ContextThe project aims to equip professionals in Europe with the necessary resources as to be able to cope with the online technologies and social distancing to better serve the excluded LGBTQI population as a result of the new situation that emerged from COVID-19 crisis. This is a novel situation for the whole world, to which our proposed action will attempt to respond by using innovative tools and practices that exploit the benefits of ICT solutions in times when social distancing and all other precautionary measures are at the top of the EU’s priorities.RAINBO aims:a. To support professionals, relief aid officers, social workers, mental health, health care providers on how to better include intersectionality and LGBTQI perspectives in their activities b. To enhance their acquisition of digital competences and enable to incorporate in their work do delivery high quality and inclusive support in order to meet the needs of LGBTQI beneficiariesc. To create an incentive for VET, adult education, professionals, and stakeholders to adopt the project approach after project closured. To strengthen transnational learning and cooperation’s networks of institutions, CSO’s, public bodies/services, community centers, helplines, professionals and foster social inclusion and equality, ensuring that LGBTQI people is included in all health, humanitarian and economic relief efforts-To raise awareness of medical and mental health inequalities faced by the LGBTQI communityRAINBO project will be implemented in 5 countries, (UK, Greece, Portugal, Luxembourg, Netherlands).Target groups:a) professionals supporting LGBTQI such as youth workers, community mediators, humanitarians’ officers, health care providers, medical personnel, mental health professionals, social workers, helplines officers, counselors, and volunteers etc.b) LGBTQI people will be the secondary target group and the end beneficiaries of the project activities.The project is expected to deliver:-VET programme for 100 professionals in order to a) improve their knowledge in LGBTQI medical and mental health issues and under the lens of intersectionality; b) acquire the appropriate digital competences for providing support in social distancing context c) contribute to the elimination of biases and stereotypes for sexual and gender minorities and ensure that LGBTQI people is included in all health, humanitarian and economic relief efforts.- Increased transferability of the project outputs and results for professionals, stakeholders, CSO’s, health care providers, etc on how to better include intersectionality and LGBTQI perspectives in their activities.-An e-learning platform in order to a) facilitate the VET programme for practitioners b) raise awareness about the project & disseminate all project material, c) motivate professionals and VET providers to use the project’s products.-A sound and updated report in order to a) explore the specific inequalities that LGBTQI individuals faced in their countries under COVID 19 crisis and b) the level of professionals’ digital competences, in order to perform their obligations and providing adequate services.- Strengthen the links between the consortium members, VET and educational stakeholders in the one hand and organisations supporting human rights and LGBTQI rights and fighting stigma and discrimination on the other hand. -5 open days will be organised in the participating countries, the UK, Greece, Portugal, Luxemburg, and Netherlands for promoting the project and its results.-3 online workshops for VET and adult education providers will be organized in the participating countries, Greece, Portugal, and Luxemburg.- An international conference will be organized, in the UK to present the project and its outputs to interested stakeholders.-Enhanced know-how of all participating project team members on practices, terms and tools for promoting LGBTQI inclusion in their work cycle.-All participating partners will enhance their relationships with CSOs and LGBTQI associations and networks, stakeholders at the national and EU level.Long terms benefits -The professionals in Europe will be equipped with the necessary resources to be able to cope with the online technologies and social distancing to better serve the excluded LGBTQI population as a result of the new situation that emerged from COVID-19 crisis. -The level of services provided to LGBTQI can be elevated and the organizations and institutions providing such services will be enhanced. -Increased awareness of the public on the power and importance of how to better serve the excluded LGBTQI people and elimination of stereotypes and biases.

