<< Objectives >>Increase the awareness of youth organizations and participants in their activities about the term greenwashing, develop innovative digital tools for measuring the ecological footprint in the implementation of youth activities and for young people, create new training for working with young people on the topic of greenwashing. Strengthen the involved organizations for the implementation of sustainable development activities, reduction of the ecological footprint.<< Implementation >>1. Transnational meetings2. Study visits3. Local trainings for young people4. Training for coaches5. Development of a new informal training for working with youth on the topic of greenwashing6. Development of a web calculator for measuring the ecological footprint in the implementation of youth activities and for youth7. Establishment of a working group for the preparation of the Green Declaration8. Contacting experts from other sectors9. Create network of green NGO's10. Dissemination<< Results >>Achieve the international dimension of the activities of the involved organizations and to strengthen them for future cross-border networking. Iincrease of awareness among young people about the problem of greenwashing, that is, eco-manipulation. Develop innovative digital tools and educational materials that will strengthen the capacities of the involved and cooperating organizations for the implementation of climate-neutral activities to work with young people. Support the green transformation

<< Background >>Healthy and resilient societies depend on giving nature the space it needs. The recent COVID-19 pandemic makes the need to protect and restore nature all the more urgent. The pandemic is raising awareness of the links between our own health and the health of ecosystems. (…) The five main direct drivers of biodiversity loss – changes in land and sea use, overexploitation, climate change, pollution, and invasive alien species – are making nature disappear quickly (EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030-May 2020).“Biodiversity preservation in rural and maritime areas of EU islands” (BioIslands) project is focused on three of the main sectors related to biodiversity preservation. Increased land-use intensity in agriculture has caused an alarming decline in farmland biodiversity during the last century. Likewise, there is great concern over the degradation of pastoral landscapes by invasive species and soil erosion, the undermining of common property systems, and unsustainable land-use changes, such as mining, inappropriate afforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices.Currently, nearly half of the Earth’s terrestrial surface is transformed by agriculture and pastoralism, and thus, the contribution of agricultural and pastoralism areas to biodiversity is critical for successful long-term conservation.In addition, biodiversity has many key roles in ecosystems, and many elements of biodiversity support fish species and therefore also fisheries. At the same time, cooperation fisheries also often affect seabed biodiversity. Furthermore, fisheries may also change the composition of fish communities, and changes in fish communities can matter to seabed biodiversity. Many ecosystems are affected by cumulative impacts. Although they may not be individually catastrophic, the combined effect of pressures can result in loss or fragmentation of habitats. Furthermore, it can result in ecosystem changes and shifts in biodiversity, associated with the removal of habitat-specific or functional important species.This preamble emphasises an essential intervention in these three sectors and more specifically on the leading players (i.e. farmers, shepherds and fishermen) who should be enabled to actuate biodiversity preservation strategies and actions in their daily work.The BioIslands project meets the needs of our partnership in different ways. First thing, all partners individualised a common need in their country of operation. Secondly, all partners of the Consortium have experience in the matter of at least of the main key pillars of the project (i.e. adult learners, non formal education, agriculture, pastoralism and fishery, technologies) and participating in the project, through the exchange of knowledge and skills inside the Consortium they will be able to acquire comprehensive experience in the other pillars, improving their professional profile. Lastly, the Results produced in the project will enable them to enrich the pool of tools/methodologies they own that can be employed with the selected target group but also other targets, due to their versatile feature.Farmers, shepherds and fishermen care about their job and know the importance of biodiversity preservation in the rural and maritime areas. The challenge lays in adapting their way of work, handed down from generation to generation with the increasing product demand while at the same time not over-exploit the land and the sea. As their job has a specific working hours period it is difficult for them to enroll in physical training courses. Thus, BioIslands project will develop a high-quality up-skilling e-Learning course that will provide them with the required competences and skills as well as providing them with a useful technological tool that will support them in elaborating biodiversity preservation strategies based on various indicators.