"The project ""WE ARE NOT DIFFERENT"" (WAND) belongs to a consortium formed by 4 organizations working in the field of adult education: SMART EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS Association (Romania), INERCIA DIGITAL(Spain), LatConsul (Latvia), Polaris(Italia) . The consortium is a transnational and cross-sectoral one that brings together organizations with different skills, different experiences from different cultures, but that have in common the adult education.The purpose of this partnership is to implement a project that will lead to the creation of a final WAND product. WAND is a learning kit made up of an e-learning platform loaded with a guidebook and a set of learning videos. It will be used for the literacy of parents in the field of education for children marginalized in school. The issue of child marginalization in school is a current one with short and long-term implications on them. Because the school has not found a solution to this problem, the solution is to determine the parents to spend the time needed to communicate with their children and help them overcome the stage of marginalization.The project focuses on the ""Social Inclusion"" horizontal priority and the sectoral priorities of adult education: ""Improving and expanding the supply of high-quality learning opportunities tailored to the needs of low-skilled or highly qualified adults"" and ""Expansion and development teacher competencies and other staff members who support adult learners. ""In order for the project to achieve its goal, three objectives must be achieved:OB1. Improving the skills of twelve trainers of partner organizations to deliver quality education in parenting education aimed at developing competencies (effective communication, creative thinking, coping strategies, time management, confidence building) to ensure social inclusion of marginalized children .OB2. Developing effective communication skills, creative thinking, coping strategies, time management, developing trust for 40 parents with marginalized children in school, using WANDOB3. Supporting and promoting the WAND network by transferring and multiplying project results.Achieving the three objectives will be the result of the following activities:- 2 learning and exchange of good practice activities involving 12 trainers of partner organizations in the G1 target group.- Elaboration of intellectual output consisting of: the Guide WAND developed by Polaris and LatConsul , The e-Learnig platform developed by Inercia Digital; 20 learning videos created by SEP.- 2 workshops for learning and testing the intelectual output (organized by each partner) where the students will be 40 parents (10 / partner) of children marginalized in the classroom (target group G2). They will acquire effective communication skills, creative thinking, coping strategies, time management, development of trust that will help them advise their children to overcome marginalization- 4 multiplication events that will contribute to the WAND network in which organizations involved in adult education, psychologists, educational institutions, parent associations will enroll. The network aims to raise awareness of the need for parental involvement in reducing the phenomenon of marginalization of children in school.Throughout the implementation of the project, activities will be carried out to ensure the visibility of finance, project promotion and dissemination of project results that facilitate the transfer of results.| The project will have a significant impact on those directly involved in the implementation: G1, G2, indirect organizations and participants, local communities, but also at national and European level.After the end of the implementation period, the project will have sustainability by ensuring free access to intellectual output, by continuing the popularization activities and by activating the WAND network at European level."

Context/background of projectAging population nowadays is a global trend and a challenge. Population aging is taking place in nearly all the countries of the world. This process leads to a relative reduction in the proportion of children and to an increase in the share of people in the main working ages and of older persons in the population. The statistics show that senior citizens are often missing out the lifelong learning opportunities, although lifelong learning is one of the key factors of successful aging and helps the wellbeing of seniors in later life, stimulating their social inclusion, interest education and interest in life. The older the age group, the less they participate in education and training. However, participation in lifelong learning can improve the wellbeing and quality of life of senior adults. The project objective is to increase the wellbeing and quality of life of senior citizens by understanding their needs, creating education and social integration options, raising basic skills and promoting adult education for senior citizens.Project sub-objectives are:1. To benchmark the situation of senior adult education in partner countries;2. To develop Methodology for senior education;3. To create ICT Senior Learning Platform with several online courses for seniors;5. To educate the educators working with senior adult learning;6. To promote and disseminate the project results, solutions and opportunities for lifelong learning in the third age in partner countries and internationally.Target groups are seniors of in age group starting from 50 years old, and who are not any more actively involved in working life and therefore missing the lifelong learning opportunities. Number and profile of participantsThere are 5 participants in the project with a combination and mix of various competences: SIA Latconsul (Latvia) - adult education centre; Kretinga Teacher Education Centre (Lithuania) which hosts Third Age University; Kurzeme NGO support centre (Latvia) - wants to build up third age education in Kurzeme; Slovenian Third Age University (Slovenia) and adult education centre DomSpain (Spain). All these organisations will work with senior adult trainers, seniors, and stakeholders to develop further and promote third age education concept. Description of activitiesOutputs:(1) Benchmarking reports of the state-of-the-art situation on education for adult seniors in partner countries,(2) Methodology in three levels; (3) ICT Senior Learning platform with at least 4 online courses, which are combined with face-to-face learning. Activities: benchmarking; international train the trainer event (1 