Nowadays, the internet plays an important role in the education and learning of young people. It is used mainly for leisure, socialization and learning. Young people are all the time engaging with the different information found online and are attracted so much to the internet because it offers them the information in a way that they would like to see it and can understand it. Usually the same information can be found via apps, videos, text and presentations. Thus, as also corroborated by research, young people tend to engage more with the information when it is accessible and understandable. Research shows also that young people are very quick to browse away if the information provided is perceived as institutionalised or irrelevant. Digital natives have revolutionalised the way we deal with information and this is pushing EU and local institutions to find better ways how to engage with young people as shown in the EU’s Digital and E-participation strategy and the Maltese Government’s National Digital Strategy. Both strategies highlight the need to make the information more accessible to the users. One of the sectors that needs to catch up with this new reality is undoubtedly the education sector. Young people need to understand why they have to study and why this can help them for their future. Thus, importance to increase the ICT use in career guidance has been highlighted in various fora.It is for this reason that this Strategic Partnership through the ‘Explore More project’ proposes the development of a one stop shop interactive website targeting all secondary students aged between 11-15 in Malta, Greece and Portugal. Prisms has also partnered-up with the Directorate for Educational Services (DES) in that it has direct contact with the guidance teachers and can thus provide the necessary expertise. All three countries experience the same concerns and difficulties. Prisms together with the partners recognized the need to provide information to young people in a way that they can understand and interact with.The project will consist in a number of phases all contributing to the final phase; the launching of the interactive website that will be used by both the students and career guidance teachers. All phases will be managed and coordinated by Prisms the involvement of all partners:1. Launching of project2. Mapping of all educational institutions at post secondary level3. Research on all the courses/training being offered and requirements needed4. Analyses on the data collected5. Translation of information into an accessible and interactive information6. Website design + animation needed7. Focus groups to test website8. Training to teachers on the website9. Launching of the websiteApart from the intellectual outputs and in order to enhance communication and also to have better project management, all partners will be meeting in three transnational meetings; January 2017, November 2017 and December 2018. These will all be held in Malta. In the first meeting the partners will discuss the targets set for the project and will also go over the reporting obligations. In the November meeting the partners will discuss the outcome of the research whereas in the last transnational meeting the partners will be evaluating the project and will also discuss the best strategy for the launching of the website.The project envisages as well a Short-term joint staff training events. The Training course which will be hosted in Malta from the 13 - 17 November 2018 will have the objective to train the teachers on how to use the website with the students they work with. This will ensure that the website will be used to its full capacity and the teachers will disseminate the website with the target audience and also other teachers that they work with. This training will also ensure the sustainability of this project. Teachers will act as multipliers with other students and teachers to continue in using and developing this website even after the funding period. The training together with the intellectual outputs; the Mapping and Research of Educational Schools and Colleges and requirements needed at a post-secondary Level in Malta, Crete and Lisbon and the website will ensure that the young people can take informed decisions on the subjects they would like to further their studies/training in. Through the video-clips produced showcasing a typical day in a given career/profession will also bring closer the industry to the student and will present the industry with an opportunity to attract new people with added skills. Thus, this project will undoubtedly be impacting the young people but also the guidance teachers since they will be equipped with more tools to help them give career guidance. Most importantly, the aim of this project is to make the website sustainable once the funding period is over also by linking the ‘Explore More’ project to the website of the relevant education Ministries.

