Deforestation is a major contributor to climate change and the expansion of agricultural land for the production of specific agroforestry products known as forest risk commodities (FRCs), represents its main direct driver in tropical countries. European Union (EU) consumption of FRCs accounts for 16% of the global embedded deforestation (an area almost the size of Luxemburg). Ensuring the sustainable supply of FRCs will help EU to achieve its climate targets and increase trust among consumers. However, deforestation is largely considered a “forestry problem” despite links to agriculture, trade and consumption patterns, all along supply chains. This is also the case in training offers of higher education and vocational training organisations (HEI&VETs), resulting in a lack of cross-sectoral approaches and interdisciplinarity in core DFSC disciplines (compliance, technology and corporate social responsibility), for students and professionals. In previous years, most collective commitments made by private and public actors for deforestation-free supply chains (DFSC) have failed to invert the trend and the European Commission (EC) has recently approved the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), to ban the import of FRCs produced on land deforested after 2020. Based on these combined aspects, there is a clear need for innovative approaches to education, training and capacity building on reducing deforestation risk in supply chains of FRCs in EU. EMMA4EU will respond to these gaps by bridging the different disciplines and sectors, connecting HEI&VETs, businesses, public organisations and NGOs to launch an EU alliance that will develop innovative training solutions to create a new profession: the DFSC manager. The new skill sets and professions will combine digital, green and interdisciplinarity skills to support the transition to more sustainable DFSCs of FRCs, implementation of the EUDR, a greener and more circular economy and reaching climate-neutrality by 2050.

Globally, tourism sector is one of sectors the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to this and concurrent crisis such as the climate crisis, Ukraine-Russia war, energy, tourism sector is under great transformation. In 2021, tourism accounted for 6.1% of the global GDP contribution - compared to 10.3% in pre-COVID times, forecasting to return to 2019 levels only by 2025. Furthermore, in the last two years lockdowns and the energy crisis have heavily affected work-life, leisure, and recreational patterns of EU citizens, bringing significant changes to daily routines, new demands for sustainability and nature-based tourism. To face these problems and yield these new opportunities the sector needs to radically innovate, while keeping local communities and the environment at the core of its strategies. However, the sector lacks specific interdisciplinary and governance skills that generally refers to “sustainable tourism destination management” (STDM), while HEIs and VET are currently lacking training that foster the ability of young students, professionals, public officials to solve sustainability & innovation challenges. Therefore, WeNaTour aims to increase the capacity of HEIs, VETs and businesses to integrate research results, innovative practices, and digitalisation into a first-class educational offer to foster sustainable tourism and its principles while supporting the creation of new products and services on two emerging markets: (1) company welfare, and (2) nature-based tourism for health and well-being. It will do so by facilitating the co-creation of knowledge, developing high-quality multidisciplinary training among EU networks of HEIs, VET and businesses active in sustainable tourism. WeNaTour will actively work across Italy, Romania, Austria, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, while developing a wide international Alliance on Sustainable Tourism to replicate and exploit results and lead to sector transformation and long-lasting impacts.

Most of innovative businesses base their success on creating value through better use of intangible assets. Ecosystem Services constitute the most valuable intangible assets on earth and forests are the most precious Natural Capital in Europe. Therefore, ECOSTAR alliance aims to develop entrepreneurship and innovation skills and opportunities among Forest and Environmental Policy and Economics (FEPE) university departments in Europe, specifically targeting Italy, Spain, England and Romania. The project focuses on promoting and fostering the links among high education institutions and businesses operating in the field of Marketing and Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (MEEB). Most of well-known FEPE university departments have developed several methodologies and tools connected with MEEB and in general with nature-based economy. However, universities curricula lack of knowledge transfer initiatives that allow the real commercialization of new processes, methods and services for the development of market-based mechanism for ecosystem services conservation. Therefore, the project aims to make the knowledge triangle a reality in the field of MEEB, providing sustainable business opportunities and real benefits for the environment. ECOSTAR will achieve its goals through the following main actions: - Delivering a series of specialized entrepreneurship and innovation trainings targeted to MEEB through multidisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning- Facilitate the co-creation of knowledge, through staff and learners mobility, an EU Business Plan Award, lobby and fundraising- Create an EU wide research and enterprise alliance to make a knowledge triangle a reality in the field of MEEBResults will have a strong EU-global dimension and transferability potential, capitalizing on existing wide university-business networks and through the partnership with Ecosystem Marketplace, a leading organization tracking ecosystems markets and tools in US and worldwide.

