"""Between 50% and 80% of students in EU countries never use digital textbooks, exercise software, broadcasts/podcasts, simulations or learning games. Most teachers at primary and secondary level do not consider themselves as 'digitally confident' or able to teach digital skills effectively, and 70% would like more training in using ICTs."" (European Commission release on 'Opening up Education').As the European Commission has identified the digitization of the education and the necessity of modernizing the learning environment for the young Europeans as a top priority, the Digital Education Action Plan has been adapted including actions to support technology-use and digital competence development in education. These actions concern and lead to making better use of digital technology for teaching and learning as well as developing digital competences and skills of both teachers and their pupils. In that framework and based on the idea of introducing a new innovative e-tool accessible and open to all the schools in Europe, we have developed the “VR in School Education & Civic participation” project idea. This 24-months project seeks to expose both teachers and the participating students to a new experience of learning through a Virtual Reality Game. The aim of their participation is to enhance their digital and soft skills while at the same time enrich their knowledge on specific issues that will be explored during different phases of the project. The Virtual Reality Game that will be played by the students concerns a digital simulation of the European Youth Council where all participants will express their opinions and make proposals on the issues of:1.Safe use of Internet and social media2.Bulling at schools and Cyber bullying3.Human rights & Multicultural environment in the EU4.European Citizenship & Rights5.Environmental Behavior6.Sustainable Growth in EU7.Circular Economy in EU and abroadDuring the project, both participating students and teachers will follow physical workshops and MOOC on-line courses and will be given guides and information materials so that they get well- prepared before the real-time Virtual Reality game playing. The aim of the workshops is to familiarize themselves with the innovative and non-traditional learning tools which are being applied in the non-formal learning while the aim of the on-line courses is to prepare themselves on the topics that will discuss during the game. These seven topics have been carefully selected as they are trending in the daily life of the students and will also have an added value on their perspective as European citizens. Apart from the direct effect on the students in terms of enriching their skills, attitudes, knowledge and their European identity, the project seeks to influence the teachers as well by exposing them to new, innovating learning models. The project identifies and covers the need for accelerating the digitalization in the education field through an innovative way by providing an inclusive, costless and open tool for the teachers to use in their classrooms. However, the project does not target only the students and their teachers, but it aims to affect all possible stakeholders in the education and training field to acquire such digitalized methods of learning and include non-formal learning tools on their educational procedures. The consortium of the project consists of 8 partners, among which are Experts in the field on non-formal education and the educational activity of the simulation, Schools of secondary level from 4 countries, an SME expert in the digital tools of VR and the Laboratory on Bioeconomy and Sustainable Growth of the University of Piraeus, as an expert in the topics of sustainable growth, environmental behavior. From the project 100 students and 20 teachers from 4 EU member states will be directly benefited and engaged on the development of the module and/or will participate on the testing phase of the intellectual outputs. As all partners are from different countries and have a variety of professional backgrounds, they will bring to the project their expertise, their knowledge of good practices from their national education system ending up in outputs and materials that can – and hopefully will – be broadly used at European level. The project will develop methodology and material for an affordable and flexible way to acquire new skills, advance careers and deliver quality educational experiences for both teachers and students."