The demand to offer quality education enabling success for all students has made all European educational systems, their schools and people responsible for them try to design strategies, techniques and tools to better achieve that ultimate goal. For the last twenty years many efforts have been made to develop quality assuring school evaluation procedures and, as a consequence, the implementation of internal and external improvement plans has become one of the key elements for school development in many European countries. The Project “Supervising Schools in the 21st Century: Digital Tools and Improvement Plans” (SS21DTIP) has seeked to reinforce the improvement processes taking place within schools with the description of procedures and techniques and the creation of tools that have aimed to enable schools to engage with educational evidence and find enhanced teaching, learning and managing strategies. In other words, SS21DTIP has intended to contribute to a unique and innovative insight into school evaluation by assisting schools with what is the centre of effective planning activities, internal evaluation and planning processes. Bearing in mind all the needs and aims above mentioned, this Project has had the following objectives: 1. Identify dimensions, criteria, strategies and good practices linked to school improvement. 2. Provide inspectorate-of-education bodies and professional staff in charge of supporting schools' development plans with new perspectives of good practices and approaches toward school improvement. 3. Create an open on-line toolkit to provide those in charge of planning, developing and assessing schools’ improvement plans with criteria, strategies and instruments to do it in an effective way. 4. Provide policy makers and universities with data and information about improvement processes developed in schools linked to partner institutions taking part in this project. 5. Promote the European dimension of all actions and initiatives of this Project. In order to achieve these objectives, this project has developed four intellectual outputs: A published article on the role of inspectorates supporting schools in data-informed decision making, a report based on five national case studies to identify how improvement plans are being developed, a toolkit to develop data-informed improvement plans and Multilingual Open Online Course in an open access format to develop and distribute training materials on how to plan, implement and assess a school improvement plan. Four organizations from Spain, Ireland, Bulgaria and Greece have become partners to carry out SS21DTIP: CEYE-JUNTAEX (Consejería de Educación y Empleo- Junta de Extremadura), Dublin City University (DCU), “St. Kliment Odhriski” Sofia University (SU) and RPDE Stereas Elladas. The Inspectorate of Education of Extremadura has among its functions collaborating in the promotion of continuous evaluation by the educational centers, of their own functioning, of the programs that they develop, of the teaching-learning processes they carry out and the results of their students. DCU hosts the Centre for Evaluation, Quality and Inspection (EQI), a multidisciplinary research group examining the impact of evaluation and inspection in education and related fields, and is a designated University Research Centre. Sofia University has brought expertise in the area of school inspection, school improvement and school self- and peer-evaluation and rich experience in case study research. The RDPSE is a decentralized organization of the Ministry of Education, Research & Religious Affairs in Greece with administrative as well as pedagogic responsibilities, in charge of promoting and monitoring the innovations and reformations of the Ministry of Education within the region of Sterea Ellada. All the partners have taken responsibility in the development of the four identified outputs. The entire partnership has contributed to each output and both online and transnational meetings have been held to develop the final products. Committed to transnational usage the products are available in the four partner languages. Besides, a Joint-staff Training Event and a Multiplier Event have been held. The first focused on the importance of adopting a collaborative, whole school and data-informed decision making approach when developing school plans. The Multiplier Event, that was virtually held in a hybrid symposium, focused on disseminating the products of SS21DTIP at regional, national and international level.SS21DTIP Project has seeked to reinforce the improvement processes taking place within schools by enabling schools to engage with educational evidence, find enhanced teaching, learning and managing strategies and develop effective planning activities, data-informed internal evaluation and planning processes. This will, in the long term, bring a qualitative change to the way school evaluation is developed.

