"""Let the children change the world - teaching and learning tolerance and values from preschool on"" was a three year project, in which five preschools from Europe collaborated in order to improve the preschools' teaching methods and educational environments to promote human rights and combat discrimination. More about the partners in annex 4. We wanted to contribute to a decrease of discrimination in our societies, by directing our attention to small children, to how we teach and how they learn, to examine our attitudes and our educational environments; and by changing our preschools in a manner that would promote all individuals’ equal value regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender, gender identity or gender expression and disability. Discrimination is a violation of law and human rights in all of our countries and is a criminal act. Still the violation takes place almost daily, regardless if it depends on the society members or structural problems. The number of assaults, based on all the grounds of discrimination is high in most European countries. Some hold no statistics on so called “hate crime”, while others present statistics on one or several motives.The purpose of the project was to create a developed method guide with information on how to best work on the grounds of discrimination in preschool. The method guide will help staff to create and change the educational environments in the preschools so it promotes every individual’s human rights regardless ethnic background, race, skin colour or nationality, religious belief, sexual orientation, gender, disabilities or age. The common actions in our preschools concerning combating discrimination address the issues of gender and ethnicity, but we wanted to extend the work and include religion and other beliefs, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation (LGBT) and age. The five participating preschools in this project were from Europe and were both private and public, had different number of children with ages 1-6. Each partner brought experiences in different areas, which they could share with each other. Neither of them though had experiences of working with combating discrimination on all grounds, especially not concerning LGBT but the Swedish partner to some extend, that is why we expected the project to have a huge impact on all the preschools. The needs to be address in this project were - to develop staff members’ knowledge and skills in the area- to develop teaching methods adapted to small children- to create learning environments that promote inclusion and respect for human rights- to develop methods for including families in the work- to achieve goals in the national curriculum’s aims for preschool education - to actively work with values - to treat parents, regardless of their background, in a respectful manner- to raise children’s awareness of diversity in our societiesOur project was mainly teacher oriented, although children of the participating preschools’ would be directly involved in the local project activities. Objectives- to create educational environments in the preschools (facilities, materials, teaching methods etc.) that promote every individual’s human rights, regardless ethnic background, race, skin color or nationality, religious belief, sexual orientation, gender, disabilities or age- to increase children’s tolerance for diversity and respect for human rights - to increase teachers’ self-confidence concerning teaching children within the theme of the project- to increase teachers’ teaching skills concerning the theme of the project- to equip teachers with useful tools to address and manage the different sisuations of intolerance based on all the grounds of discrimination- to increase parents participation in activities connected to the project topicDuring the project we have had six transnational meetings, each parter organized one meeting, Sweden did two. Every meeting included; progress reports, workshops/education, best practice, evaluation, dissemination and planning for upcoming activities. We visited the different preschools to examin the environments and see the changes. On the final transnational meeting we presentated the project´s outcomes and did the final arrangements for final evaluation, report and administration for each partners responsebilities. Between every transnational meeting each country worked in their own preschool with criteria and developed best practices. Each country have had several local project meetings to plan and administrate. During the project we had regular contact on our Facebook group. We carried out all the expected results. We have had different teacher training events and workshops. We used Facebook as a platform for communication and one international website for the project. Each country made their own blog. In this project we have had three questionnaire for measuring attitudes among staff parents."

