<< Objectives >>Aim is the development of a new learning & teaching approach as a cross-sectional task to educate more adults about their opportunities given by living in a member state of the European Union and increase the recognition of & positive feelings towards Erasmus plus and the EU in general in order to see it as something worth to fight for and to stand against nationalism, racism or gender inequality. It is intended to develop prototypes needed for the approach and test their effectiveness.<< Implementation >>Five main activities are foreseen: 1.) the organisation of an Europe-wide competition to find the best ideas to booster Erasmus plus within communities and settings 2.) Evaluation of the ideas collected and creating prototypes of techniques to transport the know-how to adults 3.) Open fairs in Greece and Germany with the aim to promote the real or virtual prototypes of the new learning and teaching approaches 4.) an Erasmus booster manual and 5.) a final conference in Greece.<< Results >>Expected results are: 1.) a collection of ideas & tested prototypes of know-how transfer techniques to teach adults about EU values in a way to understand the positive aspects of the EU for people living in a member state, 2.) an improvement of consciousness of educators, youth workers, etc., dealing with Erasmus+ in regard to their responsibility to teach the general public about the EU values as an addition to their own projects' dissimination, and 3.) positive learning effects of the public.

Our project Sustainability throught Cross Border Circular Economy (SCRCE) made it possible for the partners from Germany, Greece, Italy and Sweden to work together to develop content about the topic circular economy including its various intercultural aspects expressed by the term „cross-border“ by transfering best practices and creating several approaches to educate people about the topic. We saw the need to contribute to achieve a Circular Economy in order to support the Sustainable Development Goal 12 of the United Nations (Responsible Consumption and Production) by finding approaches to educate people in a productive way. Instead of exploting the planet with the danger to destroy peoples habitat circular economy is seen as a mean to provide reiteratively the resources within our economies. A circular economy is not easy to set in force as it needs a lot of know how and cooperation of economic actors. Implementing it is not just a matter for businesses and industry but for all citizens of all ages in their capacity as consumers. Therefore we intended to find content and approaches how to teach adults about ways how to live a circular economical lifestyle. Until the start of the project mainly the waste management sector in the EU was confronted with legislation to deal with circular economical aspects like recycling and provision of secondary raw materials to industry. Therefore starting point of the project was a questionaire to learn about the activities of waste management companies concerning the topic developed in 2016 by the coordinator of SCRCE Dr. Ludwig. We started with the Transnational Project Meeting (TPM) in Berlin in October 2018 learning about the cultures of the partners toward the topic circular economy and we started to develop an imagination how a cross border circular economy might function and what kind of measures might be applicable for it. The questionnaire raised awareness about the topic and we started a learning process in order to pose the right questions to get to the right solutions. After the TPM in Berlin all partners started to develop ideas and created updated questionnaires in English, Swedish, Italian and Greek and used them to collect reactions from stakeholders. Many questions did occur concerning circular economy, how it should look like and what should be teached to people about it. We discussed these questions a lot via e-mail and clarified a lot of questions during our TPM in April 2019 in Italy. In each TPM we visited or invited people from local best practice examples of circular economy. We did set up more than 15 record cards of best practice examples and defined their benefits for society. We used best practices and specialist literature to better our theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of circular economy. Then at the TPM in September 2019 in Sweden we distributed task amoung us to write „input papers“. We agreed to develop a manual jointly in the TPM in Athens. Between the TPM in Sweden and in Athens all partners wrote the input papers containing adult education and social aspects of a circular economy. At the TPM in Athens all partners presented their input papers, backed-up by one or more best practices that fit best to the discussed aspect. This allowed us to identify jointly several principles of circular economy and to use these principles to create the manual. In Athens in February 2020 we used the time to form smaller working groups of 4 people to look at various principles and find subitems to give hints how to indentify circular economy aspects in daily life and consumption patterns. In the plenum with all participants of the TPM we did develop the manual as an pedagogical tool containing 14 principles including 47 subitems. After the TPM we started with our blog on EPALE and did publish there 9 articles and 1 landing page. The manual was set up as a PDF containing also a QR-Code leading to our landing page. In October 2020 we organized an online workshop about the use of the manual. The workshop contained presentations by staff members of the partners and active participation of the learners using the chat function and online queries. More than 60 people from 24 countries applied to the workshop. In November we organized an international online conference with more than 70 participants where we presented the results of our project and did gain a lot of new input from important national and international stakeholders from NGOs, politics, administration and industry.During the project we reached many people by providing informations via a facebook page, the blog on Epale, visiting best practice examples and by providing the manual to learners and stakeholders. We will continue the blog on EPALE. The results of the project are already used by some partners for their education programmes. We agreed to apply for a follow-up project in order to digitalize the manual to become a better tool for teaching a circular economical lifestyle.

