"PROJECT DESCRIPTION:The reality of the everyday practice of Adult Educators who support adult learners has been increasingly more demanding, requiring more specialized competencies, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes it brought in every aspect of life. The sociopolitical and economical events due to COVID-19, in combination with the limited capacity of Educational services around Europe during this period, have profoundly changed the job profile of Adult Educators, who are trying their best to find new, creative ways, in order to support individuals. More specifically, the pandemic has negatively affected many people’s mental health and created new obstacles and fears for people already suffering from mental illness, such as difficulty sleeping (36%) or eating (32%), increases in alcohol consumption or substance use (12%), and worsening chronic conditions (12%) (WHO, 2020), as a consequence of social exclusion, loneliness, uncertainty and a generalized panic due to the security measures and the new reality. In addition, Adult Educators have struggled in finding creative and healing ways, in order to ease the psychological discomfort and pain of learners, which sometimes led even to burn-out. However, due to the crisis of COVID-19 that influences most of the European countries, people have renewed their appreciation towards expression through Art and Creativity. The healing power of creativity through artistic forms has been proven in a wide variety of studies, stating that creative activities can relieve stress, depression, and aid communication (Kyaga, S., Landén, M., et.al., 2013). Art can work as an outlet from the stress of life and negative feelings, as it is a place where someone can be creative and happy with their own company. For the individual learners, dealing with crafts and creative activities can be really useful, since it boosts a sense of self-worth after completing an accomplishment, improves self-esteem, keeps the mind and body peaceful and busy, in a way where all negative thoughts and emotions are set aside for a moment. So, the aim of this project is to assist Educators to recognize that creativity is an essential component in training, that fosters openness and the ability to tolerate uncertainty in a changing educational and social world (Galbraith, M. & Jone, M., 2012). Since creativity is so important, this project will present strategies and Good practices for promoting creativity and explore the benefits it has for Adult Educators, Adult learners, and the Adult Education field in general. Specifically, the partners in this project will exchange knowledge regarding Good practices and Tools with an artistic and educational dimension, in order to enrich the educational ""briefcases"" of Adult educators and to promote positive well-being, and ease the negative psychological aspects arisen from the pandemic.This project will be based on Training Activities where the Good practices of each partner organization will be presented. The Activities will be standardized, which means that the Timetable and the nature of the activities will more or less be alike and include Study visits, World cafes, Case studies’ analysis, and Presentations. The last day of each Training Activity will be dedicated to an open event for the whole local, regional, and National community, in order to find more Good Practices in each partner country.TARGET GROUP:The target group of the Project is Adult Educators working with Adult Learners who have been affected mentally and emotionally by the pandemic and seek support, due to the discomfort and negative emotions caused by it. Those Adult Educators will participate in all the project's activities, in order to then implement the knowledge, they have acquired to the end-users, the people with fragile mental health.OBJECTIVES:1. Enhance Adult Educators' knowledge and awareness about creative and artistic tools/methods to be used in Adult Education2. Meliorate the professional skills and competences of Adult Educators working with Adult Learners3. Improve the mental health and well-being of the end-users, which was worsened due to the lockdown and the uncertainty of the situation we currently experience4. Enhance the Learners' soft skills via art5. Raise awareness about mental health and the significance of well-being6. Exchange of Good practices and Tools concerning artistic initiatives around mental health with an educational dimension.IMPACT:This Project is designed in a way, which presupposes long-lasting effects at a Local, National, and European level. The power of Art and Creativity as a healing tool and one of the most effective and energizing ways of Learning will be widely promoted. Moreover, in all dimensions, this project will raise awareness about the Mental Health and the emotional difficulties the COVID-19 pandemic brought, alongside with the sanitary ones, where the adaption to a new reality has brought to the surface."

