“Ontological Bridge-building for Climate Change Mitigation in Maasailand” (OBCCMM) is a multidisciplinary project that builds bridges across clashing climate ontologies in Maasailand in Tanzania. This holistic project integrates indigenous knowledge and climate science that is negotiated through ecotheological frameworks. The collaboratively developed core values and learning outcomes are worked into curricula components four target research groups. This project leverages existing educational and societal systems of the church with trusted local leaders for educating and equipping with the best practices of climate change mitigation in Maasailand. This project grows out of recent research that demonstrates a “cognitive dissonance” [clash] between the climate ontologies within the scientific messaging and the traditional Maasai worldview (de Wit, 2020). Thus, the Tanzanian governmental efforts in climate change prevention education are not effective among Maasai, a very traditional people group numbering around two million people in mostly northern Tanzania and southern Kenya, East Africa (de Wit, 2018). However, as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, there is an established basic model of the church providing a strategic role in bridging the cognitive dissonance chasm between the science and a skeptical people group, resulting in effective outcomes (Watt et al., 2009). This project expands the current research; builds upon the previous church-based pedagogy models; integrates indigenous knowledge; collaboratively curates core values and learning outcomes; champions women as the core of the societal structures; and develops innovative pedagogical dissemination with robust analysis of results in order to measure and determine best practices of climate change mitigation in Maasailand. As the local church made a difference in the health of the people regarding HIV/AIDS, the local church can make a difference in the health of the environment.

<< Background >>The COVID-19 pandemic put universities in an unprecedented situation, which led to the cancellation of face-to-face courses and their relocation to the online environment, generating major changes in teacher’s work. The rapid digitalization required teachers and students to use more complex technologies, generating stress related to a lesser-known working and learning environment involving unfamiliar teaching rules. Negative emotions, loneliness, uncertainty, and stress exacerbated the effects of the need to rapidly adjust to emergency remote teaching in the context of the lack of substantial prior experience of using technologies. The COVID-19 crisis heavily impacted education and accelerated the digital transformation of HEI sector.Our project answer the following needs of the target group: the need for support, overcoming digital fatigue, pressure to learn new things, uncertainty, low work engagement. Therefore, the rationale of this project is to help universities to find a balance between digital and nondigital tools in teaching:-The end of crisis will offer information about digital skills which could be integrated and further developed to sustain the teachers use of digital tools with direct impact on the quality of education-Lack of systematic training for the development of digital skills and the use of online teaching methods in neither of the partners’ countries-Unawareness of HEI’s about the consequences of the inefficient use of technology on their own wellbeing and on student well-being and engagementThe target group are university teachers who struggle with the need to adjust to digitalization which become more accentuated during the pandemic, leading to negative emotions, low institutional attachment, digital fatigue, technostress and low well-being. By supporting them to develop their competences to self-regulate their well-being, the project will enhance the quality of the university education and the preoccupation for continuous teacher training. The positive effects will be visible also on the students’ engagement.<< Objectives >>Teacher well-being is highlighted as a topic of concern in education. The use of digital technologies is considered and important aspect of the teaching profession but the link between the use of technologies and their influence on teacher well-being has received limited attention to date. The main target group of the project will be the university teachers working in a more and more complex and digitally challenging environment. The specific objectives of the project are the following: - Raise the awareness of HEIs about the need to implement strategies increasing the well-being of teachers with direct impact on student learning engagement and performances and sustaining an efficient adjustment to the digital era.- Provide teachers tools supporting both work and learning engagement, and digital well-being and resilience.- Develop teachers’ digital competences in the context of the emerging trends of integrating technologies in teaching and learning.The objectives contribute to the development of a healthy and sustainable learning and working environments. Promoting digital well-being eases the inclusion of digitalization in HEI’s more as a job resource than a negative effect. The lessons learned lead to positive effects such as the inclusion of digital skills in the teaching routines, increased collaboration teachers-students or between teachers, increased productivity, and satisfaction.<< Implementation >>Teacher well-being and the use of digital technologies to support teaching and learning) represent one of the main priorities of the European funding programs in education – digitalisation. Therefore, it is crucial to develop instruments and programs able to positively support teacher well-being. The activities in the project will focus on the need of HEI’s to enhance academics’ digital skills and competences for the digital transformation and also to help them cope with the increasing technostress. Teachers need the confidence and skills to use technology effectively to support student learning, to ensure access to learning resources (Digital Education Action Plan, 2021-2027). The specific activities implemented will be: - a quantitative research study on the factors affecting digital well-being of teachers in different European countries; - a transnational training activity for the mentors in each university; - the implementation of a mentoring program for university teachers and the development of a Virtual Centre for Academic Well-being. Mentoring programs will include workload support, coping with negative emotions, disengagement and burnout, dark side of digitalization affecting well-being. The project will focus on solutions to support teachers who experience digital fatigue and those waiting for a return to the “normal”. The results of the project focus on strategies to encourage to use digital tools even after the pandemic;- the development of useful tools to use in the mentoring program and in different teacher training programs ad support activities;- national dissemination activities.<< Results >>The main aim of this project is to enhance teachers digital skills both in the teaching activity and in coping with uncertainty, negative emotions, digital fatigue and stress given the prolonged online remote activity during the COVID 19 pandemic. To achieve this aim, the following results will be developed: -A research report - Quantitative study on the factors affecting digital well-being – An international perspective. -A mentoring program including relevant results such as a workbook for the mentors and a Booklet - Digital Wellbeing: A guide for teachers. These would be relevant outputs which will be used during and after the project, as an innovative approach for handling digital fatigue and challenges in the digital transition era. -Online tools and resources and an e-Learning course for teachers at university level (The Virtual Centre of Digital Well-Being) – as an important supporting tool for teachers.The project will be developed in close cooperation of 4 university partners from 4 countries. All the partners involved in this proposal because their key experts have identified the pressing need for support for university teachers on how to work effectively & efficiently in the digital transition era.