event), six (five national and one international) multiplication events and other dissemination activities; piloting of 4 courses and Methodology (5 piloting sessions); 5 project meetings. MethodologyThe methodology we will apply in the project follows a logical approach: 1) understanding of the situation and revealing the success factors for most productive promotion of the education for seniors, 2) combining the benchmarking and competences of the partners, the Methodology will be developed covering three different levels - education process (work with individual), organizational level and political, 3) ICT platform will be developed as a senior learning platform; it will also host developed Methodology and the courses elaborated by project partners specially for seniors. The partners will develop plan for future use of this ICT platform in order to foster its use in wider EU area as an exchange point for courses for seniors. Any educational organisation in EU could translate these courses and adapt to national conditions. Methods of the project combine logical interconnections among all outputs and activities and linking theory with practice - gained knowledge (Benchmark research and the Methodology) will be tested via pilots (on educational and organisational levels). The Dissemination activities has a national, regional and international scope. Results and impact - Greater competence and practical insights about working with seniors;- Knowledge and shared experienced about lifelong learning options in older age;- Possibility to create third age education or improve existing education options, based on knowledge generated;- Increased capacity for international cooperation;- Increased professional capacity and skills of trainers for working with seniors;- Increased basic skills of seniors -especially in ICT and languages;- Increased integration of seniors in modern life situations and promotion of active aging. In long term, population aging is

The main objective of the ESTEEM project is to improve and enrich social sciences graduates’ transversal and entrepreneurial skills in order to increase their competitiveness in the labour market and enhance their future employability. The project consortium will approach this aim by developing and implementing a holistic, work-based and flexible training program which will combine e-learning and work-based teaching methods as well. The teaching scheme that will be introduced by this project involves active collaboration between HEI, SMEs and major national social partners in all steps of project’s implementation and monitoring. The innovative aspect of the project lies in the training model to be developed that combines e-learning and digital teaching with a “remote internship/mentorship” program. The proposed methodology will test new cooperation models between VET providers and enterprises to promote work-based learning. The innovative model of the “remote internship/mentorship” program will be pilot tested and assessed thus feeding into policy innovation experimentations for the labour market. The workplace is shifting from traditional structures into innovative ones where physical presence on the job location is not necessary and companies are adopting virtual employment methods. In this context, the project will form new partnerships and develop new teaching and assessment methods for virtual employment and work-based learning.The main objective of the training program to be introduced by the project is to develop an effective blended training course on transversal skills that meets the skill needs and requirements of young SME employees and entrepreneurs. The transversal skills the project aim to address are: • Personal development skills: Personal development skills are essential life and employment skills, especially current in the fast changing economic landscape and include soft skills as coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk, learning through experience, embracing change, eliminate resistance or fear, self-promotion etc. • Working with others: Collaborating, communicating effectively (including social media communication and digital social skills), team-working, cooperating are important transversal skills for the workplace environment.• Conceptualizing and transforming ideas into business options and entrepreneurial opportunities: The ability to develop ideas, creating concepts and transform them into options and opportunities than can be realised are the core competencies for creative and innovative thinking. In this context, skills like identifying a need or a problem, prioritize, initiative taking, envisioning, planning, mobilizing and managing resources and entrepreneurial thinking will be included in the training program. To this end, the project main objectives are to:a) Design a training methodology for transversal skills development which combines e-learning and remote work-based learning b) Organise, implement & evaluate a “remote internship/mentorship” programc) Support the model of work-based learning and project-based learning for customised learning experience d) Promote collaboration and exchange of good practices among VET providers, HEIs, social partners and enterprisesThe project’s consortium consists of 6 partners from 4 countries incorporating a wide range of experience and expertise related to the scope of ESTEEM. The Lead Partner is KANEP-GSEE representing the Greek General Confederation of Labour in the area of Education and Lifelong learning, promoting the agenda of trade unions which includes employment policies, policies for combating social exclusion, and reinforcement of trade union presence in society. The project is expected to have a significant impact on the target group of social science graduates as it will facilitate their transition from education to labour market and enhance their career prospects and business progression. Moreover, the project will feed into the educational organizations which can be further motivated to shift from traditional, teaching methods, including the incorporation of a larger proportion of blended learning or wholly work-based modules than is generally common. Finally, the ESTEEM project’s desired impact is expected to be realized in both national and European level. Overall the project aims to address the priorities of European 2020 strategy on transversal skills development in a lifelong learning perspective as well as the promotion of novel forms of work-based learning by providing insights, experiences and policy recommendations.

