Recently, the real face of Domestic Violence in Europe became clearly captured for a first time, in a survey, that involves participants from all 28 European states and reflects the experiences of 42 000 women across EU. The data from the survey dreadfully shows that one in three women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15. This project aims at addressing this crucial topic by building on the successful idea and results of a previous LLP project PACT, which (as its full name clearly reveals) was aimed at Promoting Awareness and Cooperation and Training in the Field of Domestic Violence (DV). Building on major and crucial European developments like the Istanbul Convention and the EU Victims’ Directive (Directive 2012/29/EU) and being strongly aligned with the main priorities and values entangled in strategic documents like the Paris Declaration and Europe 2020, EMPROVE! Aims at: EMPowering DV survivors by IMPROVing the DV intervention and prevention. More concretely, the EMPROVE! Project will train counsellors and trainers, as well as NGO staff, that works with DV survivors, enriching their training repertoire with the EMPROVE! Intellectual products. In other words, the main target groups of the project will be counsellors, tutors, mentors, trainers, working with DV survivors and final beneficiaries of the project will be the DV survivors, whereby EMPROVE! focuses on women, because they are disproportionally affected by this major problem.The overarching goals of EMPROVE! are going to be achieved through the following activities: - comprehensive good practice research and qualitative needs analysis of the challenges both counsellors and DV survivors face;- international and national train-the-trainer events, that will educate the first wave of EMPROVE! Counsellors- introduction of an innovative element in the training and counselling of the DV survivors – an EMPROVE! Social Platform, developed based on the theory of Gamification. This methodology is known to increase the intrinsic motivation, the empowerment and the feeling of community of the learners, keeping them involved throughout all phases of their training and counselling process. - Network Guidelines for successful prevention and intervention of DV- EMPROVE! Competence models and validation reference systems- Policy Paper with recommendations for amendments in local and international policies and practices on DV prevention and intervention- Assessment and validation activities of informally acquired skills and competences - Dissemination & Sustainability- Quality AssuranceIn the piloting of this unique EMPROVE! Approach, the project will train directly between 40 and 50 counsellors, piloting the EMPROVE! Training programme with ca. 60 DV survivors around Europe and disseminating the project products to further 250+ DV survivors. More than 70 professionals and key stakeholders will participate in the EMPROVE! Foundation Seminars and further 1000 will learn about the project through the dissemination activities of the consortium.The EMPROVE! Methodology, that will be applied in the current project, has the following key values in its core:• Holistic approach • Distribution of tasks according to the areas of expertise of each partner• Focus on Competence Oriented Learning in the development and implementation of all educational materials• Promotion of Validation of Formal and Informal Learning for all target groups and final beneficiaries • Impact on EU level: Project management and training/research experts in each partner countryAs a result from all these activities, Good practice brochure, Training products, Policy recommendations, Gamified EMPROVE! Social platform and EMPROVE! Network Guidelines will be developed.With these activities and products, the project makes important steps towards the response of education and training to the main challenges of today's world and to the need to improve the intervention and prevention of such huge social problem as DV. Potential long-term benefits from the EMPROVE! Activities and products are expected for counsellors, trainers, DV Survivors, but also for employers, local and national public bodies, Moreover, the impact and the benefits from the EMPROVE! Project are increased by the fact that the project products are designed to live after the project lifecycle has ended. This will be further ensured by the readiness and motivation of all partners (representing seven of the EU member states) to include the EMPROVE! Training programme in their core activities.To sum up, the project is expected to make a significant contribution to enhance knowledge on the matter of domestic violence, to enhance skills and competences for DV prevention and intervention and to promote social and civic competences, democratic values and fundamental rights, social inclusion, non-discrimination, active citizenship and first and foremost – empowerment of DV survivors.

