The general objective of MAGnituDe is to enhance citizen participation through preventing polarisation and the fragmentation of identities related to mass displacement in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine by utilizing affect as a tool, tapping into the sensuous, emotional, and corporeal dimensions of human experience. MAGnituDe explores the consequences of mass migration caused by Russia’s invasion for European democracy and provides evidence-based strategies to reinvigorate democratic governance in response to the negative social consequences of the war for European societies. MAGnituDe utilises the feminist concept of affective geopolitics to analyse how geopolitical narratives and imaginations shape everyday human encounters through which social, political, and cultural identities get constructed and contested. The project explores human encounters on 3 levels: 1) migrant-state (between forcibly displaced people from Ukraine (FDPs) and street-level bureaucrats); 2) migrant-migrant (between FDPs and migrants from Belarus, Russia, and Syria), and 3) migrant-host societies (FDPs encounters with the material culture of host societies). To study the affective dimension of human encounters and identities and to suggest attuned political interventions fostering democratic participation in the sensitive context of the war, MAGnituDe develops and implements an innovative affect-centred methodological framework based on SensArticulate methods, encompassing art-based, experiential, and embodied techniques. MAGnituDe advances an innovative methodology for comprehensive analysis of the interrelations between social, cultural, and political identities, as well as the sense of belonging, and democracies (EO1), which will be used to formulate policy recommendations and pilot strategies preventing discrimination, alienation and marginalisation (EO2) and to diffuse antagonistic identities and social norms (EO3).

The PATHSENSE (Pathogen Sensing) ETN will bring together an interdisciplinary team of world-leading researchers from Europe to tackle a highly ambitious scientific project, focusing on the molecular mechanisms of sensory perception in bacterial pathogens. PATHSENSE will establish an innovative doctoral training programme that will deliver 13 PhD graduates and high-impact scientific outputs. The relationship between molecular structures and biological function is central to understanding any living system; however the research methodologies required to unravel these relationships are often complex and fast-changing. The team participating in this Network has the infrastructure and track-record to train ESRs in these state-of-the art methodologies, including structural biology, proteomics & protein biochemistry, molecular biology, bacterial genetics, food microbiology, mathematical modelling, cell biology, microscopy and comparative genomics. PATHSENSE will investigate the poorly understood structure-function relationships that exist within a large multi-protein complex called a “stressosome”, which acts as a sensory organelle in bacteria. The project will involve extensive inter-sectoral mobility of the ESRs across 7 EU countries to make full use of the complementary skills available at each of the hosting institutions. The inter-sectoral Network comprises 8 leading Universities, 1 public research institution, 4 companies (from spin-off to large multi-national) and 1 governmental agency. A major objective of this Network will be to exploit the fundamental research to develop novel antimicrobial treatments that have applications in the food and public health sectors. This project will deliver high-impact science, 13 highly-trained innovative researchers and will produce a long-lasting inter-sectoral network of collaborators who will continue to work together to exploit fundamental research for the socio-economic benefit of Europe.

The EU aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by at least 55% by 2030. This ambition requires fast mitigation measures within all sectors. Paludiculture is the productive land use of wet and rewetted peatlands and can reduce GHG emissions by up to 70-80%. It thus has a large potential to support the EU’s climate targets and biodiversity strategy and still provide farmers and landowners with income, but only if the practice is scaled up. Currently, there are too few large-scale sites involving local actors that demonstrate industrial scale paludiculture farming models. PaluWise's 4 large-scale paludiculture sites in Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom will showcase best practices and solutions for converting degraded organic soils to paludiculture. They develop field-scale operations and their associated five value chains (crops: Downy Birch, Reed, Sedges, Typha, Reed Canary Grass). By having two established (NL, UK) and two new sites (FI, PL), PaluWise can demonstrate different stages of paludiculture and associated value chains, emphasising replicability and scalability. Network sites (e.g., PaludiZentrale, Germany) will provide lessons learnt guidance and engage actors in innovating improvements (e.g. maintaining high water levels, adapting machinery, choosing suitable crop species). A multi-actor approach is applied to co-innovate and improve cost-effective, climate smart value chains. Activities cover the full sequence from deciding where to set up a site (WP1 decision support tool for rewettability), what works well in a site (WP2 demos), what are the benefits/impacts in emission reduction, carbon sequestration potential, biodiversity and other ecosystem services at landscape scale (WP3, WP4), and how to upscale and get support (WP5). We will identify barriers and provide recommendations to boost improved policy and legislation for large-scale deployment of paludiculture in Europe.

