"We have to prevent losing youth. Especially in times of crisis. Covid-19 affects young people's chances not only in education and social environments, but especially in the transition from school to training to work. Data and facts across Europe indicate that young people in particular are hit by the crisis when they enter the training and professional world. There are many indications that this is not a short-term effect.The strategic partnership “Simply Digi” is addressing this challenge. Against the background of difficult access for young people from school to training and companies, due to restrictions on opportunities to real contact with the world of work, innovative approaches, methods and procedures are developed, piloted and implemented that enable the possibility of realistic, practice-oriented experience with professional world of work even under restricted conditions. This can only succeed with innovative, flexible use of digital, virtual instruments. In order to achieve results in time, this project does not focus on the development of large new technical system solutions, but on the simplest possible, but innovative, integrated, intelligent use of digital instruments in combined, blended, hybrid methods and processes. “Simply” does not mean “simple”, but “simply effective” at the best.The project pursues these goals in particular:• To enable young people to gain insight into occupations and the world of work using digital tools, even under restricted distance conditions• To develop, test and use innovative approaches to virtual and distance contacts between young people, consultants, companies, trainers, parents and teachers• Create ""bridges"" between schools and companies that enable young people and companies to articulate and present one another in an authentic digital and personal mannerTo achieve these goals, partners from Austria, Germany and Italy come together to jointly develop solutions that can be also implemented in other European countries under different conditions.A decisive experience from Covid-19 measures is that real experiences of young people in the world of work are much more difficult and sometimes impossible under recent conditions. However, these represent a central element of any goal-oriented preparation for vocational training and working life.The innovative developments in the “Simply Digi” project are therefore aimed to create as realistic experiences as possible for young people at the transition from school to vocational training and world of work, even under difficult conditions, using digital and virtual, also combined and hybrid innovative methods and processes.This requires the involvement of all stakeholders in these processes, in addition to the young people, teachers, educational and career counsellors, pedagogues and trainers in companies.This is done in several ways during the phases of the project:First, a short phase of survey concerning status quo in the countries, with regard to digitization and career transition, based on the preparatory research;In the second phase, existing real and digital methods are new and innovatively combined, adapted to the several different conditions, and new approaches are developed where they are missing;In the third phase, manuals for the methods and procedures and their use and implementation are developed under different framework conditions, together with teachers in school, with trainers and responsible persons in companies;In the fourth phase, a modular training concept for teachers in schools as well as for trainers and responsible persons in companies will be created and implemented.Results and effects are expected from this in several ways:Improved opportunities for a successful transition from school to training and world of work, even under difficult conditions, using digital and virtual opportunities for real work experiencesSupport of school and teachers in the preparation and transition of students from school to vocational training in companies and world of workSupport of companies in contacting and addressing young people who might be interested in training in companies,Avoidance of economic and social problems caused by unsuccessful transition processes from school to vocational training and world of work for young people, companies and society.Even if the “Simply Digi” project is being applied in times of the Covid-19 pandemic, its perspective extends far beyond that. The project concept is based on the assumption that many of the experiences that are gained in terms of health, economy, education, social and digital aspects during the pandemic crisis can be used effectively and beneficially in the long term beyond.""Simply Digi"" wants to contribute to this."

"In which world do we want to live? This question takes on a whole new significance in view of current social developments. In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, human contact has suffered in particular. Disorientation, fear of the future, loss of trust, self-doubt and loneliness are damaging the social cohesion and make people vulnerable to frustration, fear, hatred and violence.This also defines requirements for a ""new"" adult education which restarts communication in the social space and enables people to become active themselves.This is where the ""EduArt"" project comes in. Adult educators and cultural workers from four EU countries are establishing partnerships for creativity and jointly developing learning opportunities for adult education with cultural and creative components. In the sense of active citizenship, the learning arrangements promote joint learning – regardless of age, gender, social and cultural background – and thus combine individual competence acquisition with the strengthening of social cohesion.The aim of our project is the ""Development of competences of people living in the neighbourhood to strengthen social cohesion in the social space"". Participants are on the one hand the adults in the neighbourhood (1500), who are to benefit from the new learning opportunities, and on the other hand the actors – adult education institutions, artists and cultural workers (200), as well as supporters from education, culture, civil society, business (200) and political decision-makers (60). Creativity and art is the glue that brings together the different groups of the neighbourhood for learning. The COVID-19 pandemic and its best-known symbol – the mask – provide the theme.In four neighbourhoods in Berlin, Vicenza, Linz and Warsaw we are forming four tandems of education and art – GFBM Academy and KulturMarktHalle (Germany), Eurocultura and Engim Veneto (Italy), ATJ Lingwista and Fundacja PASJE (Poland) and Südwind and Lilarum (Austria), with BGZ taking the lead. The nine partners are developing – with the participation of the neighbourhood residents – experimental courses on artistic expression (acting, puppet theatre and painting) around the topic of masks and masking. The participants will deal with issues such as appreciative communication, tolerance and participation. At the same time, the tandems initiate an ongoing dialogue with the other actors in the neighbourhood and discuss what form social-space-oriented educational work should take in order to reach all people in the neighbourhood. They elaborate an interactive handbook for cooperation between actors from adult education and from the art/creative scene in the context of creative partnerships and for the design of social-space-oriented educational offers. Further, the partnership develops a model for ""neighbourhood moderators"" – with concepts for working with neighbourhood moderators and a training course. The approach will be tested in the four neighbourhoods. Finally, the ideas collected in the course of the project on the further development of effective adult education and the framework conditions required for this are incorporated into the recommendations for political decision-makers.The main result of ""EduArt"" is a transferable model for social-space and resource-oriented adult education using cultural and artistic means - with positive effects on users, actors, institutions and systems. The participating adults develop shaping competences that enable them to actively participate in the neighbourhood. The educational actors and cultural workers expand their competences for social-space-related educational work with heterogeneous target groups, for inclusion, but also for working with digital media. The educational and cultural institutions position themselves as providers of attractive learning offers in the neighbourhood, sharpen their profile and portfolio of offers with new topics, forms of learning and learning approaches, and increasingly use international cooperation. And ""EduArt"" is also influencing the system level and contributing to the political discourse on the future of adult education.The long-term benefit is a political benefit (greater social cohesion), a social benefit (increased participation) and an economic benefit (improved organisational competences, resilience of the population and a strengthened cultural scene)."