Staying in good health, adopting healthy life styles and being informed about the health system of the host country as well as having confidence to make use of it are pre-requisites of successful integration of refugees and migrants into their European host societies. But clearly, there is a lack of consideration in the existing integration programmes of the specific challenges migrants face with regard to health issues. Well-being, poverty, employment and legal status are factors that have crucial impact on the health of refugees and migrants as well as on the exertion of their right to access quality healthcare. Although migrant women share many integration challenges with migrant men, their exclusion risks are even more pronounced, because of simultaneous gender, racial and class discrimination.In the initial research phase this was further investigated. The VIM research delivered important details to understand the range of difficulties migrants face when they seek to access health services. The Research Report contains, among others, the results of 60 expert interviews about health, learning needs of migrant adults, most relevant health education topics and suitable methodological approaches likely to succeed with hard-to-reach target groups. In this context adult education has an important role to play. While it is very difficult to get those migrants who would need it most involved in health information classes, adult education should try to work with these target groups where they can be found, i.e. in integration, education and training programmes on other subjects.VIM addresses adult educators and training providers working with migrants and refugees in various contexts. The project substantially seeks to extend the professional competence of these educators to address health issues in their teaching, without being health education experts themselves with the ultimate aim to promote and improve the health literacy among migrants.For this purpose, the VIM consortium has developed a collection of small learning activities on relevant health issues. These can be used by trainers and educators in various courses to address specific health issues in six relevant topic areas. For each of these areas information and concrete training instructions are provided. These enable educators to apply the activities with little preparation and to respond to spontaneous needs in the group, as well as to consciously address specific topics.The training activities are supplemented by educational guidelines that serve as a source of inspiration for trainers to include health-related topics in their courses, without losing sight of different cultural conceptions of body and health and sensitive factors in migrant health education such as religion and gender. The training materials together with background information, educational resources, contacts and links to stakeholders and national health initiatives for migrants are presented on the VIM online Hub. Another feature of the Hub is a forum for trainers to exchange experiences. The VIM approach and training materials were piloted in national pilots to verify whether they are practice-fit and feasible. The 6-month piloting phase involved 55 educators and almost 500 migrants and refugees. Their experience and feedback are presented in the Experience Report. The report provides an overview of the learning outcomes gained through the national pilots, and describes the main points of feedback. It also highlights the achievements, successes, challenges met, solutions found, and recommendations for future users. Although the actual impact cannot be measured within the timeframe of a two-year Erasmus plus project, the feedback from the pilot trials has given the consortium confirmation that they have developed a valuable source of health literacy activities for migrants. VIM activities can be used by various organisations and individuals to facilitate the integration of migrants/refugees in Europe and improve their lifestyles.As an incentive the VIM consortium has developed the VIM Quality Badge – a tangible label designed for trainers and training providers who have integrated elements of health prevention and health education into training courses with migrants according to the VIM approach and want to show their commitment to others. The badge aims to add to the sustainability of the project at European level and shall attract adult educators and training providers to adopt the VIM approach in their contexts. During the project lifetime it was awarded to all organisations that participated in the pilots.The project was implemented by a partnership consisting of education, health, migration and gender experts from five major migration entry and host countries (DE, AT, DK, IT, GR). The partners have made a joint effort to spread the information about the VIM offer, trying to reach as many potential users and beneficiaries as possible through their networks.

"Young people today are growing up in a globalised world and are processing information from a wider variety of sources than ever before. They need the critical literacy skills to navigate the potential pitfalls when consuming news, particularly when using online sources and social media. Media literacy is crucial for sustaining democracy by knowing which information sources to trust and which media are trustworthy. It is important to recognize and see through propaganda and sometimes “read between the lines”. “No Alternative Facts” addressed this challenge in an adult education context through an innovative train-the-trainer format which aims to: - Provide adult educators (the direct target group) with useful skills and action-oriented methods on how to develop young people’s digital competence - Enhance digital competence of young people 15-25 (final beneficiaries), especially with a low level of education and training - Thus increasing Critical Digital Literacy, especially critical thinking skills, of young adults in the age of ""Fake News"". Adult educators’ professional competence are enhanced by the attitudes, knowledge skills necessary to apply the innovative “No Alternative Facts” approach: In most competence development processes action-oriented and productive methods are most effective on developing critical thinking. Therefore the final beneficiaries, the young adults, will be encouraged to describe their own experience with fake news in the internet in small videos and other multimedia formats and place it on an online gamification environment. After analysing their experiences, the young people themselves develop learning quizzes to test peers about their knowledge of ""Fake News"", Misinformation and Disinformation and how they can be detected. Consequently, the train-the-trainer offer for adult educators will contain the following elements: - Awareness and basic knowledge about ""Fake News"", Misinformation and Disinformation and about tools to detect them (watch websites, analytical methodologies etc.) - Insight into how ""Fake News"", Misinformation and Disinformation is created, can be spread and manipulated in social media - Introduction to game-based learning and quiz-based learning as methodologies for competence development and empowerment - Practical tools for media and quiz production in the classroom In terms of concrete products “No Alternative Facts” developed - A Situational Analysis Report on how young people experience fake news - A Train-the-Trainer Format for adult educators - A Toolbox of resources for Adult Educators - An Online Gamification Environment “No alternative facts” was put into practice in a Transnational Training Activity with 21 adult educators, who then piloted the approach with young people in their respective country. 127 more adult educators and multipliers were informed about the project outputs and instructed how to use them in multiplier (mainly virtual) events, and a total of 432 young people were directly involved in the project. The main outputs will be continued to be offered online after the end of the project via the project website, www.noalternativefacts.net, through the Toolbox of learning materials (including e-learning formats of the training modules), resources and useful instruments, and the Gamification Platform. These have all been designed in a way which makes it easy for adult educators to apply “No Alternative Facts” training and game-based learning opportunities in different adult education contexts and with young and older adults alike. The partnership is led by Apricot, United Kingdom, and has experienced adult education providers from Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Sweden and Denmark as project partners."