<< Background >>Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are considered one of the main causes of Earth’s climate change. Transport is Europe’s biggest source of CO2, responsible for the emission of over a quarter of all greenhouse gases. Transport emissions have increased by a quarter since 1990 in the EU increasing at its fastest pace since 2001. Mobility policies must play a decisive role in contributing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the commitments of decarbonization and better air quality. Providing more sustainable forms of mobility can also make an important contribution to mitigating climate change.However, policy focuses have essentially been put on the major urban centres, forgetting mobility between urban and rural areas and mobility within rural areas. Rural areas present specific challenges such as the low density of population (and fast depopulation), the long distances between towns, the ageing of the population, higher poverty rates and in many occasions bad connections with airports /railway /road nodes.Recent studies shows that mobility is behind the high average of CO2 emissions attributed to citizens in rural areas compared with urban residents. This comparison is not only unfair (based on the lack of public transport and inadequate calculating methods), but it is also very dangerous for rural communities that might see how public financing mechanisms based on green indicators will give priority to other areas. An adequate sustainable mobility scenario in rural areas will facilitate the possibility to access work, education or services and can make an important contribution to mitigating climate change and depopulation. Smart mobility strategies and technological tools will help rural communities to design and implement new solutions. Rural mobility can be a key component to other economic, social, tourism or environmental improvements by increasing the connectivity of rural areas.Therefore, It is urgent to act towards a more reliable and efficient mobility in rural areas in Europe.Any initiative for the development, revitalization or organization of the territory must start from a careful programming. The rural development agents are the professional who know the techniques and tools to program, plan and help the community to manage and make its resources profitable. That is why training in sustainable mobility for these professionals is the basis for the implementation of new sustainable mobility models in rural areas. This Project will develop a practical and dynamic training program on mobility solutions and training platform for rural development agents. The training will be available in the e-platform also for the general public. The project will also set the basis for the development of a curriculum for an agent for rural mobility in Europe.<< Objectives >>The objectives of this project are: I.Promoting efficient and sustainable rural mobility and the uptake of new mobility strategies and technologies in rural areas (through developing an innovative course and platform on efficient rural mobility for rural development agents)II.Capitalise and promote the use of digital tools and new technologies for mobility in rural areas III.Elaborate on a framework to set the basis of a European curriculum for rural mobility agentsIV.Creation of a cooperative network for the promotion of policies and initiatives for rural mobility Although the long-term beneficiaries of this project are all the citizens from rural areas, the main public objective of this project and of the training are the rural development agents working in municipalities, association of towns, provinces and local action groups.Rural development agents are technicians are a key element to transfer to rural societies the tools and knowledge to use more efficient transport means. These professionals will benefit directly from the training of the project and will acquire new competences and tools for their daily tasks. These agents also asses local decision makers and therefore have a valuable influence for the potential improvement of mobility at local levelLocal and regional authorities are another target group of the project, they will be involved through partners in project validation activities and multiplier events. Project partners currently collaborates actively with different municipalities and regions in the participating countries and have direct access to this stakeholder groupsSecondary target group are VET entities working in mobility issues in rural areas. The training and platform are of open access and can be used by these entities if requested.These target groups will be involved directly in the initial analysis of needs/barriers, and the validation of the training program and tool. They will be the main target of the project dissemination actions.