Context/background:In accordance with the scientific researches on the field (started by the pioneering work of J.Bruner), we consider the narrative approach in early education very important for promoting life skills, a resilience attitude and significant exploration of all the knowledge areas and every kind of social relations. The narrative approach starts from the assumption that each knowledge and skill can be easily learned if it is treated inside stories, both in written, oral or figurative ways. Despite this importance, the narrative approach in early education usually is limited to specific activities, supported by few and not very innovative methodologies, inside school-settings which are not arranged (from both a structural and organizational point of view), taking into account the regular adoption of the narrative approach in education every day. Further, although preschools could take great advantage from a continuous partnership with the local (public) libraries in this field, this almost never happens, since the collaboration between preschool and libraries at most is limited to single episodic experiences and/or the loan of books. The narrative approach is so important for improving the quality of early education that it is worth emphasizing the narrative approach till the adoption of a real narrative curriculum. Specific tools for planning and evaluation and the close involvement of new stakeholders (libraries) must support the adoption of the narrative approach.Objectives:General Objective: To foster quality in preschool education through increased attention to the narrative approach.This general objective is articulated in the following specific objectives:SO1. Developing the narrative approach in preschools, adopting the appropriate tools to arrange the context, planning activities and evaluating the outcomes.SO2. Improving the collaboration between preschools and libraries for enhancing the narrative curriculum and for giving value and visibility to the spontaneous narrative production of the children (already present from an early age);SO3. Increasing preschool teachers’ professional skills on the narrative approach/curriculum.The partnership is composed by:A.Four preschools:1.Bergsvikens förskoleområde, Piteå Municipality – Sweden2.Early Childhood Educational Services, Imola Municipality – Italy (coordinator)3.Elmer schools in Schaarbeek (Brussels, Belgium)4.Meelespea Kindergarten in Tallinn – EstoniaB. The following specialized partners:1.University of Bologna – Italy – Department of Psychology2.SERN – Sweden Emilia Romagna Network – Public AgencyIn addition, the project is supported by three public Libraries as co-partners: the ones from Stuttgart, Piteå and Imola MunicipalitiesIt is foreseen that the following practitioners will be involved in the project as a whole:- 250 preschool teachers (40 involved in transnational activities).-7 preschool pedagogues (also involved in transnational activities)-10 academic experts (3 involved in transnational activities)-700 children attending preschools and their parents-10 librariansActivities and Methodology1.Gathering best practices on the project topics2.Realizing a comprehensive narrative approach in early education inside the involved preschools, editing a specific handbook as well.3.Carrying out specific activities for monitoring and evaluating the application of the narrative approach in early education;4.Realizing stable agreements between preschools and local libraries5.Providing two specific learning activities to the participants related to the objectives of the project.On the base of these activities, to realize the following intellectual outputs:IO1: a handbook on the implementation of the narrative curriculum in preschools: guidelines on arranging the learning settings and the educational plan.IO2: a set of tools for monitoring evaluation both the appropriateness of the school setting and the children's learning well-being in the preschools adopting the narrative approach.IO3: at least 8 original childhood literature products starting from the children's spontaneous narrative creativity.Results:1. At the end of the project the following results are expected:2. The adoption of the tested narrative curriculum by the involved preschools;3. The elaboration of some agreement framework between preschools and libraries4. The elaboration of tools for evaluating the real effectiveness of the adoption of the narrative approach in early education;5. Spreading the interest on the narrative curriculum in other schools managers in the territory of the partner.Beyond the project:1.The intellectual outputs will be on a free disposal of all the preschools in the Europe also after the end of the project;2.UNIBO will be able to carry out the academic research on the topics of the project, even beyond its end;3.The involved preschools will keep in touch to further develop the project's topic.

<< Background >>Business attraction if understood and carried out properly, is a key element for the future of medium size municipalities. The main challenge for these municipalities is not only promoting themselves as a place to visit (tourism and events) but also to become an attractive place where to work and invest.In order to compete for new investments, the partners have identified the need to develop a range of new competences and skills among their employees; nurturing a competitive business climate, create tailor-made place value propositions and put together cross-functional teams with the necessary capabilities to attract and facilitate investments. In addition, in the last years there is a general trend towards the digital transformation of services, made even more evident during Covid emergency, and this also involves the field of business attraction. In fact, place's competition for businesses and investments is moving online.To face this new trend it is necessary to be equipped with the necessary digital skill.The partner organisations through BAS project want to address the need to develop business attraction skills and, at the same time, to fill the digital gap reaching a range of modern approaches to online branding and marketing, helping staff of local authorities to build competitive place value propositions, accessible for a global audience.<< Objectives >>In the light of the identified needs, the general objective of the BAS project is raising the business attractiveness of the European cities through up-skilling of staff of local authorities.The specific objectives of BAS project are:1. To equip managers and civil servants from Municipalities with digital competencies in the field of business attraction2. To exchange and identify innovative experiences on business attraction strategies among municipalities in Europe 3. To develop an online training module to help managers and civil servants to strengthen their skills in business attraction and in building a digital strategy to improve business attractivenessA further result that will be achieved is enhancing the collaboration between Municipalities and local authorities in EU as a way to pool their existing strengths and resources more efficiently, but also address their common challenges in a more coordinated manner and enhance the economic growth of an area.