"In the light of the crisis following the recent flows of asylum seekers from different countries, the EU has decided that promoting peer-education for diversity, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, common values of freedom, tolerance, and respect, should be one of its main priorities. There is a need for a more comprehensive solution and we have decided to join efforts in our common aim of facilitating the integration of refugees into the European environment.During the lifetime of the Peers for Integration project the partners:- an extensive research on barriers standing in the way of young refugees' social inclusion in Belgium, Italy, and Romania.- developed a training methodology using peer education for young refugees and migrants to develop competencies related to self-awareness and cultural identity/ interactions in an inter-cultural environment/ norms, codes, and other cultural elements that may cause ""cultural friction""/ presentation and promotion of different cultures/ dealing with situations in which the individual is witness or victim of prejudice/discrimination/ taking social action/ peer-education- tested and piloted the training methodologies during international learning mobilities to which 32 participants coming from Romania, Italy, and Belgium took part.- organized local workshops in Romania, Belgium, and Itlay during which previously trained participants used the Peers for Integration methodology to further give the opportunity to youngsters to be part of this formative process. A total number of 240 participants took part in the local activities.- organized dissemination events in Romania, Belgium, and Italy face to face as well as online in order to promote the newly created methodology.- developed a platform in order to promote and upload into the public space the newly created methodology and also to serve as a platform where future peer trainers who would like to use the Peers for Integration manual can see through tutorials especially created for them how the methods should be devielvered.Due to a need identified after the covid 19 pandemic shut down all face-to-face activities, we also created the Peers for integration open learning platform in order to give the opportunity to peer educators and trainers to deliver the Peers for Integration methodology in an online format. This gives us the opportunity to reach audiences, communities, and youngsters that were not accessible for the project results.The results we created are accessible on the project platform www.integration.ofetin.ro as well as on the Erasmus+ dissemination platform. The websites and project results are translated into multiple languages in order to respond to local needs and also to avoid language barriers when delivering local workshops."

Ocean literacy is seen as a prerequisite for Europe’s quest for a more marine-oriented economy and society, embodied in the long-term strategy known as Blue Growth.The development of the new maritime economy can have important socioeconomic consequences in coastal areas and in the marine space. These developments, together with the pressures from human activities and climate change on the marine environment, make it crucial to engage with citizens and stakeholders about seas and ocean challenges.We will not achieve a sustainable exploitation of marine resources and a good environmental status of our seas and oceans unless citizens understand the influence of seas and oceans on their lives and how their behaviour can have an impact on marine ecosystems.However, the Ocean Literacy level in Europe is low, as it is widely recognised by the DG Maritime Affairs and the European Marine Science Educators Association. Moreover, little has been done to change this scenario. With few exceptions, Ocean Literacy topics are not present in European schools’ curricula.One of the few serious efforts in Europe to introduce Ocean Literacy in schools has been done in Portugal (European Marine Science Educators Association, 2013), which, in the last years tried to place Ocean Literacy on the map for its science teachers and launched a version of the Ocean Literacy principles adapted to the science curriculum.In this context, project WaterWorldAdventure was designed to be a pioneer initiative, capable of contributing to close the Ocean Literacy gap and inspire other similar enterprises.The project aims to create, and make available online to educators and parents, an educational Interactive eBook – The WaterWorldAdventure eBook - to improve the Ocean Literacy of pre-school children.The WaterWorldAdventure eBook will feature an engaging story that addresses specific contents related to the Ocean and adequate for the targeted age group. It will specifically address the 7 Essential Principles and the Fundamental Concepts of the Ocean Literacy Framework, developed by the National Marine Educators Association in the US, and that is the world reference in this area.Additionally, the project will deliver a Facilitator’s Guide - The WaterWorldAdventure Facilitator’s Guide – that contains:• individual and group exercises and activities to complement the learning experience provided by The WaterWorldAdventure eBook• guidelines to help teachers and parents making a better use of these learning resourcesBy acting next to pre-school children, the project expects to achieve a wider long-term impact in the relation between European Citizens and the ocean. On the other hand, by using an interactive ebook, the project wishes to tackle the general lack of resources to implement educational programmes on Ocean Literacy by providing learning contents in a format which is engaging for learners, easy to use by teachers and parents and easy to scale to all of Europe.This initiative gathers the vast expertise of 6 partners from 4 different European countries, including an University, a Regional Education Authority, a Non-profit organization and 2 private companies active in education:P1 - University of Thessaly (Greece): University covering a wide range of scientific and knowledge areas, with 18 Departments and various Research Centres, including a Department of Early Childhood Education.P2 – Advancis Business Services (Portugal): private enterprise devoted to Education and People development, with a long experience in the development of innovative learning resources and training.P3 –Center of Education and Entrepreneurship Support (Poland): non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 2004 working in the field of youth, cooperating with businesses, universities, schools, enterprises and educational institutions. P4 – Inspectoratul Scolar Judetean Arad (Romania): public authority in education domain. It coordinates and monitors the activities of 244 Kindergarten from Arad County. It has a long and large experience in European projects development.P5 – BOON (Portugal): private enterprise with expertise in design and communication, with prior experience in the development of educational digital contents.