"<< Background >>S.M.A.R.T. is a 24-month Strategic Partnership involving 7 partners from 6 different European countries from the youth and digital activities development sectors. The project aims to support and empower youth workers, develop the digital skills of participants and design and implement digital youth activities that will lead to the professional development of participants while at the same time they can be applied to any other form of education and training that is digitally implemented.The idea behind the Strategic Partnership is in the interest of the partners to create a project that will be the continuation of 3 different previous Partnerships (STEPS, VR in School Education and in Civic Involvement & SMART Youth work in youth centers) focusing on the latest developments and needs caused by the pandemic and the general emphasis on policies that promote the digitization of education and training.In summary, the project, through its activities and produced Project Results, aims to develop the digital competences and skills of youth workers, to ensure the inclusiveness of learning opportunities, to develop e-learning, mixed and distance learning skills, to develop digital pedagogical skills of youth workers and to empower them to provide high-quality digital, non-formal inclusive education. Participants in this process will be youth workers and their main feature is that they wish to develop their digital skills in the field of Digital Youth Work (DYW). As a result, people with or without much experience in the field of Youth will be sought who are interested in gaining a background in digital tools and methodologies that will allow them to adapt their work to the new trends of digital activities in the youth field.The expected results of the project are identified in empowering and educating youth workers to be able to understand how digitization shapes societies, including its impact on education and the youth sector in general, to take into account the 'digital culture' of young people, to foster a more flexible culture in the adoption of digital tools in education , to design DYW actions in line with the needs and hopes of young people and to encourage the participation of young people in all phases of DYW.This will be achieved through the development of a series of Project Results which focus on the development of MOOC courses and their attendance by participants on various aspects and tools of DYW and Digital Training, the creation of VR environment for the implementation of activities aimed at young people, the pilot implementation of youth activities by the participants themselves and , finally, the creation of a toolbox containing tools, methods and applications useful in the field of Digital Education and Training based in the field of DYW.In summary, S.M.A.R.T.focuses on achieving a triple impact. First, it seeks to create opportunities for organisations, trainers and youth workers to innovate. Secondly, it aims at the increased use of Open Educational Resources, ensuring that educational materials produced with European or public funding are free, open and available to all for use or reuse. Finally, it seeks to improve the infrastructure of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and connectivity in youth centres.<< Objectives >>The COVID pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to all types and levels of learning, including vocational education and training (VET). An entire generation of young people may suffer disruption to their learning experience if it is not ensured to continue through distance learning. There is an urgent need for a response that focuses on the needs of every young person during the global recovery from the pandemic, especially those at risk of early retirement, such as learners with less favored socio-economic backgrounds, refugees and migrants, trainees with disabilities and special educational needs. The target group of the project is youth workers, because they are those who come into direct contact with the above-mentioned high-risk groups for exclusion or limited access to digital education, and must enrich their knowledge and acquire innovative tools in order to meet this new challenge that also affects learners, teachers and trainers around the world.In addition, the provision of training for the acquisition of digital skills and competences should be taken into account, as not all learners have equal skills, resources or opportunities to participate in distance learning and e-learning. Finally, providing personalised support is crucial during this global crisis, which has widened and reinforced the digital, social, emotional, cultural and economic inequalities that many learners have already had to deal with.With the global crisis caused and the closure of educational structures and youth centres, continuity of learning can only be ensured thanks to the digital skills, flexibility and creativity of trainers to develop creative solutions with online resources and that is where the project is aimed. Unfortunately, not all trainers and youth workers are equally prepared for this process. In a profession that is mainly practiced in its traditional form, where personal interaction and proximity are necessary, social distancing certainly poses new roles and challenges for them.Online learning environments invite them to demonstrate high-quality digital skills and confidence in the use of online conferencing solutions. They must also be vigilant about increased cyberbullying and protect young people from being disconnected from the ""real world"", paying attention to the time they spend online. Trainers should also work with employers and social partners to share their material online or produce new digital learning tools.During the pandemic, digital course delivery, which also allows for online professional learning opportunities for instructors, has become the norm. Under the current conditions, online modules are required to develop the digital skills of trainers and their equipment with the necessary digital knowledge.The aim of the project is to support and empower youth workers in the development of digital competences, the design and implementation of digital activities for youth and their professional development.Objectives:1. The development of digital skills and competences of youth workers2. Ensuring the inclusive nature of learning opportunities3. The development of e-learning, mixed and distance learning skills4. The development of digital pedagogical skills of youth workers5. Empowering youth workers to provide high-quality digital, non-formal inclusive education<< Implementation >>The activities included in the plan