CONTEXTThe problem of the social exclusion of young people and disintegration in the labour market as a consequence of the absence of key competences for lifelong learning and of entrepreneurial thoughts and behaviour encompasses severe and limiting effects:Increase of:- Nº of young people in situation of exclusion and social disintegration;- Number of young NEETs;- No. of young unemployed.OBJECTIVESPromotion of:1. The empowerment of young people through the development of key competences for lifelong learning and the adoption of entrepreneurial thoughts and behaviour;2. Young entrepreneurship, through the transfer of knowledge and methodologies, methods and tools to start new work;3. The social inclusion of young people, including socially underrepresented groups (such as ethnic minorities and migrants), by creating opportunities and enabling them to integrate into the labour market;4. The empowerment of social agents (such as youth workers, trainers, teachers, etc.) for the work of social inclusion and youth entrepreneurship;5. The potential of the NFE methodology in the empowerment and personal, social and professional development of young people;6. Provide educational institutions with competencies for the incorporation of complementary actions to formal education for the personal, social and professional development of young people;7. Sharing existing good practices based on the intervention programme for the development of key competences for lifelong learning and the adoption of entrepreneurial thoughts and behaviour that will bridge the transition between education and the labour market.PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS1. Young people- Aged between 18-30;- Belonging to underrepresented social groups;- With fewer opportunities;- Attending higher education (preferably in transition to the labour market);- Motivated to participate in the project;- With the ability to disseminate the results with other young people.2. Social agents- Aged over 18 years;- Active at the youth field;- Capable of working and involving young people, incorporating methodologies such as NFE;- With knowledge in the thematic of the project;- Capable of leading and managing the process of direct work with young people in the development of key competences and entrepreneurial thoughts and behaviour;- Capable of disseminating results and influencing young people, social agents and stakeholders.ACTIVITIES AND NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS1. Design, planning and preparation activities10/2019 to 12/2020.Reference of 20 participants.2. Virtual mobility10/2019 to 12/2020.Reference of 20 participants.3. Transnational meetings11/2019; 05/2020 and 11/2020.2 participants per institution.4. TC01/2020.2 social agents per institution.5. Empowerment sessions01/2020 to 09/2020.Reference of 20 participants.6. BM09/2020.5 young people (representing local groups) per institution.7. Monitoring and evaluation and dissemination activities10/2019 to 12/2020.Reference of 20 participants.METHODOLOGY1. ENF: incorporation of dynamic characteristics that encourage personal and social development, such as get to know, ice breakers, group dynamics, reflection, sharing, debate, active construction of knowledge, personal and group evaluation, and development of competences and of entrepreneurial thoughts and behaviour adjusted to the rhythm, expectations and personal goals.2. EF: appropriation for the co-creation of materials that are understandable and based on real knowledge.3. IE: appropriation of the dynamics for recognition and transfer of European social values.RESULTS1. Tangibles- Dissemination materials;- EYE - Entrepreneurship & Youth Empowerment: Manual;- EYE - Entrepreneurship & Youth Empowerment: Manual for Youth Workers.2. Intangible- Competences of the reference framework of the Recommendations of the Council of the EU;- Personal, social, educational and emotional competences;- Inclusive and entrepreneurial thoughts and behaviour;- Experiences of personal, social and professional development.LONG TERM IMPACTS AND BENEFITS- Development of key competences for lifelong learning and adoption of entrepreneurial thoughts and behaviour;- Development of projects and ideas of personal forum, with personal, social and professional impact;- A greater spirit of initiative and entrepreneurship;- Recognition of practices, methods and tools aimed at empowerment young people in the field of social inclusion, entrepreneurship and employability;- Ability to work internationally in partnership and cooperation with other social agents and institutions;- Capacity for direct and reinforced work with young people with fewer opportunities and from underrepresented social groups;- Recognition and access to opportunities for the development of key competences and entrepreneurial thoughts and behaviour, either through the Erasmus+ programme.