The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted every aspect of our lives and digital skills suddenly in an overnight became a requirement for many. COVID-19 highlighted the critical need for the acquisition of digital skills as every daily routine for millions of people became digital. Physical work became telework, education moved online, and the business sector is trying to use more innovative approaches to survive. The unknown future after the end of COVID-19 outbreak and the possibility of future pandemic situations make the need for digital skills and out-of-the-box thinking more imperative than ever. In this context DIGITALIS project has the vision to promote the cultivation of digital skills from a young age, focusing on primary education students. By providing a novel pedagogical and methodological framework empowered with new and innovative technology-based approaches and particularly serious gaming, the partnership will address the cultivation of key 21st-century competences including creativity, innovation, teamwork, collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking for young students. DIGITALIS project aims via using a combination of in-class assignments and a game-based learning tool to provide young students, aged 8-12 years old, a unique learning experience that will form the basis for outside of the box thinking that can result to future innovative initiatives. Another goal for DIGITALIS project is to address the cultivation of entrepreneurial mindsets from a young age that is considered to be critical to economic growth. Now more than ever there is a need for creative people that can boost the global economy with creative ideas and initiatives. After all, the global pandemic situation constrains the business world to shift to digital to ensure their survival. Equal important for DIGITALIS project is upgrading the digital skills of teachers. Teachers are the key actors of every education system, shaping the future generations of citizens. School closure due to COVID-19 forced them to go online posing a great challenge for those with low digital skills that must support hundreds of students. Moreover, the possibility of a future pandemic outbreak that could lead once more to possible lockdown measures highlights the significance of addressing the lack of digital skills of teachers. In this context DIGITALIS project aims to enhance teacher’s digital skills and also equip them with new innovative and digital teaching methods and tools to support digital native students and dynamic, diverse and digital classrooms. DIGITALIS project is dedicated to primary education starting from the preparation of young students for the world of work, where digital literacy is essential. The innovation of the project stems from the learning methodology that will combine in-class assignments with game-based learning techniques aiming to foster the development of a range of digital competences and also the cultivation of entrepreneurial mindsets. Combining theoretical and practical training will allow the students to connect theory and practice and conquer knowledge. The methodological framework of the project will offer both teachers and students high-quality training and will be implemented in five different European countries Greece, Cyprus, France, Romania, and Spain. Through Open Calls 25 teachers will be selected and be trained in the proposed methodology, acting as ambassadors and implementing the methodology and tools of the project in their classroom. In the long run, the active participation of teachers aims to foster future initiatives using the methodological framework and tools of the project ensuring also its sustainability. The partnership consists of five countries and five partners with significant expertise in the field of education and training. The coordinator, The University of Thessaly (UTH) and its Department of Primary Education, with great experience in training primary education teachers, will shape the pedagogical framework to be used in class. The second partner is Kalys Solutions LTD (KS), a private company in Cyprus, active in the field of funding consulting and business planning. Interactive 4D (I4D) has significant expertise in the design and development of serious games and gamified educational tools. FyG Consultores, a private high-level training enterprise in Spain with great experience in running a wide range of training courses and mentoring programmes on innovative concepts, business creation, employability basic skills, entrepreneurship, soft and hard skills training. The last partner, Arad County School Inspectorate is a local public body in Romania responsible to inspect a great number of schools and providing the framework for personal and professional development for all the educational staff in the county, promoting innovation.

