In a world where technology seems to grow faster than what we sometimes are capable of assimilating, a new phenomenon is awakening among our european and worldwide societies: the arise of new channels for (self-) learning and for the transmission of values. Even more impressive is to realize how effective this new channels can get to be under their informal/non-formal nature when blended with the possibilities of certain technologies. The global objective of the project is to facilitate, by means of utilization of new (common and widespread) technologies, the recognition and use of informal and non-formal learning (and its permeability with interdisciplinary formal pathways) in the field of adult education and training (including seniors as a fundamental part of the intelligence society), paying particular attention to the acquisition of personal, social and formal skills as well as qualifications and values.For this purpose, the project counts on the expertise of a perfectly balanced team of professional researchers, educators and technicians from Spain (SME), Ireland (University), Germany (University) and Romania (NGO). All of them with a long record of experience in the field of adult and senior education while making use of technology-enhanced learning environments and methodologies.The Ed-Way project contributes to spread the advantages described before among educators, practitioners and facilitators through the creation of a manual with theoretical foundations and practical links and examples, together with methods to promote the experiential learning through technology. The transmission of this background will be additionally achieved by the development of an online training course that will include short professional video/multimedia productions that will be used according to the informal/non-formal nature of the project.This project is established on the solid basis of a milestone methodology and the distribution of the intellectual outputs and activities to achieve based on the partners' expertise and background. As a final result we will find a very innovative and updated contribution to train european and international educators, trainers and facilitators in the most current and effective methodologies in the acquisition of knowledge, skills, qualifications and values.

Online learning environments are widely used by training institutions but those tend to be used as delivery of content, still a huge capability of those environments and teaching method is missed. Also, a lot of practitioners are engaged with training activities not being educators (tutors, facilitators, coach, mentors, team leaders, human resources departments…). The necessary background of pedagogies and techniques is missed and theoretical manuals are not the best way to make that kind of people acquire the necessary skills. They need some effective and very practical way to learn. They have a lot of experience and expertise teaching face-to-face, but when having to do training on-line, they miss the digital skills and affordance of the technological capabilities. The title of the project “online training: the treasure within” makes reference of our target activity, that is “training”, and the treasure makes reference to all the benefits that can be obtained from online learning: (1) learning the subject course, (2), new learning methods based on net-society (3) applied ICT competences, including soft-skills and transversal digital competences.It has been created 30 learning units that provided easy and quick access to the main topics related to teaching using technology. Those has been divided in 5 blocks: Online learning, online training, course design, tools and platforms, activities. Also 10 ICT-based activities; collaborative, creative and others for self-reflection of the learner. It was not aimed to create a huge book for trainers, but an online course with practical and directly to use online activities. Theory has been reduced to a minimum, we focused on basic background, motivational information, practical concepts and exercises (to be applied to themselves as self-reflection) and examples (to be transferred to the courses) The main aim was to create a learners’ coursebook and an online course for trainers with low ICT skills and technological pedagogies so they can learn and feel by themselves the application of technology enhanced education methods, techniques and tools, so they acquire the necessary skills and competences to become successful online trainers (1st aim). We want to support them and facilitate the transferability of the skills and competences learnt to their own subject (2nd aim). Those skills include the use of technology for collaboration, creativity, problem solving, teamwork, etc. A tool has been made available (as online service), so they can use the lessons learnt in their own teaching activities (3rd aim) Main target of this project are the trainers and educators (tutors, facilitators, coach, mentors, team leaders, human resources departments…) that want to start to offer their training using online platforms.