"""People who are socially, economically, culturally, politically, institutionally or otherwise marginalized are particularly vulnerable to climate change as well as to some adaptation and mitigation strategies."" (IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). In this respect, which concerns both the least developed countries and populations in fragile social situations in developed countries, there is a second observation: the very ambitious objectives of the European Union in reducing Greenhouse Gases. require the active mobilization of all stakeholders, starting with all the inhabitants. However, it is clear that the most socially fragile populations are also for various reasons (poverty, level of education, linguistic factor) those who feel least invested in actions of citizen participation, particularly in the field of sustainable development.The term social worker encompasses all qualified professionals who provide answers to people in economic or social difficulties. It concerns social service assistants, specialized educators, facilitators, social and family education counselors, family workers, etc.Because of their profession and their proximity to the most vulnerable groups, social workers play a key role in addressing climate change issues both upstream and in anticipation and prevention of the consequences of climate change for the most vulnerable populations. exposed and downstream from crises, particularly natural disasters induced by climate change, with support for individuals and collectives in the context of individual and collective post-event management.In addition, beyond their position as major victims of the consequences of climate change, especially natural disasters, vulnerable populations are also often brought to adapt to situations by means and forms of ad hoc collective organization ( for example: organizing collective green spaces to develop islands of freshness, create AMAPs to promote sustainable consumption, encourage carpooling, promote children's awareness of natural hazards). In this context, the role of the social worker becomes that of a coordinator-facilitator, able to identify innovative local initiatives, to stimulate projects, to support the actors of innovation, to bring their voices and more broadly to allow good practices to be disseminated.To do this, it is important for social workers to know and integrate into active partnerships between territorial operators in the face of climate change (prevention of risks, housing and sustainable consumption, awareness raising, etc.), which is not the case still today lack of knowledge of the sector. A fortiori, beyond a few local initiatives, they are only very little involved in actions related to climate change.Social & Nature intends to address this issue by creating a transnational consortium whose objective is to build together a European framework for training social work trainers that can strengthen the skills of social workers to address the problem of natural hazards and the consequences of change. climate change and offer it to training centers and institutions in charge of social policies.To respond coherently to challenges that go beyond national frameworks, the transnational dimension is necessary. In addition, the diversity and complementarity of the know-how of local actors, situations and experiences will enrich the repository of available solutions and approaches."

"People who face mental health problems (PMH) have one of the lowest employment rates in Europe (20%-30% /UE stats-2015). Mental illness still carries a heavy stigma and a significant portion of society, including employers and the labor market in general, are not informed and educated on this issue. Most trainers, educators and career counsellors are not trained to deal with PHM. Employers, supervisors and coworkers are even less informed on how to facilitate smooth work insertion and are subject to a variety of prejudices against PMH.IMPE project "" Improving Mentoring for People with Mental Health Problems in Training and Work"" proposes to equipe mentors and other actors supporting people with mental health issues with tools in terms of training and integration into labor market.IMPE partnership represented by a panel of actors with complementary expertise (adapted care centers, rehabilitation centers, Support and Work Assistance Establishment, in-company trainers) mobilised their resources, in order to offeran adequate response to:- the needs of professional and informal mentors to have available an effective methodology to support training and labor insertion of PMH. - the need of informal mentors on the workplace to better know how to integrate PMH in the work setting and to overcome their prejudices;- the need of PMH to be effectively supported in VET training and workplace settings, and to reduce the stigma they face in society in general and in training and work settings in specific;A pilot phase with 191 professional mentors and 211 informal mentors from FR, IT, ES, GR, DE, USA, UK, SA, MY, allow to the consortium to adapt and validate the IMPE tools that are being developed as part of the project:• IO1: A Handbook on facilitating training and work insertion of people with mental health issues - available in the partnership languages ​​(EN, FR, ES, IT, GR, DE) on the project website: http : / / www.impe-project.eu/documents-reacutesultats.html• IO2: E-course on supporting insertion in training and work of people with mental issues addressed to professional mentors: http://www.impe-project.eu/destineacute-to-professionals.html• IO3: E-course on supporting insertion in training and work of people with mental issues addressed to informal mentors: https://www.openlearning.com/courses/impe-manuel-pour-les-ants-informelsThe 3 tools (manual and online courses) are developed in 6 learning units for a better coherence:- Individualized Placement and Support model,- Cope with everyday routine,- Empowerment and stress reduction,- Creativity and mental health,- Development of social skills,- Networking.IMPE values ​​non-formal training based on the ECVET system which promotes the recognition of skills from the definition of learning objectiv"

