<< Background >>It is extremely clear that the current socio-economic systems are no longer suitable for our society and for the Planet itself, hence the incumbent need for new educational patterns to organize the economic activity and promote a systemic approach designed to benefit businesses, society, and the environment.Young people will play a key role in the shaping of a sustainable future as stated by the World Youth Report on “Youth and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. It is only with their actions towards sustainable development that they will be able to establish inclusive societies while also adverting the impacts of climate change, unemployment, poverty, gender inequality, conflict, and migration.Therefore in this scenario, the project ECO-CIRCLE: “Circular Economy as a tool to develop an Innovative eco-inclusive social entrepreneurship educational pattern for youth” aims at becoming a European new educational benchmark within the Circular Economy sector for youth, by creating a solid link and opportunities within the Social Entrepreneurship field, by promoting and enhancing socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable innovation through community learning and national and transnational collaboration.Thanks to the in-depth cooperation of a well-rounded International Partnership represented by 7 Organizations active in the field of sustainable development and youth education, non-formal learning and, with direct expertise on online and digital education as well as on Social Entrepreneurship and Circular Economy, Partners aim at creating a (PR1)Framework of Competences for Circular Economy, customized for Youth, Digital Youth Workers, Social Entrepreneurs and Educators focusing on the necessary set of knowledge, skills and attitudes, needed to navigate successfully the Circular Economy, (PR2)An interactive and cutting-edge Online Course for youth, youth workers and educators to enhance their social entrepreneurship potential within the Circular Economy, capable to boost the needed skills for an eco-inclusive entrepreneurship and equip present and future youngsters and their social enterprises as well as small and growing businesses, with the necessary digital tools and resources to start-up and scale-up through the circular economy. And finally (PR3)An educational e-game (APP), with the aim of engaging, connecting, and empowering youth, youth workers, educators and social entrepreneurs, while learning about global and international development issues, with focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and thus becoming active and global citizens. Moreover, Partners will implement National Focus Groups (A2) with the aim of pilot testing the Project Results while capacity-building Youth workers, Social Entrepreneurs & Educators on their effective use, and thus multiplying the effect in turn, by promoting and training future eco-entrepreneurs. All Project Results will be shared with the main target groups via Final Multiplier Events (E1-E6).Main Project Target groups are:.Present and Future Young Social Entrepreneurs, Youth workers, Educators, Trainers, Facilitators, Teachers, Learners with interest in the topic of Circular Economy as a tool for Social Entrepreneurship..Partner organisations and their Staff.NGOs, Associations, Foundations, Youth Centers, Informal Groups of Youth, Non-formal training providers including SMEs, Municipalities, Development agencies as well as HEIs active in the field of environmental learning, entrepreneurship/social education, willing to test and incorporate the new training curricula into their educational offer. Furthermore, “wannabe agents of change” as well as other present and future social entrepreneurs not directly targeted by the project, will be also able to benefit firsthand from the project online training methodology and tools, which will eventually lead to a multiplier effect and an actual widespread socio-economic impact in Europe and beyond.<< Objectives >>Besides following the main recommendations of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 of engaging, connecting and empowering young people, ECO-CIRCLE is aligned with the following Erasmus+ Programme common and specific priorities & objectives for the Youth field:-Promoting active citizenship, young people’s sense of initiative and youth entrepreneurship including social entrepreneurship-Increasing quality, innovation and recognition of youth work through capacity-building of youth workers on circular economy as a tool for a sustainable and more effective social entrepreneurship education with a more strategic and integrated use of ICTs and open educational resources (OER). -Environment and Fight Against Climate Change through the spread of awareness about environmental and climate-change challenges (among other SDGs).Linear economy approaches based on the take-make-dispose mentality are coming under increasing pressure because of their negative impacts. With this economic model the production of goods is at the expense of the productivity of our ecosystems while also jeopardising their supply, leading to ecological and economic disadvantages.The European Commission has adopted in 2020 a new Circular Economy Action Plan, one of the main blocks of the European Green Deal, Europe’s new agenda for sustainable growth. With a circular economy the aforementioned problems are solved. Greenhouse gas emissions are automatically reduced on a global scale, the application of circularity in the economy creates vital ecosystems such as soil, air and water bodies, the conservation of nature is systematically preserved by stopping the extraction and dumping mechanism. In addition to that, circularity has several advantages for the economy thanks to substantial resource savings and growth of employment with the adoption of new business models focused on reuse, repair, remanufacturing and sharing models.Moreover, from the World Youth Report on “Youth and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (UN DESA), it emerges the key role of young people in sustainable development as a driving force to achieve sustainable and inclusive societies while adverting the impacts of climate change, unemployment, poverty, gender inequality, conflict, and migration. Therefore, in this scenario the project ECO-CIRCLE aims to train and encourage young entrepreneurs to adopt sustainable business models, promoting waste prevention, systemic eco-innovation, eco-consumption, collaborative economy, eco-design and territorial symbiosis to create new jobs while contributing to the global Sustainable Development Goals and propel our world to a greener future.