Planet on which we live has seen better days, and one of the main culprits for its present unfortunate state are human globalisation and civilisation. Relentless use of natural resources in an unsustainable manner has led to pollution, global warming, overpopulation, waste disposal, and loss of biodiversity, to name but a few. The European Union (EU) has set a very ambitious task of making our continent climate neutral by 2050. In order to do that, the EU Commission presented the document titled the European Green Deal. Such an ambitious task can only be carried out if all our societies join forces and knowledge to achieve it. Among other solutions presented in the aforementioned strategy, one of the most conspicuous is education of today´s generations for the world of tomorrow, or “learning for environmental sustainability” (GreenComp:6).GROWTH joins overall efforts towards climate neutrality by tackling the issue of environmental awareness and green transition in the Western Balkans. It gathers 7 partners from the EU and Western Balkans, whereby the core intervention locations are four target higher education institutions (hereinafter: HEIs) from B&H and Montenegro. Interventions are aimed at raising environmental awareness among HEI stakeholders by introducing the concept of green universities and green education methodologies and practices in four partner HEIs in Western Balkans.Project outcomes will benefit four HEIs in B&H and Montenegro, HE students, teaching and non-teaching HE staff, HEIs management, state institutions, institutions of local self-government, and the media by presenting them with environmentally friendly alternatives, waking them up to the dangers of climate changes, and empowering them to act and significantly contribute to a green and bright future by stacking their own pieces of environmental efforts into the mosaic of climate neutrality.

Effective provision of preschool education sets the foundation for children’s lifelong learning, social integration, personal development and employability. It directly correlates with quality preschool teachers education and training and their Continuous Professional Development (CPD) practices.Within the KEY project ECEC practitioners, educators and regulators in Serbia and Montenegro join efforts with EU partners to design modern pathways to efficient CPD system for preschool teachers based on the introduction of professional learning communities (PLC) approach, going beyond the training courses required for teachers certification encouraging them to review the learning needs, acquire new knowledge/competences through formal, informal and non-formal learning throughout their careers while enabling HEIs to provide students with competences they need to adapt to globalised settings, where creativity, innovation, initiative, and commitment to continuous learning are as important as knowledge.Establishing 6 ECEC learning hubs at participating HEIs as operational facilities supporting teachers and practitioners training specialized in 5 different areas (inclusive education – work with socially deprived children and their families, Roma and migrant children; education for sustainable development across the curriculum; ICT in preschool education, work with gifted children and their families, teaching English to preschool children) is the project main output. Other products include CPD courses and materials, Guidelines on M&E and QA in CPD, CPD model of standards, introduction of Moodle platform in CPD. In sustained efforts to address equality and inclusion, project outputs will be prepared in Serbian, English, Romani and Hungarian.KEY project will impact ECEC learning communities in Serbia and Montenegro, bringing about greater value of teachers profession and students and young professionals learning competences and skills mandatory for their careers in 21 century.