"CONTEXT:In general, the non-wood forest products have always been - and remain - an important element of forest resource. However, until recently, not enough attention to their management and utilization lent .Paradoxically, in some cases a better understanding of non-wood forest products will be directly related to a process that causes destruction. As cultures and communities evolve towards a market economy tends to reduce the use of non-wood products for subsistence; Unfortunately, in general, this decline has not been accompanied by improved management of some non-wood products as an integral part of the development process. Consequently it is easy for traditional knowledge about those products are lost. Too often the true value of these products is perceived in the community is 0 at national level where supply sources have disappeared, either through lack of appropriate management measures, or measures of development without vision.OBJECTIVES:• Promote better information , transfer and recognition of youth employment and nonformal at European, national , regional and local level teaching. • Improve the capacity of the VET system as to the needs of the labor market in the NWFP sector. • Modernize and exploit the potential of economic development and innovation in the EU to increase the competitiveness of the forest sector. • Facilitate labor mobility, recognition at European level in the labor market by integrating business practices based learning. • Cooperate among the organizations in program countries in forestry.TARGET GROUPS:• Employers, workers and entrepreneurs related to rural activities and forestry, especially those working non-timber forest products. • Educational authorities ( teachers and trainers) . • Social agents in rural areas, groups and Unions Local Action. • Unqualified young rural women in search of "" first job "" or socially discriminated . • Youth and marginalized groups unemployed or uneducated finished studies encounter difficulties in accessing active and working life.ACTIVITIES:• Creating a Thematic Network , European Monitoring Centre for New Qualifications in the Forestry Sector and Resource Center Information and Online Learning, through which the integrated training, qualifications, monitoring, job creation system and will be organized tools to promote transparency of qualifications and the exchange of best practices on non- wood forest products.• Development of a Guide to Good Practice for the Management and Management of Non-wood Forest Products, indicating the steps for the modernization and adaptation of innovative European systems transformation , depending on quality. • Project web page to provide information , allow the dissemination of project activities and platform support training and telecommuting (Moodle ). • Imparting 4 courses and 36 seminars dissemination and exchange of best practices in NWFP .METHODOLOGY:• Design a basic non-formal training plan with the specific aim of encouraging entrepreneurship, competitiveness and employment through the development and acquisition of skills and competencies related to the real needs in the field of NWFP . • Integration of an innovative approach to teaching and learning, especially through a more strategic and integrated ICT and REA (web , Observatory, guide ... ) use. • Recognition of training modules for the new professional qualification through 4 pilot courses . • Organization 1 event set of training and learning short (5 days) as well as 2 training events combined mobility. • Establishment of a Broadcasting Plan and Use of Results .RESULTS:1. Thematic Network "" NWF Network"". 2. European Monitoring Centre for New Qualifications in the Forestry Sector (450 users).3. Resource Center Online Information and Learning (360 users).4. Guide to Good Practice for the Management and Management of Non-Wood Forest Products (1.800 copies). 5. Website of information and dissemination (3.000 visits). 6. Training and telecommuting Platform (Moodle ) . 7. 4 themed courses for curriculum validation NWFP. 8. 36 seminars and project dissemination and exchange of best practices in NWFP. 9. 3 Actions Training and Learning."

The megatrends are clear: people living in Europe will be older, more stressed and unhealthy, living in urban areas, and threatened by climate change effects with ever increasing immigration from developing nations. Agriculture, Forestry, Urban Planning and Environmental (AFUE) HEIs need to embed increasing health and social needs into their paradigms, teaching and business models. The health and social sectors also need to avoid the silos approach and adopt holistic thinking in achieving social and health challenges. Green infrastructures, social agriculture and forestry, rural tourism and wellness are some of the emerging business and research sectors that are providing cost-effective solutions to these emerging trends that are having a considerable impact on European policies and economy. The GREEN4C alliance aims at increasing Europe’s innovation capacity among universities and businesses by promoting green and natural approaches to health and social care. It will do so by: • facilitating the exchange, flow and co-creation of knowledge among universities and business coming from two key sectors that often fail to cooperate: the social-health and environmental sectors.• promoting a new, innovative and multidisciplinary global blended training course to embed health and social challenges into Agriculture, Forestry, Urban Planning and Environmental universities. • stimulating an entrepreneurial skills and attitude among students, researchers and young entrepreneurs to provide the public and private sectors with innovative and cost-effective solutions to health and social care by using natural resources. The project will focus on the countries of Italy, Romania, The Netherlands, Ireland and Austria. Results will have a strong EU-global dimension and transferability potential, capitalizing on existing wide university-business networks, the partnership with the University of British Columbia, and the European Forestry Institute an international research and