that are not related to the creation of Project Results are found in the following categories:a. Communication/ Promotion of the project and its resultsb. Exploitation of a CREBRUM digital platformc. Creation of Guides for the proper implementation of the project and activities of thea. Communication/ Promotion of the project and its results-For the proper and effective communication and cooperation of the project partners, in addition to the official Transnational Meetings established at specific times during its life cycle, it has been jointly decided to hold continuous informal meetings in which the trainers and other staff of the organisations concerned, such as the technical support team, etc., will be invited on a case-by-case basis. These meetings will be held through a digital platform in its professional publication e.g. ZOOM, Microsoft teams. -With regard to the promotion of the project, provision has been made for the creation of the visual identity of the project, which requires the involvement of a graphic designer in order to approach the identity of the project professionally by strengthening its footprint to all interested parties.-As a basic means of promotion and sharing results, the website that will be created will remain operational and remain active even after its completion.- As the dynamic presence on social media is perhaps the most effective promotional channel, we will proceed to the promotion of Facebook ads and the implementation of native advertising (mainly during the early stages of the project)- In order to enhance the visibility of the project and its objectives, it is planned to implement a Kick-Off event in Athens during which all target groups will be invited to attend, to share their objectives and possible ways of involvement in the project.- The project will also be supported by the creation of (mainly digital) dissemination materials such as gadgets, brochures, posters etcβ. Exploitation of digital platform CEREBRUM (www.cerebrum.gr)The online courses that will be created will be hosted on the CEREBRUM digital platform, which is an interactive educational platform, friendly to its use and with the capability of direct communication of users. In order to maximise its use, this platform should be adapted to the language and learning requirements of this project. The CEREBRUM platform was created by the coordinating body itself based on the Strategic Framework of the European Union ""Education and Training 2020"" with the aim of promoting good practices, highlighting new skills and academic development in Greece and Europe.c. Creation of Guides for the proper implementation of the project and its activities For the proper implementation of the project, provision has been made for the creation of a set of Guides which will contribute to the more efficient management of the whole project and to the better implementation of the activities contained therein.In detail, we will proceed to the creation of the following Guides:- Communication Strategy Guide- Quality Assurance Guide- GDPR Guide- VR Environment User's Guide- CERABRUM Platform Registration and User’s Guide- MOOC Courses Guide<< Results >>The project essentially provides for 4 core activities in the form of four different but interrelated Project Results (PRs). In summary, these are:1. MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) or Mass Free Online Courses for the Digitization of Education and the Use of Digital Tools2. Virtual Reality Platform for the implementation of digital activities for youth workers3. Pilot implementation of digital activities4. Create a digital toolboxInitially the partner-head of MOOC PR, in collaboration with the other partners, will create the mass lessons. This PR is also the backbone of the overall project, as it aims to educate youth workers on a variety of topics related to digital education, digital tools, distance learning, etc. MOOC practically empowers and trains youth workers so that they can further develop any existing digital skills and competences, but above all be able to develop new ones, become familiar with the use of innovative digital tools, and eventually be able to develop and use creative educational methodologies making the most of the available online resources that will be concentrated in the Digital toolbox. The use and exploitation of these open source and free courses largely ensures an educational process that does not exclude anyone due to geographical, cultural, social or economic constraints.In addition, the nature of these online courses and the structure of educational content are such that they do not require the physical presence of the user at certain times and days. Users are free to formulate their own monitoring and participation schedule in the various course chapters of MOOC, in their own free time, and even at the end of each chapter have the possibility of repetitions, self-evaluation of their progress through special tests and questions to the instructors.The Virtual Reality Platform for the implementation of digital activities emerges as an evolution after the end of the MOOC training process and offers learners the possibility of simulating an environment that provides a high degree of interaction and direct contact of the user with it. The VR environment will act as a safe field of experimentation on the knowledge and theory gained by the trainees in the first stage of the project. Within the platform users will be able to simulate electronic, mixed and distance learning and learning environments, safely, and with the help of modern technological tools, thus developing the corresponding digital and pedagogical skills and competences described in the project results section.The Digital Activities Pilot Application is the general rehearsal for the implementation of the planned results of the project. Through its implementation, the consortium will have the opportunity to better evaluate the results of the first 2 PRs in an ""experimental"" phase, to respond to any problems that may arise and to resolve them using the method of back testing. This means that the consortium will carry out evaluation actions of the first two PRs using evaluation methodologies that are rigorous, systematic and continuous.Finally, the Digital Toolbox that will be created, and will be open and free of charge accessible to all, ensures the continuity of the project beyond its official ending date, as it will continue to be enriched with material from all partners. The Toolkit provides learners with the most innovative and up-to-date digital applications for the development of new pedagogical methods and the implementation of digital interactive workshops."

