The main goal of the project was to prepare women of all ages (local, migrant, refugee and disabled) to return to employment or entrepreneurship after a period of economic inactivity by developing their key skills and competencies to improve labour mobility especially in rural areas where finding employment can more difficult by providing them with explore opportunities to create employment. Each partner had a specific area of expertise to support women in their region return to work: Sweden Mentoring; UK Entrepreneurship & Networks; Poland Working after Parenthood and Disability; Turkey Personal and Professional Development and Refugee women. This project worked to improve levels of employment by supporting underrepresented groups; women and more specifically migrants and refugees who represent an important pool of employment potential including entrepreneurship. The project objectives were to: -Share best practice expertise to exchange ideas, to develop, adapt and transfer new methods and tools between partner regions to support women develop skills and competencies to return to work -Disseminate this best practice to key stakeholders and educators involved in supporting women return to work to develop educators competences and to improve the delivery and support available to women -Empower women through practical and theoretical methods to build confidence, develop skills and competencies and identify career paths to return to work -Create a flexible movement of the labour market regionally, in the EU and Internationally -Promote peer learning to develop capacity -Create a sustainable network between project partners to share best practice to extend beyond the partner regions for wider EU and International benefit. Each partner hosted a Transnational Meeting in their region which included partners and key stakeholders. Each Meeting included a Project Meeting as well as a Best Practice Meeting with Presentations, Workshops and Study visits related to each partner's specific area of expertise. Each meeting lasted 3 days apart from in Turkey which was 4 days to include the final conference to share best practice. After each meeting a report of the best practice was shared through newsletters, the project Facebook Page, webpages on partners websites, and through the social media of each partner.

Context of the projectMultifunctional farmers can play an innovative role to promoting, on one hand, environment protection and, on the other hand, the culture of sustainability. The project aimed to interpret knowledge and skills of the farmers, beyond those typically connected with the basic agricultural production, and, first of all, the methodology innovations which are developing more and more the diffusion of multifunctional opportunity and education to sustainability.The logical basis of this project was to acknowledge both the existing practices and the competences already used (with a bottom-up approach) with the aim to elaborate new possible future professional profiles, to be used within the framework of the daily job of the partner organizations involved in the project.The network planned on achieving the following objectives:- to extend records of current cases in terms of diversification of farm activities/business expansion with the subsequent opportunity to enliven rural areas, prevent depopulation, respond to care needs of the people remaining in the rural areas- to seek established best practices or jointly study, models, types of service to implement the diversification processes of the same- to create sub-partnership both of local and European importance- to define the key-competences required to develop new proposals for a rural sustainable economy- to design appropriate training paths- to promote informative initiatives for citizens in urban areas in order to spread knowledge about the opportunities available in the framework of multifunctional farming.Number and profile of participating organizationsDINAMICA SCRL (I) is a vocational training Agency, recognised by the Emilia-Romagna Regional Government which operates in the agricultural field.THE RURAL CENTRE (UK) is a community resource centre which develops social and economic initiatives and deliver educational training programs in disadvantaged rural areas. DEFOIN (E) has been authorized as Employment Agency to manage plans of training proposals aimed at both employed and unemployed people.GENISTA RESEARCH ORGANIZATION (M) is a registered centre of Informal Education with the Malta Qualifications council providing training on sustainable development, organic farming, media, communication, EU affairs and intercultural dialogue. The main undertaken activities were:-the realization of a general overview about agriculture at national or regional level-a report about current situation of the multifunctional trend in each project partner-a survey using the same model of questionnaire for the 4 partners, the questionnaire was addressed to multifunctional and traditional farmers and was delivered individually or through focus group to obtain information about the skills required by new professional roles in order to define competence profiles-a field-testing training session-a definition of common targeted training units-the design of a training pilot project-a pilot-training course-the building of a vademecum containing guidelines for the training of multifunctional farmers’ profile-a collection of training materials The results of the project were:-a shared model for the promotion of lifelong learning between the operators of multifunctional farms oriented to sustainability-a collection of excellent experiences and good practices already established and all acquisitions of method and content that individuals experience in their daily work-European curricula, referred to this type of education, to define, together, aimed training units, combinable and separable from each other, to configure effective and personalized pathways to constitute new competency profiles-a pilot course-a vademecum, containing guidelines for a specific use, by education and training facilities, interested in launching training programs for adults interested in undertaking activities adressed to sustainability.The reached impact can be summarized as the facilitation of the acquisition of additional skills, for farmers, the possibility of expanding their area of work, through service activities, which will integrate the agricultural income, as related activities.Longer-term benefitsThis initiative will help to build new key competencies, knowledge and skills among farmers, with specific experiences in local actions, such as social, civil, cultural and intercultural ability and entrepreneurship, as well as to strengthen their self-confidence, personal satisfaction and creativity, enabling to take active part in processes of rural community mobilization and development in more effective and efficient way.Combined network of farms will be capable of providing education, social entertainment on sustainability, social services as an integration of the existing public and private offer, both in terms of adult education level and welfare.