This project “Open the Door to Europe” matched some of the most important priorities of the Strategical Partnership Projects because it supported the development, transfer and implementation of innovative practices in adult non-formal education; facilitated exchange of knowledge and educational materials as well as enhanced the quality and relevance of the learning offer in adult formal, non-formal and informal education and training; increased awareness about different levels and types of adult education within the European context; promoted network building and collaboration between companies active in the field of adult formal and non-formal education, vocational training, and employment; provided increasing and upgrading of foreign language (FL) skills. The project sat up and achieved the following objectives:1. Promote access of the parties involved into adult education - both teachers/trainers and students - to innovative teaching tools and learning materials, in order to improve the quality of adult education and training.2. Provide teachers and trainers with the necessary tools and methods to improve job relevant communicative, socially situated, FL competence and cultural background knowledge of the target groups: young people, both unemployed in search for a job and University graduates in search for a better job; newly-arrived immigrants in the need of social and labour inclusion; and academic and administrative staff in order to gain a higher position at work. 3. Foster the cooperation between organisations active in the field of adult formal, non-formal and informal education and civil society from different European countriesThe above-mentioned objectives were achieved through creation of the OER – e-learning platform containing the following components:1. Game-based online language courses (CEFR A1-A2) (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Bulgarian, Latvian, Polish, and Turkish) based on job related linguistic materials and social/daily life situations, developed, tested as a blended course, adapted, and embedded in educational programmes of partner organizations.2. Virtual methodology and teaching tools workshops for teachers.3. Social portal ”Melting Pot”: e-chat for “language tandems” where foreign language students refined their speaking skills practicing with native speakers. 4. Resource Library for teachers and learners consisting of linguistic, intercultural and job resources section.The partnership was formed by 7 partner organizations from different sectors of the adult education system which brought about diversity of approaches and experiences: non-formal/informal education providers DomSpain (Spain) and LesCultures (Italy); VET providers Wisamar (Germany) and LatConsul (Latvia); two universities - a private university Collegium Balticum (Poland) and a public University of Uçak (Turkey); and a human resources development and management centre Nikanor (Bulgaria), an expert in labour inclusion. This choice of partners provided a good balance between multi-level formal, non-formal and informal education providers in different European countries united by the idea of improvement of job-relevant FL skills of learners in order to upgrade their professional skills and/or promote their labour inclusion.The OER stimulated overall interest to innovative teaching practices and contributed to the range of educational services and quality of the educational programmes provided by partner organisations which were able to offer specialized courses in different foreign languages within their local communities. Teachers and learners were able to take any course or use teaching/learning materials from the OER free and at any convenient time, which promoted re-skilling/up-skilling of adult learners and contributed to a reduction in the number of adults with low skills. At the national level, educators in partner countries got acquainted with innovative teaching tools and learning materials, and, correspondingly, improved the quality of adult education and training. The impact of the project in general was the promotion of different European languages, both more and less used within the European community as well as the promotion of labour and study mobility within the European Union. Besides, it contributed to network building and collaboration between companies active in the field of adult formal, non-formal and informal education, vocational training and employment.

The project “Entrepreneurship and Community cooperatives” (EntCoM) aimed at fostering active citizenship and entrepreneurship (considering social entrepreneurship) in small or remote areas, with the support of three clear activities:1) the development and consolidation of entrepreneurial competences (knowledge, skills and attitude) in order to structure entrepreneurial initiatives under the specific framework of “community cooperatives”;2) Foster learning mobilities at EU level to answer local needs;3) contribute to the recognition and validation of such entrepreneurial competences under the ECVET, ESCO and EUROPASS framework.The project in hand aimed at recognizing the central importance of human capital, and at setting organizational and management models that encourage the participation of all citizens as “active members” of their community. At the same time, we did not overlook the financial aspect necessary to the achievement of societal objectives, which became important in the context of the resources made available by the institutions related to the community, such as municipalities. Indeed, by working together businesses can reduce costs, share risks and create new platforms for growth. Consortium co-operatives run on a shared and equal way by, and for the benefit of, their members. Members can be businesses, partnerships or individuals.At local and regional level, this project aimed at providing a realistic, practical and effective answer to address a variety of current issues that exist also at EU level, such as the economical emergency, the unemployment rate, social cohesion, the digital agenda, rural and remote territorial development. At national and EU level, the project aimed at providing a workable good practices considering the preparation of the targeted population in terms of competences, considering the recognition, transferability and gathering of the entrepreneurial competences according to the ECVET framework in order to foster the mobility and improve the employability of the targeted group represented by citizens in remote or rural areas. Mobility indeed represented a key answer to the current low rate employment context at EU level.The target group addressed by the project in hand were citizens from rural or remote area, and most particularly the “Not in Education, Employment, or Training” (NEET) population. The term NEET refers to people between 16 and 24 who are no longer in compulsory schooling and yet have not taken on employment, further education or training schemes such as apprenticeships. Immediately after are the adult learning practitioners, cooperatives (employers), and adult learning bodies in general.The project provided the following results:1) A training course (TC) comprising:- a survey and mapping report on good practices;- a curriculum;- a training guide (e-learning and residential);- a tool kit for multipliers (EntCom4M)- guidelines for in-service training.2) ECVET guidelines tool kit and recommendations encompassing:- applicable ECVET framework;- Competences list (knowledge, skill and attitude);- definition of Learning Outcomes*.- definition of Units of Learning Outcomes*.- Credit for learning outcomes (credit)* tool.- ECVET point* tool.- Assessment methodologies.- Credit transfer* tool.- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)*.- Learning Agreement* tool.