<< Objectives >>The Sparkle project will address the gap in the non-formal education of marginalised youth in 4 EU countries, reflecting on the importance of extra-curricular aspects of the arts and sports as tools for improvement of the youth key competences required by the contemporary multicultural European society. The project aims to facilitate the inclusion of young people in any disadvantaged situation (immigrants, refugees, NEETs, ESL, rural youth, ethnic minorities) and improve their employability.<< Implementation >>The main output delivered will be a Training Toolbox for Youth Educators, meeting the needs of marginalised young people. Joint staff training will gather youth workers from BG, DE, ES & PL to exchange best practices and acquire knowledge on sport & art approaches, which later will be applied in pilot seminars with young learners in each country. Two partners' meetings, video conferences, focus groups & social media form part of the management, dissemination, evaluation and follow-up activities.<< Results >>As long-term benefits are expected the empowering & re-skilling of marginalised young learners in the 4 partners' regions and other EU countries, thanks to the transferability of the developed outputs; equipping youth educators with new tools, using sport & art approaches; supporting the social inclusion of vulnerable youth, providing quality tailored education; networking at EU level for development of key competences and improvement of the basic and transversal skills of the young EU citizens.

Digital inclusion of adults - let’s learn from examples of good practices [DigiAdults] project intends to explore end evaluate the impact of the use of digital tools and the Internet in the empowerment of a variety of categories of learners at risk of social marginalisation, then drawing out implications of findings in terms of guidelines for trainers involved in formal, nonformal and informal education, and generating a collection of case studies and best practices, assembled on an online resource center. The Partnership intends to address this issues by: a) Exploring the way digital tools can be used to empower people in a personal and professional perspective, and as citizens and consumers; b) Exploring new approaches and methodologies to promote digital inclusion through the identification of individual motivations and needs, followed by effective steps to improve technical abilities; c) Drawing out implications of findings in terms of guidelines for trainers involved; d) Creating an online resource center hosting a collection of case studies and best practices.In order to achieve such objectives, the approach considered by the Partnership primarily involves mapping digital literacy practices, programs and methodologies developed through the use of ICT, as well as tools involved in such practices, supporting various groups of persons at risk of social marginalisation. Partners then test a series of such tools (through workshops, courses or any other type of non-formal or informal educational activities), each with their respective target group, present to each other and compare testing results, and ultimately collate guidelines for trainers involved in formal, non-formal and informal education, and a collection of case studies and best practices. The partnership was conceived to be variety, working with a wide range of diverse target groups of adult learners (e.g. young adults, seniors, employed, unemployed), specifically in order to allow the mutual learning to cover a similarly wider range of experiences to develop on. The context is in line with Europe 2020 strategy which prioritized delivering growth that is: smart, through more effective investments in education, research and innovation; sustainable, thanks to a decisive move towards a low-carbon economy; and inclusive, with a strong emphasis on job creation and poverty reduction. While all such priorities rely on a proper exploitation of the benefits and opportunities offered by the information society in a digital age, the priority focused on inclusion is particularly affected by a low degree of media literacy. Low digital skills are follow also by low participation in adult learning.Acording to the „Education and Training Monitor 2018 Country Analysis” EU average as concern overall participation in adult learning is 10.9%. This Partnership assembles organizations from countries,with the exception of Austria (15.8 %) where the percentage is lower: Poland 4.0%; Czech Republic 7.5%; Latvia 7.5%; Spain 9.9%.Also, in Austria 70 % of those aged 25-64 possessed basic or above-basic overall digital skills,above the EU average of 59 %; in Spain 56%; in Poland, Czech Republic and Latvia the percentage is much more lower. In addition, acording to the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) - 1/5 of the adult population of Europe does not have sufficient so-called basic skills (including digital skills).Currently, and for the foreseeable future, our entire environment is not only permeated, but mostly defined by various forms and types of media, with 'new'/digital media covering most aspects of daily life. Moreover, the advent of digital technologies has increasingly generated a series of digital practices intervening at all levels primarily in urban public spaces. This very quick evolution brings the 'digital divide' into a new paradigm, with persons at risk of social marginalisation and exclusion rendered vulnerable on multiple levels. Development of digital skills and acquirement of media literacy play a huge role in employability and equal societal participation. The digitally illiterate are missing out on social and economic opportunities and on easy access to online public services that can save time and money. The importance of spreading digital literacy couldn’t be clearer: those without sufficient ICT skills are disadvantaged in the labour market and have less access to information to empower themselves as citizens, as consumers, their lack of the skills, confidence and means to use digital media severely limits their abilities to participate in today's society. The future is digital and digital literacy needs to be embedded in all levels of education and training.

