<< Objectives >>The INNO4CHANGE project main objectives are 1) to harness the potential of future social entrepreneurs by developing innovation, entrepreneurship, and business skills, to support them to be more business and innovation-oriented, have new ideas and grow their businesses and, at the same time, generate an effective social impact and 2) capacitate VET providers and professionals who work with them to integrate innovation, business & sustainability topics in their programme and curricula.<< Implementation >>To achieve its main objective, the INNO4CHANGE project consortium will 1) identify social entrepreneurship role models that have developed innovative ideas with effective social impact and record their interviews to serve as inspiration for future social entrepreneurs; 2) produce a training curricula and didactic resources offering a learning path based on modular learning and educational resources to address innovation, entrepreneurship, and business skills for the social economy.<< Results >>The main outcome of the INNO4CHANGE project is the digital learning portal for future social entrepreneurs and VET providers and professionals, an ICT-based educative tool that will give free and user-friendly access to the full set of the project’s inspirational video stories and provide, in an interactive and engaging way, the training curricula and educational resources previously created, specifically developed to facilitate practice and application of the selected themes.

In 2006 the Economic Policy Committee and the European Commission estimated that “the working age population in the EU will decrease by 48 million, a 16% reduction, between 2010 and 2050, while the elderly population will increase by 58 million, a gain of 77%”. Retirement is a universal phenomenon. It is experienced by Europeans in all countries, from all walks of life, from all social classes. It is, however, a period in life when inequalities between different subsets of the population become more pronounced. Either because of the sudden increases in free time, or because of a decline in their personal health, the newly retired are one of the most vulnerable societal groups when it comes to depression and mental illness. The road to inactivity for older workers is more often than not a road of no return. Research shows that prolonging the active engagement of recent retirees’ impacts positively on their personal self-esteem, their mental and physical health and well-being, fights social exclusion and offers recognition of their continued importance to society. As the ageing of the EU population continues apace and the percentage of retirees grows exponentially it is incumbent on service providers in adult education to take the necessary steps to foster positive mind- sets and encourage seniors to plan an active, fulfilling and rewarding life in retirement.Digital Literacy is increasingly becoming an essential life skill and the inability to access or use ICT has effectively become a barrier to social integration and personal development. With the convergence of different media forms in recent years, access to technology platforms can no longer be considered as real barriers to digital inclusion. The real issue where digital literacy is concerned, especially for seniors throughout Europe is about their ability to use the now widely available technology platforms. It is not that there is insufficient training available; On the contrary, there have been dozens of initiatives focused on developing digital skills training for seniors. For many educators who work with seniors, the biggest single barrier to building the digital skills of seniors is the complete lack of interest they show in new technologies which is perhaps masking their fear of these new pervasive technologies. Around 170 million people or 44% of adult Europeans have low or no digital skills. The more you move along the age profile of adults, the greater the percentage of those with no or low skills. Lack of need or interest and insufficient skills are the top reasons cited in the European Digital Progress Report (2017). It is the typical 'chicken' and 'egg' scenario. Do older people have a lack of interest because they have low skills; or do older people have low skills because they have a lack of interest.The VINYL WARRIORS project proposes to develop an embedded learning training programme for seniors that encourages them to recover their musical youth. In the course of the project activities, participants will learn key digital skills to enable them to record in audio and video the musical performance they enact. In this pilot phase, a minimum of 20 seniors in each country will be engaged in producing the proposed musical performance and building their digital skills.To achieve the desired outputs the following resources will be developed:- Digital Skills Training Programme for Seniors divided into 4 categories to support building digital skills for seniors taking responsibility the different roles in the LIVE Performance and Production Team - The Band; The Groupies; The Roadies; The Managers. The proposed embedded learning resources will address a wide range of issues associated with planning, designing, rehearsing, producing and performing at a live VINYL WARRIORS event.- In-service Training Programme and Handbook addressing the pedagogic challenges associated with; (1) online learning and working in dynamic online environments; (2) overcoming motivational deficits through innovative course design for attracting reluctant learners; (3) overcoming digital skill deficits when working with seniors to build digital literacy skills.- A MOOC - a dynamic mobile online learning portal to support the work of adult educators