<< Background >>Nowadays, the professional activity at the level of small and medium companies is more and more dynamic and in continuous change, in accordance with the global tendencies and the accelerated technological evolution. If, before 2020, the telework was optional, a maximum of 5.4% of freelancers or occasional sectors in SMEs worked from home, according to EU statistics compiled by EUROSTAT, over 40% of employees in the European Community passed in full telework starting with the first part of 2020, a state of art that continues today. This is also confirmed by the fact that EU statistics reflect the fact that over 50% of employees have no experience in teleworking, which actually makes the transition to this new kind of organization even more difficult, affecting the employees’ productivity and affecting the productivity of companies for short or medium term. The present dynamics of the labor market shows the mismatch between the employees’ competences and the needs of the labor market. Regarding the advantages of telework, this new type of professional organization proves to bring, in addition to challenges, countless benefits. These include travel time savings, resource savings at the company level for utilities and rent payments, is a green professional approach by low use of transportation to work and reducing the harmful effects of cars, saving on mineral resources. Therefore, there is a need to develop the necessary skills and approaches at the level of companies management for the permanent integration of telework in the professional activity of certain sectors of activity. But these benefits of teleworking are not accessible to employers and employees who do not have the skills and competencies necessary to organize work in this remote environment. Employees who do not have the necessary skills and competencies risk losing their jobs if this trend continues, resulting in a rise of the unemployment rate at European level.Therefore, there is a need to redefine the skill sets of employees at all professional levels.Thus, Reliable GREEN project intends to provide the training framework for adult educators, employees and future employees so as to develop their digital, software and transversal skills and abilities that help them to easily adapt to this new accelerated international trend. Providing these skills and competencies and encouraging companies and policy makers to continue to adopt telework will bring innumerable social, economic and environmental benefits, having a medium- and long-term impact on the European community. Therefore, the project will meet these needs and support the SMEs and VET tutors by providing tailored education and training materials that will build the key skills and competences in back-office employees and SMEs leaders. Actually, the project aims to develop bespoke training methodologies, curriculum and resources that will address the needs of back-office employees, SMEs leaders and VET tutors in order to adapt to a remote working environment and make it a reality for the business environment. In this way, the project will definitely cultivate European companies, digitized, oriented towards environmental approach.<< Objectives >>Consequently, the Reliable GREEN project aims to:- Establish a labor market hub at the level of each partner country in order to support the implementation of telework- Address the gap in the provision of VET to support SMEs employees to up skill for a remote working environment- Empower VET tutors with skills, competences and attitudes necessary to design innovative and technology-oriented training activities and services for companies- Foster SMEs employees' digital, soft and transversal skills for adapting to a remote working environment- Improve employees’ wellbeing, motivation and productivity when working online- Draw up of innovative and easily accessible educational resources for innovative working practices- Develop an e-learning platform focused on self-assessment and training accessible to all- Providing management tools for SMEs leaders in order to empower them to digitally manage the organization activity- Increase flexibility in working patterns at the level of SMEs<< Implementation >>In order to achieve the project results and accomplish the Reliable GREEN objectives, the consortium will work in a complex variety of activities aiming to respond to the needs of the labor market, providing innovative approaches to the vocational education and training to increase its dynamics and flexibility, managing to overcome the mismatch between the employees' skills and competences and the tendency to digitalize the administrative work in the SMEs.The project partners will actively collaborate to develop 6 project results/ deliverables, namely:-Labor Market Analysis and Hub Opportunities-Getting Ready to Teach and Train with Technology – Methodological Guidelines-Continuous Professional Development Curriculum-Adaptive Telework Toolkit for SMEs-Innovative Educational Resources Compendium for SMEs leaders-E-learning platformIn order to achieve these results, the project partners will perform: research activities, data collection activities through interviews and questionnaires, methodological design, curriculum design, resources design and e-Learning platform design. The resources will be realized through media-rich tools, contributing to the digitalization of the directed learning and self directed learning in the vocational education and training. Apart from them, in order to assure the maximum quality of the deliverables and results, the project partners will perform management activities, quality assurance and evaluation, monitoring, dissemination activities and sustainability activities. In this way, the consortium Reliable GREEN is confident to provide high quality results and to bring them to a high number of stakeholders, VET tutors, SME employees and leaders. Apart from this, for each project result testing, the partners will organize Peer groups, aiming at connecting the result with the expectations of the VET tutors, SME employees and leaders, coming with the viable solution to their needs through tailored resources. To assure the perfect collaboration and communication, the project partners will meet regularly in the framework of the Transnational Partners Meeting and monthly, at the level of the Management committee of the project, evaluating risks, progress and establishing further details.<< Results >>The project outcomes are quite complex, focusing on the quality development and implementation of project activities and also on responding to all needs which formed the base of our approach and attempt. Thus, the consortium collaboration and activities will result in:1 – Labor Market Analysis and Hub Opportunities - will provide a solid knowledge base for the methodology and resources to be designed by the partners in order to facilitate the adaptation of the management and employees of small and medium companies to telework.2 – Getting ready to teach and train with technology – Methodological guidelines- will empower VET tutors to create, organize and manage authentic, innovative and engaging training activities for companies’ employers and employees remotely.3 – Continuous Professional Development Curriculum - will develop the digital, soft and transversal skills and competences of the employees, so that they can adapt to the new work environment, without feeling the changes at psychological level, being affected their productivity, motivation and work results.4 – Adaptive Telework Toolkit for SMEs - will provide the necessary resources for employees to improve and adapt their professional activity to the new organization.5 - Innovative educational resources compendium for SMEs leaders - will develop the competencies of the future for managing the professional activity of small and medium companies in the context of digitalization and globalization.6 - E-learning platform - is the essential project result which incorporates all project resources and offers the tool necessary to allocate access to the resources according to the user’s interest and expertise.Apart from this, the project is expected to: -Provide a sustainable methodology for adult educators to develop digital and soft skills adapted to the new labor market requirements and dynamics; -Provide relevant, innovative and accessible learning resources for adult learners and educators; -Increase the interest of stakeholders in training the adults to develop the necessary skills and competences to work remotely; -Increase work motivation and productivity;-Empower learners with the necessary skills and competences to adapt to the new requirements; -Increased supply of learning opportunities for graduates and employees at risk; -Assure equal access to learning activities and resources for learners coming from disadvantaged categories; -Improve competences and knowledge at the level of SMEs; -Increase interest of stakeholders in digital and soft skills innovative approach; -Building an integrated and active stakeholder community.