<< Implementation >>To guarantee the achievement of all the objectives and the realization of the three project results, the project partners have identified a series of activities that will be carried out over the 36-month life of the BAS project:- 6 Transnational Project Meetings (3 of them virtual meetings) arranged approximately every 6 months, aimed at steering the project, supervising the implementation of the project, monitor the development of project results and assessing that project activities are carried out successfully and according to schedule.- 1 Seminar in Sweden, aimed at assessing and evaluating the quality of the contents of the toolbox and the relevance it can have in different contexts.- 5 Multiplier events in each of the countries aimed at presenting the project, increasing knowledge on business attraction and promoting the use of its project results, ensuring the sustainability of the project after its duration.In addiction, specific activities will be developed in the framework of the Quality and Evaluation Plan, and in the framework of the sharing and promoting strategy:- Quality and evaluation activities including all the activities aimed at ensuring the quality of all the tasks performed during the project.- Sharing and promoting activities including all the activites aimed at promote the project outcomes within the project's target groups.<< Results >>The expected results of the project are:SO1: To equip managers and civil servants from Municipalities with digital competencies in the field of business attractionR 1.1 Improved digital competencies in the field of business attractionR 1.2 Improved competences in developing a digital business attraction strategy focusing on how attracting and retaining new entreprisesSO2: To exchange and identify innovative experiences on business attraction strategies among municipalities in Europe2.1 Enhanced collaboration between Municipalities and local authorities in EU2.2. Innovative practices transferred and mainstreamedSO3: To develop an online training module to help managers and civil servants to strengthen their skills in business attraction and in building a digital strategy to improve business attractiveness of the cities3.1 e-course and toolbox developed tested and mainstreamed3.2 internal upskilling strategies in relation to digital business attraction for the staff of the municipality developedPROJECT RESULTSThe project foresees three main project results:1- Training needs mapping and analysis: a collection and analysis of the training needs of the target group. This result will constitute the baseline for the development of the following project results 2 and 3, since it will define the training needs and will allow the development of tools which fully tailored to the needs of the civil servants in the different countries.2- Toolbox on Business Attraction Management: the toolbox will focus on how to organize and manage the Business Attractioncapabilities and how bring together different actors in attracting, welcoming and supporting investments.3- E-course on Digital Business Attraction Skill: anonline training path for civil servants of local authorities staff which builds on some key elements of the toolboxOther expected tangible results, related to the Project activities, are:1) Project Website. It will contain information about the projects’ objectives, activities and results. The website will be kept up to date with project information and it will be user-friendly, communicative and easy to find. Presentations and project results, including the e-course developed by the partners will be uploaded for public consultation.3) Quality Management Plan. This document includes the strategy and the tools to monitor and improve the quality of processes and outcomes at different stages and to detect the possible need for changes. It consists in an evaluation framework where all the evaluation procedures and criteria, along with related timetable and tools (questionnaires, forms, evaluation indicator grids, guidelines, etc.), are described in detail.4) Sharing and Promoting Plan. This document covers all relevant aspects about dissemination of the project. It will state the objectives of promotion and exploitation, along with the target groups and the tools to reach them. The Plan will also point out the role of each partner, the timing and the organisation of the activities.5) Mid-term and final Reports. These documents will include all relevant information and data concerning the implementation of the project at all stages.6)Risk Management plan.

"Acquiring place BRANDing competences at work through continuing VET to increase the attractiveness of EUropean cities (Brand-EU) is a project that involved 7 public bodies from 5 European countries. The participating partners had in common the size, were all medium-sized cities anf the situation: not many people decide to move in or businesses decide to invest due to a general lack of attraction of the cities. In particular, businesses do not find it profitable to invest in our cities due to this lack of attraction. There is a lack of knowledge on communication and skills. More attention should be given to present the cities as a system, also because there is a lack of awareness about what you they have to offer. Starting from these considerations the partners have identified that civil servants needs to be equipped with competences on place branding strategies in order to boost the attractiveness of the local areas. OBJECTIVES The general objective of the project was to raise the attractiveness of European cities through the exchange of best practices on the place branding strategies designed and implemented by Municipalities in collaboration with stakeholders in order to create more favourable condition for local development. In order to achieve the general objective above the projects will aim at: 1. Developing high quality place branding skills in the staff of municipalities and local stakeholders 2. Increasing the collaboration between municipalities and local actors for common place branding strategies 3. Creating more training opportunities for municipalities and local actors' staff at transnational level The target groups involved in the activities during and after the project will be: civil servants; political representatives; and local actors, including SMEs, category associations, chamber of commerce, associations for the promotion of the territory etc. ACTIVITIES The activities of ""Brand EU"" were implemented on two levels: - At transnational level the participating organisations undertook an intense exchange of their best practices on place branding. Four transnational events have been organised to coordinate the project (1 online) and 3 joint staff training events aimed at increasing the competences of the participating staff. - At local level the partners defined along the years their Place Branding Strategies on the basis of the skills acquired through of the training activities carried out at transnational level. This process included also a strong involvement of stakeholders in order to build local network of cooperation oriented at raising the attractiveness of the European cities participating. PROJECT RESULTS The project increased the competences on place branding in the civil servants of the participating municipalities. At the same time ""Brand EU"" raised the attention on investing in continuing VET as a way to re-skill the staff of public authorities and develop strategies that have an impact on local development (like in this case place branding strategy) In the long run, the tight collaboration between municipalities and stakeholders will increase the attractiveness of the cities involved, and create more appealing conditions for citizens and businesses to settle."