Multiliteracy Education in Europe generally aims to ensure that young people become competent in using multimodal representations of language capable of communicating and contributing to the development of social futures and well-being of the society in which they live in.Multiliteracy is the ability to identify, interpret, create, and communicate meaning across a variety of visual, oral, corporal, musical and alphabetical forms of communication. Beyond a linguistic notion of literacy, Multiliteracy involves an awareness of the social, economic and wider cultural factors that frame communication. Multiliteracy aims to make classroom teaching more inclusive of cultural, linguistic, communicative, and technological diverse. They advocate this so that students will be better prepared for a successful life in a globalized world.Multiliteracy Education has, in this context, a decisive role to play, as it can have a key role in creating a common and adequate response to the pressing challenges that respect fundamental European values, but also in building a more cohesive Europe.In the Project StoryLogicNet one step forward is taken towards the pedagogy of multiliteracies to support teachers and pupils as well as parents in negotiating complex and various discourses through multimodal texts constructed in the European contemporary multicultural and multilingual social context. A multiliteracy approach of creative language learning emerges from the cultural, linguistic, and technical experiences that learners bring into the classrooms and aims at the further development of a broad range and new forms of literacies.The goal of StoryLogicNet is to increase Multiliteracy Competences of children (8 to 12 yo) by developing, testing and making available to educators and parents, a new learning methodology based on online collaborative writing for communicating meaning via digital storytelling and multiliteracy for the 21st Century Creative Classroom.The project aimed specifically to:• Create an online collaborative tool for Multiliteracy education – StoryLogicNet Community - accessible in computers and mobile devices, to facilitate the process of co-creation of stories in formal, non-formal and informal learning contexts;• Create a toolkit – StoryLogicNet Toolkit – to facilitate the implementation of the new learning methodology based on the StoryLogicNet Community to develop Multiliteracy, with contents and exercises on how to create stories, how to stimulate the creativity of children to generate new stories;• Test the StoryLogicNet Community & Toolkit to get feedback from teachers, parents and children on the new learning methodology (impact on learning and ease of use);• Use the feedback from teachers, parents and children on the new learning methodology, and use the stories created by the children to validate and showcase this new approach;• Disseminate and exploit this new learning methodology for Multiliteracy.Throughout the project, about 500 children, teachers and other educators, and decision makers in education were involved in research activities, training events, pilot testing activities, in contests for children.Also, 70 schools and teachers have registered into the SLN Community, involved over 600 students and created more than 126 stories, in the last 4 months of the project.Several other project results were accessed and downloaded from the project website by close to 2.000 people.Furthermore, over 400.000 individuals have been targeted by the wide dissemination strategy set in place, comprised of social media, website, online educational communities (including eTwinning), project video, published articles, presentation conferences and other events, among other dissemination activities carried out by the project partnership at local, national and European levels.This initiative gathers the vast expertise of 5 partners from 4 different European countries, including a Regional Education Authority, 2 Primary and upper primary schools, a HEI and a private company active in education.•Advancis Business Services Lda (Portugal) - Coordinator: research company in the field of education and learning, content developer and certified training company•University of Western Macedonia (Greece): Higher Education Institution offering studies in the field of education•Inspectoratul Scolar Judetean Arad (Romania): public body that renders support to the schools in the County of Arad in Romania•Szkola Podstawowa nr 1 im. KEN (Poland): primary school located in the centre of Cracow, Poland•Scholé (Portugal): primary schools located in Matosinhos, Portugal