"The ""Cities for YOUth"" project focuses on the exchange of good practices on youth policies at the local government level from various European countries and the development of soft skills and international cooperation between youth and people responsible for youth policy. The project will involve three local governments: Starachowice (Poland), Santarem (Portugal) and Klaipeda (Lithuania) and a two non-governmental organization from Spain and Greece. All partners have extensive experience in the implementation of youth policy and activities targeted at young people. The project will include 3 Transnational Project Meetings concerning project coordination, youth policy, Youth City Councils, activities for youth and non-formal education. The meetings will be attended by city authorities, officials, people responsible for decisions and youth. Additionally, there will be a training for young people in Spain about soft skills and generating ideas. Young people from different countries will have the task to develop an initiative that will be carried out jointly during the celebration of the European Youth Capital in 2021 in Klaipeda. At the end of the project there will be a publication presenting a description of youth policies in each partner city and a description of project activities."

"<< Background >>Nowadays, all countries in Europe have seen the arrival of third-country nationals in need of international protection or of a defined immigration status, and the legal framework at European and national level doesn’t change the fact that municipalities all over Europe struggle in delivering integration-related service, and turn to the youth work sector to find support and expertise. Therefore, we believe that this project will allow municipalities in different countries to meet and share best practices and models coming from all over Europe, and discovering innovative and integrated ways to made information and services available for young migrants, young refugees and youth with migrant background, being aware that in a multicultural society and/or community, residents are better at recognizing and valuing differences, national cohesion is boosted (increase in civic engagement within the population) and equity, over equality, is valued.The integration of immigrants and of beneficiaries of international protection bases itself on clear principles and indicators such as legal integration (residency, family unity and reunification, access to citizenship), socio-economic integration (housing, employment, vocational training and employment-related education, health, social security), and sociocultural integration (education, language learning and social orientation) - 2019, NIEM.For what concerns municipalities, there is a gap between the national, regional and local data on immigration, causing a distortion in the effectiveness of integration policies and a lack of evidence in developing such policies. In addition, local authorities often lack an adequate coordination with central governments, and local civil servants are not always equipped with the necessary skills to ensure equal access to the same services for all. For these reasons, often municipalities outsource NGOs, CSOs, and private partners in delivering services for migrants’ and refugees’ integration, facing challenges such as long selection procedures, lack of coordination mechanisms and potential competition with services provided by public agencies. (EC and OECD, 2019)While it’s a fact that in recent years NGOs, CSOs and youth organizations have also started to address the challenges that the ‘refugee crisis’ is bringing to European youth work, it is also a fact that long-established and traditional youth work struggles to reach such target groups that do not share the same cultural references as the majority of the population (EC, 2014).Nevertheless, these same target groups represent one of the core areas across youth policies and funding programmes (Erasmus+ “Inclusion and Diversity Strategy in the field of youth work” - December 2014) and youth work plays an important role in supporting the inclusion of young refugees, and in developing competences of active citizenship and democratic participation (CoE, April 2019).For all of these reasons, we believe that this “grey area” should be tackled at European level, sharing and exchanging the added value of integration within local communities in different countries and therefore recognizing the common benefit of the active participation in society of young migrants, young refugees and youth with migrant background.<< Objectives >>We this project we aim to:-Map and identify good practices on the integration of youth with migrant background, young refugees and young migrants at local level with an integrated approach, that considers different indicators (legal, socio-economic, and socio-cultural integration) and different stakeholders (local authorities, CSOs, NGOs, youth workers);-Develop quality indicators that will allow local authorities to assess the impact of good practice on migrant and refugee integration;-Create an instrument (an assessment tool for “Migrant Youth Friendly City”) that enables local authorities together with CSOs, NGOs and youth workers to evaluate their integration policies;-Develop guidelines containing the actions that local authorities involved in the project will undertake in order to increase the rate on the “Migrant Youth Friendly City” scale, during and after the period of the project implementation;-Encourage active citizenship of youth with migrant background, young migrants and young refugees, actively involving them in the project, developing their sense of belonging at local level and promoting their participation in decision-making.