According to the UN Secretary‐General’s Scientific Advisory Board, Science is critical to help meet the challenges for sustainable development as it lays the foundation for new approaches, solutions and technologies to identify, clarify and tackle global challenges for the future. Both in its scope of study as well as applications, science spans from the understanding of natural processes and human impacts thereon to the organization of social systems, the contribution of science to health and well‐being, and on ways to improve subsistence and livelihood strategies so as to meet the overriding goal of poverty reduction.However, a growing distrust in science continues to spread among societies and this loss of trust can sometimes lead to dangerous consequences. For example, anti-vaccine movements are believed to have contributed to low rates of immunisation against highly contagious disease in countries such as Italy and Romania, which have both seen a recent spike in infections. During the project and the COVID-19 pandemic these issues have become more visible.Project ContextWhen people say they don’t like science, it is often because of a bad experience they had during the learning process. This “educational trauma” often turns into a rejective attitude towards scientific subjects and sometimes the scientific community. It’s important, then, to foster science education and improve the learning process. Non-formal learning reveals itself to be a powerful tool in the field of education, but when it comes to science, the partners found there to be a distinct lack of non-formal learning methodologies for science education. Based on the above context, the partners aimed to foster improvements in school science education, preventing disengagement in science caused through educational trauma. The aim was addressed through the following project objectives:1) Develop new methods in science education that foster student engagement and inquisitiveness 2) Share and utilise best practices from Non-formal education within the school sector3) Develop an active network of pedagogues with a commitment to innovation in science learning4) Foster the recognition of the role of science in society and daily lifeTo fulfil the project objectives, a consortium of 6 diverse organisations worked together to develop, test, and disseminate two high quality intellectual outputs. Throughout the project there was a core team of circa 20 persons from the partner organisations, who contributed to the different stages of the project with specialised knowledge, skill and experience. As a result of well-functioning cooperation, the project resulted in the creation of:- A physical and digital book containing detailed instructions for the delivery of 26 non-formal learning methods for teaching science in schools. The methods primary target group are school children aged 11-14 years old. The methods address topics covered by school curriculum within the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, geology and computer science.- A series of 10 videos, that utilise current trends in social media and current debates to foster a broad recognition of the role of science in society- An active forum of pedagogues who are dedicated to high quality and engaging science education. The forum currently has circa 140 members.The new science education methods developed by the partners were tested during the project by 56 teachers and other pedagogues on 585 students and other learners. A training course was organised in which 28 members, volunteers and staff of the partner organisations were given the opportunity to meet together and develop a complete understanding of the developed outputs, and a shared commitment to exploiting the outputs for maximum impact. Physical multiplier events were organised in Romania, Turkey and Italy in which the outputs were presented to 96 relevant stakeholders who have expressed their intention to use and share the results of the project.The project results have been highly commended by those who have engaged with and benefited from it. The project’s intellectual outputs, activities and visibility has created a sense of a surging movement and engagement in discussion and action for improved science learning. Students across Europe are already benefitting from an increased focus on how to make science education relevant and engaging.At a local, national, and European level, if the population is fostering science it is automatically fostering sustainability, as science has a key role in the achievement of a sustainable world in every aspect. From green technology to medical innovations, science contributes to successfully addressing global challenges with a positive impact in everyday life. As such this project has contributed to the attainment of the EU2020 strategy and will continue to contribute to the EU’s social, economic and environmental ambitions, such as those within the EU Green Deal.

