"A circular economy is a sustainable economic model in which the usefulness of products and materials is sought to be maintained for as long as possible. This means that, unlike alinear economy, where the flow of raw materials is unidirectional, the materials that would become waste at the end of the process are sorted and, if possible, reused in other process(EC, 2020).According to projections of current trends, our energy consumption (biomass, fossil fuels, etc.) is expected to double in 2040, with the result that waste can increase by as much as70% by 2050. To prevent the black scenario, the European Commission has drafted a Green Deal. The European Green Deal is a strategic priority first outlined in the politicalguidelines of Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. On 11 December 2019, the Commission presented a communication on the European Green Deal that sets out a detailedvision to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, safeguard biodiversity, establish a circular economy and eliminate pollution, while boosting the competitiveness ofEuropean industry and ensuring a just transition for the regions and workers affected. The project aims at promoting and raising the awareness of youth and youth supportorganizations across EU countries about circular economy fundamentals and zero-waste economy thinking building the circular economy youth networks in project countries. At thecurrent stage circular economy is just becoming a ""buzz"" word in Latvia, Portugal, Slovenia and Italy and young people are keen to follow zero-waste philosophy in sorting trash,changing purchasing habits and recycling, reusing and reducing waste. Zero-waste trend is having actually a good ground for building society thinking about circular economy as basisfor environmental change.By activation of youth and youth support organizations internationally this project will help to open new thinking paradigm nationally and internationally thatwould be beneficial to local communities in partner countries. International dimension will help participating organizations and youth to learn international experience in circulareconomy."

"The project ""Healthier Europeans - a healthier Community"" was prepared in cooperation with 5 institutions providing adult education. Our partnership includes Poland, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Portugal. The partnership has been created to service in order to implement activity programs addressed to people 50+. The overall goal of the project is the implementation of 90 hours of classes for 30 students in each of the partner organizations. Classes are focused on the education of people 50+, how to care for a health and mental well-being. The classes have got own leading topics connected with the Erasmus+ Program and European identity. In the first phase of the project the educators will join to a short training program for employees. Each of sending organization will direct 8 educators to the mobility. They are: nordic walking trainer, relaxation exercises trainer, pilates trainer, conducting posture shaping exercises and small hand and foot motility exercises trainer, dietitian conducting workshops on ""healthy equipment"", internist doctor, physiotherapist improving perception of hearing and look and concentration of expectations, psychologist conducting classes developing communication skills and social competences. During the training, educators will exchange with good practices, will creat a 90-hour program of classes for students and accompanying events, and also will develope a set of leading topics. This program will be implemented by each partner institution as part of local activities in the project. to strengthen the effects of local activities, we will organize ""learning mobility"" for students - 5 meetings, one in each partner country. 5 students from each of sending organisation will participate in each meeting abroad. The hosts will teach the guests and local participants. They will focus to:1) strengthen the motivation to develop habits to take care of mental health and well-being,2) promote the Erasmus + Program and its educational offer and the idea of ​​lifelong learning.3) build the European identity of participants.The project will bring the following results:1) implementing an innovative work program with 50+ students in each organization,2) introduction of new methods, tools, approaches, etc. to the work of the above educators,3) increase the professional competences of educators,4) lead students 50+ to develop proper habits of caring for mental health and well-being,5) promote the Erasmus + Program and its offer among project participants,6) build / strengthen the European identity of project participants,7) promote the idea of ​​lifelong learning,8) promote intergenerational learning.Each of the participating organizations will use the program and new approaches, methods, tools etc. also after the end of the project."

The world population is ageing causing changes in the society as whole. Ageing is a global phenomenon. Senior citizens represent an important and ever growing part of our European population, economy and society. Irrespective of the current economic crisis, this poses manifold questions as to how member states can best ensure that these citizens are socially included, actively engaged and can fully enjoy all their rights. The Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth acknowledges LLL and skills development as key elements in response to the current economic crisis, to demographic ageing and to the broader economic and social strategy of the EU. The economic crisis has highlighted the major role which adult learning can play in achieving the Europe 2020 targets, by enabling adults to improve their ability to adapt to changes in the labor market, the family and the society. Adult learning provides a means of up skilling or re-skilling those affected by unemployment and age, as well as makes an important contribution to social inclusion, active citizenship and personal development.The direct target group is grandparents (seniors 60+) who will acquire essential digital skills that will enable active aging, participation and access to the e-world: use of social media and communication platforms, use of smart phones and tablets, use of on-line services. The indirect target group is grandchildren who will benefit from their involvement and participation in the intergenerational learning opportunities and will share their digital competences with their grandparents in order to support them to keep in touch with the e-world. “DIAL” is an Erasmus+ strategic partnership project in the Adult Sector targeting mainly elderly people. The main aim of the project is to provide intergenerational and Life Long Learning opportunities to grandparents to acquire essential digital competences that will enable active ageing and access to the e-word.The DIAL project on Senior Digital Skills took place from October 2017 to September 2019. This Erasmus + Strategic Partnership project has reached its set