<< Implementation >>During the first Transnational Project Meeting, one of the preparatory work of our partners is connected with the identification of external stakeholders at European, national, regional and local level, that we aim to keep informed and updated about all the projects developments, to ensure an actual sustainable dissemination strategy, instead of a punctual one at the end of the project.The following activities will be carried out for each project result:(1) Transnational Partners Meetings3 Transnational partners meetings are foreseen that will ensure project management, implementation, monitor and evaluation.(2) Learning, Teaching, Training ActivitiesIt will be design two Training Courses “Integration policies at local level"" and ""Migrant Youth Friendly Cities: a scale of reference"". These are key activities that will support and consolidated the content produced for the project results. It will involve a diverse target group composed by municipality workers in the field of youth and/or integration; youth workers or representative of a CSO/NGO active in the field of integration and young migrants or young people with a migrant background(3) Publication on models and strategies of integration at local levelNational press releases, International dissemination (European Commission, Council of Europe, EYRICA, EUCIS-LLL, European Schoolnet, European Youth Forum Corriers, Intercultural Cities Network, etc) via e-mails, face-to-face presentation at national level with target audiences and relevant stakeholders. The publication will be available online in PDF format through online platform, and relevant international platforms, sites.(4)Assessment tool “Migrant Youth Friendly City” and Guidelines for a “Migrant Youth Friendly City”National press releases, International dissemination (European Commission, Council of Europe, EYRICA, EUCIS-LLL, European Schoolnet, European Youth Forum Corriers, Intercultural Cities Network, etc) via e-mails, face-to-face presentation at national level with target audiences and relevant stakeholders. The publication will be available online in PDF format through online platform, and relevant international platforms, sites.(5)Local Seminarseach partner country will organize a Local Seminar with 25 participants each, to spread the Intellectual Outputs, raise awareness on the project, and individuate new municipalities for the implementation of the tool and the guidelines. The Local Seminars will allow the project and its results to reach capillary within each partners’ country the relevant groups and stakeholders targeted by the project itself.(6)Final ConferenceThe Final Conference will will involve the project coordinators and the representatives of a CSO/NGO involved in the Transnational Project Meetings, an additional stakeholder per country, and 30 stakeholders from the hosting country (Greece). The Final Conference will be the main international stage of presentation and launching of the assessment tool (IO2) and the guidelines (IO3), together with the publication (IO1).<< Results >>The project will have three main projet results:- A publication (IO1) that will compile best practices and models of integration at local level, allowing municipalities from different European countries to take inspiration from them for innovative and creative integration policies and strategies.- An assessment tool “Migrant Youth Friendly Cities” (IO2), which will be created during the project with the support of all of the partner organisations and the involvement of the target groups of the project itself. The assessment tool will allow municipalities to analyse and test the integration level of young migrants, young refugees and youth with migrant background within their area/community, considering different sets of indicators, from legal, to economic, to cultural. The assessment tool will be tested during the project, and it will be made available in all of the languages of the partner countries, allowing municipalities from different European countries to understand better their integration processes and where do they stand on a broader stage. One of the aims of this tool will not only be to analyse the current state of art, but also to plan out and facilitate the creation of guidelines for the improvement and development of integration policies at local level, allowing the said target groups (young migrants, young refugees and youth with migrant background) to overcome the lack of resources and recruitment networks for their active participation in society, and therefore become actors of the decision-making processes at local level, even after upon the completion of the project itself.- A set of guidelines for the implementation of the assessment tool “Migrant Youth Friendly Cities” (IO3) within municipalities, as a result from the testing phase of the tool itself."

