, a specifically crafted and mastered core curriculum to be adopted in VET,a rich and quality training content complementary to the curriculum. By nature, these innovative offerings will bear positively cataclysmic chain-reaction outcomes for a well-equipped workforce, a firm and properly Secure Future.

"<< Background >>The context analysis conducted by partners from six European countries within the Eramus+ KA2 project ""MADE - Museum and Art education for Deaf Empowerment"" (2019-2021), concerning the existing services and activities in museums enabling deaf people to learn about art and to be more involved in cultural activities, pointed out that the services offered by museums for deaf visitors are very few and those which do exist, consist mainly of video-guides in sign language. This results in a lack of interaction between deaf visitors and museum staff. The main objective of the MADE project was to train young deaf people as museum guides or facilitators to make culture accessible to a deaf audience. This goal has been achieved, and is still being pursued, through the cooperation between partner organisations and museums participating in the project activities which are still providing the opportunity to the trained young deaf people to become museum guides in their facilities.However, although the awareness of deaf people accessibility in the cultural field has increased, as well as the number of specific projects and available services, there are still challenges to work on in order to make art and culture even more accessible to deaf visitors, as shown below:1. small number of museum workers who know sign language to such a level to be able to welcome and accompany deaf visitors at any time. Generally, access to guided tours for deaf visitors takes place with the support of professional Sign Language interpreters, which is mainly possible on request and can be booked well in advance.2. the lack of specific sign language vocabulary regarding terms in the field of art that can adequately convey the meaning and emotions of the artworks to deaf visitors, in the same way as verbal language for hearing people.The abovementioned issue is further supported by a context analysis of training needs carried out in the ART&SIGNS partnership countries which pointed out that usually museum workers do not know the characteristics of the deaf people and cannot offer their specific services; on the other hand, most of deaf people have limited interaction with museum workers because there are no services adapted to them and workers do not have a proper education/training in this regard.Furthermore, it should be noted that the Sign Languages, much more than verbal languages, are in continuous evolution on the lexical level of enrichment with neologisms. In fact, the more the Sign Language is used in different sectoral contexts, such as in the places of culture, the more it is necessary to know, use and spread the sectoral neological signs. Deaf people are historically known for the excellence of deaf artists who, for decades, were known more by their deaf community than by the hearing community. Today there is a need for their mother tongue, sign language, to be increasingly spread and to collect in one container this lexicon of specific signs derived directly from deaf artists and their many years of hidden silent experience.This approach corresponds to and makes operational the one proposed by the Madrid Declaration ""nothing about us, without us"", which draws attention to the empowerment and self-determination of communities in confirmation of their own identity. It is therefore not a question of mere consensus, but of involvement that is translated into practical terms: lexical competence is recognised for those who use language as a habit of life. Moreover, the subsequent ""European Accessibility Act"" places political emphasis on the need to design and adapt services for the maximum inclusion of persons with different functional profiles for the realisation of the fundamental rights of the UN Charter of Rights of Persons with Disabilities: first and foremost, the right to education (Art. 14).<< Objectives >>In order to address the abovementioned needs, the ART&SIGNS project pursues the following main OBJECTIVES:1.development of an educational model aimed at providing to museum workers specific training allowing them to acquire basic language and technical skills in order to be able to welcome deaf visitors by explaining the meaning of the artworks hosted in their respective museums. In addition to the linguistic aspect, the educational model will transfer knowledge about the deaf culture as an integral part of the communication processes with deaf people. Deaf adults and young people with experience in the field of art and culture will be involved in the development of the curriculum and in the delivery of the training programme. This will promote the inclusion of deaf and hearing people both at social and professional level.2.Collection of the signs/terms related to the cultural and artistic context in video-dictionaries available in app/virtual space. These signs will be discovered and documented with the support of deaf artists in the different sign languages of the involved countries and also in International Signs so to enhancing the transnational inclusion of deaf people. 3.Building of e-learning platform that will host the video-dictionaries as well as teaching and learning materials (OER) developed on the basis of the project Curriculum framework, that will be free of charge available to the museum operators and the deaf community sign language users. This will represent an enrichment of the lexicon of the national sign languages of the countries involved as well as the International Signs. This solution will include the possibility to add new signs autonomously by registered users, making an incremental development of the video-dictionaries possible both during and after the project end.The TARGET GROUPS the project wants to reach through the implementation of the activities are:- Beneficiaries: Museum workers (curators, museum educators, museum docents, front-office employees); Deaf community.- Professionals: Deaf trainers, Deaf artists, trainers sign language users, VET providers.- Stakeholders: deaf associations, museum institutions, organisations and companies dealing with accessibility of various vulnerable groups including physical disabilities, public authorities dealing with disability at different levels.<< Implementation >>•Design of a Curriculum addressed to the museum workers aimed at transferring basic and technical-professional skills on national Sign Language and International Signs, deaf culture knowledge and communication approaches to be used with deaf visitors. The preliminary activity will be a context analysis for understanding the skills gap among museum workers with reference to the interaction with deaf community. The analysis will be carried out through specific digital and technological tools (social media, videos, etc..) allowing to reach and interact more effectively with the deaf community, which is known to use such tools. The results from this analysis will represent the basis for the Curriculum Version 1. (RESULT 01 - CURRICULUM)•Training activity addressed to deaf and hearing trainers sign language users aimed at developing the learning content of the Curriculum addressed to museum workers and define a set of skills and methodologies trainers should acquire in order to teach museum workers. (LTTA).