Women Inspired: Supporting Entrepreneurship (WISE) will support existing women entrepreneurs by developing their skills in digital marketing and e-commerce through online training so women can grow their SME business, open up new markets and prosper in a global economy; it will provide a forum to build a community to network with other women entrepreneurs and to inspire women to set up a business. With the negative impact of COVID19 on the economy and how the pandemic has increased the use of e-commerce for buying and selling it is critical that women entrepreneurs build a strong online digital marketing and e-commerce strategy to engage with consumers and increase revenue by expanding their business beyond their local area.The WISE Learning and Community Platform evolved as a result of the professional experience of the project partners and their involvement in a number of Erasmus+ projects which identified women entrepreneurs as the specific target group requiring support. Women entrepreneurs tend to work alone, their businesses are generally small and their working hours are flexible for around family commitments. Over time they lack digital marketing and e-commerce skills to expand their business and require that learning opportunity to be flexible and accessible online.The WISE project will develop the skills of women entrepreneurs through KNOWLEDGE, TOOLS AND TO SHAREKNOWLEDGE: By developing an online learning course on digital marketing and e-commerce (01)- The course will include a series of modules to develop the knowledge and skills of women entrepreneurs to create an online identity for their business. - The content will be driven by both experts and learners tailored to both the beginner and the more experienced to develop new and advance existing skills as a self-paced course on Moodle (OERs, free to use).TOOLS: A Digital Toolbox and Online Handbook of Good Practice Examples of Women (02)- To create an ‘ideas bank’ with practical tutorials of the best digital tools, services, and frameworks used by women entrepreneurs to address the needs of women starting a new business, transforming the existing business to digital requirements, and expanding their business activities.- To gather a set of best practice examples and video testimonials of women entrepreneurs who use digital marketing and e-commerce to promote their business online to inspire and encourage other women to use these tools in their businessSHARE: A Woman Entrepreneurs LEARNING and COMMUNITY PORTAL (03)- To bring together the online learning course (01) and digital toolbox and Handbook of good practice (02) on a Portal to share knowledge and tools to develop the skills of women entrepreneurs.- To create a place for cooperation, exchange of ideas and opinions for women entrepreneurs during the project and beyond to enable women to continually learn, share, and inspire each other.- Provide the opportunity to present the ongoing work of the project to target groups (women/entrepreneurs) in order to gather feedback and pre-evaluate the practical usefulness.The WISE project brings together partners with a range of experience: Community, NGOs, Training, European Networks and business providing a link across the world of work, business, training, and education with links to other stakeholders women entrepreneurs, women's networks, business enterprise agencies, business training within each partner region that support women entrepreneurs.The Women entrepreneurs Learning and Community Portal will foster access to continuing VET to women entrepreneurs who face challenges that are different to male entrepreneurs in the area of reconciling business and family responsibilities. The online learning course will add value to any other training which is provided to women entrepreneurs in their region to enable them to continue to improve their skills and abilities in adopting digital marketing and e-commerce.It will support the EU Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan to promote entrepreneurship through training and by reaching out to specific groups such as women entrepreneurs who are not reached by traditional business support. ENTREPRENEURSHIP 2020 ACTION PLAN http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0795:FIN:EN:PDFThe WISE project will support the skills of women to build a strong online digital marketing and e-commerce strategy to expand their business and add to the economy to combat the impact of COVID on the economy and take advantage of the shift to e-commerce as a result of the pandemic which has accelerated the shift to e-commerce by 5 years which is projected to grow by nearly 20% YoY in 2020. https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/24/covid-19-pandemicaccelerated-shift-to-e-commerce-by-5-years-new-report-says

