The Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth acknowledges lifelong learning and skills development as key elements in response to the current economic crisis, to demographic ageing and to the broader economic and social strategy of the EU. The crisis has highlighted the major role which adult learning can play in achieving the Europe 2020 goals, by enabling adults - in particular the low-skilled and older workers - to improve their ability to adapt to changes in the labor market and society. Participation in adult learning has continued to fall, from 9,8 % of the 25-64 year-old population in 2005 to only 9,1 % in 2010, thus making the increased ‘ET2020’ target of 15 % by 2020 an even greater challenge. One of the challenges faced today is the fact that some MS do not have comprehensive strategies on Adult Education, whilst, where they exist no measures are taken for updating and monitoring them, identifying gaps and being at the same time in line with the ET2020 strategy. The development of a comprehensive strategy on Adult Education will enable local and national authorities to contribute towards the achievement of the above EU target and increase adults’ participation in education and training in a lifelong learning perspective. The strategy will be in line with other EU tools such as the EQF and NQF as well as the mechanisms for validating non-formal and in-formal learning. What are the effective policies to be taken into account for the development of an effective strategy, who are the major stakeholders to participate in the development of the strategy, how the strategy can be put into practice, what are some practical tools needed to facilitated these processes, are some of the questions that will seek answer during the project lifespan.The project objectives are fully align with the EU priorities and are the following: - Designing and implementing effective strategies for enhancing basic skills for specific adult target groups, increasing incentives for adult training- Stimulating the development and use of innovative approaches and tools to assess and increase the efficiency of public expenditure and the investment in education, training and youth, including through new funding models such as public-private partnerships, cost-sharing, etc. (Erasmus + , horizontal priority) - Evaluating the effectiveness of adult education policies at national, regional and local levels level (Erasmus +, field specific priority).- EU benchmark referring to the Adult Participation in lifelong learning (15% until 2020)- Priorities of the EU Agenda on Adult Learning 2014-15The consortium consist of 6 partners, from 5 European countries which cover a wide range of expertise related to the aims of the DIMA project, as well they have a Pan-European outreach in their activities:1.MOEC has extensive experience in working with cross-discipline and cross-sector project teams and developed educational activities2.CARDET is an international education research center with global expertise in Adult Education strategies3.Maynooth University is composed by experts and professionals, who were involved in various EU Adult Education projects4.Slovenian Institute for Adult Education is the main national institution for research, education, validation & promotional informative activities in the field of adult education5.The National Lifelong Learning Institute set up for the provision and fulfillment of tasks within the area of lifelong learning and further education in Slovakia6.The European Association for the Education of Adults is the voice of non-formal and informal adult education in Europe. EAEA is a transnational, non-profit association with 126 members in 42 countries.The selection of partners has been based on the needs and matching of abilities identified for the successful implantation of the project and the delivery of high quality outcomes, reflected in their profiles, presented in the previous section. MOEC has endeavored to bring together partners from countries at different stages of development relevant to the project target groups and development activities. The consortium has all the skills necessary to support the successful development, implementation and dissemination of the project and the following project activities.1. State of the art on literature and best practices on how strategies are developed and monitored in the adult education2. Needs assessment for collecting research data and empirical information to assess target group needs 3. Development of a practical and innovative toolkit4. Curriculum development and training material5. Online development for further dissemination and exploitation of DIMA toolkit and training material6. E-learning modules and OER7. Pilot implementations in each country with stakeholders. Case studies of implementation will be show-cased in order to convince more stakeholders to utilize project products.

"Teaching and learning in and through visual arts tend to simulate everyday life, connect school life to real-world issues, engage children in meaningful learning processes and provide in-depth experiences. The involvement of students with the processes of contemporary artists could allow the development of meaningful relationships and alternative learning that could inspire their adult lives. Furthermore, students’ interactions with artists’ processes offer a creative space for exploration with media and techniques, ideas, concepts and issues. The proposed CREARTE project focuses on the establishment of creative partnerships between primary schools and visual artists in the framework of visual arts education. It draws upon the priority areas of the ET 2020 process and the target for reducing school drop-out rates, offering an alternative literacy for children of the age of 6-12 to get involved in experiential and cooperative learning by working with visual artists that could act, in this way, as significant role models to inspire creativity. Children's experiences from such cooperations could be transformative, leading also to the ET 2020 objectives for ""improving the quality and efficiency of education and training"" and ""enhancing creativity and innovation"". CREARTE also aims to meet the priority of strengthening the profile, leadership and research role of the teaching professions by providing teachers with new methods, tools and resources so as to design collaborative projects that meet the needs of their students. Additionally the project aims to strengthen education and training paths of educators by delivering high quality training to in-service teachers and build effective partnerships between training providers (advisors, academics, trainers), educational institutions (pedagogical institutes, universities) and policy makers (inspectors at the Ministry, European Chapter of an international association). The project's direct participants consist of 28 experienced educators from 5 countries (Portugal, Spain, UK, Cyprus, Sweden) that are professionally involved with visual arts education for many years. They teach at various levels (universities, in-service professional development, primary schools) or are policy makers. Most of them have participated in EU projects in the past, are involved in academic writing and curriculum development, and belong to visual arts organisations. A number of them hold doctorate degrees and some are visual artists as well. As a number of EU visual arts curricula encourage cooperations with visual artists, CREARTE suggests the development of a European network of professionals that will facilitate the construction of partnerships between primary schools and visual artists' communities. To achieve this, it is proposed to establish a network that will:- develop communication channels and foster professional enhancement for the design and exchange of good practices that involve primary school partnerships with visual artists- establish cooperation between educators, students and visual artists through the development and implementation of school programmes in the framework of visual arts education- develop OER produced during and after the conclusion of the project- design an online artists’ database that will serve as a resource and contact point for schools and artists seeking cooperation across Europe- design a professional development course that will be offered through Key Action 1.CREARTE targets to primary school teachers of the involved countries, as well as teachers of the rest of Europe and the world. The project initiates with the review of existing practices regarding school partnerships with visual artists, and utilise staff expertise for the development of the training events for the 28 participants; it evolves with the training of 120 primary educators at the partner countries as well as the development of the OER platform that will incorporate educational materials; it continues with local school implementations by the trained educators with the involvement of visual artists; it progresses with 3 multiplier events for 240 primary educators at the partner countries; it parallel develops an online artists’ database as a tool for bringing together artists and primary schools; it develops an online academic publication; it fosters the design of a short course that will carry on the project outcomes; it ensures quality control by several assessment strategies and milestone check-ups.The activities that are planned to be maintained after the end of the EU funding include the implementation of new local training activities; the maintenance and dissemination of the OER platform and artists’ database; the dissemination of the online academic publication; the offering of a KA1 short course. The artists’ database will serve as a contact point where artists and educators will exchange knowledge and experiences, and develop cooperative projects."