The introduction of the new Erasmus + Programme has not been an easy transition for NGO’s within the European Union. It is substantially more complicated than the previous programmes and it requires a high level of background knowledge to be fully understood.Once the organizations manage to acquire all the necessary information about the new programmes the next challenges rise when they intend to implement it in their organizations. It requires a strong organizational capacity with competent project managers with advanced project management tools. Although there is a lot of material on different project management approaches, they are all designed for organizations that don’t require a 3rd party to finance their projects. This lack of Project Management Standards for NGO’s (or for donor financed projects) causes difficulties for organizations in their efforts to successfully implement the new Programmes.The aim of this project was to strengthen NGO’s capacities to take potent/influential actions in the frameworks of the Erasmus + Programme.The project entailed the following objectives:-To enable organizations to easily understand the Erasmus + Programme, the Europe 2020 Strategy, the ET 2020 and other important EU Policies;-To strengthen the organizations ability to address successfully the objectives outlined by Erasmus + Programme, the Europe 2020 Strategy, the ET 2020 and other important EU Policies;-To enable organizations to satisfy the needs of all of their stakeholders;-To provide organizations with efficient Project Management methods and standards that focus on efficiently aligning the EU Policies with local needs.The project was implemented in cooperation with other 3 partner organizations from Denmark, UK and Italy. The partners had extensive experience with working with previous EU programmes for youth and education and project management. The project entailed the following activities:- 4 transnational meetings (a kick off meeting, Seminar to agree on project management standards to be developed, a Revision meeting and an Evaluation meeting)- Research upon about the best practices with the EU Programmes, the EU Policies, Project Management Standards conducted by each partner;- Output Development: video explanation of ET 2020, EU2020, Renewed Framework, Project Management Standards and a number of tools useful in the project design and implementation.- 2 Learning mobilities for youth workers: first to test the outputs developed and second to train youth workers in their use. - Multiplier events: Each partner had organised multiplier events in their countries, disseminating the intellectual outputs developed. The project has developed a VAP philosophy for the management of projects under Erasmus+, youth sector. The philosophy outlines the need of creating value for the beneficiary organisation, the end-users and donor (European Union). The philosophy also outlines the evolutionary approach in creating change, as opposed to the revolutionary approach. Based on this philosophy, the project has a created a number of project management standards that help organisations acting in the youth sector to create value with their projects. The user-friendly videos and tools allow organisations to better align their organisational needs with the Erasmus+ objectives. The user-friendly materials give a concise understanding upon the Europe 2020, Renewed framework and EU2020, allowing the organisation to better integrate their objectives in to their Erasmus+ projects.

A high percentage of learners in IVET are disadvantaged and often lack the soft skills that would be taken for granted by a potential employer. A work-based learning abroad offers invaluable and challenging learning opportunity for disadvantaged vocational learners. A traineeship abroad for a young person faced with disadvantages, could prove to be a life changing learning opportunity, that can lift them up on a level field with their peers in a competitive labour market. A work-based learning mobility can offer young people not only vocation related competence, but can also significantly raise of their aspirations, confidence and motivation.However, when it comes to host companies, the partners have identified a lack of capacity of their staff to offer high quality work-based learning for disadvantaged students. On the other hand, many of the companies and their staff lack understanding upon the EU vision with VET mobilities. Furthermore, the standard documents already developed for VET mobilities do not meet the needs of disadvantaged students. All of these challenges and needs were addressed by the project “Quality+” that aimed at strengthening the quality of work-based learning of VET traineeships, in particular, undertaken by disadvantaged students enrolled in Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET). The project developed two intellectual outputs that strengthen the quality of work-based learning mobilities and enhance their value towards the sending institutions, students, host companies, as well the donor: 1) Project Management Standards, including 10 standards; 2) Stakeholder Engagement Kit, including 7 instruments. The intellectual outputs were developed based on 7 factors that create value in donor-funded projects and aim at tackling the gaps of the existing project management standards and tools developed for VET mobilities. During the project 292 VET stakeholders were reached through research and quality control activities, 267 VET stakeholders were reached through physical and online multiplier events and least 5468 VET stakeholders were reached through dissemination activities. At least 64 VET schools across Europe showed engagement to use the intellectual outputs developed through the project. Depending on the development of the Covid-19 pandemic, the partners plan to use the intellectual outputs in at least 614 mobilities of VET learners in 2022.

“Education for Global Responsibility II” is a follow-up to the Strategic Partnership with the same title implemented by three partners in this consortium and led by the Danish United Nations Associations between 2015 and 2018. The first project gave qualitative results and showed that mainstreaming Global Responsibility in the youth sector is a need and interest. The partners in this consortium capitalise the results achieved in the previous project with the aim to strengthen global responsibility education in the youth sector across Europe. To reach their aim, the partners have agreed in the following objectives:1. By the end of the project, to enhance the capacity of at least 196 youth workers from all the partner organisations to promote Global Responsibility amongst young people in their local communities;2. By the end of the project, to certify at least 90 youth organisations across the consortium as Global Responsible institutions;3. To strengthen a pan-European partnership between stakeholders across sectors in mainstreaming global responsibility education in non-formal sector. The project will give the following results:1. 16 youth workers from Cyprus, Romania, Slovenia, Poland, Italy, Macedonia, UK and Germany trained to use the non-formal education methods in Global Responsibility Education.2. 16 youth workers trained to administrate the Certification System in Global Responsibility Education who will act for at least 12-months following the end of the project. 3. At least four other transnational initiatives that promote Global Responsibility Education and the Certification System;4. At least nine other best practices in Global Responsibility Education are shared amongst participants;5. at least 180 other youth workers in all the partner countries (20 youth workers/country) trained to include Global Responsibility education in their educational programmes from at least other 90 youth organisations from the partner countries. 6. At least 90 youth organisations certified as Global Responsible institutions. 7. A manual on Global Responsibility Education, including the 40 non-formal educational methods; a 3-day activity programme to promote global responsibility amongst young people and at least other 10 best practices in promoting/working with global responsibility education. 8. Different promotional materials for Global Responsibility; Global Responsibility Education and the Certification System. 9. A Charter on Global Responsibility Education that sets visions and actions for cross-sectorial global responsibility education, signed by at least 20 stakeholders from at least three sectors e.g. business; adult education, school sector, VET sector, decision makers. In terms of the impact, the project is expected to enhance the capacity of youth organisations in Europe to provide global responsibility education to young people leading to a strengthen non-formal education. At the same time, the participating and reached organisation shall revise their own routines/habits becoming an example of global responsible institutions. The young people reached through dissemination and multiplication activities shall strengthen a sense of global responsibility and skills to assess, from a global perspective, the effects of local actions and process, as well as Increased awareness about their individual and collective global responsibility. The consortium brings six partner organisations that did not take part in the previous project and three partners from the previous consortium. The consortium is a partnership between five youth organisations, three social enterprises and a research institute, being an example of a partnership to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals as agreed by the world, including EU, and stipulated in Agenda 2030.