"<< Background >>Environmental education is often a complex topic, being complicated for people with learning problems, language barriers, usually people facing socio-economic difficulties to follow. Serious games are great tools to engage those groups. Edutainment can be non-verbal, learning outcomes can be presented in entertaining micro-lessons, which help people to stay interested in the topic. Through the game we want to create an inclusive environment that fosters learning on green topics in equity, responsive to the needs of the wider community.Regarding Eurostats, Europeans spend most of their available income on Food and restaurants (21,8%), furnishing (5,5%) and clothing (4,8%). Instead of abstract science, CoCo will focus on creating game micro-exercises, addressing the everyday activities of the learners and providing them with alternatives (e.g. cloth swapping, urban gardening, re-use, upcycling), which are easy and creative to be replicated, save costs and help to create a more sustainable, circular Europe. In this way CoCowants to promote social inclusion and is aiming to create outreach to people with fewer opportunities, but at the same time being open to all citizens.The CoCo partnership is based on an initial need-assessment, which explored the needs to teach concepts of more conscious consumption. The needs assessment was focused on our two main target groups:Adult educators, working in formal and informal training, especially in socio-economic disadvantaged areas.Adult citizens from this areas, who are mostly not yet involved in regular educationAdditionally the partners talked to stakeholders and researched EU and national documents.There are two sets of need groups CoCo wants to address:Needs on digitalisationNeed on information on consumption patternsBoth sets also address needs connected to lowering barriers towards access of education and information, enabling critical thinking and active citizenship and addressing the validation of new skills.A 2018 OECD study found less than 40% of educators felt ready to use digital technologies in teaching. In our own assessment this was reflected among facilitators working with migrants and low-income adults.A blended serious game is an easy and comfortable tool, to create a meaningful digital lesson around. Thus, accompany the game with a facilitators guide, helping to create content. The knowledge vault serves as an additional source of inspiration.Learning on ConsumptionOver the last decades, rising has increased pressure on the environment. The DG Justice and Consumers commissioned an EU wide behavioural study to look into the consumer angle. All strands of research found that consumers were generally willing to engage in green practices. But actual engagement was rather low. While a majority repair products (64%), a substantial share have no experience renting/leasing or buying second hand products (~90%). A reason is the consumers lack of information, awareness and experience. Depending on the partner country, the knowledge of educators on the topics varies. In Finland XAMK reported that green approaches are part of the everyday work, Otwarty Plan and ELA draw an opposite picture from Poland and Italy.he adult learners are not aware of the financial, ecological and quality benefits of sustainable consumption. In many cases social status is defined by having the newest products and sustainable consumption is linked to poverty or as complicated, academic enforced measures. Presenting ideas which are easy to implement in everyday life, without changing overall life patterns are appealing. Information like the optimal lifetime and durability, the easy repair, and recycling of products and understanding to share will help to change this perspective. Raising awareness that consumption can connect economic, personal and environmental gains will enforce behavioral change.<< Objectives >>CoCo is seeking to create behavioral change of European citizens towards more conscious and green consumption patterns. This line with EU consumer policy revision by the Commission, which is working to strengthen the role of consumers in the green transition. The initiative will aim to ensure trustworthy information on products, and to strengthen consumer protection against commercial practices as greenwashing and premature obsolescence. The game CoCo will prepare and the learning tools will relate to these aims by integrating information on three of the most consumed product groups and raising awareness of what those malpractices mean for citizens. By teaching a more circular and resource-efficient consumption, we tend as well to contribute to the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, providing transparent information, helping especially socio-economic disadvantaged learners to easily access ideas, tools and practices and help them to make informed decisions as active citizens.CoCo will seek to become upon compilation a part of the Education for Climate Coalition and will integrate the pledges on green skills development, teacher training, promoting behaviour change, linking