This project aims to meet the demands of a given population, which growth tendency in a near future is evident. More specifically, it aims to help, on one hand, individuals being +55 years old; on the other, individuals being immigrants and refugees. The common aspect among them is that they find major difficulties in acquiring digital competencies. This specially affects both segments of the older population and individuals originating in rural and technically underdeveloped environments. Additionally, they are also in need of improving other types of competencies, such as geospatial skills, cognitive stimulation (within +55 individuals) or mastering a foreign language (within immigrants), among others. As far as the so-called digital gap is concerned, it is necessary to perform coordinated actions in order to integrate invididuals who are at risk of social exclusion into the world of ICT's. This objective is in line with action no. 61 at the Digital Agenda of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The main aim of this project is to produce a variety of innovative materials and resources that foster the acquisition of these skills. They are mainly oriented to instructors who teach individuals from these population segments, as a way of contributing to improve teaching skills. At the same time, students and learners, as final beneficiaries, will benefit from the outcomes of the project. On a side note, their opinions and feedback were also taken into account when performing the activities that have been planned for the project. Equally important has been the participation of other agents and institutions, public and private, from educational, political and public environments. Therefore, the outcomes will help: - Foster acquisition of digital, geospatial, linguistic and cognitive competences within the groups of students and learners that will benefit from the project (+55 and immigrant individuals). - Contribute to their social integration by an increased awareness to the historic and cultural heritage within a European context. - Stimulate teacher updating in connection with the project's conceptual scope (usage of ICT's and intercultural perspective, among others). In order to achieve those aims, a set of resources has been created, in which motivation is a key driver. To do so, it was planned that the usage of ICT's would be promoted by implementing a playful perspective, i.e., gamification. It implied creating a set of videogames including additional resources and communication tools that promoted the users' active participation. Additionally, a database was included to incorporate information and links to products and results from other national and european projects of the consortium members and from public and private institutions that may be of interest and in accordance with the objectives of this project. All products are available in the languages of the members of the consortium: Spanish, German, Italian, Hungarian, Portuguese and Slovenian, in addition to English. Access to products, which will be published under a Creative Commons license, will be open and free of charge in www.e-civeles.eu. Another perspective we explored deeper into and to serve as a second pillar for this project — together with the use of ICT — is interculturality. We firmly believe that knowledge on European historic heritage and culture can certainly be a channel towards the social integration of foreign groups, the results of which can be enhanced through cohabitation and dialogue with another extremely relevant population segment, namely: people +55, who are likely to value this kind of initiatives as incentives towards active aging. The videogames consist of guidance and problem-solving in four virtual 3D scenarios corresponding to historic centre of different towns with relevant cultural heritage in the partner countries: Antequera (Spain), Évora (Portugal), Udine (Italy) and Velenje (Slovenia). The consortium is made up by a cross-sectional entity of six partners from six countries: UMA (ES), BIBA (DE), Trebag (HU), ULE (IT), USE (PT) and INTEGRA (SI). Each partner also coordinated a network of local participants that will attend the different activities for the promotion and dissemination of the project, thus reinforcing the establishment of synergies and fostering the impact and sustainability of the project, especially through training courses and multiplying events. The immediate impact through these activities has been the transfer of knowledge and the improvement of competences with the use of our products of 120 students and 170 teachers to key agents, possibly achieving, with the additional help of our local supporters a total of approximately 16,000 people in an indirect way by following a snowball effect. Contact with European and national platforms, attendance to Conferences and the publishing of papers may help increase this number meaningfully.