ContextThe social problem we tried to overcome is that of scarce investment in young sports entrepreneurship.The project had as strategic objectives the acceleration of ideas in the field of sport, the promotion and training of young people for entrepreneurship and the creation of entrepreneurial projects in the sports field, under the general objective the sharing of good practices and the consequent dissemination of results in the area of young sports entrepreneurship in Europe. ObjectivesGeneral:1. The sharing of good practices and the dissemination of results in the field of young sports entrepreneurship.Specific:1. Promote youth empowerment for entrepreneurship;2. Promote training for intercultural dialogue, active citizenship and social inclusion;3. Promote the development of cultural and social skills in young people that allow participation in multicultural contexts;4. Promote the adequacy of young people's learning to the current needs of the labor market;5. Promote the creation of new businesses/projects with an impact on young employability;6. To promote the training of youth workers as agents of intervention/change in the achievement of the Europe 2020 objectives;7. Promote discussion and sharing of ideas, experiences and experiences;8. Promote the development of a culture of efficiency and effectiveness, quality and responsibility in the field of sport;9. Promote equity and social inclusion through the participation of young people with fewer opportunities;10. Promote NFE as an education/training methodology and Youthpass as an instrument for recognition and validation of competencies. Profile of participants- TM: 2 responsible members of the consortium organizations, who were 18 years of age or older and who work directly with young people in the scope of social inclusion.- TC: 3 youth workers from each organization with 18 years old or over, and who intervene directly with young people in the scope of social inclusion, especially young people with fewer opportunities;- BM: 6 young people with fewer opportunities, for each organization, aged between 18 and 30 years and with training in the field of sport and who shown motivation and interest in participating in an initiative promoting youth entrepreneurship in sport and the consequent social inclusion of young people. Description of activities- TM: three sessions held throughout the project, with the participation of 2 members from each partner organization with experience of the same and the competences in the design and planning, implementation and evaluation of projects, to define tasks, and procedures of management and project planning and implementation, logistical issues, communication and cooperation between the parties involved in the project, among others;- TC: training and preparation of youth workers for 4 days in Guimarães, Portugal. Aimed at the participation of youth workers for their training in the design, coordination and implementation of project activities according to methodology and intellectual outputs developed in the E4SPORT project, for the development of competencies based on NFE methodology, focused on youth entrepreneurship in sports and for involvement in youth social inclusion initiatives;- BM: took place during 5 days, in December 2019 in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal, with the participation of young people with fewer opportunities, motivated to develop skills and learning were carried out through activities of reflection, debate and exchange of intercultural experiences. Applied methodologyThe cross-project methodology was NFE, which focus on the stimulation of reflections and debates based on the development of competences and the sharing of learning experiences. Social outcomes and impacts- Development of social and personal skills in youth and youth workers through NFE;- Promotion of the knowledge of the entrepreneurial practice in the context of sport;- Promotion of sports management skills, relevant both to the creation of a business, to a subsequent work in the field of sport or as a form of personal enrichment;- Obtaining and/or extending the networking network;- Increased motivation and empowerment for active participation in society;- Raising awareness of European social values;- Appreciation of the methodology of NFE in social interventions. Long-term benefits- Enhancement of the capacity of organizations and their technicians for social transformation;- Extension of European networks of partnerships;- Increased social, democratic and cultural participation;- Increased entrepreneurial initiatives in sport based on non-formal education methodology;- Decrease in social exclusion and the unemployment rate in sport.