Islanders - Capitalising on Tourism to increase the employability of young people with fewer opportunities, a KA2; Strategic Partnerships project, brought together young people from four islands; Malta, Azores (Portugal), Cagliari (Italy) and Crete (Greece). Apart from the fact that we are all islands, therefore also disadvantaged due to the double insularity and with a small population, we also share a common concern; the growing percentage of young people who are not in education, employment or training [NEET]. The methods were similar for all four countries, adapting to the needs of the young people involved, even though Malta focused more on young people with social and economic difficulties that have spent most of their years living in residential homes. Partner organizations from Azores, Crete and Cagliari focused more on youth employability due to the recent soaring percentage rates in this area. This project took place over a period of two years starting from January 2016 and targeted 40 young people that were not in education, employment or training [NEET] and the idea was to equip these young people with enough skills and competencies in the tourist industry to help them become more employable. The sector of Tourism is an important sector for all four islands since it provides a big share of the national GDP and thus it would have been easier to help them find employment in this area or utilise the skills obtained to further their studies. Through this project, the young people also received entrepreneurial skills with the ultimate aim of making this project self-sustainable. It was also for this reason that the Institute of Tourism Studies [ITS] was roped in as partners in this project in order to provide both the young people and our partners with their professional assistance. The project consisted of two main phases divided into smaller phases to create more manageable and tangible tasks. In the first phase, the young people received the necessary beginning skills and training related to the tourism sector, how to be entrepreneurial and how to manage an enterprise by successfully including project management, customer handling and marketing topics. Part of their training throughout also consisted of learning a second language or if it is the case a third one. The young people also received training on how to use social media, how to build a website and how to make use of other promotional material which not only did it increase their digital competence but it also served to kick-start the process for the second phase of the project. Thus, this project involved getting specialised training from ITS staff, getting NGOs recruiting youth workers who were in direct contact with the young people and also to rope in NGO members with web development skills that aided this project to obtain its desired intellectual outputs. The first phase included also the young people from each country coming together and explore the various possibilities for a suitable tourist activity. During the second phase of the project, the young people were putting in practice the new skills and knowledge received. Hence, the young people advertised their services, received bookings and once the tourists arrive in the country they organized, managed and oversaw the activities. This project also included three transnational project meetings scattered across important milestones within the project, thus, contributing to the preparation, implementation and evaluation phases of the project. In order to be able to implement the project, the young people met in Malta for a training. All the information gathered through this project and the promotion of the project itself were uploaded on a dedicated website; http://www.islandersproject.com/. A press conference thereafter concluded this project wherein Prisms invited the media, the participants, residential institutions in Malta, constituted bodies and other NGOs to share methods used and present the outcomes of this project.

According to data collected by the EUROSTAT report (December 2014), the phenomenon of school dropout is closely related to poverty and exclusion; it is more prevalent in people of migrant origin and ethnic minorities; It affects the interpersonal relationships and emotional health of these people and leads to higher rates of unemployment and fewer social and labor opportunities. For all these reasons, the Europe 2020 strategy proposes the reduction of school drop-out rates to less than 10%.In this context, the KEEP ON project is framed, which aims to improve the professional development of professionals in the field of education by providing them with innovative approaches and methodologies to manage cultural diversity in order to prevent school dropout among immigrant students, refugees and asylum seekers and ethnic minorities and promote their integration into the classroom.To achieve this, the project integrates methods and approaches aimed at training professionals in the educational field, so as to empower immigrant students in concepts such as self-control, self-efficacy, positive self-assessment, social identity and group membership.The project applies innovative pedagogies, such as dialogical learning and peer learning, to help students play an active role in the teaching-learning process and to build intercultural environments in the classroom. In the development of the KEEP ON project, 5 partner organizations from 4 different countries participated, with extensive experience in the field of social, educational and labor inclusion of immigrant population and vulnerable groups, led by the social entity Solidarity Without Borders (Spain): INFODEF (Institute for the Promotion and Development of Training, Spain), the Regional Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education of Crete, Greece, RPDSEC; a Secondary Education Center, Manisa Superior School of Fine Arts, MGSL and a private training institution, BEST, Austria).The following intellectual products have been developed to prevent the dropout of migrant students and ethnic minorities:The Online Digital Database of good practices and resources (IO.1).The Training Curriculum (IO2).The KEEP ON Pedagogical Manual (IO3).The KEEP ON Professional Tool Box for professionals in the field of education (IO4). The KEEP ON consortium has met at 5 different times throughout the project. There have been 4 transnational meetings to coordinate actions and monitor compliance with the objectives set according to the established proposal and schedule, as well as a meeting for the training activity and Capacity Development, in which professionals were trained in the products developed in the framework of the project.Throughout the project, project management and evaluation activities and dissemination and exploitation of the results have also been carried out. Among the diffusion, periodic meetings with personnel of the educational field in the 4 countries stand out, to make them aware of the results of the project and obtain feedback for their improvement, as well as to facilitate the large-scale integration of KEEP ON products in collaborating schools. The project has had a great impact on several levels. The partner organizations have benefited from the knowledge acquired and materials produced by KEEP ON. Both professionals in the field of education and those who work directly with people of diverse cultural origin and vulnerable population have improved their intercultural skills and socio-educational intervention skills. This has had a positive impact on the indirect beneficiaries, migrant students, with their empowerment and training, helping to reduce the risks of dropping out of school, and therefore, improving their social and educational integration.Externally, thanks to the dissemination activities and multiplier events carried out by each partner entity and in which more than 280 people participated, other educational entities and groups interested from the local to the European level, have known and are applying the materials KEEP ON in their fields of work. It is estimated that, between training and dissemination activities, the project and its products have reached more than 13,911 teachers, 1,285 schools and approximately 20,000 students.The extension of the project to other entities outside the participating countries that are defining common strategies in prevention of school drop-out in migrant students and ethical minorities stands out.Thanks to the development of the KEEP ON project, alliances and new ways of collaboration between social organizations and other associated organizations have been forged.