The main goal of the „Active through education” project is to improve the methods of teaching people 60+, based on proven methods of education in Europe and active aging. As a result of long-term cooperation, we will develop proposals for teachers, trainers and staff of non-governmental organizations and public institutions, providing informal education for senior citizens. The materials will contain issues concerning the different ways to motivate senior citizens to learn, how to use the potential of non-governmental organizations and libraries in education of 60+ people, how to use cultural classes and soft skills training, how to use media, smartfons and Internet in a safe way - and can be used also by senior citizens themselves, volunteers and local community animators. In all partner institutions we have adult learners who come to our organizations to learn in order to improve skills for their social and personal development or to obtain skills which will enable them to access the current digital world as citizens and consumers. We need to find new teaching methods to encourage senior listeners to engage with the education, and give the learners the confidence to believe in their own learning potential. Consequently, this partnership will try to explore new methods for teaching mature adults, thus encouraging learners. The other aspect of the project is to give adult educators the opportunity to share and learn from colleagues in Europe.The project will be divided in two phases:- 1st phase: It will be dedicated to research, find information and develop ideas related to the different didactic methods. At the end of this period a Short term training event for adult educators will be organized. Teaching methods that will be practiced during the project and shared during LTTA include: How to use the potential of non-governmental organizations and libraries in education of 60+ people; How to use cultural activities and soft skills training for the benefit of seniors - theatre of the oppressed, biographic narrative interviews, bread therapy, etc.; How to use social media and Internet in a safe way; Memory training and mind exercises for seniors; Videoconferencing as a tool of communication especially in the era of pandemics.- 2nd phase: We will dedicate time to examining each method, adapting and implementing the different methods in our ongoing trainings. We will encourage teachers to try some of the ideas proposed. Choose one of the methods according to their teaching style, adapt it to their learners and organization environment and bear in mind that some methods apply to some subjects better than others. The results will be positive, because “trying” is always a good start.Thanks to the implementation of the project we will gain very important experience in the international project management, including the development of practical skills related to the organization of transnational meetings, conferences and dissemination of the results, as well as increased language skills of staff and teachers. We also appreciate the value of the partnership, exchange of experiences and sharing resources, also at the local level.The context is in line with a new adult education priority that has been added in the revised 2020 Programme Guide: „Promoting Erasmus+ among all citizens and generations by offering activities of education and exchanges of experiences to seniors with view to building and adding solidity to the European identity”. The partnership proposes activities that will benefit senior adult learners, especially at risk of social or digital exclusion, where educational support can improve the quality of life.European societies are ageing. In 1950, only 12% of the European population was over age 65. Today the share has already doubled, and projections show that in 2050 over 36% of Europe’s population will be 65+ years old. Said so, older people’s civic engagement and participation has emerged as a key topic for gerontology and public policy, while International organisations, including the United Nations and European Commission, have been prioritizing it as a means to promote active and successful ways of ageing. Project partners countries (PL, BG, RO, ES, GR) have similar problems connected with the ageing of societies. As number of elderly people in the population is growing even faster, one should make sure that senior citizens are strong and actively participating in social life group. Informal and non-formal education is a powerful tool that makes such activation possible. As organizations and institutions working with adults and seniors, all partners have a common goal to improve the methods of teaching people 60+ based on proven methods of education in Europe and active aging.

<< Background >>European societies are ageing. In 1950, only 12% of the European population was over age 65. Today the share has already doubled, and projections show that in 2050 over 36% of Europe’s population will be 65-plus years old. Promoting older citizens’ civic engagement and participation has emerged as key topic to society. Especially in a time where major disinformation campaigns are interfering with democratic processes, with 68% of Europeans admitting coming across to fake news at least once a week in a recent study done by the European Commission in 2018. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that people over 65 share seven times more fake news than young users do in social media. This situation especially got worse with the COVID-19 pandemic where the exposition, traffic, and using of internet to stay informed and share information increased drastically. The spread of both disinformation and misinformation can have a range of consequences, such as threatening our democracies, interfering with elections, polarizing debates, and putting the health, security, and environment of EU citizens at risk. As a major challenge for Europe, it requires a coordinated response of all agents in society and a strong focus on education in media literacy and engagement of all generations towards a mindful citizenship. “LINK” is a 2-years-project that aims to create a non-formal educational strategy for organizations and facilitators to be prepared to promote digital media literacy and a mindful participation of senior citizens in democratic life. It will gather five entities (public and private) from PT, PL, IT and ES with a large and complementary experience in adult education and active aging promotion across Europe, that are motivated in offering lifelong learning opportunities specially design to seniors to allow them to accompany the digital transformation, fight disinformation campaigns and fake news and encouraging them to participate actively in society.<< Objectives >>(1)To create a capacity-building programme to develop digital media literacy and a mindful democratic participation among senior citizens. (2)To empower facilitators and educators on how to promote an active and mindful citizenship among seniors. (3)To encourage the exchange of experience and methodology among partners, reinforcing the network, and increasing organizations’ capacity and educators’ competences.(4)To reflect on democracy pillars and seniors’ fundamental role as European Citizens towards democracy preservation, promoting their social and digital inclusion.(5)To create awareness on how disinformation and propaganda events interfere with democracy, promote critical thinking, media, and digital literacy.(6)To experiment and analyze different digital tools to promote the potential of European Citizenship as a mean to improve civic engagement and social inclusion among seniors.