Europe has been facing the refugee issue since 2015. According to Eurostat, 612 700 first-time asylum seekers applied for protection in the Member States of the EU-27 in 2019, 142,500 of them in Germany. A total of 238,300 people with refugee backgrounds were living in Norway at the beginning of the 2020, according to Statistics Norway.More than three quarters of refugees surveyed by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) have lost income since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. This devastating economic impact is tipping many adult refugees into the unemployment and education crisis.The economic impact of public health measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic is having a devastating effect on refugees. Compounding numerous existing crises and challenges, Covid-19 related travel restrictions, the closure of markets and businesses, and the general economic downturn are causing the refugees to lose work and income as well as inability to access education opportunities.Refugees are among the most vulnerable people in the world and were already facing multiple crises before Covid-19. They have been forced to flee their homes, have limited access to work and education opportunities, often the result of insecure legal status, and in some cases they are faced with continuing violence, or hazards such as locusts threatening their crops. The pandemic and governments’ responses to it tipps adult refugees into a downward spiral that will be difficult to reverse.Creative thinking is an important 21st century skill required both in daily life and business life.The CreAdult project focuses on improving the creativity, design and art skills of refugee adults. This focus will increase their skills development and inclusion, as it will contribute to making them more resilient even in crisis situations such as COVID-19. The first target group of the CreAdult project is adult refugees who are interested in creativity, arts and design and / or have a career goal towards these sectors. Lack of such skills of adult refugees may cause them to experience problems in daily life and business life and face social exclusion. Adult refugees who consume different types of content in order to be creative, follow trends, try to create something every day and create a network for creativity will be able to continue their skill development in this way. The second target group of the CreAdult project is the adult education professionals, trainers, facilitators and mentors who are interested in creativity, arts and design as well as working in the fields of adult education.Think about ''When was the last time you found or did something really new and original?'' Creative thinking skills are a critical part of life, and it is very important to practice on it. For those that consider creativity and innovation to be gifts of nature, it is important to understand it is a skill that can be improved with the right training. In light of all these problems and needs, as the Project Consortium, we believe that creativity, art and design skills can help refugees to meet, communicate and become part of existing communities.The overall goal of the project is to improve the creativity, arts and design skills of adult refugees and to make them more resilient even in crisis situations like COVID-19 by developing an innovative platform that will bring together the creative hub and the academy. Due to the creativity is a multidimensional phenomenon that manifests itself in many fields and contexts, from arts and crafts to design, science, research and entrepreneurship; the CreAdult project targets to create a community of adult refugees interested in design, creative industries, arts, business development and social sector.The specific aim of the project is to develop and implement educational and mentorship resources that will enable adult refugees to improve their skills and competencies on creative thinking, arts and design thinking. The project also aims to bring together adult refugees and creative experts, innovation leaders, facilitators and mentors via digital creative hub.Refugee education is a common issue in Europe, and the education on creativity, arts and design requires a multi-cultural approach. The project consortium was formed by the gathering of 4 organisations from 3 different countries that operate in the areas of expertise directly related to the project focus. These organisations and their areas of expertise are as follows:- Furim Institute, Norway: Social inclusion of refugees; social innovation education.- Fundação Bracara Augusta (Human Power Hub), Portugal: Skill development on soft skills such as creative thinking and design thinking.- Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany: Research on adult education pedagogy.- Vision Lernpunkte e.V., Germany: Integration and education of refugees.

<< Background >>For the past several years, refugee access to higher education has been a critical topic in the European context and represented a chance for universities to scale up services for all students, not just for refugees. Refugees can face many barriers to accessing higher education, including a lack of information, advice and individual guidance sensitive to their specific needs, inadequate provision of intensive language courses for academic purposes, and restricted access to government student finance schemes.Research with refugees and the experiences of service providers indicate that, amongst refugees who have completed secondary school, there is strong desire to attend university. However, refugee access to higher education remains limited - opportunities for refugees in countries of first asylum to pursue higher education are scarce, and the educational and professional needs of higher educated refugees do not play a prominent role in resettlement programs. At the same time, both asylum seekers and refugees face problems in integrating into the labour market in most Member States due to a lack of necessary skills and qualifications (EEPO Refugees synthesis report).Today, European teaching staffs are insufficiently prepared and trained to deal with diverse classroom settings. Educators are in need of training in order to deal with a culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diversified student population. This is clearly underscored throughout the interviews and focus groups with educators and policymakers made by the project team. The review of the current situation (Higher education for refugees, 2016) identified the importance of the following broad areas in effective higher education programming for refugees:- limited or restricted access to the labour market due to legal and administrative barriers,- access being hampered due to a lack of institutional support or poor resourcing of available support,- access to the labour market being further limited by low labour market demand which is a type of economic/labour market challenge,- a lack of language skills, low level of education as well as issues to do with the recognition of existing qualifications, as part of qualification/education challenges,- insufficient integration programmes, discrimination and tough cultural adjustment, as part of social challenges. Based on the current needs, the main focuses that the project will address is to tackle comprehensiveness of the refugee integration into society through participation in HE by upskilling the digital skills and competences of HEI educators. This will be achieved through interventions that combine innovative approach to the digital learning and compilation of existing data and necessary communication platform.