Roma communities are considered as one of the most socially vulnerable groups at EU wide level, suffering from multiple marginalization risks and being discriminated against by the general public. Roma women usually suffer from what in academic bibliography is called double discrimination: because of their cultural heritage and because they are women.The situation of Roma women at all levels affecting social integration (education, employment, economic situation, living conditions) is far worse compared with men. Indicatively, based on FRA more women than men are unable to read or write, with the differences in the rates of illiterates between men and women above 16 years of age to the whole population being 12% in Romania, 8% in Spain and 12% in Greece. Regarding employment, based on FRA the share of Roma men whose main activity is ‘in employment’ is consistently higher than that of Roma women. Across all surveyed countries, more than twice as many Roma men were in employment than Roma women. The situation is similar also for Northern Macedonia. According to the Strategy for Roma in Republic of Macedonia 2014-2020, unemployment among Roma is almost twice as high as the national average and even higher among Roma women. The same for education; although the completion of primary and secondary education is a legal requirement, noticeable deviations are existent towards Roma girls.The proposed project (PROMA) focuses on the adult education stream by aiming to foster the integration of Roma women in their local communities through education in the form of practical local programmes, which is the main objective of the project. Specific objectives include: a) utilizing the competitive advantages and social promoting vehicles of the local context in all 4 implementing countries; b) building the capacities of formal & non formal educators of Roma women; c) design & implementation of local pilot programmes aiming at social inclusion of Roma women through education jointly by educators and Roma women. PROMA is going to be implemented in 4 countries with dense Roma populations (Romania, Spain, Greece, North Macedonia) and involves 2 groups of participants: formal & non formal educators of Roma women and Roma women. 40 formal & non formal educators of Roma women and 100 Roma women will be involved in the implementation of PROMA, which includes the following activities:-Identifying pathways to integration (needs’ assessment)-Development of the capacity building programme for formal and non-formal educators working with Roma women-Pilot delivery of the capacity building programme for formal and non-formal educators supporting Roma women-Design and implementation of pilot programmes aiming at the integration of Roma women at local levelMoreover, 3 open days will be implemented (in Spain, Greece & North Macedonia), along with an international conference (in Romania) for introducing the project to a wide audience.The methodological approach of PROMA follows the logic model, with the implementation unfolding in 3 phases: a) study of the background and relevant good practices; b) design of the capacity building programme and the supporting tools; c) pilot delivery of the capacity building programme and implementation of the local pilot programmes promoting the inclusion of Roma women through education.Main outcomes of PROMA-An innovative methodology fostering the social inclusion of Roma women will be introduced, utilizing adult education as vehicle, following a locally-based context and promoting local pilot programmes jointly designed and implemented by Roma women and formal & non formal educators of Roma women-The capacities of 40 formal & non formal educators of Roma women in the 4 implementing countries will be developed in terms of implementing the developed methodology for the social inclusion of Roma women-At least 100 Roma women in the 4 implementing countries will have their skills and competences built by participating to the local pilot programmes-Local pilot programmes aiming at social inclusion of Roma women through education will be implemented jointly by educators and Roma women in the 4 implementing countriesExpected project results & envisaged impact:-Formal & non formal educators of Roma women are equipped with a new methodology and trained in order to better respond to the special and particular educational challenges that Roma women face preventing their integration in local communities-Roma women are more engaged in following educational initiatives at local level aiming at their social inclusion, as well as have their skills and competences increased-The level of acceptance of Roma women where the pilots have taken place has improved and cases of racist or phobic phenomena against Roma have dropped-Social cohesion levels in the local communities where the local pilot programmes have taken place have elevated and the level of integration of Roma women in those communities has increased

Nowadays, low level of digital competence, can leave a person at a disadvantage, not just on the labour market, but also in society at large. As such, there is a clear link between enhancing digital competence and efforts to create more inclusive and cohesive societies. Accordingly, both the adult educators and the job seekers (including the members of disadvantaged groups) need to develop their digital skills. A fundamental skill for any individual to perform well at the workplace and better integrate in the social and economic life of his/her community is also Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Self-awareness, self-management, motivation, empathy and social skills are now recognised as the factor behind personal and professional success. Another skill that, at the moment, is not taught on a large scale concerns effective application of economic principles, which reveals itself in taking the right economic decisions, and being able to maximize everyone’s resources to achieve the personal goals.The aim of JIMINY project is to increase the techniques of emotional Intelligence, digital awareness and entrepreneurship lifestyle among the disadvantaged groups members (low qualified persons, unemployed, adults at poverty risk, etc.) and adult educators from Romania, Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Poland. The project will help to solve the problems of limited possibilities for employment for low skilled adults, their low