<< Objectives >>The objective of EEO50+ are: to increase the opportunities & benefits for the ever-growing workforce of older workers who have lost their jobs, incl.in the context of COVID19, and who are most threatened of not finding reemployment for the years left to retirement; strengthen the organizational capacity of the partners and its trainers/educators/mentors; make steps towards creating Forward Looking Centres through Digital Transformation & digital readiness for both educators and older learners.<< Implementation >>The CENTRAL Activities are: 1 exchange visit; 2 Interactive Tool-kits for educators/trainers/mentors to work with adults 55+ who are either (a) looking for reemployment & need employability soft skills or (b) are looking to set up their own business (older entrepreneurs). They will be digital in form and designed so as to be used in real time/online. These will be followed up by an Online workshop for educators to adults 55+ of both categories a) & b) to pilot and refine the tool-kits.<< Results >>Through our proposal EEO55+ we expect to (a) strengthen the institutional capacity of the partners; exchange experience; (b) upskill educators/mentors and (c) make path for digitalization of training activities carried out online; (c) create Forward looking centres which cater for the needs of older workers seeking remployment or exploring the entrepreneurship path. Finally, the proposed Tool-kits will (d) help employers hire, develop and retain older workers as it can be used by them as well.

"The Silver Civic Education SCE project was based on the diagnosis that the most important reason for excluding elderly people is insufficient, broadly understood communication skills. This category also includes difficulties in understanding media and official news and documents, the inability to reach the information needed, the lack of digital skills, limited ability to use foreign languages, and the formulation of messages that meet the needs of the modern recipient. Social journalism workshops using the Internet and social media provide great opportunities for the activation and education of adults, especially the elderly. They enable the preparation of an attractive educational program covering most of the basic skills as well as transversal skills such as civic competences, digital skills, critical and creative thinking. To work on the development of communication competences in this age group, educators with special skills, experience and unique psychological character (personality) are needed.Sharing knowledge and experience and cooperation with partners allowed us to prepare an Open Guide for teachers with information, recommendations, opinions, insights that increase their knowledge and teaching skills as well as conclusions from the exchange of experience. It shows how to use social journalism methods and techniques in educational activities: obtaining and verifying information, editing texts, organizing editorial teams, etc. The guide is practical and open to supplement with the experience of other organizations and is a compendium of knowledge useful for all European entities operating in the field education of the elderly. Project participants along with educators from partner organizations actively participated in studying the real needs of older people in their communities and in the educational part of the project. 36 people over 60 years from three countries (12 people in each country) along with educators from partner organizations took part in the preparation of the Guide. They participated in the preparation of questionnaires and (after appropriate training) in carrying out research on the assessment of the educational needs of older people in their environment. As part of the project, a total of 622 questionnaires were collected, of which 200 came from Bulgaria, 196 from Poland and 226 from Portugal. All surveys were properly coded and subjected to comparative statistical analysis. The calculations were made using SPSS Statistics 22. Feedback and ""test"" recommendations obtained in the study, tools and examples are included in the Guide. The research report and Open guide for educators are posted on the project website https://silverciviceducation.wordpress.com/home/As part of joint visits, seniors ""involved"" in the project also participated in training in the field of social journalism, elements of sociology and research methodology, necessary to conduct surveys and interviews, the basics of psychology of the elderly, social gerontology and psychological aspects of learning in the elderly. They also discussed the common and individual educational needs of seniors in three countries and the profile of the educator for the elderly.Between educational meetings, international senior groups kept in touch on Facebook, exchanging opinions and experiences. The cooperation of older people from three different countries gave the opportunity to separate the local or national specificity from what can be universal, thanks to which the guide can serve not only teachers from Poland, Portugal and Bulgaria, but also teachers and trainers from other European countries."