<< Objectives >>The overall objectives of the project are:- to build digital education readiness among adult refugees/immigrants, and- to develop digital pedagogical competencies of higher educators.More specifically, DigIT will achieve the following specific aims:- develop and implement educational and mentorship resources that will enable higher education professionals (teachers, educators, administrative staff) to improve their knowledge and competencies on work with adult refugees in form of Toolkit to higher education training for educators, and- develop and use the open educational resource (OER) and free and open source educational platform by bringing together adult refugees/immigrants in form of Digital Database and Online Forum.A thoughtful and customised approach to academia and organisational structure which considers transferability, and has high quality staff with a good understanding of refugee contexts will be implemented. In addition, clear understanding and rationale for the pedagogical approach, clear resources and learning outcomes, with appropriate academic support mechanisms will be developed. Finally accessibility and inclusivity throughout all steps of education process will be taken into consideration as well as effective integration of technology in a manner appropriate for the operating context.<< Implementation >>The main activities planned for the project have been summarized in eight work packages (WP1-8) to provide a clear and complete work program. The project duration is 24 months (start date: 01/11/2021).WP-1: Project Management and Communication1 Organizing project meetings2 Preparing financial management presentation3 Overall coordination and project management4 Preparing risk management presentation5 Preparing contracts and signing with partners6 Creating infrastructure for communication and information sharing (Google drive etc.)7 Ensuring the overall quality of the project8 Checking and keeping project financial documents9 Accounting/financial controlling10 Preparing interim report11 Preparing final reportWP-2: Research activities (mapping, benchmarking and compilation of evidence-based data via formal and informal way, field research activities)1 Research Activities to Develop a Framework for the Toolkit2 Evidence-Informed Way (gathering documents and reviewing)3 Fieldwork (survey, interview)4 Focus Group Meetings and Evaluation of FindingsWP-3: Development of the Toolkit to higher education (HE) training for educators1 Design the structure of the learning toolkit, the learning outcomes and the training guide2 Development of the learning toolkit3 Translation of the learning toolkit in all partners’ languages4 Pilot testing and adjustment of the learning toolkitWP-4: Gathering the national and international data for the Digital Database:1 Focus group meeting (Determining the needs)2 Workshop (Preparation of technical specifications)WP-5: Development of a Digital Platform and embedment of Online Forum:1 Focus group meeting (Web platform mapping)2 Workshop (Preparation of technical specifications for web platform)3 Launching online platform4 Producing content and related learning resources6 Pre-test and pre-revision of Online ForumWP-6: Pilot testing for refugees/immigrants to test the Intellectual Outputs:1 Planning and Coordinating in Partner Countries2 Informing Participants3 Pre-End Knowledge Test for Participants4 Performing Face-to-Face Interviews with Participants for Feedback5 Analysing Findings and Process Assessment6 Revising and Updating Training Course7 Preparation of Pilot Scheme ReportWP-7: Monitoring, evaluation and quality assurance activities WP-8: Dissemination and communication activities<< Results >>The expected results during the project and on its completion are:-drafting a report analysis included best practices across Europe regarding digital learning for HEI educators-development of a learning Toolkit to higher education training for educators-creation of Digital Database and Online Forum-advanced cross-cultural cooperation among the project partners-increased capacities of project partners on social inclusion, project management and distant learning education-improved management competences and internationalization strategies of the project partnersTwo Intellectual outputs (IOs) will be developed during the project duration:IO-1: Toolkit to higher education (HE) training for educatorsIt will enable participants to:- Grapple with the particular difficulties that refugees/immigrants face in accessing, remaining and progressing in HE- Learn about the latest legal and policy developments affecting access to HE for this group of people- Grow in ability to meet the support needs of refugees and asylum seekers attempting to progress to university, including tips about advocating on their behalf with local authorities and universities- Identify the common barriers to fulfilling the desire and motivation of refugees/immigrants to access higher education- Give psychosocial perspectives on well-being of refugee and asylum seeking people and how to encourage a focus on education- Understand what different people with a variety of immigration statuses are entitled to deal with in terms of finance support: fee status, student finance, scholarships, grants and other forms of support- Consider alternative progression routes and funding options for refugees/immigrants who are not eligible for home fee status/student finance- Identify the language support needs and adapt the teaching process accordingly- Share best practice and practical information about how to help refugees/immigrants to move forwardIO-2: Digital Database and Online ForumThe web-based accelerator program is an interactive education platform for refugees/immigrants. This web platform will include the learning toolkit in digital format, as well as database that will represent:- Variety of study alternatives for refugees/immigrants in different EU countries (with focus on possibilities for distance learning)- Special programs/opportunities/incentives for refugees/immigrants- Process of entering the HE and other degree programs- National requirements for getting the HE.The tool will be developed by implementing interactive solutions and containing online career guide. Content in each topic will rely to a great extent on the use of pictures, videos and sounds, avoiding long texts where possible.

