All partners in the “Otherness” project share the idea that every individual is unique, equally worthy and has the right to live according to their beliefs, customs, practices and established behavior rules. Nowadays we live in a world in which globalization and migration have brought together people from different ethnic origins, religious backgrounds, beliefs, traditions and languages. But sharing a common space does not automatically result in opening yourself to Otherness, trying to understand differences, valuing diversity and building common grounds for dialogue. Human rights, diversity, tolerance and non-violence related issues have become even more important considering the Charlie Hebdo shooting and all alerting January 2015 events in Paris and the following violence acts in other places round the world. All “Otherness” partners come from countries which are at the EU external borders and also have large minority groups, which makes project objectives even more relevant in the context they exist. The project involved 4 partners from Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Portugal. The participating institutions, 3 NGOs and a university, have strong background in designing training resources and providing trainings in civic education related topics and non-formal and formal education approaches. We believe that schooling could play a key role in overcoming the historically developed negative attitudes to human differences, which is one of the key objectives of the project. Project activities aimed at supporting students in being open-minded, understanding and valuing diversity, knowing and respecting human rights and being actively involved in community life. The realization of this role suggests that teachers have the knowledge, skills and tools which will enable them to provide training activities for students in the project subject areas. The target groups of the project are (1) Students aged 12/13 -15 (lower secondary school age) when they start consciously shaping attitudes and concepts; (2) Teachers and (3) Local communitiesProject activities and outputs comprised:1. Researching (Output1): relevant initiatives, strategic documents and available research papers on the way Otherness is reflected in school books and supplementary teaching materials in the participating countries and students' attitude to otherness in the allocated educational institutions prior to project activities.2. Designing a training programme (Output2) for raising students’ sensitivity to Otherness, cultural differences, skills for intercultural dialogue and active involvement comprising 2 complementary products: a Digital tool for students and a Teachers' manual. The themes are Human rights, discrimination and prejudice; Diversity and Identity and citizenship. Each theme is presented in the teachers' manual and supported by e-resources in the Digital tool with relevant activities. 3. Transnational training activity 1 (C1) for teachers from selected schools 4. Piloting the Training programme in the selected educational institutions during school year 2016-20175. Feedback and recommendations from participating teachers and students in the pilot trainings6. Upgrading the Training programme to meet teachers' and students' recommendations7. Transnational training activity 2 (C2) for teachers 8. Final implementation: teachers from C2 run trainings in the institutions they teach in during school year 2017-20189. Evaluation - survey on students' attitude to OthernessProject activities resulted in acquiring new knowledge and skills, and changing attitudes as follows:Students learned about Human Rights; to believe and respect human rights to a greater extent, i.e. no matter what a person does, or thinks, or likes, or looks like, they can live a life of dignity with all their human rights respected; to value better every member of society as a human being and feel valued themselves as human beings; feel able to contribute more and get involved in community life.Teachers got the knowledge of basics in Human Rights, Diversity and Involvement education; mastered skills which enableed them to discuss questions on existing notions of human differences in modern society and run relevant activities; responsibly accepted a code of behaviour so that all their actions and interactions bear respect to Otherness and students’ individuality; got to use modern non-formal education methods both in project trainings and their routine teaching jobs.In the long run, we expect the students who have participated in the project, to grow up and become open-minded and valuing Diversity citizens and build societies of non-violence based on collaboration, assertiveness and integrity.

<< Objectives >>The ultimate objective of the project is to be a step forward to more inclusive schools.Specific objectives:•for TG1 (students aged 6-11 with Specific Learning Difficulties, Autism Spectrum Disorders – mild cases and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder): - better attainment levels in Mathematics and Nature Studies (M&NS)- better progress of each student.•for TG2 (mainstream teachers) Improved skills and competences to: - support TG1 - design educational materials in M&NS for TG1.<< Implementation >>The planned activities are distributed in 5 work packages (WP) which will result in reaching project objectives and producing project results and outcomes. 3 of them belong to the Development stage, and one – to the dissemination stage.WP2 (D1) – SenPower methodology.WP3 (D2) – Design and piloting of teachers’ toolkits “Mathematics for all” and “Nature Studies for all” (M4ALL, NS4ALL).WP4 (D3) – Upgrade and validation of M4ALL and NS4ALL toolkits.WP5 (Ds&E) – Dissemination and exploitation.<< Results >>Project results of the SENpower project:•methodology which teachers could use to make the educational process at primary school level correspond to the needs of TG1 students;•teachers’ toolkit with 46 ready-to-use training resources on specific topics in Mathematics at primary school level – created specifically for TG1 students;•teachers’ toolkit with 46 ready-to-use training resources on specific topics in Nature Studies at primary school level – created specifically for TG1 students.