<< Background >>Our capacity to access, have a critical understanding of and interact with media has never been as important as it is today. According to the Flash Eurobarometer (2018), 85% of europeans think that disinformation is a problem in their country and 83% consider that it is a problem for democracy. Most europeans trust the information they receive through traditional media like radio, TV or newspapers, but only 47% trust online newspapers. In order to fight disinformation it is essential to train citizens to be critical so they can analyse and verify the information they receive. The EU Commission released a joint communication in 2020 warning about the increase of disinformation during COVID-19, and that this can have grave consequences for our societies and democratic institutions. It highlights that this “can directly endanger lives and severely undermine efforts to contain the pandemic” as disinformation spreads “Conspiracy theories that may endanger human health, harm the cohesion of our societies and may lead to public violence and create social unrest” as well as “Illegal hate speech”, “Consumer fraud” and “Cybercrime”. Over 50% of Europeans believe they have been exposed to disinformation online, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey (March, 2021)Given its cross-border dimension, the adverse effects of disinformation in the EUI require a coordinated and long-term approach to respond to the challenge at both EU and national level. It is also necessary to highlight the importance of adult education as a means to counteract disinformation through media literacy. Media literacy has been defined by the EU Commission as the capacity to communicate in all media and access, analyse and evaluate the images and words, which constitute a very important part of our information society.As more daily tasks are carried out online, from applying for a job to paying taxes or booking tickets, using the Internet has become an integral part of daily life. The report ICT for Work: Digital Skills in the Workplace (2016) shows that digital technologies are used in all types of jobs, also in economic sectors not traditionally related to digitisation like farming, health care, vocational training and construction. Between 2011 and 2016, the use of ICT increased in more than 90% of workplaces and in 2016 a 93% of European workplaces used desktop computers and 94% used broadband technology to access the Internet.However, according to the Eurostat (2018) an 11% of Europeans have never used the Internet and a 6.72% of Europeans have no information skills (2017). Information and data literacy is one of the key components of digital competence and is defined in the European Digital Competence Framework (2018) as the capacity “to analyse, compare and critically evaluate the credibility and reliability of sources of data, information and digital content.” The 2021-2027 EU Digital Education Action plan stresses the need for a quality, inslusive and accessible digital education. The group of Europeans with no information skills is made up mostly of people aged 65-74 years old, people on low incomes, the unemployed and the less educated. This is an important need to be addressed at a European level, given that digital competence and media literacy have never been as important as nowadays and their lack contributes to the exclusion or partial exclusion of these people from society. These groups are also the most vulnerable in front of disinformation and, therefore, they will be the target group of our project. Since digitization is on the rise in the labor market and there is a need to tackle disinformation across Europe, this inequality is a challenge that needs to be addressed and adult education has an important role to play. In order to give a practical answer to this problem, disinfoEND aims to develop the digital and media capacities of vulnerable adults, with a special focus on adults aged +55, unemployed and low-educated.<< Objectives >>Therefore, the disinfoEND project will:1. Strengthen social inclusion and active digital participation in society of vulnerable groups, especially adults with low levels of education, unemployed and aged +55, with the implementation of he Dilalogic Media and Digital Literacy Gatherings in different contexts: 3 different countries (Spain, Italy and Romania).2. Transfer the Dilalogic Media and Digital Literacy methodology to tackling disinformation in adult education with an intercultural and intergenerational approach, in diverse topics such as health, migration, ethnic minorities, gender violence, etc. (PR1)3. Offer an innovative Toolkit (PR1) co-created with vulnerable adults that supports inclusive and participative ICT and Media Literacy training through the implementation of SEAs with a participatory, sustainable and dialogic approach. 4. Promotion of common EU values and critical civic engagement and participation, by developing social and intercultural competences, critical thinking and media literacy of vulnerable adults. 5. Training of adult education professionals and volunteers on how to combat disinformation in their ICT courses and/or courses in other areas of knowledge, using the DMDL methodology. PR2 will develop staff competences that lead to overall improvements in provision, targeting and effectiveness of adult education in the field of media literacy, with an innovative and evidence-based methodology.6. Increase the quality educational offer in the digital field oriented to digitally excluded groups.<< Implementation >>PROJECT RESULT 1: disinfoEND Toolkit on how to implement Dialogic Media Literacy Gatherings to counteract disinformation in adult educationA Toolkit for educators on how to counteract disinformation in adult education. The toolkit will consist of 2 deliverables (A curriculum and a methodology) and a testing phase (pilot course)1. disinfoEND Methodology: We will Transfer the Dialogic Media and Digital Literacy (DIMELI, e-Quality) Methodology on how to use Dialogic Media Literacy Gatherings (DMLG), to learn how to think critically and have the ICT and ML competencies needed to specifically counteract disinformation (on topics like health, migrants, culture, ethnic minorities, gender violence, etc.). 