"Context:As part of its efforts to promote mobility and intercultural understanding, the EU has designated language learning as a prominent priority. Multilingualism is a crucial element in Europe’s competitiveness since the Barcelona objective 2002/2008. One of the objectives of the EU’s language policy is that every European citizen should master two other languages in addition to their mother tongue. Language competences mostly involve reading, listening and writing skills, but: verbal communication is equally important, nonetheless not in the focus yet.As part of the EU2020 Strategy related to ""Opening up education through new technologies"", this project will help address this issue by providing (through ICT) open-access resources to teaching and learning contents for adult learners.Objectives:Main objective of Speak-app project has been to improve the oral communication skills of adults in foreign languages and cooperation between equals, putting special emphasis on increasing verbal skills and motivations of learners to speak up, but also framework conditions of educators. The course has had an especial focus on oral communication techniques, tips and strategies and also in helping participants to increase their capacity and confidence for a more active involvement into educational and lifelong learning activities. Participants: Primary target group: adult education staff, namely: educators, teachers, mentors, peers, language providers and prospective individuals interested in developing their labour path in adult education. Secondary target group: all adults willing to improve their communication skills in foreign languages will benefit from the project. The course and the app are open for registration to any person interested on the topic. Stakeholders: the stakeholders have included adult training organizations, non-formal training providers and other educational organizations and institutions. Undertaken Activities and project resultsDuring this project, partners have developed the following results: -Online course in 4 languages with tools for oral communication addressed to teachers, trainers, educators and any other person interested on the topic. -Elearning platform for hosting the elearning course. -Web-app that allows students to get in touch with other foreign students with similar language levels and interests. -Two research documents, one as a: Guidelines for effective oral communication in foreign languages, focused on best practices for language learning through ICT tools and a Analysis: expert interviews with language teachers on effective oral communication in foreign languages, each partner interviewed 5 language teachers to know more about the everyday situations they face on their lessons and what training materials and tools they feel they could need or use. Research documents were planned on submission form but not funded. During kick-off meeting partners decided that some research was needed, so it was integrated as an activity for the development of Intellectual Output 2 and due the potential interest of participants to know the results and other opinions from trainers and teachers, it has been published and disseminated.The course is structured in 4 training modules. The topics and approach have been decided based on the results from the research phase. The modules are: Module 1: Human motivational learning theories.Module 2: New didactic approaches for language teaching in virtual learning environments. Module 3: Andragogic approach and virtual environment. Module 4: How to use Speak-app The course has been developed in English and then translated into the national languages of project partners (Spanish, Portuguese and German). Impact:126 participants in multiplier events117 students enrolled on the elearning platform and on the app2785 people impacted by the dissemination actions made by partners. (More information on dissemination section)17 teachers and trainers interviewed. Long-term benefits:Trainers and teachers in foreign languages will benefit in the long term as the course will remain available for at least 5 more years. The app will also remain available for five more years from the end of the project. To increase the project dissemination, an article has been posted on EPALE webpage, as a free resource for any person interested on the topic. As most partners will continue working on different Erasmus+ projects, they will continue to disseminate the results and will encourage other entities to make use of project results."

Contexto: Según la estrategia 2020 de la UE, la economía social y el fomento del emprendimiento y el espíritu empresarial, están en el centro de todas las preocupaciones de la Comisión, debido a su importancia vital en términos de cohesión social y empleo; especialmente entre los más jóvenes, que han sido uno de los grupos más golpeados por la crisis. Además, el área de servicios sociales personales constituye uno de los mayores nichos de mercado en el contexto de la UE, ya que la demanda de este tipo de servicios está creciendo y continuará haciéndolo durante los próximos años y décadas, especialmente motivado por el envejecimiento de la población; para 2025 se espera que más del 20% de la población europea tenga 65 años o más, con un aumento significativo del número de personas mayores de 80 años. Objetivos Por tanto, el proyecto YOUTH-MOVE, ayudará a mejorar, utilizando las posibilidades de las tecnologías TIC, las competencias en emprendimiento de los jóvenes en el área de los servicios sociales, desarrollando, a nivel transnacional, materiales de capacitación de alta calidad que proporcionarán herramientas útiles y consejos para motivarles y aumentar sus habilidades para iniciar su propio negocio en el área de servicios sociales. Actividades del proyecto y resultados; Durante este proyecto los socios han desarrollado un curso de capacitación estructurado en cuatro módulos formativos: Módulo 1: El mundo del emprendimiento social. Concepto, ideas de negocio y motivación. Módulo 2: Buscando apoyo: fuentes de financiación y formas organizativas. Módulo 3: Cuenta tu historia: el plan de marketing. Módulo 4: El plan de negocio. Como parte del desarrollo de cada módulo, y según lo establecido en la solicitud del proyecto, se ha realizado un estudio en profundidad para recoger el estado del arte actual del mundo del emprendimiento social, mejores prácticas, peores prácticas a evitar etc; para incluir en el desarrollo de cada módulo. Durante el desarrollo del proyecto los socios acordaron recoger toda esta información y crear un documento en formato PDF y publicarlo como un documento extra del proyecto. El fin último de la fase de investigación ha sido descubrir la realidad del emprendimiento en servicios sociales en los países participantes en el proyecto y adaptar el curso a las necesidades reales de los jóvenes, así como investigar sobre las formas más efectivas para orientar la formación, y mejores y peores prácticas en emprendimiento, que puedan resultar en consejos útiles para los nuevos emprendedores. El curso se ha desarrollado en formato PDF y se complementa con actividades on-line auto evaluativas para que los alumnos puedan seguir su progreso en el curso. El curso combina actividades de estudio offline con actividades interactivas online. Para seguir el registro de participantes, el curso se encuentra disponible de forma gratuita en la web de proyecto bajo registro en la misma. Participantes en el proyecto:- 5 personas de cada organización participarán en la producción, prueba y retroalimentación. 