education and science and collective awareness raising into its work plan. This will be in line not just with the Education Area 2025, but as well with the European Green Deal and the European Climate Pact.Working on the topic on conscious consumption, will advance the learners in competences such as environmental, financial and critical thinking skills. This is supporting the ECs Skills Agenda and the recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning.The game but as well the online platform aims to increase the digital capacity and readiness of adult education institutions and learners to shift towards digital education on green topics. We seek to increase the digital skills and expertise to use gamification for teachers and learners, by creating genuine innovative digital education content and improving the competences of adult educators, providers and learners. This will be supported by the knowledge vaults, which will collect digital tools, methods and exercises to teach in an creative way on the topic but as well the facilitators guide, which will help to embed the game in learning context. The role of game will be enhanced by co-creation and peer-review processes during the project cycle, helping to suit the game to the needs of the educators but even more to respond to the needs of socio-economic disadvantaged communities in the participating countries, across Europe.<< Implementation >>The project activities are organised over 30 months and based on key milestones, work packages, results, staff training and transnational partnership meetings.The planned work packages are (detailed description under PMI):WP1 Project Management. risk monitoring and quality assurance (CRN & ELA)WP2 Game guidance (EURO-NET, XAMK)WP3 Knowledge Gathering and Digitalisation (Blue Room Innovation & CRN)WP4 Stakeholders and need assessment, dissemination and impact (Dr. Ludwig & Otwarty Plan)WP5 Pedagogic an and Training Guidance (XAMK & Otwarty Plan)6 transantional meetings with 2particpants/partner will be organised. The partnership meetings will be dedicated to discussing, planning and evaluating the project's activities and outcomes, revisiting the administrative issues, visits to associated partners and the target communities but as well team building and socialising.The project will create 3 results, a knowledge vault on concious consumption, a hybrid educative game and a faiclitators guide with learn paths on three consumption areas: Food, Clothing and Furniture.Each country will host a local multiplier event in the form of a Game Jam in a socio-economic disadvantaged community.At two trainings the involved partners will co-create game and learning path prototypes (Game Jam) and will blin-test in a simulate learning setting the overall pedagogic concept (Peer-Review Workshop).he project will begin with a need assessment among trainers which issues and skills are to be considered and what kind of knowledge exists towards the three consumption patterns: Food, furniture and clothing Those results will be used for the vault and will influence the guide. At the same time, preparatory work on the Serious Games will commence as interviews of key persons in the game industry, users and learners will collect initial data (PR2) to prepare game ideas and designs. A joint event (LTTA1) will close the preparatory phase, where the partners will ideate and co-create the pedagogic concept for the game, additionally a ""Game Jam'' brainstorm session will be organised, bringing together trainer, user, learner and programmers. During the preparation phase the work on the project website and knowledge vault will begin (PR3). The implementation phase will contain the project work on gathering knowledge and tools for the vault (PR1). When the Serious Game has reached an alpha design stage, the creation of the guidelines and the educational content will begin (PR3). As soon as each result is completed, it will be uploaded to the vault. When the serious game is complete and uploaded, a ""Blind test"" will commence where trainers with no participation in the project will participate in a peer-review session (LTTA2). For the sharing phase, the partners will organize local Multiplier Events in the target communities to raise awareness (ME) on sustainable consumption patterns<< Results >>CoCo will lead to the realization of a game based learning tool and a curriculum aiming at empowering citizens to gain awareness on how they can contribute with better consumption choices to resolve environmental challenges in their community.In order to achieve this, a tool in the form of an on-line platform will be created by this consortium for adult trainers, stakeholders and interested individuals to use freely online. Direct project results will be:1. a Knowledge Vault, containing all basic information a person should know about green consumption2. a Serious Game, which will allow learner to familiarize themselves with the benefits of green consumption3. a Facilitator’s Guide, to help educators through all the steps required to become familiar with this project’s results"