According to European Commission, social innovations are new ideas that meet social needs, create social relationships and form new collaborations. These innovations can be products, services or models addressing unmet needs more effectively. The European Commission's objective is to encourage market uptake of innovative solutions and stimulate employment. The Commission’s actions on social innovation stem from the Innovation Union initiative (2010) and of the Social Investment Package (2013). These actions facilitate the inducement, uptake and scaling-up of social innovation solutions. The main objectives are: - promoting social innovation as a source of growth and jobs - sharing information about social innovation in Europe - supporting innovative entrepreneurs and mobilising investors and public organisations. Sport innovation is dynamic and affects areas such as sport management, emergence of new sports, social and community-based development in sport. Social innovation arises when sport organizations, groups or individuals (such as athletes and coaches) are faced with social issues that requires new and creative solutions. In this way, social innovation encourages solutions to complex social issues in sport contexts. Social issues as an aspect of sport innovation concern grassroots and ‘sport for all programs’ with an overall aim of contributing to greater social justice and equality in sport. This dynamic aspect of sport innovation includes opportunities for new marginalized social groups to participate and compete in sport, for example, through the introduction and creation of events such as the Paralympic Games, The Special Olympics or the ‘Homeless World Cup’ in football. With regard to this insight, SPINVET project seeks to address the following identified needs of VET for sport field in social innovation at the EU level: - Current curricula implemented by VET institutions responsible for VET of sports professionals are insufficient to train qualified sports managers to meet the needs of the sports labor market.- Social innovation in sports is a relatively new but rapidly developing field. There is no innovative course curriculum on social innovation that VET institutions in the field of sport can apply.- Trainers/lecturers responsible for VET of sports managers need innovative educational resources on social innovation.- The social innovation competencies of the sports professionals in the labor market are not sufficient.- Sports professionals in the labor market need open and digital learning platforms and training resources to improve their social innovation knowledge, skills and competences. With this scope, the overall objectives of the project are to contribute to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in Europe by; - supporting professional development of VET trainers/lecturers in sport field and- developing social innovation competencies for sports professionals working in sport organizations (non-profit and for profit). The specific aims of the project are: - to develop a course curriculum that addresses the challenges faced by sports managers in the development and delivery of innovative products, services and processes for the sports sector in order to contribute the solving of social problems and- to improve the social innovation competencies of sports managers with digital, open and innovative learning platform and training resources. The target groups of the project who benefit from the project products and took part in the projects’ activities are as follows: 1) Direct target group: sports managers, sport professionals, VET trainers/lecturers in the sport field, partner organizations and their staff 2) Indirect target group: Sport organizations, VET organizations/institutions, universities, training providers, trainers/lecturers of target organizations Intellectual Outputs (IOs) IO-1: A Course curriculum on social innovation in the field of sportIO-2: A Gamification based interactive learning platform for sports managers Work Packages (WPs): WP-1: Project management and implementation activitiesWP-2: Research activities (collection of evidence-based data via informal way, field research activities, focus group meetings)WP-3: Development of a course curriculum on social innovation in the field of sport and development of a gamification based interactive learning platform for sports managersWP-4: Online pilot scheme for sports managers to test the interactive learning platform (including short-term learning activity for VET trainers in the sport field)WP-5: Reporting (Progress and Final Report) and Dissemination Activities