"The ""Young learners Embrace Social Inclusion and Social Involvement"" (YESI) project is meant to teach pupils aged 6 to 11:- about human rights and children's rights;- to be open-minded and to value all people regardless of the differences among them; - to be empathic and to feel ownership of values like tolerance and social inclusion;- to get the initial skills of being active members of the small communities they live in.The project is set in the environment of a widening gap of inequality between social classes, especially in the partner countries (Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Portugal), big numbers of immigrants in Europe, and steady rise of populism and nationalism at European level. The project will design a Teacher's Toolkit aimed at supporting primary school teachers in delivering training activities for their pupils so that they become more tolerant, open-minded and responsible citizens. The Toolkit will comprise a Handbook for teachers (a step-by-step guide leading the teachers through 36 training sessions) and a Digital Tool (a collection of supporting multimedia resources specially designed for the project by using cutting edge technological solutions). The training methodology is based on non-formal educational approaches which could be used by teachers not only in the project activities, but also in their everyday teaching. Some 1200 pupils will be involved in piloting the Teacher's Toolkit for two years on a regular basis. Teachers and pupils will provide feedback on the suggested activities which will be considered by the authors of the teaching units for upgrading the Teacher's Toolkit within the project life cycle. The project outputs have a good potential for sustainable use after the end of the project through the planned Erasmus+ KA1 training course for teachers' professional development and the eTwinning projects the participating teachers will launch."

All EU Member States are facing several similar key challenges: (1) There are weaknesses in competence development at school education level. As a result, the European young people are more likely to face important, lifelong obstacles to social inclusion and employability; (2) School education does not always play in full its role to promote equity and social fairness. Educational achievements greatly depend on the pupil's socio-economic background. Schools need to respond to the pace of technological and digital change, having a profound effect on our economies and societies. It is therefore crucial to face the challenges through: (1) digital technologies can enrich learning experiences and support development beyond digital competence. They can support communication and cooperation in and between schools and enhance the participation of pupils and their families in school life; (2) Schools need to support all learners and respond to their specific needs. Some EU Member States face difficulties in providing pupils with difficulties in learning and disabilities access to inclusive, quality education; (3) Support should be provided for peer exchange and helping to improve methods of organisation, teaching practices and learning experiences for enhancing schools to broaden connections and enabling cross-border peer exchange; (4) Supporting teachers and school leaders for excellent teaching and learning through developing online communities and resources. Educational innovations such as collaborative peer networks, MOOCs, and the sharing of OERs can complement these methods and help overcome barriers to participation; (5) Effective school leadership impacts positively on student achievement, teaching quality and staff motivation.Based on the context above, the project general objective is to support the implementation of innovative teaching methods, through integration of virtual and mixed reality (VR and MR) technologies in the educational approaches across Europe. The project general objectives will be supported through the successful achievement of three specific objectives:+ ensuring high-quality and inclusive education, through enriching learning experiences while supporting effective use of digital technologies and encouraging activities that link learning with real-life experience, through the application of virtual and mixed reality;+ empowering teachers and school leaders by strengthening targeted collaboration, learning networks, online communities and innovative pedagogical practices among teachers and school leaders, and involving other relevant stakeholders;+ enhancing European cooperation in the field of school education through building a European Network for VR Technology in Education for establishment of closer contacts between European schools stakeholders, teachers and school leaders, and supporting policy reforms in the educational field.The target groups of the project will include:+ Disadvantaged groups of students in schools, such as children with difficulties in learning, within culturally diverse communities, as well as those with physical disabilities. + Teachers from all school grades, more specifically those teaching subjects in geography, history, nature and human sciences, ITC;+ School leadership and networks, specifically school managers, influencers in the field of school education, policy and decision makers.The project will carry out a total of six intellectual outputs for upgrading and complementing the existing platform for virtual reality in education IEDU360. They will follow a strict timetable and will deliver the following results:1. Review of the schools curriculum of the countries included in the project, and shortlisting of lessons for VR/MR adaptation.2. Developed assignment for 360° VR and Mixed Reality Modules Software Development.3. Upgraded IEDU360 platform with three new features - teachers and homework tool, Mixed reality tool and 360° VR video content feature.4. Mixed reality and 360° VR video educational resources database established.5. The European VR and 360° Image Bank upgraded and enriched within the IEDU360 platform. 6. Developed Standard IEDU360, containing quality standards of 360° capturing and the VR and MR content.7. Established and operational European Network for VR Technology in Education.All results and lessons learned will be disseminated in a total of six dissemination events in all partnership countries. The project will build upon and complement a cutting-edge approach to teaching, learning and developing of the educational approaches to the schools. The virtual and mixed reality technologies have a growing and disruptive impact of the digitalisation of education. Thus, the innovation will respond to the rapidly changing demands of learners and teachers. It will bring the technological and digital developments to the hand of the teachers, by providing them tools for innovative teaching methods.