(7)To raise awareness among seniors to the importance of the common EU values, the principles of unity and diversity, reinforcing a sense of belonging to a common European space, creating connections, and providing sense of unity.(8)To provide an opportunity to participate in two transnational educational exchanges among seniors from different countries, reinforcing a European identity and Intercultural learning.<< Implementation >>To develop a non-formal educational strategy to promote digital media literacy and a mindful participation of senior citizens in democratic life, we count with three types of main activities: 1. Creation of an Observatory of Good Practices to promote senior active engagement in democratic life and media literacy across Europe.2. Development and validation of a capacity-building program to work these topics and skills with seniors that gathers: 2.1. One staff training mobility in Spain 2.2 Four Pilots in Portugal, Spain, Poland, and Italy that includes: - Local learning sessions with seniors - 1 Study Visit for senior learners and educators to the European Commission in Brussels - 1 Mobility of Senior Learners in Italy - Final Peer-to-Peer Learning Sessions - Validation/ Impact Analysis of the programme3. Four Multiplier Events – LINKing Fairs - in the four countries.During and after the project, the project team jointly and all partners individually will carry on communication, dissemination, and exploitation activities, establishing an effective quality and evaluation system for ensuring proper monitoring and evaluation of the project management and its results.<< Results >>LINK will empower adult educators and organizations, by creating, testing, and disseminating an innovative pedagogical strategy that addresses critical thinking, active engagement in society, mindful democracy, and promotion of the EU values in later life among senior citizens.We expect to improve the way adult educators and organizations (public and private) address digital media literacy and civic engagement among seniors and to create a strategy that can be replicated among Europe. Starting by impacting the five involved organizations, we want to test and to create guidelines that can be easily adapted to other contexts across EU as adult schools, senior residences and youth education.In parallel, we expect to change the way senior citizens perceive social media and democracy, developing important skills like critical thinking and promoting their mindful participation. We will contribute to their social and digital inclusion, making them aware and identified with the EU common values. Finally, we will contribute to the change needed of the perception of society towards aging and value the role of older citizens in our communities and in our EU as they are also the future of Europe.

There are some emerging trends worldwide, among which this Strategic Partnership spots the so-called global citizenship education and education for sustainable development, whose synergy and interactions can attempt some responses to existing global challenges, in a world increasingly interconnected, aiming at empowering learners of all ages to understand interconnection between local and global issues, letting them become active promoters of more peaceful, tolerant, inclusive, secure and sustainable societies. Global citizenship is defined by UNESCO as a “sense of belonging to a broader community and common humanity”. As such, global citizenship education concerns learning to recognize and respect multiple levels of identity, overcoming cultural, religious, ethnic and other differences, assuming a long-term, root cause approach to the issues related to sustainability in current societies. On the other hand, the overall objective of education for sustainable development is to equip people with knowledge of and skills in sustainable development, making them more competent and confident while at the same time increasing their opportunities for leading healthy and productive lifestyles in harmony with nature and with concern for social values, gender equity and cultural diversity. There’s a growing conviction among scientists, practitioners, policy makers, and relevant stakeholders how deeply the three areas of sustainability, namely economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection, rely on the contribution of educated and informed citizens, which requires a lifelong learning perspective, beginning in early childhood and continuing through all levels of education into adulthood, including both formal and informal approaches. While some important steps have been made to promote global citizenship education and education for sustainable development in schools and formal education, with progress being made, the Partner Organizations are aware of the importance of promoting them in lifelong learning, focusing on adult learning, with further efforts to be made.The new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development clearly reflects this vision of the importance of an appropriate educational response, explicitly formulating education as a stand-alone goal (SDG 4), due to global issues, such as for instance climate change, urgently requiring a shift in lifestyles and a transformation in the ways citizens think and act, to be achieved through the acquisition and development of new skills, values and attitudes. In fact, the Sustainable Development Goal 4, devoted to education, call on Member States to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. In this perspective, education is considered both a goal in itself and a means for attaining all the other Goals, being not merely an integral part of sustainable development, but also a key enabler for it.By the same token, we’re witnessing a growing interest of policy makers, both at EU and Member States levels, towards lifelong learning in general and adult education in particular, culminating in the adoption by the Council of the European Union, of a renewed European Agenda on Adult Learning (EAAL) as part of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training, which has determined the uptake of initiatives in support of the implementation of the Agenda by EU member States.The Partner Organizations intend to frame this Strategic Partnership’s scope and activity within some major initiatives undertaken at world level in recent years such as, for instance, the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals or the Council of Europe “Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education”, underlining a growing awareness of education’s essential role in a sustainable future, an important reference point for all those dealing with citizenship and human rights education, providing a catalyst for action.By the same token, the Partner Organizations are persuaded there’s an obvious link between adulteducation and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. In the light of adult education’s purposes of providing skills, knowledge and competences, promotion of social inclusion, active citizenship, health and personal well-being, its role towards the Sustainable Development Goals is twofold: on one hand it is transversal and a precondition for the achievement of the goals, while on the other hand it is a goal in itself: SDG 4 ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.Adult learning contributes to the achievement of all SDGs by building the foundations of change in thesocial, political, economic, ecological and cultural spheres.