goals – the team conducted a senior citizen survey in four countries (Portugal, Turkey, Latvia and Cyprus) developing a list of digital skills which the respondents of the survey pointed out as topics of interest to learn in depth. Based on the results, 4 teaching modules were created and are now available online http://moodle.dialproject.eu/. Furthermore, the team organized trainings in all four partner countries, presenting the materials, registering participants on the Moodle platform and disseminating the results. On July 27, 2019, the project organized a Conference, disseminating the results, introducing the attendees with the teaching material and the digital situation nowadays as such. If you could not attend the Conference, follow the link and watch the recording on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEFP4W9mUtk&feature=youtu.beIn total, there were 7 trainings held in 4 European countries, DIAL team taught 142 seniors and youngsters within the training programmes. The petition about the project was signed by more than 1000 citizens from Portugal, Latvia, Cyprus and Portugal. 3136 Facebook users were informed about the final Conference of the project. Throughout these two years, the society was informed via project official Facebook page (dialErasmusPlus) and partner pages about the project’s progress and results 94 times. DIAL was communicated via various media channels throughout all four partner countries, for instance among them there were articles in Latvia’s newspaper “Diena”, online media “Jelgavas Vēstnesis”, in Portugal there was a radio interview on Radio Sim and an article in local news portal of Almeirim. Turkey’s partner had a significant interview on NTV radio etc. After the project, the partners came to a conclusion that the partnership was very well planned, as the partners were fulfilling each other and each of them had expertise in different field which was useful during the different phases of the project implementation.The DIAL project helped raise awareness not only of the need and interest in seniors’ digital skill development, but also of seniors' opportunities to be active overall. Drawing on the good practice from the DIAL project partner RUTIS (Portugal) on running Senior University for many years, DIAL's Leading Partner, Project Net, decided to live by their example and announced that they will introduce the Senior University or in other words the Third Generation University also in Latvia. During the conference, it was solemnly announced that in the autumn of 2019, a branch of the Latvian Senior University would open its doors, meaning that it would be the 347th branch of its kind in the world.Work on promoting digital skills will continue beyond the end of the project with seniors and young people. DIAL had a unique experience for all four partner organisations i

<< Objectives >>The project builds a unifying bridge with Generation Z on the generational divide to support vulnerable elderly groups by creating educational opportunities for active aging. In this context, it carries out the 'Seniors Friendly School' social campaign, which establishes long-term relationships among adult education institutions and schools. Project activities motivate the seniors to take a positive and proactive attitude and responsibility; shapes positive image of old age among schoolchildren<< Implementation >>The project will prepare a ready-to-use model program for cooperation between adult education institutions and schools. The elderly who take an active role will be prepared for the role of educators for children through a program. Elderly Friendly School campaign offers workshops in various fields which will convey the knowledge, stories and life experiences of the elderly to Generation Z. Schools that develop a joint cooperation plan with seniors will receive the Elderly Friendly School label.<< Results >>A bridge will be built on the intercultural divide between generations. Educational tools and methods will be presented that allow the elderly to develop knowledge and social skills that will contribute to increasing their participation in life. Seniors will be prepared to workshops with schoolchildren that share their knowledge and experience.Professional qualifications of adult trainers will increase. With the project campaign, a long-lasting relationship between generations will be developed

"<< Background >>The project ""Education and life of adults aged 50+ after the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovative supporting tools"" is a response of institutions operating in the ""Adult education"" sector to the needs of people struggling with the negative effects of the pandemic. It changed the way of life for all people on earth. A large part of Europeans had to limit their social contacts, adapt to new ways of working, but most of all - they struggled with stress due to their own illness, illness of close people, and often also the tragedy of losing relatives and friends. At the time of this project, Europe was recovering from the third wave of the pandemic, vaccination was carried out - which caused anxiety in many adults, and there was a gradual reduction of preventive restrictions. However, our life was still largely online.The organizations participating in this project analyzed all the factors described above and conducted research on the needs of adult Poles, Slovaks, Latvians, Portuguese and Spanish (500 people in each country, 250 F and 250 M), paying attention to aspects related to their mental and physical well-being . Our research on a group of 2,500 people showed that people aged 50+ most need support in returning to mental balance and physical health. As institutions dealing, inter alia, with non-professional and non-formal adult education, we have developed a solution that we want to address to all adults, especially people aged 50+ who seek support in regaining physical and mental well-being, using educational activities. We will use a medium that has irretrievably become a permanent element of our lives - the Internet. As part of this project, we will create an online platform in the following languages: English, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Latvian and Slovak, as part of open educational resources, with an open license enabling the general public to use, reuse, adapt and share these resources, with the possibility of developing further language versions. The platform will include:- a minimum of 10 e-learning courses (4 courses using various forms of caring for physical condition: zumba, yoga, ""Healthy spine and joints"" program, strength and endurance training; healthy cooking and baking as the basis of our health; mindfulness course - ways of regaining balance; a course of living in harmony with nature; 2 DIY courses using various techniques; Internet communication course for health and mental balance ""Express yourself online""),- a channel with advice on, among others: coping with stress, coping with other negative emotions, safe search for social contacts on the Internet, safe use of the Internet, effective communication (also on-line) and others;- the function of on-line (real-time) participation in free educational (non-professional) classes for adults in our organizations - in the blended learning model,- a library of internet addresses providing free on-line access to: cultural events (e.g. theater performances), works of culture (e.g. galleries, online museums), meetings of interest groups, support groups, etc.We are convinced that this tool will respond to the needs of many adults, especially people aged 50+ who are struggling with the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in their lives. What's more, we see another potential in this tool - reaching a huge number of people with forms of non-formal education, who until now, due to various limitations - e.g. geographic or financial - could not use it. Therefore, the project has the potential to contribute to the inclusion of many people in non-formal adult education who have not been able to benefit from it so far.