<< Background >>Human activities of the last ~200 years caused an accelerated and abrupt response of the climate system; a response which manifests itself through a mild (but significant) change in the average conditions, alongside a more intense change in the extremes. Because of these changes, the diversity of life on Earth is in ever-increasing threat, including LIFE BELOW WATER (UN’s SD Goal SDG14). Recent observations on climate-related trends, impacts and adaptation in a changing ocean, pinpoint that carbon emissions from human activities are causing ocean warming, acidification and oxygen loss with some evidence of changes in nutrient cycling and primary production. [Bindoff et al. 2019]. Moreover, increased marine pollution and littering, especially through microplastics and heavy metals, and the perturbation of the nutrient cycles, greatly affect life below water and human well-being, in turn. It is crucial to inform people and especially children on the scientific facts and consensus regarding the marine environment, in a constructive and positive manner. The project will achieve the following learning objectives: On a cognitive level the students will acquire knowledge regarding the current state of the oceans and sustainability issues, develop their ocean literacy, as well as study the available options for preserving biodiversity and promoting sustainability on a regional and global level. Some questions that can be used as guidelines through this project, are:-What is and which are the causes of ocean warming?-What is and which are the causes of ocean acidification?-Where do microplastics come from?-Where does pollution come from?-What is the nutrient cycle in the ocean and how is it affected by the above?-What is the role of fisheries?-Which key actions can be taken for mitigating the above?OCEAN LITERACY AND SUSTAINABILITYIn this scenario, “knowing and understanding the ocean’s influence on us, and our influence on the ocean” -the essence of Ocean Literacy-, is key to create solutions and producechanges in lifestyles and behaviors capable of addressing these challenges and contributing to the SDG14 - Life Below Water.One cannot talk about providing an adequate response to the SDG14 - Life Below Water, without having people that are knowledgeable about the Ocean, thus making the case for introducing and reinforcing Ocean Literacy in school education. Ocean-related topics are mildly present in school curricula in the partner countries – Greece, Portugal, U.K. and Italy -, usually embedded in geography, natural sciences or social studies, but there has not been sufficient investment into approaching Ocean topics in an integrated fashion, capable to generate more impact on the levels of Ocean Literacy.<< Objectives >>The main goal of this project is to address the voids in Ocean Literacy education in primary school and to encourage the implementation of Sustainability practices to children in the age group of 6-10 years old. With a playful learning approach, it’s expected that children can assimilate knowledge in formal, non-formal and informal environments.In addition to raising the students’ awareness, this project will help them develop their critical and analytical thinking, as well as provide them with benefits on a social and communicative level, as they will be learning via interaction with others and playing.MBH will, as well, aim to help teachers, parents and children getting more familiar with the means of playful and online education, especially relevant due to the specific present era (Covid-19 pandemic), through a pleasant, user-friendly experience. This project will deliver a Digital Adventure Game and an Ocean Museum.>Digital Adventure GameIt’s expected that the effect of this Digital Adventure Game on children will encourage them to assimilate the importance of Ocean Literacy and Sustainability practices, becoming equipped with new tools and knowledge on these subjects. Students can change their whole notion regarding the importance of the Ocean for the future of the planet, as well as create new habits that hopefully will change the way they interact with the Ocean and the surroundings. The playful nature of this learning tool drives children to explore over and over again, to strengthen their interest and incentivize their curiosity. There is also a positive effect of children carrying these interests to their homes, educating parents, friends and colleagues alike.>Ocean MuseumThe Museum will serve 4 main purposes:-Develop children’s Ocean Literacy and Sustainability practices-Raise awareness about Sustainability issues, amongst educators, parents, local communities and general public.-Encourage Children and educators in the use of My Blue Home learning approach-Encourage general competences like teamwork, creativity and social awareness.After the completion of the Museum’s contents, children will be encouraged to present their creations, reinforcing and empowering their attitudes towards Sustainability and Ocean related subjects.<< Implementation >>The project will focus on developing the two main Results, The MBH Digital Adventure Game(R1), and Ocean Museum (R2).>The Game will have the following development structure:- Game Concept: Definition of a general idea for the Game with all partners, including a general storyboard, game objectives, the way learning contents can be embedded, etc.- Game Learning Objectives: Definition of the Learning Objectives, which will be inspired by existing learning frameworks about the Ocean subject matter. These objectives will concern the Digital Adventure Game (R1), as well as the Museum (R2)- Game Specification: Selection of the game digital contents, considering all Learning Objectives previously defined and their adaptation to the gameplay. Definition of a game layout and mechanics, story guidelines and narrative.