The welfare sector in Europe faces fundamental challenges (demographic change, migration, inclusion, digitalization, etc.), which require new solutions. These challenges can be faced by the development of social innovations that often emerge under market conditions in social startups or social enterprises and which can be politically forced. However, the vast majority of well-established charities are not among the driving forces of innovation. The curriculum provides leaders of established charitable organizations with the opportunity to learn, how to develop social innovation and how to support and empower others to do so. It also offers the opportunity to network with other innovation-oriented leaders in Europe. Central to this Erasmus+ project is the development, testing and implementation of a curriculum and related teaching materials for social innovation in social welfare. The curriculum will be available at the end of the project to empower managers in greater numbers to promote social innovation, with partner organizations committing themselves to acknowledge (accreditation) and implement the curriculum. The program will take place in two cohorts of 12 people each. The participants are characterized by an interest in innovative solutions, entrepreneurial thinking and experience in leadership. The cohorts serve as test runs for the trial, evaluation and further development of the curriculum.The project is organized in 3 phases: in the first year of implementation, the curriculum and teaching materials are to be developed in 2 workshops, participants are to be recruited and selected and the start of the training units is to be prepared. In the second year, the curriculum with a cohort of 12 persons will be carried out, evaluated and developed accordingly:1.Training Unit (TU) in Heidelberg: Understanding of social problems, their framing in different welfare state traditions and their potential for solutions. Introduction to the theory of social innovations and regional examples.2.TU in Bilbao: Understanding of the importance of regional innovation systems. Creation of ideas for one's own social innovation through methodical approaches such as Design Thinking.3.TU in Trier: Further development of the innovative idea from Bilbao into a prototype. Testing the prototype through methodical training and development of a social business model.4.TU in Oslo: Implementation and dissemination of social innovations considering aspects of organizational development. Presentation of the social innovation in a pitch (award of the 3 best innovations). Evaluation and revision of the curriculum and teaching materials.In the third year of implementation: second cohort participates in further education at the four sites as in the first cohort, only with revised curriculum and teaching materials. Re-evaluation of the curriculum and preparation of teaching materials for publication. Multiplier event for dissemination in Brussels.Results: 1. Curriculum is developed, tested and evaluated on 2 cohorts. 2. Teaching materials for the promotion of social innovation are written. 3. An accompanying network of social innovators is set up. 4. A database of European social innovations has been set up.5.The curriculum is accredited as a Diploma of Advanced Studies.The curriculum combines different methodical approaches such as teaching in classical seminar settings, design thinking, lab formats, case studies, practice analyses and a pitch.Impact: At local level, individual social enterprises are supported to develop new social solutions. For the first-time teaching materials for the promotion of social innovations are available for teaching. The participants in the curriculum will be connected in a European network and can exchange ideas and support each other in the implementation of social innovations. The multiplier event presents the curriculum to a variety of stakeholders (umbrella organizations, social enterprises, foundations, policy makers, etc.) and helps to spread the curriculum. A data base provides examples of social innovation for research and teaching.Long-term benefits: Accompanying the project is the build-up of a European network of social innovators and a database of European social innovation examples. Thereby additional participants shall be recruited for further training (also after end of project) and a support network (for the provision of examples of social innovations) shall be established and made available, e.g. to social service providers, researchers and teachers. The aim is to empower a larger number of managers in Europe for the promotion of social innovation and, at the same time, to focus on social innovations in teaching and research. The partner organizations and other European universities will implement the curriculum and train managers themselves.