"The project ""generation 4C - communicative, critical, creativ and collaborate,"" (IP&IE) addresses the constant technical change in vocational education.On the other hand, against the background of climate change, the pressure to migrate, the shortage of skilled workers and the digital transformation, the need to become involved as a citizen in the European community of values ​​is shown. Well-trained, competent skilled workers and responsible personalities guarantee meaningful participation in economic success. Social and economic stability is achieved when shared values ​​form the basis for cooperation in Europe. These qualifications protect against populist and nationalist tendencies. The willingness to work together critically, creatively and communicatively and to get involved politically secures Europe's future in peace and freedom.The joint project tasks in the transnational project meetings support this process, because the appropriate solutions are developed in collegial cooperation (drone technology and data protection, smart and climate-friendly manufacturing methods, basic ethical rules, strengthening language skills, intercultural skills). Professional and personal competencies create a communication space in which everyone feels accepted, respected and valued.In addition, the climatic consequences of one's own professional activity must be taken into account more and more. Resource-saving manufacturing methods must always done more and more (e.g. additive manufacturing methods) and the willingness to go new ways must be encouraged (e.g. mobility through drone technology). This also promotes readiness for lifelong learning, because the successful implementation of new challenges strengthens your own personality, constantly facing new tasks.The methodology during the project period corresponds to the action-oriented concept of teaching and the partnership-based cooperation of the teachers. This encourages initiative and the individual pace of learning is taken into account. As a result, each participant can contribute his or her skills in the collaboration, communication is strengthened and creative solutions are promoted.Around 250 young trainees with and without a migration background and around 35 teachers will take part.The target groups and goals of the project are therefore: Apprentices in dual / school-based vocational training young refugees in vocational training or in the vocational preparation phase Motivate interested teachers to work on the project Training companies Increase of cross-sectional competencies with regard to institutional knowledge in the partner countries (intercultural competence, training systems, type of communication, willingness to work together, further development of language skills and methodology and didactics), Promoting teamwork, Promotion of media literacy through the development and practical application of digital teaching media Promotion of the key competencies of respect and respect, commitment, teamwork, independence, curiosity, willingness to further education, creativityResults:Multilingual teaching materials that can also be integrated into the class after the project phase.Professional competence in collaborative 3D design technologyWillingness to behave in a climate-friendly manner in professional and private lifeUse of resource-saving manufacturing methods, e.g. 3D printing technologyWillingness to get involved in the European communityRaising awareness of the importance of the ethical tradition in the European community based on Christian-Jewish and ancient valuesStrengthen readiness for inter-religious dialogue to secure peace and freedom in EuropeThe participating schools are strengthening their European profile and will integrate the created documents into the further teaching work. The system of action of the teaching methodology also contributes to the fact that more and more young people in vocational training are dealing with self-organized learning and are acquiring these skills."

Continuing Vocational and Educational Training (CVET) is one of the major instruments to meet the challenges of the European 2020 strategy. The Bruges Communiqué invited the States Members to improve the training of CVET educators and trainers through flexible trainings to enable them to manage the educational and training tasks which are increasingly broad and complex.The market of continuing vocational and education training in Europe has changed dramatically in the last 20 years, resulting in: - a generalization of calls of tenders (public and private markets), - a quality requirement improvement, resulting in the need of certifications for trainers, - a requirement of productivity and rationalization of training, which causes trainers to apply training engineering which takes into account the achievements of learners, creates individualized training paths and adapts theirs courses to validate and certify. - a demand for a competency-based approach in training to improve the efficiency of the training for the learners.To meet these challenges and meet the European CVET market requirements, the skills of adult trainers and particularly the teaching and pedagogical skills are becoming critical and have a direct impact on the quality of training.From these findings, the project ESCoT helps to develop and establish a core of teaching skills for adult trainers, shared and enriched base at European level. It aims at improving the development of these skills by the use of flexible online just-in-time trainings.The project ESCoT provides tools and solutions in order to: - facilitate the assessment and management of pedagogical skills of trainers by themselves and by training organizations, - develop the pedagogical skills of trainers using appropriate training, focusing on situations that trainers face and providing innovative and efficient practices and knowledge shared at the European level, - develop the accessibility of this training of trainers by blended learning flexible method using online resources that can be provided to support the development of teaching skills.The project ESCoT provides to trainers and training organizations: - teaching skills assessment and management tools for trainers in relation to various situations they encounter, providing them teaching skills profile, - online training modules of trainer training that can be used to implement flexible blended training to accompany the development of teaching skills of trainers in different situations - a guide of good practices for the development of teaching skills, which capitalizes the experiences of various CVET organizations and networks in Europe.