motivation to learn, and the lack of basic and specific competencies of adult educatorspractitioners.These will be accomplished by development of the following results:IO1- JIMINY Self-help Handbook – “Journey to Increase your techniques of eMotional Intelligence, digital awareNess and entrepreneurship lifestyle”. The Handbook will specifically address the development of different techniques for improving theemotional intelligence, digital awareness and entrepreneurship lifestyleIO2- JIMINY Personal Trainer. This will be an artificial intelligence-driven personal trainer capable of acting as an end-to-end solution securing and supporting the whole learning and upskilling processes. JIMINY Personal Trainer will be able to diagnose individual needs and provide a customized learning path as an instant remedy.The target groups of JIMINY Project and beneficiaries of its results will be members of disadvantaged groups (low qualified persons, unemployed, adults at poverty risk, etc.) and adult educators. The project partners that will assure the effective implementation and quality results are:1. Asociatia de Dezvoltare Economico-Sociala –ADES. (Romania) – project coordinator. It will provide its expertise on effective labour market.2. CWEP (Poland)- has constructed solutions for the disadvantaged groups in previous EU projects and will bring its ICT experienceinto the project.3. SYMPLEXIS (Greece) – will provide its expertise on social inclusion and promotion of lifelong learning.4. Mindshift Talent Advisory (Portugal) – has experience in carrying out job placements and networking.5. Innohub (Spain) – will share its experience from carrying out entrepreneur-related initiatives and closely cooperating with startups, as well as approaching low-skilled adults.6. CCS DIGITAL EDUCATION (Ireland) – will share its techniques for the development of interactive tools. 7. LABC (Italy) - will provide its expertise social inclusion and promotion of lifelong learning among adults.

The number of elderly people living on their own is expected to increase as a consequence of the demographic change in European societies. Loneliness may become a huge health problem in Europe – elderly individuals are particularly vulnerable to it, especially the least wealthy who can experience the highest risk of loneliness. Old age, which is an inevitable consequence in the life of human beings, has been seen as a social problem in all periods of history. The most affected by the consequences of this fact are elderly people and their social environment. Participation in social activities may compensate for inequalities of loneliness.Social participation is much less common among the poorest, often due to the lack of financial resources. Increasing social participation among the least wealthy may fight inequalities in loneliness among older people in Europe. It is stated that negative attitudes are developed against elderly people depending on many factors such as daily life and self-care activities not being performed independently by elderly people and “Ageism” is becoming to be a major issue. Although the approach of current policies towards the phenomenon of old age is different in each society and culture, the common and important issue is 'intergenerational solidarity'. BEST FRIENDS focuses exactly on this factor and aims to break the isolation and exclusion of elderly people in our communities, by developing an innovative curriculum and collecting inventive games that promote intergenerational communication and learning. In this way, this project makes an important contribution and promotes awareness of social inclusion also for people with health problems. 6 partners from 6 countries (EN, IT, AT, FR, LT, GR) have been brought together to capitalize and build on each other’s knowledge and expertise, as well as experience from best practices in their national context, for future circulation and transfer of know-how.Aims and objectives of the BEST FRIENDS project are: - Provide an innovative method for social care workers, volunteers and educators. - Break the isolation of elderly people through social participation and inclusion in our communities. - Improve their physical and mental health through interaction with young children. - Enriching the learning processes of elderly people in interaction with young children. BEST FRIENDS primary targets are: - Elderly people (in total 160+ participants) - Care/Social workers, volunteers helping elderly (in total 252+ participants) Secondary targets are: - Early childhood educators and young children (in total 80+ participants)The BEST FRIENDS project will have the following results: - Comparative Research and Assessment of Current Needs of Care workers and Elderly People. - BEST FRIENDS Intergenerational Learning Training Program - ToolKit for Intergenerational Learning Activities and Social Participation - Mainstreaming policy of project results through consortiums European network - Stimulate elderly people to be more active in the community, enrich learning processes of older people in interaction with young children. - By having interaction with young children, improved feelings of wellbeing and derived great satisfaction from sharing knowledge and experience with the children. - Promote intergenerational relationships, overcome stereotypes and enhance intergenerational solidarity against ageism through fun activities - The benefits by improved mutual understanding, a reawakened interest in local social life and deeper community engagement. - Children’s increased self-confidence and sense of responsibility through respecting seniors. - A big contribution for social inclusion of elderly people through involving them in social life actively and letting others take part in their experiences. From above described reasons, BEST FRIENDS focuses on Intergenerational Learning as a path for Lifelong Learning and at the same time to improve the physical and mental health of elderly people. On one side to take elderly out from their isolation and bring them into the middle of learning process with their lifelong experiences and enhance their social participation. At the same time, constantly evolving global families mean children often grow up far from grandparents. Intergenerational learning programs have never been more important as the loss of social and emotional connection between children and the elderly leaves a gap in society.