- Game Development and Design: Development of game concept, contents, coding and all game assets. This process will be refined by the input of the testing activities.- Game Learning Contents: Integration of the Learning contents in the Game. The contents will be developed by the schools, digitally transformed and inserted in the game aiming for a consistent visual and audible outcome.- Game Testing: Testing is key to assess the responses to the set pedagogic challenges and it will allow all partners to further development and quality control of MBH.- Final Product: A final version of the game and a promotional video will be created.>The Museum will have the following development structure:- Guidelines: This activity will define the guidelines to develop the Museum contents and how to curate it. This should include the definition of criteria for selecting subjects, concepts, objectives, and propose suitable formats, methodologies and tools. A final Guidelines document will be produced by the end of the project.- Content Creation: Selected work groups will explore different techniques and media for the design to create the Museum’s contents.- Exhibitions: This activity will allow children to show their creations to their local communities and to the public in general. This presentations will be of great importance to the learning process as they will help validate and empower children in their attitude and confidence about the Ocean and Sustainability. Furthermore, an online exhibition of the Museum will be made available on the MBH website.-Final Guidelines and Showcases: The main goal of this activity is to make sure that the Museum can be used and replicated by other schools. Producing a final Guideline document will allow, together with the documentation of the Museum showcases made by the partnership, to produce a self-contained package that can be used and transferred beyond the project’s terminus.<< Results >>> Digital Adventure GameThis Result will be a game-based learning resource featuring an interactive adventure game and digital learning contents through the use of a computer, smart-phone or tablet.-The ocean-related contents will be delivered through different means: game mechanics, game storyline, digital image and video content, thus rewarding the children’s gameplay, engaging them in a more inclusive, comprehensive and attractive experience.-The use of playful learning in education will allow a collaborative and fun understanding of Ocean related issues, reinforcing in students and educators alike, the global concerns regarding the subject and the importance of acting socially and responsibly on these matters.The Game will have free online access and will be translated to 5 languages, for a greater dissemination and impact. > Ocean MuseumThe Ocean Museum will consist on an exhibition of contents created by the children at the partner’s schools, displaying their learnings and interests about Ocean Literacy and Sustainability.The concept of the Museum is to apply the contents assimilated in the Game(R1) and propose a more hands-on, creative experience for educators and children, which reinforces their knowledge on the subject of Ocean Literacy and Sustainability. Children will produce the Museum’s Contents, exploring subjects such as natural habitat, endangered species, and other concepts, using crafts and creativity. Students will explore Ocean and Sustainability subjects in their own creative way, thus assimilating matters in an effective manner, complementing and consolidating the Game’s (R1) Approach.The partnership will elaborate guidelines for the Ocean Museum’s creations, which will be compiled as a guide on how to replicate the Ocean Museum in other European Schools. The Museum will:-Develop children’s Ocean Literacy-Raise awareness about Sustainability issues, amongst educators, parents, local communities and general public-Encourage Children and educators in the use of MBH learning approach-Encourage general competences like teamwork, creativity and social awareness.> Additionally, the project will create: A Website and a Facebook page Project presentations for general public Project Video Final Event in all countries for the target groups Sustainability Strategy> Amongst other achievements, MBH is expected to:-Stress the importance of Ocean Literacy and Sustainability-Increase the readiness and competences of digital learning and teaching-Increase the number of schools teaching Ocean Literacy-Encourage children to follow careers in these fields-Encourage critical thinking, affirmative action and group collaboration skills-Promote to teachers, trainers and parents the use of innovative learning methods-Promote the participation of parents in educational activities with their children-Allow students to participate in real world sustainability actions, with a direct impact on environmental awareness, as the result of the Ocean Museum’s exhibition.-Involve educators and students in a transnational experience-Allow children to gain competences, contribute and feel empowered to make a difference regarding environmental issues-Provide tools to all partners to innovate their curricula, with new knowledge and materials for future projects