<< Objectives >>Through the implementation of the project, we want to create a tool - an on-line platform and reach our target group: adults, especially people aged 50+, suffering from the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.We intend to develop, test and commission a multi-tool available on-line, which:- it will allow to respond to the diagnosed today and diagnosed in the future needs of adults affected by the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and especially to provide the aforementioned group of recipients with real help in improving their mental and physical condition,- will allow a significant increase in the number of people with fewer opportunities who will benefit from non-formal adult education in the countries participating in this project, and in the longer term also in other countries.Through the implementation of the project, we also want to develop the skills of adult education staff in our organizations, increase the potential and importance of our institutions, develop our potential for international cooperation and develop the cooperation of partners conducting non-professional adult education.<< Implementation >>To achieve what we described above, we plan to:1) conduct classes in a mixed mode for 6 semesters in each organization participating in the project (50% of participants physically present, 50% on-line) for 2 groups of 25 people each (in each group, about half of the participants in a full-time mode and half on -line); the classes will be aimed at people who would like to find a solution to the problems they face as a result of the pandemic through the implementation of educational activities; the classes will concern:--- ways of caring for physical condition: 1) zumba, 2) yoga, 3) ""Healthy spine and joints"" program, 4) strength and endurance training;--- healthy and tasty cooking and baking as the basis for the health of body and spirit;--- mindfulness - techniques for regaining balance;--- (returning to) living in harmony with nature;--- relaxation through ""do it yourself"" classes, using various techniques of work - from wood to strings to ceramics;--- communication on the network (Internet) for health and mental balance, 2) by conducting the above courses, enable adult’s educators to gather experience in conducting classes in the blended learning model3) by conducting the above-mentioned classes and, through the cooperation of adult education staff from our institutions, lead to the creation of a minimum of 10 e-learning courses for self-learning by the student (if possible, also those that will meet the assumptions for MOOC courses) 4) build an internet platform, post the above-mentioned functions and content, make it available for use by the students participating in the project and conduct a trial implementation, examining the strengths and weaknesses of the tool and making appropriate adjustments 5) at the beginning of the 6th semester, organize an event in each participating organization to disseminate the results of the project, ie the platform: present the assumptions about the ADULTSAFTERCOVID.EU platform; the event will take the form of a physical conference and broadcast online at the same time 6) after the conference - start to use of the platform on a large scale in the sixth semester of the project7) collect feedback from platform users, introduce corrections, at the end of the project, give the final form of the platform for wide use as part of open educational resources, with an open license enabling the general public to use, reuse, adapt and share these resources, with the possibility of developing subsequent language versions, 8) after the end of the project - the use of the platform by each organization to conduct classes, supplementing it with new results created by our organizations, making it available for development in subsequent language versions, making it available for use by other institutions of non-professional adult education.<< Results >>Based on the potential that - paradoxically - is left behind by the COVID-19 pandemic, and which we see in the transfer of a large part of the activity to the on-line zone, we want to reach adults in the countries participating in the project, as well as adults who speak English, with online educational tools aimed at:- improving the mental and physical well-being of people, especially those aged 50+, struggling with the negative effects of the pandemic- inclusion of adults in non-formal, non-professional education and awakening in them the willingness to use this form of development throughout their lives- creating new education channels - using not only e-learning, but also blended learning- inclusion of people with fewer opportunities (for economic, social, cultural, geographical, health, ethnic, disability, learning or any other reasons) in non-professional, non-formal education and real learning opportunities, that is development, throughout life.According to the title of the project - we want to create tools to assist adults in returning / starting education and improving their quality of life after the COVID-19 pandemic. The quantitative results assumed by us are the regular use of the platform by at least 2,000 adults in each of the following countries: Poland, Slovakia, Latvia, Portugal, Spain during the last four months of the project and a steady increase in this number after the end of the project. The material results are a minimum of 10 courses based on on-line self-education, a channel with various tips, a tool for participation in e-learning / blended learning, a library of internet addresses giving free on-line access to: cultural events (e.g. theater performances), works culture (e.g. galleries, online museums), meetings of interest groups, support groups, etc.The next effects of the project will be new competences of adult education staff in our organizations, increasing the quality and importance of our organizations' activities, developing and strengthening our partner net, increasing the international character of our activities."