"Over the last two decades, the EC and the Council of Europe have introduced a number of policies and conventions against gender-based discrimination and violence, the most important of which is the Istanbul Convention. However, there is strong evidence of an implementation gap in many European countries (e.g. the UK is yet to ratify the Convention). These implementation issues and the reasons behind them are shared and persistent across the EU.IARS has developed a strategic partnership, bringing together 5 countries (the UK, Greece, Italy, Spain and Romania) to run ""Shanarani"", as a youth-led, transnational project that will develop, test and implement innovative practices, which will help achieve multiple Erasmus priorities:HORIZONTAL priority ""Social inclusion"":Shanarani has its origins in the indigenous people of Purépecha. It is a valid name for both girls and boys. Shanarani will help prevent and combat discrimination, stereotyping and social exclusion caused by non compliance with the accepted norms due to gender identity. Gender discrimination is a persistent issue, which according to many surveys is shared among European countries. The commonality applies both in the forms in which it manifests itself, but also in its underlying reasons. We also know that discriminatory incidents due to gender result in young people withdrawing from social and educational environments. Furthermore, it provokes psychological issues that can result to social withdrawal, reduced academic performance and cases of early school leaving with long term effects, such as social exclusion and marginalization. Therefore, it affects young peoples' social inclusion, and has a continuous effect throughout their lifetime. Shanarani will tackle this issue in the non-formal educational environment, fostering social inclusion at a later stage, while it will also have positive impact on school performance.YOUTH: Promoting quality, innovation and recognition of youth workThe Shanarani project aims to develop innovative, CPD accredited tools to combat gender stereotypes and inequalities in young people through the capacity building sand certification of youth workers and other professionals by giving them new approaches to support and strengthen their work, improve their skills in the area of gender equality, and increase the quality of their interventions. Given the powerful influence of technology and virtual media on the young, especially adolescent population, it is important to develop methodologies that are adapted to the current situations they are living. The effectiveness of youth work methodologies and tools are closely related to the ability to motivate the recipient and promote their participation in the proposed activities. Shanarani aims to help youth workers reach young audiences through actions that are widely followed by youth, and which directly and indirectly influence them and their behaviour. Through the use of online gaming, film and theatre, youth participation in preventative programmes will increase. Our project will empower youth workers to upgrade their current work with young people at risk, increasing the effectiveness of their interventions allowing young people to internalize the values in which they are intended to form, so that they learn in a way that is playful, fun and closer to their interests.YOUTH: ""Promoting engaging, connecting and empowering young people""Traditional stereotypes and overt discrimination continue to be one of the major barriers to equal opportunities for young people. Their consequences are reflected in the labor market, promotion of violent attitudes (gender violence), attribution of gender capacities and attitudes (imposition of sex-assigned roles) and political discrimination (low representation of women in the political / public sphere). Despite advances in equality, the evidence shows that girls continue to suffer from discrimination, and this encourages the feminization of poverty and social exclusion. Shanarani will put young people at its heart by empowering them to project manage and quality control the project, while also collecting their views in order to design its innovative tools for youth workers. A Youth Scrutiny Panel will be formed, while young people will be engaged in all IOs and multipliers. In this way, Shanarani will provide an innovative approach (gamification) that can bring greater quality and great results in youth and gender work to combat sexism and traditional gender roles. The youth-led design of our game, app and the Shanarani curriculum will integrate dynamics that reinforce the contents that want to be transferred to the target group. These youth-led tools will directly empower the young, while giving access to youth workers of youth insights through the youth-led evidence base that Shanarani will create. Finally, Shanarani young people will be provided with high quality volunteering opportunities through the project's social action."