"The ""My Europe - Your Europe - Your Say"" project (ME-YOU-US) aimed at teaching students age 11 to 15 to be more open-minded, more tolerant and empathic, learn about the universal human rights and get skills and competences of living and acting in communities in which community member feels valued and accepted, know their rights and obligations as citizens. The second major target group were the teachers who got a tool and were trained so that they acquired the skills of delivering trainings to students making use of project outputs. The project used as a basis the manual of the ""Otherness"" Erasmus+ strategic partnership project (2015-2018) but took it a step further both regarding contents and geographical spread. The ME-YOU-US project involved some of the founding partner from Portugal and Greece, but also 3 new partners who contributed with their expertise, experience and potential to deliver trainings to larger numbers of numbers of teachers. The new partners were representatives of different stakeholders involved in school education - a representative of tertiary education, of regional authorities in school education and a nongovernmental organization working with vulnerable groups. The partners revised and upgraded the training resources from the ""Otherness"" project, created 18 new teaching resources (lesson plans and accompanying digital resources) and the final edition of the Resource Pack finally comprises 66 teaching resources which were used by teachers in the implementation phase. The collection of e-resources was created with cutting edge technologies. They are primarily meant to be used as complimentary to the activities described in the Teacher's Manual, but could also can be used independently by students as food for thought or tutorials for acquiring new skills. A project website was designed in 7 languages (English, and the partners' mother tongues - Bulgarian, Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish). Both intellectual outputs are freely available on the project website in the respective language version. The implementation phase of the project involved some 5200 students in training activities making use of the Resource Pack created within the project. The project was implemented in 3 new countries (Poland, Spain and Romania) as well as in the old partner countries: Bulgaria, Portugal and Greece. The students in the ME-YOU-US project took part in regular training activities during two school years (2019/20 and 2020/21) on a monthly basis. Two opinion polls were carried out to analyse what we have achieved by designing the Resource pack and organizing training activities with it. We evaluated the changes in students' attitude to people, the new concepts and ideas they learned about and embraced, their skills as active citizens and members of communities, as citizens who care about and value all people regardless of their social status or cultural background. The poll questions can be grouped in several categories: Differences between people, Tolerance – Diversity – Mistreatment, Traditions– Culture – Refugees/Migrants, Socioeconomic Status, Disabilities, Aggressive Behaviour and Human Rights. There are positive changes in all categories, especially concerning the percentage of students who initially indicated they had no opinion, were not sure in their understanding of the poll questions or stated that they were neither for nor against the statements. Project results and findings were disseminated through the partner websites and internal networks, through the project Facebook page, through the multiplier events organized as face-to-face events in Bulgaria, Romania and Greece, and through the project web site. According to Google analytics, which was activated in December 2019, the monthly average of visitors is 131 sessions, corresponding to 715 page views; the ratio of new to returning visitors is 53% to 47% for the project duration; the vast majority of visitors to the website come from the countries of the partner institutions in the project, but access from other countries in the EU, the USA and China is also relevant."