"Project ""Beautiful Mind"" – Open Educational Resources in non-formal senior education was run in 2014-2016 by three institutions (Polish, Spanish and Italian) that were involved in adult education.The main aim of the partnership was creating and dissemination the manual for coaches “Beautiful Mind. Stimulating body, mind and social development” that consists of 3 methodic and practical components and online course with 3 movies. The manual is dedicated to coaches, lecturers and teachers that are involved in non-formal adult education, especially for those over 50 – the group of people who is in danger of social exclusion.The manual was written in English (online version) and then each partner translated it into his national language. The manual includes:• Module 1. Mnemotechnics and Speed ReadingResponsible Partner: Center of Business Synergy (CBS) – most of CBS activities are dedicated to developing full-time and online trainings. Trainings are related to speed reading technique and mnemonic technique. CBS also provides analytical and consulting services. Module 1 consists of 4 chapters – 3 of them are related to different mnemotechnics and the last one is a basic Speed Reading course. The additional materials are 3 movies for learning Speed Reading and the Link System. Each movie is subtitled in English, Spanish and Italian. They are available on online platform and were appendixes to the printed manuals.• Module 2. Active Mind & BodyResponsible Partner: Italy Università delle LiberEtà del FVG (ULE) – is a Lifelong Learning Centre in Udine, engaged in permanent education and training. Today it has around 4.000 members and carries out almost 600 formative routes a year, which involve about 200 teachers.Module 2 contains three chapters, which aim at stimulating mental activity through physical activity and healthy diet. They consist of tips for coaches and materials that help people 50+ keep physical and mental wellness. Module 3. Living and learning in the net-societyResponsible Partner: Spain – The Centre for the Innovation and Development of Education and Technology (further on referred to as CIDET) is a training and consultancy consortium focused on adult learning and educational technology. CIDET is set in the city of Castellón (Spain) but works in cooperation with partners throughout the whole country and abroad.Module 3 contains 7 chapters which show how Information and Communication Technologies can positively influence social development of adults and seniors. They can be used in traditional teaching, distance learning and also self and peer learning. The project’s results has already been used as materials that support adult and senior non-formal education in Europe. The dissemination level is high because the partnership has not only organized 4 multiplier events for 292 people but has also cooperated with many local national institutions. The printed manuals were distributed in Polish, Spanish and Italian organizations, that are involved in adult education and also in other interested institutions, such as libraries.All materials in the manual were prepared to answer to the current seniors’ and adults’ needs. They are dedicated to those who still want to develop their skills and be active participants of modern societies.Information about the project and its results are available on:http://beautifulmindproject.eu/"

Online learning environments are widely used by training institutions but those tend to be used as delivery of content, still a huge capability of those environments and teaching method is missed. Also, a lot of practitioners are engaged with training activities not being educators (tutors, facilitators, coach, mentors, team leaders, human resources departments…). The necessary background of pedagogies and techniques is missed and theoretical manuals are not the best way to make that kind of people acquire the necessary skills. They need some effective and very practical way to learn. They have a lot of experience and expertise teaching face-to-face, but when having to do training on-line, they miss the digital skills and affordance of the technological capabilities. The title of the project “online training: the treasure within” makes reference of our target activity, that is “training”, and the treasure makes reference to all the benefits that can be obtained from online learning: (1) learning the subject course, (2), new learning methods based on net-society (3) applied ICT competences, including soft-skills and transversal digital competences.It has been created 30 learning units that provided easy and quick access to the main topics related to teaching using technology. Those has been divided in 5 blocks: Online learning, online training, course design, tools and platforms, activities. Also 10 ICT-based activities; collaborative, creative and others for self-reflection of the learner. It was not aimed to create a huge book for trainers, but an online course with practical and directly to use online activities. Theory has been reduced to a minimum, we focused on basic background, motivational information, practical concepts and exercises (to be applied to themselves as self-reflection) and examples (to be transferred to the courses) The main aim was to create a learners’ coursebook and an online course for trainers with low ICT skills and technological pedagogies so they can learn and feel by themselves the application of technology enhanced education methods, techniques and tools, so they acquire the necessary skills and competences to become successful online trainers (1st aim). We want to support them and facilitate the transferability of the skills and competences learnt to their own subject (2nd aim). Those skills include the use of technology for collaboration, creativity, problem solving, teamwork, etc. A tool has been made available (as online service), so they can use the lessons learnt in their own teaching activities (3rd aim) Main target of this project are the trainers and educators (tutors, facilitators, coach, mentors, team leaders, human resources departments…) that want to start to offer their training using online platforms.