The vision of the “STEPs Youth Centers” project lays on the promotion of equality in chances across Europe in terms of education against every cultural, economic, social and geographical obstacle for the young people. Thus, the project aimed to contribute to issues of social inclusion, entrepreneurship, citizenship and employability by pursuing two key objectives. On the one hand, the “STEPs” aimed at creating the appropriate pedagogical methods, based on e-learning modules in order to make the idea of on-line education more attractive to young people in Europe. The key objective of the project was to offer young people with fewer opportunities as well as the rest of the target groups an attractive space which will host them, aiming to utilize and foster knowledge, empower their skills and develop their capabilities to reach the demands of a globalized world, offering equal opportunities and open access to a range of activities. Within the Project, the Consortium formed by youth organizations and Municipalities from 4 EU Member States shared knowledge and expertise and cooperated on forming tools of ICT that offered equal and inclusive opportunities to young people who wish to improve their competences and reach the demands of the labor market.The activities that have been undertaken during the 24-months “STEPs” project included informative meetings at the first phase of the implementation in each partner country which aimed at contributing to the dissemination of the project itself while promoting the project activities to our specific target groups. With the expertise and cooperation of the project partners, intellectual outputs were developed, transnational meetings were carried out among partners for monitoring reasons and multiplier events were also took place for the exploitation of the project outputs. Moreover, a study visit to the Radam 72 Youth Center in Sweden took place aiming to provide the partnering Municipalities with inspiration and motivation for creating their own local Youth Centers. Through the project, specific target groups benefited and developed their skills and the needed network to expand the possibilities of the work future.1. Pupils of High Schools, who learned about the EU, acquire communication skills in a foreign language, develop an intercultural attitude through interactive, innovative and experiential learning methods.2. Teachers trained on new methods of non-formal learning, funding opportunities in the EU for their schools and enhance their personal and professional development3. Unemployed or Employed young people (18-30 years old) trained on social entrepreneurship and employability in the EU and funding opportunities.4. Municipal Employees in the field of youth, trained in order to sustain the Youth Center in the future.The intellectual outputs that were developed within the project included the Educational Guide for the Youth Centers' Interactive Trainings and Workshops, the Educational Material and Methodology of the Online Academy MOOC Courses and the Practical Guide on How to Create Youth Centers. The first IO included the methodological Approach on the subjects of the project. The theoretical methodology and the educational approaches that are analyzed within the Intellectual Output are based on the non-formal education and lifelong learning. The Educational Material and Methodology of the Online Academy MOOC Courses that was developed as the IO2 included the content of the MOOC Courses on the subjects of European Citizens’ Rights and EU opportunities, Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, European programs for the youth, education and entrepreneurship, Creative employability for an intercultural attitude, European educational materials for teachers, Smart Cities and the field of 3D-printing.The third IO of the STEPs project concerned the development of the Practical Guide for the creation of Youth Centers across country including information on the practical and bureaucratic issues as well as sources of funding, available programs and trainings that can be incorporated within a Youth Center and pedagogical approach of all the abovementioned. The aim of the development of the abovementioned Intellectual Outputs was to bring together all the above target groups and address critical challenges, such as digital literacy for young people and stimulate the usage of ICT and change attitudes. With the use of the rapid development of technology, our project aimed to create an “Online Academy” through the e-learning platform, CEREBRUM, which has been developed by IRTEA seeking at providing high-quality education across the narrow borders of a typical classroom. We believe as of crucial importance the application of highly innovative and technologically advanced tools in order to make user friendly and more specifically – youth friendly – instruments of policies.