The digital revolution is boosting demand for digital skills and competences, thus requiring investment in infrastructure, organisational change, digital devices and digital competences of educators, and the creation of digital (and open) educational resources and high quality educational software. Education and training should reap the benefits of new ICT developments and adopt innovative and active pedagogies. Learning can't anymore be confined to specific classroom and timetables but take full advantage of technology to break boundaries.The GODIGITAL project came to promote the above as it aimed to design, develop, pilot-test and evaluate a complete tool kit to support primary schools to develop their schools digital development plan in order to upgrade the digital competences of the teachers and as a consequence the digital literacy of the students. It aims to produce 6 Intellectual Outputs which were pilot-tested and reviewed in order to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.The project aimed:- to design a complete TOOL KIT that assisted teachers to upgrade their digital skills and to assist schools to develop digitallyoriented strategies and plans.- to develop the Digital Competence Framework with benchmarks and indicators against which teachers’ practices, knowledge andskills will be assessed and validated through an assessment system to be designed based on the use of the Open Badge and e-Portfolios as a way to introduce transparency, visibility, transferability and validity for the new digital skills acquired.- to deliver a professional development programme for teachers to be offered both on-line and school-based, accompanied with anEducational Pack with adequate teaching material to support their teaching.The above enabled primary school teachers and schools:- to contribute towards the achievement of the targets of the ET 2020, the Digital Agenda, the e-Skills for Jobs Campaign whilemeeting the needs of contemporary education- to provide upgrading opportunities for teachers, in order to empower them to deal with the challenges of new digitaltechnologies, provide quality education and potentially support students for better learning outcomes and equip them withessential skills to bridge the gap between education and the world of work.Project intellectual outputs completed:IO1 - GoDIGITAL Competence Framework for primary schools IO2 - GoDIGITAL: The assessment and validation process for digitally literate teachers and schoolsthrough the use of Open Badges and e-PortfoliosIO3 - GoDIGITAL Educational Pack for Teaching and ImplementationIO4 - GoDIGITAL Learning and Management Platform -IO5-Go DIGITAL From theory to practice: Implementation and evaluation-IO6-GODIGITAL PACK for strategic exploitation and endorsement in Primary Schools - Declaration- Memorandum of Commitment for Digital Literacy in SchoolsSet of webinars were prepared by leader of the project (SAN) about methods and tools of using new technology in teaching in primary schools.C1 and C2 training were conducted in the timelife of the project. All planned multiplayer events were organised by partners. MEs were aimed at informing target group about project results and activities. Final conference was held online on 22th of September with big success. The direct target group of Primary School Teachers who upgraded their digital competences and used of technology in their teaching methods. The indirect group of primary students who benefited from digitally literate teachers. The implementation of the project at a transnational level is essential, therefore the consortium contained 6 partners from 5 different countries.. There is geographical representation, as well as a mixture of expertise and experiences.