Europe is in need of innovative new solutions to prepare for the unprecedented ageing of its population, reflecting a number of factors including the increasing life expectancy and access to health care. The need to improve and increase the exchange of knowledge on healthy ageing and the challenges raised by the increasing number of elderly people is a major task for all EU countries.Sexuality is an essential element of one’s identity. However, the social environment of most Western cultures has never allowed for the discussion of sexual behaviour. This same secretive environment exists for seniors today. Also, gerontologists and other medical experts generally agree that continued sexual interest and activity can be therapeutic for older men and women. However, we do not give enough attention and respect to sexuality when considering the lives of older adults. There are many false expectations regarding the effects of aging and sexuality.Knowledgeable professionals are a key to this vital personal and social change: in giving permission, providing information, and offering specific suggestions that enable people to overcome barriers to one’s health and happiness. But it is not easy for health and social care professionals to access reliable, interdisciplinary, low-barrier and easy-to understand state-of-the-art information on ageing and sexuality, once they have realized how important this topic is. The special challenge of the complex interaction between physiological factors, cultural factors and the psychology of ageing and sexuality identified by recent research are at present not sufficiently addressed by any major EU project.Therefore, the specific objectives of the project are to develop and implement new and effective tools that reinforce sexual health and personal well-being of old people, by developing• a flexible, efficient and sustainable model to raise health and social care professionals‘ awareness and understanding of intimacy and sexuality in older people• Guidelines for health care and social professionals to use in the assessment and interventions addressing the improvement of intimacy and sexuality in senior clients. They will draw attention to existing barriers, as the prevalent health belief models limit the access to and enjoyment of sexuality, and they will identify strategies that the healthcare professional can implement to help improving his/her practice in this area. • an internet based Toolbox with materials for psycho-social approach to the final beneficiaries, i.e. older people, to cover a vitally important topic that does not lose its power with age.The partnership consists of a multidisciplinary team:• University College of Health Sciences Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia• INTEGRA Human evelopment Institute, Slovenia• ECC Association for Interdisciplinary Education and Consulting, Austria• Irish Centre for Social Gerontology, Ireland• Institute for Psychogerontology, Germany• University of Sheffield, School of Nursing & Midwifery, UK• Universià delle Liberetà, Italy• Greek Academic Network, Greece

"Adults with a low level of soft skills is an issue nowadays and it has great importance at a time when relevant international bodies and the scientific community stress the importance of enhancing and developing human capital, identifying in the personal skills significant predictors of economics and social outcomes. The problem of low skilled citizens is dramatically present in all the countries that participated in the first PIAAC survey. In three partners’ countries (Italy, Spain and France), the percentage of low skilled is very high, while it is lower in the other two partners’ countries (Ireland and Finland). To tackle the problem, the objective of the OECD Skill Strategy is ""mutually reinforcing the skills system"" through four pillars: 1. develop relevant skills, 2. activate the supply of skills, 3. use skills effectively, 4. strengthen the skills system so that appropriate skills can lead to better jobs and better living conditions, both at a personal and at a social level.The general objectives of the project, therefore, are to identify the best practices for the process of certification and validation of key competences, in particular ""Personal, social and learning to learn competence"" and to promote the adoption of best practices in the network of partners and stakeholders concerned.The specific objectives consist in the elaboration of a White Paper on the best practices for the implementation of a process of certification and validation of non-formal competences, with particular reference to ""Personal, social and learning to learn competence"". It will guide the operators in the identification, collection and evaluation of the competences possessed by low skilled people and therefore support them in the choices of training offers consistent with their expectations and competences possessed. Moreover, the specific objectives are also to identify a shared path as a ""first step"" towards the validation of competence in the non-formal field, and to disseminate the project results on the Internet and in adult education centres.The project is addressed to trainers and teachers of education and training institutions, as direct users, and to low skilled people, but also to social partners and enterprises involved in adult education, as indirect users. In order to achieve the planned objectives, the project activities will develop as follows: -research phase of methodologies for the collection of non-formal learning outcomes in relation to the key competence ""Personal, social and learning to learn competence""-comparison and evaluation of the methodology to be applied on the research carried out-1st training activity for trainers aimed at the acquisition of the methodology for the collection of learning outcomes-evaluation of the training activity and research on the certification and validation process of competences-2nd training activity for trainers aimed at the acquisition of the methodology for the evaluation of the key competence and the certification process-evaluation of the second training activity-experimentation of the process-realization of a white paper.The expected results for training and education centres are:-Promote innovation in adult education by using methodologies for the development of a competence validation process.The expected results for the low skilled are:- Possibility of rediscovering and developing skills they possess, but they do not know they have- Improvement in the rate of socio-work integration and/or integration into qualification pathways in relation to the validation process of ""Personal, social and learning to learn competence""The project will have an impact on direct participants, partner organisations, end-users and stakeholders in terms of:-improving and updating methodologies, -raising general service standards, increasing effectiveness in the management of pathways to accompany the process of validation and validation of ""Personal, social and learning to learn competence"" acquired in non-formal contexts, -contributing to the improvement of awareness of their competences by low skilled people."