"The project ""DARE - Digital Awareness for Resilience Experiences"" aims to fill one of the gaps generated by the pandemic and its effects, namely the relationship between educators/citizens and territory, society and physical places. The Covid 19 emergency has caused, among other things, huge disruptions in education and training and a sudden shift to online and distance learning. The generalized use of technology has revealed gaps and weaknesses, but it also represents an opportunity to rethink education and training for the digital age. Digital technologies can improve flexibility and creativity, help improve efficiency and learning outcomes, but there is a sensitive digital divide, i.e. the gap between those who have access to information technology (personal computers and the Internet) and those who are excluded. Learning opportunities must be accessible to all and thus guarantee the access to an enormous amount of information and resources. In the light of the above, the project aims to foster the development of digital competences and life skills in adults.Specific objectives are: - to contribute to the recovery of the resilience of the educational, cultural and creative sectors through digital tools;- to facilitate social inclusion through the arts, promoting an innovative participatory and intercultural dialogue.The countries involved in the project are Italy, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Spain and Norway. All the partners have extensive experience on the topic at local level and have carried out various projects, also at European level, with different types of institutions.The project foresees the creation of the following Intellectual OutputsIO1 - Digital toolkit for remote co-design activities: a digital training programme for the use of virtual tools and methodologies for online education.IO2 - Collaborative digital platform for creative storytelling: an open and collaborative online mapping system, accessible via web and mobile, which represents cities in an original, participatory and shared way, based on multimedia content generated by users.There will also be 2 short term joint staff training events on the following topics:C1: Digital tools and methodologies to foster online education.C2: Digital storytelling and digital image manipulation to create interactive images.After each training, the partners will carry out workshops at local level in order to test the methodologies learned. The participants in the project will be: 30 Adult education educators and practitioners working with partner organizations, 100 Adult Learners (with fewer opportunities).The application of the following methodologies will be transversal to the whole project:- peer education;- cooperative learning;- learn by doing;- design thinking;- non-formal education.The educators involved will have the opportunity to maximize the potential of using digital tools in their daily work. Through the meeting and comparison with other professionals a peer support network will be created. Adult learners will have the opportunity to acquire new skills that will affect their levels of empowerment. The project will also give a European dimension to the work of organizations, creating and strengthening cooperation between partners, exploiting the potential and contacts of the organiza-tions and networks to which they adhere, valuing qualitatively their contribution in projects aimed at adults.In a long-term perspective, the project will allow the achievement of digital knowledge and compe-tences in order to promote distance learning and support social inclusion, enriching the quality of individual local interventions with new ideas and suggestions. In general, we hope that the results will be disseminated such as to make the materials produced usable and applied in many contexts."

Rapid technological and social change encourages people to adjust to new situations in their life. However, unfavorable circumstances, such as age-related lack of certain skills and or lower motivation to learn, for many becomes an obstacle in their integration. Older people experience a shortage of skills in different fields of modern life, but primarily they need to improve their digital competences as they have fewer qualifications in the rapidly growing technology sector. Because of that, they are unable to take full advantage of public services and virtual communication tools. As a result, their quality of life is affected.In order to deal with these challenges, it is important to create new training models by expanding the synergy of various adult training institutions and by improving the competences of their staff. With this purpose, 6 organizations from Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, and Turkey joined their efforts together for a common project. The aim of the project is to improve partners’ potential in developing the elderly’s digital skills by empowering adults’ educators to promote and organize family learning. This type of learning is becoming increasingly popular around the world as it provides a range of opportunities for families to learn together. For the elderly, family learning can be the first step to taking up further learning opportunities. It leads not only to the improvement of one’s skills but also to active intergenerational communion, develops moral values and positive attitudes, uplifts mood and has a huge impact on health, family relations and lifelong learning.To achieve the goal, specific objectives are planned and certain results expected:•4 international experience exchange events will be arranged with a purpose to improve the competences of adults’ trainers on family learning. As a result, 40 adults’ trainers will broaden their professional horizons and grow their competences.•New ideas for family learning will be generated and tested in all partner institutions. 120 elderly people and their family members will be involved - they will improve digital competences and discover the benefits and enjoyment of family learning. •Examples of the best practices and success stories on the development of the elderly’s digital skills through family learning will be collected and published in an attractive online digital journal. The collection will serve as an ideas’ bank for various institutions involved in providing training for the elderly.In the long run, the level and quality of activities at partner institutions will not only reach a certain higher level but are expected to consistently improve. Stronger staff competencies will empower them to introduce new ways of training, implement new learning models, and continuously tailor services based on actual needs. Older generations across different communities will strongly benefit from that as it will allow them to remain sharp and knowledgeable on skills crucial for living a fulfilling and integrated life.

