Gaps between political decision-making processes and citizens has become increasingly visible in Europe, particularly since the EU’s post-Millennial economic, political and security crises. In addition, general distrust of politics has been exacerbated by populist and neo-nationalist political forces that interpret the pluralistic and agnostic nature of democracy as a weakness. These and similar tendencies could have grave consequences through a further erosion of multicultural conviviality and social cohesion in Europe. Nevertheless, populism and political disaffection on a more general level are being met by counter currents of local political activism and an increasing consciousness of the political role of social movements in cities and urban areas. Cities have emerged as vital political arenas for the development of the European public sphere and the promotion of inclusion, social agendas and active citizenship. In addition, different forms of citizen participation have started to transform governance cultures of several large European cities, taking active roles in local elections, and becoming part of local political structures, from Paris to Istanbul. Based on several case studies and pilots of governance innovation initiatives we will investigate the ways in which social movements coupled with local government reform initiatives create momentum for political change that include more inclusive and participatory forms of governance. In EUARENAS we will target the following: 1) the ways in which these practices emerge, the main actors, the strategies, methods and digital platforms they develop to attract attention and how they appropriate urban spaces, 2) economic, political and cultural factors influencing local outcomes, 3) horizontal and vertical governance implications of governance innovations and 4) the added value of solutions (housing, social care, social justice, social diversity, climate change) provided by participatory/deliberative means.

Creative Industries Cultural Economy pROduction NEtwork (CICERONE) provides policymakers with a unique and innovative perspective from which to understand the cultural and creative industries (CCIs). Previous analyses have mapped the location and distribution of the CCIs; CICERONE innovates by exploring the flows of products and ideas that generate the economic and cultural values in and of places, and which also account for the disparities between them. Moreover, CICERONE explores the evolving relationships between cultural and the economy. Place is central to this project; place as co-produced by networks: jobs, ideas, cultures and economies all come together in unique combinations in places, this is what makes them ‘unique’. The variations in local capacities to respond to global forces determine the past, present and future of all territories. By using the global production network (GPN) approach we develop a comprehensive understanding of CCIs (in the form of industries, clusters and networks). Furthermore, CICERONE will translate this new research into a stakeholder network, and an observatory, whose designs are reflective of the network approach. These will themselves be part of European capacity building which will serve to strengthen CCIs’ collective representation, empower sustainable co-creation, and spur local cultural resilience, jobs and economic activity. At its core, CICERONE provides an academic analysis harnessed to economic, cultural and social impacts in terms of local capacity building in, and across, places; as well as deepening our understanding of the inequalities and lack of diversity of social characteristic and economic employment opportunities that characterises the CCIs.

HappyMums is designed to improve our understanding on the biological mechanisms underlying the development of depressive symptoms in pregnancy, and the efficacy of interventions. It will interrogate a large collection of cohorts with multiple biological, medical, clinical, socio-demographic and environmental and lifestyle data to identify the most robust risk factors triggering depressive symptoms, but also moderators of the risk. By putting together unique human samples of placenta, chorionic villi and amniotic fluid, and animal models, HappyMums will improve the understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms affected by depressive symptoms in pregnancy that lead to alterations in the foetal environment, shaping offspring risk for developing negative mental outcomes. The use of three complimentary rodent models will allow to achieve a proof of causality, and the presence of an innovative fish model will elucidate the mechanisms specific to placenta by which adverse maternal conditions are transmitted to the offspring without the potentially confounding mitigating effects of compensatory postnatal maternal care. This knowledge will allow the identification of new targets for the development of novel medications, for the repurposing of existing medications or for the development of non-pharmacological interventions. HappyMums will also develop a digital platform where AI tools-based data can be collected, together with biological, clinical, medical, environmental and lifestyle data, through a mobile phone App that will be at the interface with clinicians via a dedicated dashboard. This will allow early screening of depressive symptoms, prompt diagnoses, personalized treatments, and the promotion of protective lifestyle attitudes. Overall, HappyMums will not only increase the knowledge in the field of mental disorders in pregnancy, but also improve the wellbeing of these women, providing unprecedented benefits also to the offspring and thus to society at large.

Global-MINDS is a Joint European Master in the Psychology of Global Mobility, Inclusion and Diversity in Society. It is a comprehensive 2-year study program with 120 ECTS integrating insights from Social and Cultural Psychology, research methodology, intercultural competencies, and global mindsets. These are essential to tackle the challenges of recovering from COVID-19, fighting climate change, ensuring social inclusion and digital transitions, managing diversity and migration.Universities from four countries jointly deliver the Global-MINDS program in English:University of Limerick (UL), IrelandISCTE – Lisbon University Institute (ISCTE-IUL), PortugalSWPS University (SWPS), PolandUniversity of Oslo (UiO), NorwayThree study paths provide students with the experiential learning of living in diverse cultural, socio-economic, academic contexts between the South, East, West and North of Europe:Path A. Culture & Diversity (Portugal-Ireland)Path B. Mobility & Society (Poland-Norway)Path C. Inclusion & Health (Poland-Ireland)Global-MINDS is a fully accredited joint program, integrating expert knowledge from each partner university. Selected world-leading scholars from Associate Partners contribute to the delivery and quality assurance of the program. The international network of associate partners includes private companies, civil society organizations, public service providers, practitioners, policymakers, governmental organizations and NGOs, to ensure high quality student internships and assist with career advice for graduate’s employment.Students graduate with psychological knowledge and skills to make evidence-based decisions and design and monitor social interventions, facilitate community engagement, mediate and prevent conflict, support health, and tackle grand challenges of sustainability and societal resilience. Global-MINDS is a timely masters that responds to societal needs, which ensures graduate employability in the private and public sectors.

MELIORA Consortium will jointly work with local actors at different levels for the realization of eight (8) in total tailor-made lifestyle intervention and behavioural modification studies, including Artificial intelligence and digital tools, to promote sustainable behavioural changes among three target populations: i) healthy women at risk of developing breast cancer, ii) breast cancer patients and iii) breast cancer survivors. The studies will take place across 4 different European countries (Greece, Sweden, Spain and Lithuania) and 6 piloting centres targeting 2000 women in urban and rural areas including participants throughout the socioeconomic spectrum. Primary health care centres, hospitals or patients’/survivors’ organisations will be used as entry points to the community. The goal of the MELIORA Virtual Coach interventions is to evaluate its effectiveness, through assessing the effect of multiple individual and contextual factors to the uptake and sustainability of behavioural changes. At the same time, identification of specific bottlenecks and barriers that prevent the uptake of sustainable behavioural change will support the development of approaches on how to best reach and involve disadvantaged socio-economic population groups, vulnerable groups, and people living in rural areas, and will provide best practices for behavioural intervention uptake and scale-up. Regular monitoring will be ongoing during the implementation to allow corrective actions and ensure effective adaptation and uptake. Based on the study outcomes, the health economic evaluation and budget impact analysis, and data deriving from the scalability assessment, national and European stakeholders will be invited to evaluate, through workshops, the potential for adoption of the MELIORA Virtual Coach Interventions in other regions or countries in Europe. This action is part of the Cancer Mission cluster of projects on “Prevention & early detection (behavioural change).