20 empleados en total.- 103 estudiantes pertenecientes al grupo objetivo se han registrado en la web del proyecto. -126 participantes en los 4 eventos multiplicadores llevados a cabo. - 1512 trabajadores juveniles, jóvenes y otros stakeholders han sido informados sobre los resultados del proyecto durante acciones de difusión presenciales. - 3914 trabajadores juveniles, jóvenes y otros stakeholders han sido informados sobre los resultados del proyecto durante acciones de difusión online. Resultados e impacto: el resultado principal es el curso de formación desarrollado, y ofrecido como recurso educativo abierto. El curso está disponible en la web del proyecto, en la plataforma de resultados Erasmus+ y en la web de OTLAS (se ha enviado, y está pendiente de revisión por un administrador). El curso se ha desarrollado en inglés y se ha traducido a rumano, búlgaro, español y portugués. El impacto dentro de las organizaciones es el siguiente; se ha incrementado la capacidad y habilidades para trabajar en contextos interculturales, han incrementado su conocimiento sobre emprendimiento y han ampliado su red de contactos de socios potenciales para participar en proyectos relacionados con la juventud y el emprendimiento. Beneficios a largo plazo: a largo plazo los socios han incrementado su conocimiento y habilidades necesarias para trabajar en proyectos Erasmus+, han visto fortalecida su cooperación, y continuarán trabajando en proyectos Erasmus+, ya sea en consorcio o con diferentes socios. Los trabajadores de juventud y los jóvenes pueden beneficiarse a largo plazo de los resultados del proyecto, ya que el curso seguirá disponible durante al menos 5 años más, y se ofrece como material de formación en la web OTLAS para todos aquellos formadores que necesiten materiales.

The project is an example of strategic partnership supporting the exchange of good practices. The partnership is made up of four entities from four EU member states. The project responds to the needs of all Partners. The initiator of the partnership was the leader. The construction of the partnership was guided primarily by the experience and competences of individual entities in terms of target groups and solutions used in partner countries for the benefit of people with disabilities or the tourism industry.The idea of the project was created in June 2017 during a partner meeting in the HORECA project (2016-1-PL01-KA202-026228) dedicated to the activation of deaf people. The president of the Greek Deaf Association, invited to the meeting, pointed out that the tourism industry is only minimally (if any) prepared for the service of deaf people. There are no advertising leaflets or guides adapted to the needs of this group, there is no appropriate offer, travel agency employees or tourist organizations have no knowledge about the needs and expectations of such a target group. This also applies to the blind and visually impaired. As a consequence, deaf or blind people can not take full advantage of the opportunities available to non-disabled people in the tourism industry, they feel overlooked and disadvantaged. In March 2019, during the next partnership meeting, the project proposal received the full approval of the Greek Ministry of Tourism.The main goal of the project is focused on the development, thanks to the exchange of international experience, of good solutions in the field of professional preparation of tourist organizations to support people with sensory disabilities (deaf and hard of hearing people, blind and visually impaired people). As part of the project, it is planned to develop three results that directly match three specific objectives, namely:1) International analysis of solutions for tourist services (groups) of people with sensory disabilities (4 partner countries - Poland, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus), based on a qualitative analysis, preparation of a ranking of solutions.2) Good European practices in tourist services (groups) of people with sensory disabilities.3) The scope of competency gap in the tourism industry in the field of professional service for people with sensory disabilities - recommendations and an indication of the scope of training and training materials for the tourism industry needed for professional service of people with sensory disabilities.The target groups of the project are:─ employees and employers of the tourist industry (tourism organizations and travel agencies) are so-called a group of users, ie people who thanks to the project will be able to professionally serve people with sensory disabilities,─ people with sensory disabilities who will be able to use the offer of the tourism industry to a greater extent.The analyses carried out in the project and the results obtained will allow for better preparation of the tourist industry for the service of people with sensory disabilities. They will also indicate competency gaps to be completed. Taking into account the structure of occupations in the tourism industry, the project results will be particularly important for people preparing the offer and people directly serving customers. Benefits from the implementation of the project will translate into better functioning of the tourism industry entities (the possibility of expanding the group of potential clients for people with sensory disabilities), as well as the possibility of full inclusion of people with sensory disabilities (full use of tourist services).Innovation in the project mainly concerns two areas:1. Target group - people with sensory disabilities and their needs and expectations in service in the tourism industry.2. Methods - assessment of the current situation - inventory of existing solutions and development of recommendations in the scope of training needs, using the knowledge and experience of representatives of two target groups - employees of the tourism industry and people with sensory disabilities.The project should be implemented in an international partnership. The subject has been marginalized or even overlooked for years. Undoubtedly, it deserves to be discussed, analysed and searched for and exchanged good practices (even in the smallest dimension). The current state of knowledge does not allow for professional preparation of a large partnership project for innovation. The partners jointly decided that the project of exchange of experiences would be the best way to look at the situation in tourism in the field of preparation for the service of specific target groups, to which undoubtedly belong people with sensory disabilities.