Smartphones are mind-blowing (S.P.A.M) is a project created by 4 students, a youth worker and few volunteers from Estonia, who are interested in tackling overconsumption of social media, games and entertainment in smart devices. Alongside estonians, group from Bulgaria and Iceland will join the mission. The objective of the project is to reduce extended use of smart gadgets and improve social skills and creativity of the participants. Also, bring awareness to dangers and potential threats associated with using internet and educate users to navigate safely and protect their device and data. S.P.A.M will achieve this by having their target group, primary school students, participate in project's curriculum that will guide them to develop social skills through social activities, team-building exercises and group projects such as presentations, orienting, board game gatherings, volunteering at animal shelters. During the period, target group will be monitored by frequent surveys to determine their progress as well as assess their mindset towards technology use. The goal is not to completely distance participants from smart devices, some activities will require smartphone use, but rather teach them to use these devices beyond just entertainment and games. The impact S.P.A.M is looking to create is to have the participants use their technology for education and information gathering, keeping games and entertainment at moderate levels. Also, value socializing and teamwork more, creating the mindset of successful leaders and professionals that will help them in their future careers. For non-participants, after S.P.A.M has completed it's curriculum, an e-book describing the project in full detail will be available for free.

<< Objectives >>1: Development of the youth sector by increasing the competencies of 15 youth workers from the partnering countries, who have interest in science and human rights, in new methods of non-formal education on how to integrate science and human rights, during 10-month period;2: Develop critical thinking competencies among minimum 120 young people between 14 and 30 years old from the partnering countries, with respect to science and human rights, during 6-months period.<< Implementation >>1. Research; 2. Methodology development; 3.Transnational learning activity; 4. Best practice guide development; 5.Translation of the guide, 6. Dissemination of results by each organisation: Romania, Bulgaria, Malta; 7. Youth learning sessions conducted locally by each organisation; 8. Updating the guide; 9. Management and implementation; 10. Visibility and communication; 11. Monitoring; 12. Virtual internal meetings upon necessity<< Results >>15 youth workers with improved competencies in new methods of non-formal education on how to integrate science and human rights; 120 young people with improved critical thinking competencies with respect to science and human rights and their relationship and contribution to social progress; 1 training course; 1 best practice guide about an integrated approach on science and human rights education, available for download at no cost in English, Romanian, Bulgarian; 1 virtual launch conference

The integrative arts are a powerful instrument for social change and inclusion, since they are both pleasant and useful for the involved participants at the individual, group, and communal levels and have the potential to produce influential messages to the general public. Having developed their own approaches and good practices in working with their target groups (refugees, immigrants, Roma, disabled, orphans, youths in rural areas, etc.), based on the group creative processes, the project partners exchanged them among each other for the benefit of their organizations, the vulnerable people they serve, and the societies they are a part of. In this respect, the project objectives were: - to develop and strengthen the capacity of the partner organizations to provide social inclusion services based on the integrative arts and the group creative processes; - to increase their ability to work internationally by sharing ideas, creative methods, and good practices in the field; - to provoke cooperation in implementing and popularizing these effective and innovative practices at the local, regional, national, and international levels; - to develop important competences of staff members, associates, and served populations such as digital, ICT, social, civic, and creative skills and competences as well as abilities and motivation of representatives of vulnerable groups to get into the mainstream of life. The project had the total of 52 mobilities, including project partners’ staff members, trainers and art-facilitators, representatives of vulnerable social groups, served by the partner organizations and prospective future partners. Project activities were comprised of: - two transnational project meetings held in France and Italy; - one short-term joint staff training in integrative art-practices and group creative processes suitable for social inclusion, held in Bulgaria; - one blended mobility of young people, including representatives of the project specific target groups, also held in Bulgaria, in which the participants will taste and experience the training curriculum, previously developed for them at the training event by assembling the creative know-how of the project partners; - project management and implementation activities, including: preparation and update of all project documents; regular communication with the project partners, stakeholders, and the donor organization; preparation of all international project events; creation and management of a Facebook group of the project and other related PR and outreach work and activities; information and dissemination activities in each project country and at the European level (including organization of a real and a virtual exhibitions of the project participants’ artistic production created during the project training and learning international events, preparation and publication of a material with information about the project in EU on-line platforms, preparation and distribution of CDs with info about the project, its goals, methods, and instruments); project accounting and reporting. The project methodology was based on the advantages of the integrative arts based on group creative processes viewed as powerful tools for social inclusion and activation. These practices with arts and/or applied crafts focused on involving representatives of various social groups with fewer opportunities in collaborative creative workshops having a series of personal, interpersonal, and (psycho-)social benefits related to the innovative work method, the collective collaborative process, and its inherent group dynamics. The project achieved results and impacts on participants, partner organizations, their target groups, and other relevant stakeholders at the local, regional, national, and international/EU levels. They included, among other, mastered competences and confident use of collaborative art-making for the purposes of social inclusion and integration; expansion of personal, social, professional, and institutional contacts in the field; assembling a joint sample curriculum in the area of integrative creative processes; delivery of new improved services to project end beneficiaries; popularization of the shared best practices in the partner countries and abroad.