<< Implementation >>The project ECO-CIRCLE: “Circular Economy as a tool to develop an Innovative eco-inclusive social entrepreneurship educational pattern for youth” aims at promoting an innovative training methodology specifically designed for Youth, Digital Youth Workers, Social Entrepreneurs and Educators, that will empower present and future social entrepreneurs, by developing a flexible learning offer and e-tools when it comes to advance the understanding of eco-social entrepreneurship, identify opportunities and managing entrepreneurship policies and programs to further a circular economy in ways that respect ecological limits, empower people, and build community capacity.The Results set by the project and Partnership itself, will be achieved thanks to the in-depth cooperation of a well-rounded International Partnership represented by 7 Organizations active in the field of youth education, environmental learning, digital and financial literacy, social entrepreneurship and direct expertise on circular economy, representing 6 Programme Countries: France, Italy, Spain,The Netherlands,Finland and Slovenia.To do so, we have divided the activities leading to the production of Project Results, into the following Work Packages (WPs), to better define aims and deliverables, thus enabling a correct and efficient project implementation and workflow:•WP1-(A1) - Project Management & Implementation including Follow-up via a thorough Communication Strategy, supported by transnational and online partners meeting (M)•WP2-(PR1): A customized Circular Economy Framework of Competences for Youth, but also valid for Youth Workers, Social Entrepreneurs and Educators, focusing on the necessary set of knowledge, skills and attitudes, needed to successfully navigate the Circular Economy (Available in (EN/FR/IT/ES/NL/FI/SL). Based on the Framework, the following 2 Project Results will be developed.•WP3-(PR2): A customized Online Training programme (Available in (EN/FR/IT/ES/NL/FI/SL) designed for youth, youth workers and educators to enhance their social entrepreneurship potential within the Circular Economy, capable to boost the needed skills for an eco-inclusive entrepreneurship and equip present and future youth and their social enterprises as well as small and growing businesses, with the necessary digital tools and resources to start-up and scale-up through the circular economy - including minimum 180 people (30 per Country involved) belonging to the project target groups that will register and benefit from the online course). Partners will also develop an Open Badges’ system which will allow participants to the online course to be awarded with an Open Badge after successfully completing each module and, a final Certificate at the end of the whole Online Course.•WP4-(PR3): ECO-app:e-game for ECO-Agents of Change, with the aim of engaging, connecting and empowering youth, youth workers, educators, social entrepreneurs, educators and adult learners, while learning about global and international development issues, with focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and thus becoming active and global citizen via Gamification (min. 150 downloads)•WP5-(A2): National Focus Groups, with the aim of pilot testing the Project Results while capacity-building participants on their effective use and benefits, Partners will involve 5 educators and 5 experts in Circular Economy & Social Entrepreneurship per Country (60 participants in Total)•WP6-(A3): Promotion, Sharing and Use of Project Results Plan (including the Exploitation of the results): not only includes the Sharing & Promotion Plan (SUP Plan) but also a multilingual project website and social media pages, multiplier events E1-E6 for which each partner is responsible for organising their own National Event (minimum 150 attendees among all Partners/Countries involved).•WP7-(A4): Quality Control, Monitoring and Evaluation<< Results >>ECO-CIRCLE:“Circular Economy as a tool to develop an Innovative eco-inclusive social entrepreneurship educational pattern for youth” aims at promoting an innovative training methodology specifically designed for Youth,Digital Youth Workers,Social Entrepreneurs and Educators, that will empower present and future social entrepreneurs, by developing a flexible learning offer and e-tools when it comes to advance the understanding of eco-social entrepreneurship, identify opportunities and managing entrepreneurship policies and programs to further a circular economy in ways that respect ecological limits, empower people, and build community capacity.Throughout 2 years of project implementation, the Partnership set the following results and outcomes to be achieved:•A multi-level project website available in 7 Programme languages & Social Media page (EN/FR/IT/ES/NL/FI/SL).•A Framework of Competences for Circular Economy, customized for Youth, Digital Youth Workers, Social Entrepreneurs and Educators focusing on the necessary set of knowledge, skills and attitudes, needed to navigate successfully the Circular Economy. At least 120 Online Surveys (20 per Country) will be answered by experienced youth workers/social entrepreneurs. Based on the Framework, the following 2 Project Results will be developed.•An interactive and cutting-edge Online Course for youth, youth workers and educators to enhance their social entrepreneurship potential within the Circular Economy - including minimum 180 people (30 per Country involved) belonging to the project target group that will register and benefit from the online course (Piloting). Partners will also develop an Open Badges’ system which will allow participants to the online course to be awarded with an Open Badge after successfully completing each module and, a final Certificate at the end of the whole Online Course.•A multi-level e-game (app), with the aim of engaging, connecting and empowering young people and promoting youth participation and active European citizenship via gamification. (min. 150 downloads)•National Focus Groups, with the aim of pilot testing the Project Results while capacity-building participants on their effective use and benefits, Partners will involve 5 educators and 5 experts in Circular Economy & Social Entrepreneurship per Country. (60 participants in Total)•A set of 6 informal offline and/or online dissemination activities during project implementation: at least 6 informal dissemination events,complementing 6 final multiplier events (E1-E6): min.150 attendees in total.Moreover,after its completion,the project will contribute to generate the following minimum outcomes:-Building capacity and modernising youth work through innovation and more sustainable practices-Improved competences in various sustainability-relevant sectors, developing green sectorial skills strategies and methodologies-Improved levels of skills for employability and new business creation within the circular economy (including social entrepreneurship);-Improved competences and increased opportunities for the professional development -More strategic and integrated use of ICTs & open educational resources(OER) in education & training;-Openness to synergies with organisations active in different fields or in other socio-economic sectors; -Increased capacity and professionalism to work at EU/international level ;-Strengthened awareness about European identity and Active Citizenship & more “Agents of Change” among the EU through the spread of awareness about environmental and climate-change challenges (among other SDGs).Aforementioned minimum results &d objectives will be achieved thanks to an in-depth cooperation among the partners involved,supported by the Management,Communication and Implementation Strategy,Sharing & Promotion of Project Results Plan (including Exploitation Plan)and a consistent Quality Control, Monitoring and Evaluation of the project activities and results.