"CONTEXT The European Commission perceives as a vital challenge the fact that the European citizens are disengaged and often apathetic and alienated from the traditional forms of politics (especially voting) or organisational membership. For the partners, civic engagement goes beyond traditional politics. We believe that Adult and Community Educators can be better prepared to support the civic engagement of adults and seniors. Thus, we propose an innovative learning environment for the promotion of civic engagement of adults and seniors. OBJECTIVES The project ADULATION (acronym which also means admiration or praise) aims in the promotion of civic engagement of adults and seniors through adult education. The direct target group is adult and community educators. The end beneficiaries are adult and senior learners with fewer opportunities. PARTICIPANTS 12 Adult Education professionals will attend a transnational Joint- staff Training Event. Based on the methods they will learn they will provide online pilot training to 10 adult educators in their countries (40 people) who are expected to engage 5 adult and senior learners each (200).More than 120 people representing the project target groups and stakeholders will attend the Dissemination Workshops. 45 people with fewer opportunities will be involved in the project activities. ACTIVITIES & METHODOLOGY One joint-staff training with the use of blended learning; face-to-face non-formal education and online self-directed learning. Each partner will implement at least 4 meetings (total, 16) with local stakeholders. The partners will run 4 campaigns on the social media on topics of interest of adult and senior learners. One project website will be created and sustained for 5 years.The project will have its own branding concept and digital presence in all major social platforms. The partners will disseminate the progress of the project, the intellectual outputs (Research Study, Handbook, Training Toolkit, Toolkit for Successful Online Campaigns and Petitions), the activities and events and the impact on the target groups. They will use classic media and face-to-face events but they will also follow a social media strategy and planning. The visibility efforts will focus on Erasmus+ and the opportunities it represents for European citizens. The communication with the players involved in Adult Education will be facilitated following a Stakeholder Dialogue Model. The innovative methodologies of the project go beyond the educational aspect and they cover project management (Kanban method and the PM² Methodology of the European Commission for risk and quality management based on the deming cycle Plan, Do, Check and Act), risk assessment (Traffic Lights method), and collaboration and communication with online tools. RESULTS A. INTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS 1. Research Study with the method of questionnaire surveys Research: ""The political dimension of the work of adult educators in Cyprus, Belgium, Hungary, and Italy"" (based on the European Training Strategy and the Trainer Competence Model). 2. Handbook ""Managing active citizenship initiatives with adult and senior coordinators and volunteers"". 3. ""ADULATION Training toolkit to enhance citizenship of adult and senior learners"". Methods and topics: a) Photovoice to promote Human Rights and Climate Change;b) Educational Animation (Video) to promote the right of the EU Citizens to Data protection and online privacy;c) Storytelling to ignite the dialogue on migration and tolerance to difference;d) Kahoot! Quizzes to challenge Euroscepticism. 4. ""ADULATION Toolkit for Successful Online Campaigns and Petitions"". B. OTHER RESULTSManagement plan, Quality Assurance Plan, 4 Risk assessment exercises, 4 Event Reports from TPM and 4 from pilot testing training, Interim and a final evaluation report, Dissemination Plan, Dissemination documentation, Exploitation plan, attendance lists from all TPM, training and multiplier events, logo and branding concept, 4 newsletters in 4 languages (16), Promotional Video, Guidelines on Stakeholder Dialogue Model, Database of associated partners and stakeholders, etc. IMPACT The project will provide Adult Educators with an opportunity for professional development and practical educational tools to use in their work with Adult and Senior Learners. Competence Development will result in greater civic engagement for the learners; mainly those with fewer opportunities. LONGER TERM IMPACT Adult education professionals will obtain educational tools to ensure that adult and senior learners with fewer opportunities become active citizens and volunteers. Greater civic engagement is the foundation for social change and can impact countries and regions throughout Europe. With our research we expect more organisations at international level to be motivated to conduct further research resulting in further improvements in adult education."

Looking over the Horizon - horizontal priorities in research and in everyday challenges of the researchers' career! The main objective of “FAWORIT 2014-2015” is to overcome the prevailing stereotypes about researchers and contribute to the enhancement of their public recognition through aspects of innovation, gender, mobility, international research and lifelong learning. We address the future generation and show the attractiveness of research career – with a special awareness campaign with developing „SciMotion” with our industrial and school partners. We focus on the target group from the age of 5 to 24, but we aim to address all age groups with attractive programmes. The series of events at 20 locations will focus on the Researcher through his/her career and the lively experiences of scientific life. The public will be “edutained” during the Nights: scientific presentations will be mixed with entertaining elements. There is going to be e.g. an „IQ obstacle race”, an exhibition of researchers’ hobbies, a laser show and HiTech Pubs. The target audience can thus discover that the life of the researcher is fascinating, cool and attractive. Our objective is to have around 20,000 visitors at the events, but a multiple of that number (around 500,000) will see, hear or read about the Nights. We are planning to raise awareness of the European engagement in R&D&I with the active participation of MC Fellows. In the European Corners and at each venue related programmes of the European Union and the Marie Curie Actions will be visible. The structure of the consortium (stakeholders from academia and industry, from non-profit and for-profit organizations, with the contributing participation of schools, a cluster, a multinational company and a media partner), the elaborated concept/workplan and the involvement of strategic media partners will guarantee the success of the project. We are also keen on to participate in the celebration of the10th anniversary of Researchers’ Night.

The SECURE2 project aims to pilot and implement recommendations from the European Framework for Research Careers (RCF) to improve research career progression and mobility within research-performing organizations (RPOs) and research-funding organizations (RFOs). This project builds on the previous SECURE project and expands its scope to a four-year duration, allowing a more extensive and impactful implementation of RCF recommendations. SECURE2 will provide a 2+-year trail within the 4-year project, to effectively implement the more difficult and time-intensive actions and recommendations. The overarching Aim of SECURE2 is to: • Build upon the completed ERA50 project SECURE, using SECURE expert partners and the pilot RPOs and RFOs experience in implementing Action Plans (APs) for institutional change. • Use and adapt best practice tools from the SECURE project, in particular, the ‘RCF Actions selection’ tool as the basis of guiding the pilots to select their interventions. • Foster the development of ecosystems for research positions by promoting collaboration between researchers, research managers, and administrators, facilitating active participation from all stakeholders, and ensuring that the co-design, implementation, and evaluation of the RCF are rooted in the practical needs of both academic and non-academic sectors. SECURE2 employs a three-tiered approach to ensure representation and consensus building of key stakeholder groups in the research and innovation ecosystem: (1) large consortium ensuring expert partners (2) open consultations with the stakeholder community to co-design and validate key project outcomes (3) advisory board of key representatives to ensure independent expert oversight and connection to policymakers.