"FRAMING: ""You are Steve Miller. An aspiring composer from England who's come to Austria to find inspiration from Ludwig Beethoven’s work. You've arrived in the city of Vienna, where you are to meet your friend Maria and get the address to the Vienna concert hall. There you want to meet the conductor of a current Beethoven concert and to get some further information about what makes Beethoven’s compositions so special. But first, you have to learn the language and culture of Germany - and then, you'll meet Beethoven himself.""CONTEXT & BACKGROUND:Insufficient language skills by a large group of EU citizens (and of migrants in the EU), of which some 3% reside in a member state which is not their own, and shared by the large flow of immigrants and refugees from third-countries, will most likely impact their professional and personal opportunities negatively. This fact, coupled with the observation in the application referenced 2016 Benefits & Costs report, which revealed that after 2014 multilingualism ceased to be an EU priority, while the aspiration to support ""united in diversity,"" remains, prompted the desire to develop a tool which could support that aspiration.The main aim of the EUROSIM project is to support the multilingualism aspiration, by providing the project's target groups: EU citizens or not, employed/unemployed, NEETS, migrants & refugees as well as teachers of foreign languages, with the means and tools of learning and teaching the language and culture of additional languages. OBJECTIVES: The project's main aims were to: - Support and enhance the learning of at least 2 different European languages and cultures (EUROSIM includes: English, German, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Danish). - Promote European linguistic and cultural diversity / increase intercultural competencies - Provide the chance for self-study / in-class teaching / blended-learning opportunities To achieve these objectives, the EUROSIM/HUNT for EUROPE (HFE) Platform was developed. EUROSIM is a Serious Game which combines:1. ""the Skill Builder/Pronunciation Trainer(PT):"" an interactive lesson-filled, digital bookstyle learning environment, where the learner acquires the target language (words and sentences) and culture, while practicing his/her oral proficiency against an Automatic Speech Recognition system. The Skill Builder is very multi-media based, also containing interactive exercises and quizzes.* The learner then accesses: 2. The ""Game environments,"" or 3D simulations of real places, with curriculum based objectives to accomplish and tasks to do. Here the learner is asked to navigate one of the target languages 5 3D environments, while utlizing the linguistic and cultural knowledge obtained in the skill builder, in order to fulfill a series of objectives, finally locating one of the cultural icons of the games.NUMBER & TYPE OF PARTICIPANTThe project's primary target group is adults in general: EU citizens or not, employed/unemployed, NEETS, migrants and refugees. The secondary target group is teachers of adult learners. The project partners were chosen based on their contact to the target groups, their ability to reach them both during and after the project and their interest in integrating the EUROSIM platform in their ongoing effort.Approximately 15 teachers/educators were involved in the development of the actual curriculum; Approximately 70 testers (native or near-native speakers) were involved in User Testing and bug reporting of the developed platform; Approximately 270 teachers/educators/learners were directly involved in the actual testing of EUROSIM. MOST IMPORTANT ACTIVITIESThe 5 parter meetings; Development and adaption of 30 language and culture learning lessons for all partner languages, to make it suitable for the VIFIN Course Creator E-learning Platform; Description and development of story-line for the games (5 game scenes per country, 30 scenes in all). Description of places, people and their dialogue and the happenings.10 person, per partner, usability testing of the e-learning curriculum and games40-60 person, per partner, end-testing of the e-learning curriculum and gamesRESULTSThe results of the project are that there is now an online curriculum available for teachers, learners and interestees via huntforeurope.eu, where the language and culture of all partner languages can be learned both via the e-learning platform, but also via computer games giving the learners a chance to practice their skills in a simulated real environment, with realistic cultural and verbal interaction. In addition, based on user feedback the partnership decided to develop apps for IOS and Android (not stated in application), to increase use and dissemination*originally intended as threesections, but the skill builder & PT sections were merged as it was found that simply saying a list of 500 words and receiving feedback was too tedious a way of learning."