The EU has committed to play a leading role in implementing Agenda 2030 by aligning it’s internal and external policies to the sustainable development goals. However, the response to Agenda 2030 is not a responsibility that sits only on the shoulders of stakeholders on a policy level. Agenda 2030 is underpinned by the principle of multi-stakeholder partnership at all levels and calls upon the participation of all segments of society.In order to address these principles, in 2018 The Danish United Nations Assocation (UNA) developed an educational board game, as a tool for global responsibility education (GRE), that was distributed to over 800 schools across Denmark. The board game offers learning through a game play around the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The players are posed questions in relation to the SDG’s, which increases their general understanding of the goals and the global challenges they address. The game poses dilemmas to the players, which they are encouraged to debate and deliberate on, fostering their reflective understanding of global challenges, and supporting their ability to analytically reflect upon impacts of decisions on a policy and individual level.According to the feedback received from the users of the board game, 91% felt that the game was very good or fantastic. 97% said they observed that it is more motivating for students to learn through the game than through traditional educational material.The partners recognise an opportunity to distribute the game more broadly to support the mainstreaming of GRE in schools across Europe. However, in order to do so, the project partners have identified the following needs to be addressed:- In Denmark the game has been used in schools primarily for social science studies and not at all in history, geography, biology or language classes. There is a need to support the further exploitation of the game in different subjects and cross subject learning.- The game is only available in Danish language. It needs to be translated both in terms of language, and in terms of the geographical dimension of its content.- 76% of users in Denmark experienced that the game offers players an opportunity for debate and 58% felt that it gives players a better reflection upon their behaviour in relation to the SDG’s. There is a need to increase these learning elements by further developing the the reflective dialogue element of the game play.Project Aim: Support the mainstreaming of Global Responsibility Education in schools across Europe by adjusting, disseminating and exploiting the educational game ‘Global Goals at Stake’ as a best practice.Objectives:1.Adjust the game to address its identified weaknesses, 2.Explore and consolidate best practices in implementing the game into different learning contexts,3.Build the capacity of at least 180 teachers and youth workers in exploiting the game as a best practice across different learning contexts,4.Strengthen the learning impact of the game through its alignment with complimentary best practices and methods for learning reflection,5.Ensure the availability of the adjusted game as an open education recourse in 6 languages6.Distribute the adjusted game to at least 1500 schools and organisations across EuropeProject Results1) ‘Global Goals at Stake’ board game and associated mobile application adjusted and disseminated across Europe as a best practice in GRE in schools (Upon completion of the project, the game will have been distributed to over 1500 schools and organisations, used by over 1500 teachers and youth workers, and played by an estimated 18.000 students and other young people)2) A Guide for Educators will be developed and published to support the exploitation of the game as a best practice in global responsibility education in the school sector. 3) Capacity development of educational staff - Through a transnational training course and local trainings, at least 180 teachers and youth workers will develop their professional competencies. The trainings will support educational staff in exploiting the game as a best practice in global responsibility education in the school sector.Project Impact:For the international society, UN, EU and the local, regional and national authorities to succeed with the SDGs, public information and civic engagement is crucial. The most important impact on the surrounding society is that the project will engage the young generation in the SDGs. The project will give an understanding of the goals, their importance, interdependence but also of some dilemmas that decision makers are facing when trying to reach the goals. This understanding will contribute to fight the polarization between population and elite. In addition to this the project will lead to strengthened organisations, schools and civil society. This will in the long term strengthen democracy, global awareness and international qualifications among the populations of Europe.