"The project ""Tourism: Empowering migrant communities to strengthen local economic development "" (TOURISM LED) will harness the cultural and heritage resources of migrant communities in partner regions for tourism led social and economic development. It will do this by sharing best practice examples between partner regions through civic engagement and bottom-up participation through community organisations and migrant networks to generate ideas that can be adapted to support entrepreneurship, employment and the economy in the tourism sector at a local level.The outbreak of Coronavirus COVID-19 presents Europe with a major and evolving challenge compounding the threat of migrant integration and socio-economic marginalisation. Tourism is currently one of the most affected sectors and The World Tourism Organization and the World Health Organization met in April 2020 to consider a coordinated response to COVID-19.Tourism is the 3rd largest sector of the EU economy generating 10.3 % of its GDP and employs 27 million people (11.7% of all EU jobs). https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/policy-overview_en). Tourism provides for cost-effective job creation with low barriers to entry and can stimulate localised self-supporting the service and creative sectors. Tourism is also the largest employer of young people, migrants, part-time workers and women. It is the main entry point to the labour market and provides job opportunities to people who want to re-enter the labour market.A key concern across Europe is the integration of MIGRANT groups into local communities which are themselves confronted with their own socio-economic challenges. MIGRANT ISSUES include the perception that they are an added burden to the local economy rather than having the capacity to add economic opportunities. The project will promote migrants as a positive force of cultural diversity and develop ‘know-how’ regarding how local and migrant communities can work together to develop tourist entrepreneurial opportunities for mutual, sustainable social and economic benefit and a sense of place for all.The TOURISM LED project will provide an opportunity for addressing the interaction between two sectors not as yet addressed, namely migration integration and tourism.Objectives:• to share best practice/ ‘ideas bank’ between partner regions and develop methodologies and curricula to generate ideas and ENTREPRENEURIAL LEARNING on how tangible and particularly intangible cultural heritage can be used to generate business and income in partner regions in co-production with local MIGRANT communities. MIGRANTS are viewed as key assets to create shared opportunities for economic benefit through inter-related localised tourism development.• to explore tools and models on how to develop bottom-up CIVIC ENGAGEMENT through community networks with local and MIGRANT communities and through positive integration of migrants to build sustainable business opportunities.The TOURISM LED project will work to support MIGRANTS through bottom-up CIVIC ENGAGEMENT with community groups, NGOs and volunteers. The project will encourage the establishment of networks that enable the local and MIGRANT communities to share opportunities and resources to work for mutual benefit related to localised tourism development. Sharing ideas for ENTREPRENEURIAL LEARNING through peer EDUCATION will use motivational strategies to provide access to upskilling and key competencies to inspire tourism entrepreneurship such as guiding, exhibitions, events etc.PROJECT OUTPUTS/RESULTS• STATE OF THE ART REPORT: Survey to analyse the situation of local tourism post COVID-19 in each partner region explore the employment/business opportunities for migrants in the tourism sector and to identify skills gap and training needs.• ONLINE HANDBOOK: A handbook with examples of best practice/ ‘ideas bank’ on how social, cultural and historical heritage has been used to generate tourism business. Training curriculum and methodology: to provide didactic guidelines for the training course materials.• COMMUNITY NETWORK TOOL BOX: with tools and models to guide community leaders, activities and business support agencies on how to develop networks with local and migrant communities. Through positive integration of migrants the project will build sustainable business opportunities to show how civil society can harness the social and economic capital inherent within migrant communities particularly through their enhanced participation in the field of cultural tourism and the attendant economic opportunities it generates.• LEARNING PLATFORMThe TOURISM LED project will focus on a local level with the view that building local economic capacity will impact at regional, national and European levels through widespread dissemination. Supporting local tourism will boost skills and employability which is one of the Erasmus+ programme overall objectives and can also impact more widely on the environment."