<< Objectives >>BioIslands project objectives are:O1 foster biodiversity preservation in rural and maritime areas of European islands;O2 provide an adequate and qualitative learning opportunity for farmers, shepherds and fishermen in biodiversity preservation;O3 develop user-friendly digital instruments that can support farmers, shepherds and fishermen in preserve biodiversity in their daily work.<< Implementation >>Activities- Implementation of a transnational focus group with researchers and professors to define which competences related to biodiversity preservation can be transmitted with digital learning (total of 20 participants).- Implementation of the piloting of the R1 with the involvement of 5 farmers, 5 shepherds and 5 fishermen per partner.- Implementation of the piloting of the R2 with the involvement of 5 farmers, 5 shepherds and 5 fishermen per partner.- Implementation of one International Biodiversity Day in 2023 in which partner will involve stakeholders, public authorities at the international level to promote project Results and outcomes achieved so far. Based on their availability, adult learners that will be involved in the testing of R1 and R2 will participate to share their direct experience.- Implementation of one Multiplier Event per each partner with an audience of 20 between stakeholders, public authorities and the general public.<< Results >>Project Results are: - Research report at Consortium level containing current biodiversity status in rural and maritime areas of the countries involved, data analysis of the current level of knowledge and up-skill needs of farmers, shepherds and fishermen in the matter of biodiversity preservation, a grid of required competences for farmers, shepherds and fishermen to implement efficient biodiversity preservation strategies in their work.- Web Platform containing: R1 three E-learning courses, which will be developed based on the findings of the Research Report, one on Agriculture Biodiversity, one on Pastoralism Biodiversity and one on Fishery Biodiversity. The course will be designed in an interactive fashion in order to make the learning process easier and enjoyable for the user. At the end of each course, the user will be provided with a video tutorial about the Biodiversity Analysis & Strategy section of the platform (R2) containing an analysis system of elements and indicators to assess the environmental impact of the area, individualize the presence of alien species as well as providing a specific plan containing suggestion for intervention.Intangible results of the project will be:- Promotion and raising awareness regarding the importance of preserving biodiversity in rural and maritime areas in EU islands and beyond.- Adoption of project Results by different entities that will integrate them in their training offer.- Consolidation of cooperation framework allowing partner organisations to be active on the topic exchanging information and proposing follow-up initiatives, also with the involvement of interested stakeholders.

"Covid-19 crisis impacted severely on people's life and today (17 October 2020) infected 31,3 million people, causing 1,1 million deaths. The most severe cases are hospitalized in Covid Hospital or also in ICU, and a big amount of people is isolated through quarantine, totally isolated in terms of social support, visits by relatives and other important people that could help people in terms of social support. Remote support is complex also for professional psychologist which usually perform the sessions in presence. Despite all efforts of government in dealing with the crises on the economic and medical point of view, psychological factors are often underestimated or difficult to deal with. The operation of psychological support is normally performed in presence. For this reason it is important to create a digital methodology which can support the psychological factors of Covid-19 patients and other hospitalized patient which can be exploited also in isolation, quarantine or hospitalization. Senior citizens are among the categories at higher risks according to WHO (2020), considering the reduced social support and the major need to be isolated for the connected risks associated to COVID-19. According to Eurostat report ""A look at the lives of the elderly in the EU today"", elder population is increasing year after year and represent approximately 1 person out of 5 in the EU-28 population and very present in the participating countries (EU-28 = 19,2%, IT = 22%, SP = 18,7%, FR = 18,8%, NL =18,2%, RO = 17,4%). The communication among older patients hospitalized due to Covid-19 has been particularly difficulty for the isolation, which reduced the social support for the patients and impacted even in the management of grief for family members that even cannot meet for the last time the patients. As a completion of needs analysis, the need for a psychological support it has been certified by a survey commissioned to Istituto Piepoli by the Italian Order of Psychologists, that found high prevalence of need for psychologists in the hospitals (90%) and the elderly centers (87%), and a longitudinal study performed by IIAPHS, partner of this project based on 4471 tests about psychological health in February - May 2020 that found increased levels of anxiety and psychological distress. Digital methodologies for the promotion of the psychological wellbeing of hospitalized patients, social support, communication and motivation of family members are required. We will promote art-therapy among hospitalized patients with special attention to senior citizens, considering that art-therapy and creativity actions in general are preventive measures against mental deterioration. Within