•Development and implementation of a multilingual platform for a virtual video-dictionary space including video-dictionaries collecting sectoral signs related to the art and culture filed. The platform will host the teaching and learning materials developed within the curriculum framework (RESULT 02 – E-learning platform).•Development of innovative educational materials including video-dictionaries meant as a sort of incubators that will gather signs related to the cultural and artistic context in the partner national Sign Languages and International Signs. These signs will be “discovered” with the support of deaf artists and, more generally, deaf community by using appropriate tools that take into consideration their needs (social media, videos, etc...).The partnership will also develop the learning materials based on the learning outcomes expected by the Curriculum (RESULT 3 – OER)•Training pathway addressed to 15 museum workers per country involving deaf artists supported by deaf and hearing trainers with experience in the training contents (art, culture, Sign Language, International Signs, Communication). During the training, the video-dictionaries and OER hosted in the e-learning platform will be used by the trainers and learners.•Systematisation of the signs related to art and culture in the lexicon of national Sign Languages and International Signs.•Setting up of a transnational network of deaf and hearing trainers sign language users, deaf artists and museum operators working together through a dedicated virtual space.<< Results >>MAIN OPERATIONAL RESULTS AND OUTCOMES:-context analysis in six countries for understanding the skills gap among museum workers with reference to the communication with Deaf people; production of knowledge about existing practices of awareness-raising and training addressed to museum staff related to the culture accessibility for Deaf people;-one Curriculum addressed to the museum workers aimed at transferring basic and technical-professional skills on national Sign Language and International Signs, Deaf culture knowledge and communication approaches to be used with Deaf visitors;-acquisition of skills and competence by Deaf and hearing trainers/artists on methodologies and approached to be used for teaching museum workers;-7 video-dictionaries in 6 national sign languages and International Signs, available in app/virtual space, as incubators collecting specific signs related to the cultural and artistic context in the partners national Sign Languages and International Signs; involvement of Deaf artists in the discovery of sectoral signs related to the art and culture;-development of innovative educational resources aimed at training museum workers in national SL, International Signs, sectoral artistic signs and Deaf culture.-Development and implementation of a multilingual e-learning platform for hosting virtual video-dictionary and open educational resources;-6 training courses addressed to museum workers involving Deaf artists, Deaf and hearing trainers experiences in the topic of art, culture, sign language, Deaf culture and communication strategies to be used with Deaf people;-Setting up of a transnational network of Deaf and hearing trainers sign languages users, Deaf artists and museum operators working together through a dedicated virtual space.-Involvement of museum institutions, public authorities, organizations working in the field of art and culture for systematizing project approaches, tools, and methods at operative and policy level;-Improvement of partners’ staff competence in the specific fields targeted by the project;-Setting up of a strong network among partners and between partners and project stakeholders at national level."

The full economic and social participation of people with disabilities is essential if the EU's Europe 2020 strategy is to succeed in creating smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Building a society that includes everyone also brings market opportunities and encourages innovation. However, regulatory frameworks do not always adequately reflect the needs of people with disabilities, nor the development of products and services that respond to them.In addition, this Strategy sets in motion a process to empower people with disabilities, so that they can participate fully in society under equal conditions. This European Strategy is made up of the framework of Article 19 (Living independently and being included in the community) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).In this context and for the reasons mentioned, the EU-Assistant project set out to define the key competences relevant to the development of the role of Personal Assistant for dependents, based on the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).The EU-Assistant project addressed and led to the achievement of other objectives, among which we highlight:- To contribute to the development of a professional training path for personal assistants.- To provide a training itinerary and training materials, under the European Qualifications Framework.- To promote the profession of personal assistants.- To raise awareness of the need for the profession of personal assistants.Some of the main results, materialized in the intellectual products created, include:1. The development of a training itinerary that, taking as reference the different contexts and areas of application of the figure of the Personal Assistant in those countries members of the consortium in which it already exists, defines the professional competences of this figure, as well as a series of training modules that lead to the empowerment of these professionals.2. A collaborative learning environment, available online on a Moodle platform. This environment makes available to students and teachers six courses for the training of personal assistants (one in each of the project languages: English, Spanish, Italian, Lithuanian, Turkish and Romanian). Each course has a modular structure (based on the designed itinerary), and allows a responsive display in such a way that the student can access it from any device (PC, tablet, smartphone). The contents are offered online, but they can also be downloaded in electronic format so they can be consulted offline.One of the most interesting features has been the design of a common space for the generation of collaborative learning. Based on the Padlet software, this space has been built for the realization of individual or group activities, the exchange of ideas and experiences, in a structured format. Additionally, Moodle also offers communication mechanisms for the management of teamwork, such as forums or chats.All the direct target groups of the EU-Assistant project (people interested in learning about the role of personal assistant, both those who have not yet exercised in the care and attention of dependents as well as those who already do and want to deepen this professional profile), as the indirect ones (educational centers interested in this profile, employment centers and other institutions), have participated directly in the development of the project through various means, mainly: validation sessions and testing of products, events and presentations, meetings and dissemination actions.The impact has been significant in all these groups, and already begun to materialize in concrete actions. Just to give some examples, in several of the consortium countries the products are already being used in the training of personal assistants; public and private entities are joining efforts to offer integral training programs in this field; and work is being done for the adaptation of the training itinerary to NEETs (mainly youth with low qualification), as a potential area for professional insertion.