The change in the actual labor scenario, in the kind of work we do (and mainly, what future generations will do) and the skills we need to this shift are aligned with a permanent updating of knowledges and skills, but also to an obvious (and growing) tendency in the labour context: the change of job linked to a full change of activity and position. The idea of job for life is a thing of the past, a concept which was fed for generations in the last centuries but today it is over. If this happens from an individual point of view, the tendency could be applied to the general perspective of companies which have been challenged to change and reinvent themselves to survive, particularly in the recession experimented in the last decade. Companies which have changed not only the production or the system, but even their own concept and the field of action, becoming a completely new one in a new sector. Here is where cognitive flexibility and adaptive capacity become a must and why BeFlex makes sense as a useful and necessary tool.Because in this line, the WEF published in 2016 (and updated in 2018) the report ‘The Future of Jobs’, where predicted the 10 skills which will be demanded by the labour market in the next decade, a list with concepts such as critical thinking, creativity, EI and cognitive flexibility showing the importance of the adaptive capacity in this new context. Researchers have more specifically described cognitive flexibility as the capacity to shift or switch one's thinking and attention between different tasks or operations typically in response to a change in rules or demands. And in this point is where cognitive flexibility, adaptive capacity, lifelong learning and, after all, reskilling will be a key for the actual and the next generations of European workers if our societies and our labour markets want to adapt themselves to the new scenario keeping and improving not only the productivity, but the levels of wellness and labour health.BeFlex Project is a training plan for the purpose of developing cognitive flexibility in the frame of the companies, reaching both workers and leaders with the aim of improving the adaptive capacity to the new labour scenario, generating higher levels of productivity, mobility, increased income and, at the end, labour wellness and wellness in the workplace. The training system must be developed in these two lines in complementary way, but they must be faced paying attention to the different target groups and the specific way they have to develop this basic skill. Leaders and managers must be flexible to make strategic decisions and works to implement those plans in company or to be able to change and improve their position facing new and attractive challenges in their careers.The project consortium is composed of six organisations from five different EU countries (UK, PO, ES, SK and RO) and shows cooperation between new and old European Member States. A comprehensive partnership has been established, consisting of a solid group of training companies with long experience in the implementation of in company programs, some of them with a solid career in European projects (such as our coordinator, The Rural Centre, GrowthCoop, CPIP or APSU) and the expertise of two training companies, TopCoach and INDEPCIE, focused on coaching and Emotional Intelligence which are in permanent contact with companies and organizations working in the topic of our project.To achieve the objectives of the project three Intellectual Outputs will be developed, tested and multiplied: the ‘FLEXIBLE LEADERS’ (O1) is a training system for managers in cognitive flexibility, which will be supplemented by ‘CHANGE FOR SUCCESS’ (O2), a best practice case study. These will be the umbrella for 'BEFLEX OR DIE’ (O3), a survival kit with training tools for employees, developing strategies to manage the uncertain labour scenario. The online system will also feature a platform for interactions between learners, trainers and trainees, and other stakeholders. All outputs produced will be freely accessible for the public within and beyond the project’s lifetime.BeFlex is likely to have sustainable direct impacts within and beyond the project lifetime on three target groups: 1) entrepreneurs and managers, 2) employees 3) Companies and organizations active in the field of training and advisory services.By creating training tools for improving skills and key competences of trainers, managers and employees, the consortium expects to achieve the overall objective of the project: (a) evaluate the effectiveness of possessing alternate scripts to respond to situations, and (b) assess the effectiveness of cognitive flexibility training on the ability to switch between scripts. The ultimate goal is to improve mental flexibility in the labour context, especially in situations where a specific approach should be revised and adjusted to conform to changes in context.