this framework we conceptualized the project ""Digital Art Therapy for Creativity, Self Expression and Psychological Health of Covid-19 patients"" including the following goals- to increase creativity in hospitalized patients with special attention to senior citizens- to favour the communication, motivation and social support of family members toward senior citizens- to improve the quality of life of isolated and hospitalized patients through the social support and improving their competencesWe will reach these goals through the creation of the following 3 intellectual outputs, translated into 6 languages (EN, IT, FR, SP, NL, RO)1. The Guide of Art Therapy for Covid-19 patients: a 200 pages guide supporting senior citizens, hospitalized patients and other people in quarantine in developing skills of art-therapy to improve their psychological wellbeing during the isolation. This manual will be a valid support for all patients in developing skills of creativity and adult educators to create dedicated educational programmes for increasing creativity in hospitalized patients2. E-learning platform Art Therapy for senior citizens in Covid-19 isolation: a 6 module online training piloted and tailored on the needs of senior citizens which will show through video lectures how to perform art therapy in isolation. This intellectual output will be highly tailored to be adapted also to patients which are unfamiliar with digital technologies through a dedicated piloting session among 90 participants.3, Motivational App for Psychological Support, Creativity and Artworks Production for hospitalized patients: an App which allow senior citizens and hospitalized patients to be supported by family members, to upload artworks and do peer support with other patients worldwide. This support and motivational network based on art will improve the quality of life of users.The project is targeted to reach 3000 participants. 3 Transnational Project Meetings will be implemented. 5 Multiplier event will disseminate the intellectual output to at least 100 participate and stimulate them in the sustainability process. The Impact study will monitor results obtained during the project's lifetime."

"The vision of the project:Our vision is to prevent or mitigate the occurrence of violent/aggressive speech and bullying on the internet with the education and promotion of a positive mindset. We will provide our youth workers, leaders and young adults with the methods, tools, and guidance necessary to achieve our objective.The problem of starting bullying or being involved in bullying:When it comes to social media, it's no big secret that cyberbullying is prevalent, particularly among teens and young adults. It's too easy to bully and say whatever they want to each other from behind the safety of their usernames and devices. In fact, approximately 34% of the students surveyed by the Cyberbullying Research Center have experienced cyberbullying in their lifetimes.Cyber ""bully/victims"" were heavily involved in ""traditional"" forms of bullying - 64% had been bullied, and 66% had bullied others. In a study of high school students, 61% of cyber ""victims"" also reported being victims of ""traditional"" bullying; 55% of cyber ""bullies"" also said they had bullied others in ""traditional ways."" (https://bit.ly/MindOfABully )When an individual's identity is not stable, his/her attempt at intimacy may lead to isolation and attempts at intimacy become desperate attempts showing bullying and harassment. (Berzoff, 2008, p. 112).Our solution - Applying positive psychology and fostering a positive mindset.Positive psychology is a scientific study of what makes people thrive and focuses on behaviours that can lead to a more optimized frame of mind to lead to more practical actions, much like cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). But compared to CBT, positive psychology focuses more on what makes already-functional; it focuses on strengths instead of weaknesses (Martin Sellingman, Father of modern positive psychology - https://bit.ly/PositivePsychologyDef ). Positivity improves life, working place, family and society as a whole.Target groups: - Youth Workers/Youth Leaders. Young adults (years 18+, post-adolescence as an epigenetic stage) Expected results of the projectMINDSET educational program which has a mission to prevent cyberbullying before it happens by fostering a positive mindset within people. MINDSET educational program promotes positive psychology, fostering positive thinking, empathy and a positive mindset. MINDSET train-the-trainer program is going to help facilitate the training of our youth trainers according to the developed educational program, adding specific techniques, methods and tools. MINDSET guidebooks for youth workers for having permanent guidance in paper and electronic form - a step-by-step guide book for youth workers and young adults to help build and foster a positive mindset within people. We will also create and develop a website that will offer information on how to promote a positive mindset in general and how to combat cyberbullying. We plan on doing so by collecting various cyberbullying stories from our partnering countries.ParticipantsThe project will span over 24 months and consists of a partner from 9 different countries. In every country, we will help educate one-country project promoters that will facilitate the usage of all project results. Education will be held across 18 youth centres in partnering countries, and it will involve 36 youth workers for pilot project results implementation. Implementation groups of youth workers/country promoters will test the train-the-trainer and develop a program on LTT, they will learn skills needed to successfully and adequately turn people away from becoming bullies by successfully fostering a positive mindset.Impact and benefits of usage of our results on the final recipient's group:- Impacting on the development of the participant's positive mindset- Improved lifestyle and preventing of bullying online and offline- Significantly reduced possibility for recurrence of online bullying- Focusing on the positive side of life instead of dwelling on problems- Better coping with any kind of issues in future life- Happiness is a choice but also something we need to work on"