<< Implementation >>The project activities will lead to the project objectives thorugh the following specific work packages of actions:WP1: PROJECT MANAGEMENT / COORDINATION ACTIVITIES will allow the proper implementation of project activities with good quality and in time, as well as the proper justification of costs, transference of money and the delivery of reports to the National Agency.WP2 RURAL MOBILITY TRAINING CONTENTS AND HANDBOOK: It will guarantee the development of up-to-date and quality training based on the identified project modules of knowledge on rural mobility. The content of the courses will include a handbook on good practices that have proven successful in Europe.WP3 Rural Mobility E-PLATFORM: the development of this platform will allow the implementation of the course on line, the exchange and dissemination of content and experiences and of updated resources according to market evolution. In addition, rural development agents and other actors will be encouraged to share content related to their experiences, to serve as a framework for knowledge exchange. WP4 TRAINING WORKSHOP TO VALIDATE THE COURSE AND E-PLATFORM. The objective is a transnationall capacitation to test and improve project results with stakeholders and to validate and ensure the quality and adequacy of the contents and of the e-platform. WP5 CREATION OF A NETWORK FOR THE PROMOTION OF RURAL MOBILITY POCILIES AND THE PROMOTION OF FUTURE EUROPEAN RURAL MOBILITY AGENTS: this project will serve as a starting point for the creation of a stable network of collaboration for rural mobility in Europe though the creation and promotion of a working group for rural mobility and the definition of an action plan for such group Partners will develop a proposal for an EU curriculum for rural mobility agents at the end of the project WP6 DISSEMINATION AND MULTIPLIER EVENTS. The project will implement a set of adhoc actions for dissemination to guarantee a good project impact and the transference and maintenance of project results during and after the project finalization, including the organization of local events in each member country to properly disseminate the outputs and to involve stakeholders<< Results >>Digital and Green skills are essential for the decarbonization of economy. The project will try to cover the specific lack of training in mobility solutions (mainly applied to e-mobility) and digital opportunities for rural agents. The e-mobility industry is moving fast and we need to be ready to apply new knowledge and technologies in our daily life. Therefore, in response to these needs, MobiRural will develop a practical and dynamic training program and training platform for rural development agents working in rural areas. The training will be available in the e-platform also for the general public. The project will also set the basis for the development of a curriculum for European agents for rural mobility.So, the project will have the following Results:A.Training course on mobility for rural areas (Result 1)B.E-platform for the implementation of the training, auto evaluation tool, and the promotion of best practices, exchange of experiences and improvement of policies towards rural mobility (Result 2)But apart from project direct results, the project will also have the following direct outcomes:-A training action to validate the course and the e-platform among selected stakeholders-Handbook with best practices and tools for rural mobility In Europe (capitalisation of previous projects and initiatives)-Setting of a network for the promotion of policies and initiatives for rural mobility (project partners + other interested entities)-Setting the basis for a European Agent for rural mobility (proposal for an EU curriculum)A need analysis has been developed prior to the writing of this proposal and although a deeper study with stakeholders will be implemented at the beginning of the project (questionnaires and interviews), the results of the project will contain:A.The content of the learning courses will contain at least the following modules:1.Compilation of good practices in rural mobility2.Digital tools available to explore the new opportunities created by technological and other forms of innovation.3.Rural shared mobility. Sustainable mobility is vital and therefore there is a need for alternative public transport services to guarantee mobility in rural areas, without a car. So-called flexible transport services or transportation on demand point the way to possible solutions, as innovative practices to encourage creative economically viable solutions that can be effective and efficient while being environmentally friendly.4.No mobility: E-tools for online services (bureaucracy, training, work,…)5.E-mobility solutions: technologies and new opportunities from the industry. 6.E-wastes: strategies for the management of new wastes produced for e-mobility in rural areas7.Policies and regulations for rural mobilities B.All the key materials, documents and media produced within the project will be made available on the E-platform. The platform will contain the course, a basic guide to implement the course, an auto evaluation section and other sections for networking and exchange of experiencesThe partners will accredit the participation of rural development agents in training actions. Participants will receive a certificate of attendance, indicating the content, the duration of the training and the result obtained. Rural development agents will be able to transfer the training received to the general population, who will be able to access the platform (rural development agents usually perform training courses for the general public in their municipalities/counties).At the same time, these rural development agents, after receiving the training, will be empowered to apply mobility solutions in their environment, according to the mobility needs of the specific populations in their field of action. The courses will be developed so that this can be carried out in a structured way so that the results are those required for each group of population.