The aim of the project is to modernize nursing and social work curricula, teaching and facilities in four higher education institutions in Vietnam and Nepal. Improving the situation of disadvantageous communities requires a multidisciplinary approach and proper tools for service provision. There is a demonstrated lack of human and material resources to implement a modern competence-based curriculum in the four institutions. As indicated by IBE-UNESCO, the agency of teachers and students needs to increase to equip learners with 21st century competences.The project establishes a holistic learning network between Finland, Norway, Turkey, Vietnam and Nepal. A multidisciplinary study module on people-centered services will be designed, implemented and assessed. Relevant curricula will be revised to express learning outcomes relevant to the world of work, and the assessment system will be renewed for better agency of teachers and students. E-learning and library tools will be integrated into the process, and intensive courses will be platforms for participatory action research data, later turned into text books. The innovation potential of local students and staff will be enhanced by targeted expert facilitation. Similarly, the ability to operate in EU projects will be improved. A diversified mobility program will complement the sharing of good practices between and inside regions.The DVINE project enables local institutions to take ownership that makes the design of further competence-based curricula a standard. The joint module can be developed further, but the enhanced institutional capacity at all levels will be the most sustainable outcome. Pedagogical guides, academic publications and a new library service concept will underpin the improved capacity in processing global information. Improved educational quality will enable the institutions to promote the dignity of communities and individuals.

The REVAMP project will develop, test and implement an innovative and sustainable transnational freely accessible online training package to enhance medical and healthcare practitioners knowledge and skills, to recognise and understand the health needs and impact of violence, abuse and neglect on victims, thereby improving their health outcomes. The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse (IPVA) as a pandemic, with a 1:3 global prevalence rate in most countries (WHO, 2013). IPVA includes physical, sexual, emotional abuse and controlling behaviours by an intimate partner (WHO, 2012). The WHO (2017) estimates that globally almost 1/4 of adults suffered physical abuse and/or neglect as a child and about 1/3 of women experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or nonpartner sexual violence at some point in their life. Tackling and ending gender-based violence is recognised by the European Commission, and further supported by combating gender-based violence and protecting and supporting victims (European Union, 2017). The Council of Europe indicates that about 1 in 5 children has suffered this type of abuse and that, in 70-85% of cases, the perpetrator was known to the victim. ‘Violence against women and domestic violence continue to be one of the most pervasive human rights violations, both in Europe and beyond’ (Council of Europe, 2014, page 1). The need for effective transnational education of medical practitioners to recognise victims of IPVA is clear due to the plethora of evidence that IPVA is a common problem that has a significant negative impact on individuals and families. Medical and healthcare practitioners will see victims of IPVA on a daily basis given the high number of victims. There has been little attention to producing a robust and freely accessible training. This project will be carried out transnationally as IPVA is prevalent across all countries, and migration might result in a victim trying to access support in several countries. The REVAMP project represents an original approach of joining forces across Europe to deliver this training to all medical and healthcare providers. REVAMP's target group are medical and healthcare practitioners as defined by Eurostat Statistics Explained (2017), where 'practitioner' means a person who delivers healthcare to a person such as: medical doctor, nurse, midwife, dentist, pharmacy, physiotherapist, social worker etc. REVAMP partners are embedded in the delivery of training medical and healthcare professionals, ideally placed to co develop and disseminate the training. REVAMP has the following objectives: 1-To develop a freely available and easily accessed online training package consisting of five modules for medical and healthcare practitioners to enhance their recognition of an understanding of IPVA, thereby improving the health outcome of victims.2- To use innovative teaching methods3- To involve a multi-lateral partnership of institutions4- To contribute to the public health strategy for recognition of victims of IPVA5-To ensure a broad dissemination of findings to relevant stakeholders6-To recognise the new acquisition of skills and knowledge by 5 ECTS for successful participationThe methodology that will apply to the REVAMP project is designed to support the development of an effective and transnationally relevant training programme for medical and healthcare practitioners to enhance the recognition of and understanding of the impact of violence on victims and are able to then refer these victims for ongoing support. REVAMP will be freely accessible from an outward facing website. Using a variety of pedagogical methods to engage medical and healthcare practitioners in the training programme, each of the five modules of the REVAMP training package will present a different aspect of IPVA. REVAMP will be developed into five modules (OCAPA): Orientation to the training package, IPVA and the child, IPVA and the adult, IPVA and the older person, Analysis and Evaluation. The effective open access REVAMP Platform from which the training is accessed is a significant step towards transnational recognition and training of IPVA giving wider exposure and access to medical and healthcare practitioners across Europe. Medical and health care practitioners across Europe will have the opportunity to engage in free and consistent training to support an effective response to victims of IPVA. Training participants will have improved skills competencies resulting in positive impact on the health and wellbeing of the victim. There is currently no standard training focussing on the training of medical and health care practitioners transnationally and REVAMP fills this gap. After completion, this project may be used to develop further trans European training.