"The project ""Motivational Meditation Techniques for Favouring Memory and Attention of Students with Visual Impairment"" is designed to support memory, attention, resilience and motivation of students with visual impairment during the Covid-19 era. The Study ""Visual impairment and blindness in Europe and their prevention"" (Kocur, Resniko) estimated that in Europe there are 72000 blind children, childhood blindness is calculated prevalence 0.1 and 0.41 per 1000 children. Eurostat statistics shows that students with difficulty prevalence of basic activities related to seeing is a risk factor that increases early school leavers, achieving dramatical levels in participating countries (DE = 14.8%, EE = 23,2%, GR = 44,6%, SP = 26,7%, IT = 45,9%, NL = 25,8%, TK = 41,5%). Our project will provide digital tools for support the motivation of students with visive impairment to study, improve their psychological status and resilience during Covid-19 era, basing on the following factors of the needs analysis:1. Covid-19 determined the biggest outbreak of educational systems. 2. Distance learning makes more difficult the participation of lectures for students with visive impairment3. Policies for supporting students with visive impairment during the Covid-19 are lacking4. Covid-19 impacted also psychologically on students. A study performed by IIAPHS on February-May 2020 on 4471 tests demonstrated increased levels of anxiety, anger and sleep disorders. A study commissioned by the Italian Order of Psychologists and operated by Istituto Piepoli showed that the population highlighted the importance of more presence of psychologists in the school system (73%)5. Meditation techniques are valid supplement for supporting motivation, self-esteem and resilience of school students. Memory and attention can be increased through meditation. 6. Classical meditation include concepts associated with sight: Techniques of visual imagery, the use of focused sight on a physical points and imagination of visual stimuli cannot be performed properly by students with visual impairment. We will create new techniques adapted for the needs of people with visive impairment, focusing exclusively on other senses.7. Meditation classes are often performed in presence, without any adaptation for people with disability or visual impairment8. Decreased motivation can discourage students with disability to complete the studies and favour early school leaving9. Distance learning gives additional tasks, workload and distress to family members which will require to assist the student with more effort. Following the lectures at the screen lead to rapid eye fatigue, headache and other disturbance.The goal will achieved through the production of 3 intellectual outputs translated into 9 languages (EN, IT, NL, SP, MK, TK, GR, EE, DE).O1. Motivational Meditation Techniques for Students with visual impairment: a 100 pages manual designed for school teachers and students teaching how to perform and teach meditation techniques adapted for students with visive impairmentO2. The Web App for Meditation and Motivation Training for Students with Visive Impairment: a digital tool based on the needs of students with visive impairment including 20 meditation exercises designed to increase memory, attention, resilience and motivation of students with visual impairment. The exercises are organised in levels of increasing difficulties and targeted to students of ages 6-18 in order to be widely exploitable in the school education system. Piloting is performed on 500 students, including 100 students with visive impairment.O3. Policy Recommendation for the Support of Students with Visive Impairment. It is a document of at least 100 pages including a SWOT analysis of existing policies for supporting students with visive impairment, transnational comparisons and recommendation for policy makers active in the field of support to disabled students.The target group of this project are:School students with visive impairment (6-18 years) School teachers, special education teachers Policy Makers and authorities in the field of School Education, Disability, Equal Opportunities School directorsSchool PsychologistsFamily members of students with visive impairmentThe project envisage the participation of 500 school students (100 with visive impairment) for the intellectual output 2, Policy recommendation will be sent to 200 policy makers and 100 school directors. The Motivational Meditation Techniques for Students with visual impairment will be disseminated among 1000 participants among school students and school teachers. The project includes 1 international Multiplier event with 20 local and 20 foreign participants. The Impact study will be produced and used for promoting the project's content and its application after EU funding."