<< Background >>Despite being a recently more discussed topic, climate protection is still overwhelmingly broad for most people. The people participating in climate protection activities and actively changing their behaviour towards a greener future, are often the same who are already aware of the environmental challenges, measures to be taken and changes for one’s own daily practices. This is especially the case for climate education. Basic knowledge on climate and environment is covered through multiple subjects in school, while climate change and environmental protection are not seen as a mandatory part of the curriculum, leaving young people, especially young people from a disadvantaged background, without any proper climate education. At the same time, youth workers are struggling with a vast number of materials, much of it filled with hard-to-understand scientific knowledge, and might not have the resources to go through all of the materials to find the most appropriate learning materials. The My Eco Track project aims to address the youth worker’s need for learning content, innovative and engaging methodologies regarding climate education, as well as the young people’s need to be able to directly connect the learning content to their personal situation and needs. The MET project will raise the youth workers’ and young people’s awareness on climate change, as well as enable youth workers to engage young people from disadvantaged groups and youngsters who might not have been interested in the topic before. At the same time, young people will be motivated and enabled to develop competences on sustainability, environmental challenges and change, climate protection participation and how to change their own behaviour towards a greener future. Changing the attitude and participating in climate protection requires a broader change in a person’s experiences, in their daily life, one which we may only achieve through a significant change in current practices and environment. By using an innovative methodology of a traditional learning course mixed with a smartphone app to teach, the MET project is changing the way young people are able to learn. The project is not only focusing on the How young people learn but also on the When and Where. Through the mobile application they are able to study wherever they are, whenever they want.Thus, improving the lacking climate education in Europe, enabling youth workers to implement an innovative methodology to teach, and fostering young people in supporting a more environmentally aware and protected future.<< Objectives >>The My Eco Track project aims at two different target groups, youth workers and young people, because change can not only stem from one source but has to be taken on as a whole. Specific objectives include:- raise awareness about climate protection and environmental challenges- enable youth workers to engage young people, especially from disadvantaged groups, who might not have been interested in or not been able to participate in climate protection activities- engage youth workers in implementing an innovative and future-oriented methodology, combining climate education with digitalisation- improve the capacity and practices of youth workers- strengthen the skills and competences of young people to engage in more environmentally friendly behaviour and activities- foster a greener lifestyle for the youth workers and young people- enable young people to learn through a methodology which allows them to adapt it easily to their personal needs and situation<< Implementation >>Specific activities include:1. Transnational and national project management2. Transnational and national dissemination3. Quality evaluation and process evaluation4. Multiplication and sustainability Measures to promote the results to stakeholders and decision makers in the field of rural development5. 4 transnational project meetings in Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal and France6. Monthly online meetings7. National piloting of all three results in all countriesR1 - My Eco Track Factbook on Climate Education - pilot with 10 youth workers per countryR2 - Eco Track Smartphone Application - pilot with 30 young people per countryR3 - Guidelines for curricula implementation and and Training - pilot with 15 youth workers per country8. 1 transnational training in Bulgaria, to discuss necessary adaptations to the project results and train youth workers and staff in the proper implementation of the produced results9. 7 multiplier events to ensure an effective and wide-reaching dissemination of the project and its results10. Sustainability activites as described in the specific section11. Network and stakeholder meetings for multiplication<< Results >>1) Development of a Project Management Guide, produced by Asociación Caminos with contributions from all partners2) Development of a Dissemination Strategy, produced by Asociación Caminos with contributions from all partners3) Development of a Quality Evaluation Strategy, produced by Pistes-Solidaires with contributions from all partners4) Development of a Sustainability Plan, produced by Asociación Caminos with contributions from all partners5) Result 1: My Eco Track Factbook on Climate EducationThis Handbook will provide the learning content as well as the methodologies, including activities, for youth workers to implement during their teaching on climate change and environmental protection. The Handbook shall cover topics (e.g. scientific knowledge, waste separation, mobility, etc.) as well as various practices (e.g. visual learning with images, discovery learning, experiments, discussions, excursions, etc.)The Handbook builds the base of teaching and learning for the MET project.6) Result 2: My Eco Track Smartphone ApplicationThis smartphone application will be a tool used for teaching for the youth workers and a way to learn for the young people. They are able to directly measure and evaluate their own behaviour with the application and learn more about changes they can implement towards a greener future. The youth workers shall utilize the application also for their teaching to allow further studying for the young people. Youth workers are able to ask young people to do research, studying, repetition, direct evaluation, or even homework, through the application.7) Result 3: Guidelines for curricula implementation and training: New methodologies are only effective if we implement them appropriately. Combining a training course with a smartphone application in an interconnected way is not a very common teaching practice, therefore youth workers may lack experience in applying and implementing such practices. Result 3 includes Guidelines on what too take into consideration while implementing such a training, as well as a training curriculum to properly train the youth workers in effectively implementing climate education through the learning materials and the smartphone application.8) 4 newsletters, to inform on the important stages and progress of the project9) 1 project website, featuring all the project results10) 4 Quarterly Reports (every 6 months) from all partners to the project coordinator, Caminos11) Interim Report, including all the documentation and proofs12) Final Report, including all the documentation and proofs