2. disinfoEND Curriculum: With the specific content DML programme needed to tackle disinformation in adult education, in topics like Health, Migration and ethnic minorities, Gender Violence and others that the adults participating in the pilot course choose. It will also include concrete activities with usable materials for implementation and evaluation of the curriculum and methodology3. disinfoEND Pilot course: A testing phase with a pilot course to develop participants’ critical thinking will be implemented in 3 countries (Romania, Spain, Italy). It will have a duration of 64 hours in 4 months.PROJECT RESULT 2: disinfoEND MOOC course for educators on how to implement Dialogic Media Literacy Gatherings to counteract disinformation in adult education.The objective is to train educators and adult education volunteers on an innovative methodology to teach ICT and ML competences while promoting critical thinking, in order to tackle disinformation. The DML methodology in which they will be trained will be both evidence-based and co-created with vulnerable adults; to which DML the courses these professionals implement will be targeted. The course will have a total duration of 20 hours and participants will have 1 month to complete it (Dedication of 5h x week). It will be implemented in 3 countries (Romania, Spain, Italy).The materials of the MOOC course (video lessons, questionnaires with answer key, interactive activities) will remain available on the project’s website, for them to be freely used beyond the project’s life. They will be available in all the languages of the consortium (Spanish, Italian, Bulgarian, German and Romanian) and English. The platform used will be Coeus, Moodle Learning Management System or Wordpress.NATIONAL MULTIPLIER EVENTS AND FINAL CONFERENCENational MEs will be held in all participant countries (Spain, Italy, Romania) and Final Transnational Conference will be held in Belgium, in order to let people know about the project and its results and multiply its impact both at national and EU level.<< Results >>1. Digitally empowered vulnerable adults by providing a quality training on digital and media literacy, which is going to increase the level of digital and media competence among the target group, and as a result is going to permit the target group to increase the level of inclusion and participation in society.2. Acquisition of new skills by vulnerable adults; to identify disinformation and analyse critically all the information they receive, which will in turn contribute to better informed citizens, who will have the resources needed to critically analyse information and to contrast it with diverse, reliable sources.3. Promotion of EU common values, such as human rights, freedom and equality, as well as other related topics like the right to be informed about the scientific evidences in health, education, gender violence, etc. and combatting prejudices against migration, ethning minorities, among others. 4. Transferring two Successful Educational Actions (SEAs) Interactive Groups and Dialogic Gatherings to Media Literacy in order to tackle disinformation among vulnerable adults, with an inclusive, democratic and evidence-based approach. The project will adopt an educational model based on the democratization of training activities and focused on providing participants digital fluency. This is going to generate dynamics of cooperation and collaboration between people at risk of social exclusion, members of the participating organizations, and other organizations outside the consortium. The results will also be disseminated in other educational levels asides from adult education.5. Better trained professionals and volunteers in adult education organisations. Professionals and volunteers from the partner organizations will be trained in PR1 and, in PR2, educators and volunteers from other organizations will be trained as well. They will be trained on how to implement DMLGs to tackle disinformation addressed to vulnerable adults aged +55, unemployed and with a low level of education, with a democratic approach based on dialogic learning and the SEAs Interactive Groups (IGs) and Dialogic Gatherings (DGs). Therefore, they will be trained in an innovative teaching method, as well as on how to better motivate, guide and advise vulnerable adults in the learning process in order to surpass the digital breach (both in their personal lives and in competencies needed for work, especially after COVID-19, as there is a growing tendency of virtual and remote work). After the course, they will also be able to apply this approach in other fields aside from ICT or Media Literacy courses (Social Sciences, literacy programmes, science literacy, etc.). This MOOC course will also be open to other professionals and volunteers working in other fields, for example in the youth training/education sector or secondary education, to create synergies and amplify the impact to other sectors.6. Co-created tools and resources for ICT and Media Literacy training, focused on how to create a collective understanding of information and to contrast information in order to tackle disinformation. A Toolkit (with a methodology, curriculum and concrete activities) to implement DMLGs with a democratic approach and based on dialogic learning, IGs and DGs will be made (PR1), both tested in a pilot course and improved and co-created with the participation of women from the disinfoEND project. These resources will be available with a Creative Commons license free for download on the project’s website and they will also be uploaded to the Erasmus+ results platform. These tools will be transferable to other fiends of education.

Recent research has proven that gamification is a valuable tool for e-participation and educational and learning disciplines targeted at youth, based on interaction, collaboration, networking experimentation and creativity. The gaming experience offers a diversified, active and dynamic learning tool in the context of informal education, which contributes significantly in developing civic, social and intercultural skills and ICT literacy.Based on this, the best way to rebrand social engagement and politics in an interesting and engaging way and to help young people to participate in political and social life is through a creative, innovate and modern gamified platform. These platforms should offer basic education and training on democratic principles and imaginative activities, and engage young EU citizens in discussions about democracy, access to rights and active citizen participation. The scope of the EmpoweringYou project was to promote political and social participation of young EU citizens through the design and development of an interactive gamified platform, which is available online and via a mobile app -http://empoweringyouproject.eu/game/login/index.php or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.cardet.empoweringyouproject. The main objectives of the project were to:•Educate and equip young EU citizens with civic skills through an entertaining and engaging learning environment.•Create an innovative, inclusive non-formal educational tool which addresses diversity in education and training, developing social, civic and intercultural competences and media literacy.•Provide an accessible way for EU young citizens to express their political, economic and social views.•Strengthen civic cooperation, exchange of information and good practices across EU.•Combat against social exclusion and civic apathy of EU young adults.The target group of the project were young adults aged 13-30 who were considered to be 'disadvantaged', i.e. early school leavers, NEET, having behavioural difficulties etc. We also targeted key stakeholders, such as youth workers, teachers and others working directly with young people or who have the potential to influence policy in this area. During the course of the project we have worked with over 400 young people and 350 stakeholders.The project began with a period of research, where we worked with young people and stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the learning and training needs of young people and how they currently engage with online training and social/political issues. This work led to the development of a curriculum which was used to produce the content for the online 'gamified' platform which is the main outcome of the project. The platform leads the user through a series of scenarios linked to key topics such as climate change, voting and migration. Each scenario aims to provide a basic introduction to the topic and help young people understand how they can get involved. During the project, the platform has been piloted with both young people and stakeholders. Partners collected feedback in order to understand the potential impact of the platform and see where improvements could be made. Finally, partners have developed a guide for teachers and trainers which gives advice on using 'gamification' in the classroom and, in particular, how the EmpoweringYou platform could be implemented in educational settings.The key results of the project are:•A Situation and Needs Analysis Report, outlining training needs and current provision for young people in terms of engagement with political/social issues.•An ‘EmpoweringYou Curriculum’ outlining the learning objectives and content for the gamified platform.•The Platform itself, which is a ‘gamified’ environment taking users through a series of ‘missions’ which help them to start thinking about key topics and how they can take action/have their voices heard on issues they care about.•A Training User Handbook, which is a guide for teachers/trainers to help them understand the impact of gaming and ‘gamification’ in learning settings and how they can use the EmpoweringYou Platform in their own contexts.The project has:•Increased the capacity of young citizens to successfully participate in public life.•Promoted youth engagement in political, civic and social participation.•Enhanced capacities and knowledge of young participants in democratic values, access to rights, national and European governance principles.•Contributed to the self-empowerment and self-esteem of young EU citizens.•Boosted public awareness on values of democracy, access to rights, freedom and intercultural dialogue among young adult communities.•Rebranded social engagement and European politics in an interesting, engaging way and helped young people to participate in political, civic and social life.•Enhanced the capacity of partner organisations to promote youth civic participation in the political, social and economic field.