Creativity is a valuable workplace skill for the 21st century, a superpower for tomorrow’s workforce, which can be mastered and cultivated. Nevertheless, in most areas of life there is still a prevailing stereotype to associate creativity exclusively with the arts, which hinders creativity taking appropriate place in organisations and businesses. As situation analysis in partner countries revealed, creativity development is not included in formal adult education programmes apart from those related to arts; creativity training is mainly offered as small-scale component within corporate training, but not as consistent courses. At the management level, there is a noticeable lack of understanding that creativity can benefit every function of an organization and therefore requires systematic management. In response to the identified needs of individuals and organisations, the project partners came up with the idea of ACDC 4 You – a European transnational partnership project promoting the development of adults’ creativity using creative processes of participatory music and raising awareness in relation to creativity as a crucial and the most coveted skill for the future economies across Europe and the globe. The project brings the capacity of 5 different organisations – two adult education providers, a professional theatre and film company, a non-profit cooperative and an SME specialised in marketing and communication from Lithuania, Romania, Ireland, Spain and Bulgaria. In ACDC 4 You, we focus on the context as an integral part of any creative process and a factor which can be positively influenced even by the results of a single project. We choose participatory music as a context for its power to unleash individual creativity by making us happy, relaxed and less stressed, thus encouraging divergent thinking. With this project, we consolidate the competencies of adult educators and musicians, thus introducing a new type of trainers prepared to teach adults creativity. The Aim of the Project is to equip adult educators, musicians and other cultural workers - as individuals the most vulnerable to economic shocks, such as those created by the COVID-19 crisis - with the skills and knowledge necessary to become successful facilitators of music-based creativity & innovation training for adults and at the same time gain creative confidence and develop ‘creativity literacy’ themselves.For achieving the aim the partnership will develop the following 4 intellectual outputs:1. Best Practice Collection in creativity training with the specific focus on participatory music2. ACDC: Artistic Creativity Development Curriculum – a 25-hour Train the Trainers Programme for Musicians and Adult Educators as Creativity Trainers3. Creativity Labs – a set of participatory-music based experiential training workshops with videos to develop ideation, creative thinking, problem-solving, collaboration skills in teams 4. Creativity Workbook - an interactive publication consisting of up to 50 practical exercises for individual ‘creativity literacy’ training. 10-15 participants per partner country (50-75 in total) will be involved in piloting of ACDC. All resources and materials will be done in English, with translation in all partner languages and will be available on the partners‘ websites, social media, EPALE and Erasmus+ Project Results platforms.The project will be widely disseminated in partner countries through different channels and activities, organisation of 5 local multiplier events and one International Conference ‘ACDC for Ceative Adults’ an open-air concert, demonstration of the project outputs and practicing participatory music in Lithuania. The innovativeness of the project first of all lays in the approach to creativity as a vital workforce skill which has to be mastered and cultivated on individual and systematically managed on a corporate level. Secondly, the developed outputs represent innovative resources introducing a new type of trainers prepared to teach adults creativity. Thirdly, musicians and other cultural workers are offered an opportunity to start an alternative activity as facilitators of music-based creativity training.The expected impact is: -developed competencies of musicians and adult educators necessary to respond to the ever-growing need to improve adult creativity skills and to become effective creativity trainers-promoted adult education as an alternative field for musicians’ self-expression providing them with more flexibility and resilience in the face of COVID-19 crisis-adult learners as final beneficiaries provided access to a new attractive form of professional development, which will help them to enhance their creativity and improve their position in the labour market.In the long term perspective, the project will contribute to the promotion of a positive attitude toward creativity & innovation in society and encourage the use of project outputs in a wide range of applications.

Migrant children (both first- and second-generation) starting school without the knowledge of their host country’s language find themselves in a disadvantaged position compared to native pupils, and their learning is often hindered until they overcome the language barrier. The situation is more or less the same with children whose mother tongue is a minority language for the host country. National language learning is an important aspect of stimulating their socio-cultural integration. When it comes to learning a European language as a second or foreign language, the use of the European cultural heritage and learning through heritage is a means to enrich the learning process. Children, who are already immersed in their own culture, are encouraged to understand and appreciate European culture here and elsewhere. It enables them to develop their sensibilities in relation to their immediate environment and their interest in things beyond it, thus beginning a process of opening up to the world. ‘Welcomm2 Explore Europe’ project implements a methodology for migrant and bilingual children’s language, communication and intercultural skills. The project addresses primary school children aged 6-12 years old, whose language skills in the language of the country they live in need support either because they are bilingual or have limited knowledge due to migration, children of the same age interested in exploring another European language and culture, educators (primary school teachers, language teachers, integration trainers, after school activity educators) and the children’s parents, with the main objectives to contribute to improvement of quality, attractiveness and accessibility of language learning through culture, to develop intercultural and communication competences and positive attitudes towards other cultures, and to improve awareness of the European cultural heritage.The project designes a model for language and intercultural learning through children’s immersion in their local and other cultures, enhancing their knowledge of European culture, multilingualism and diversity. Project approach compromised a communicative competence model: embedding the target groups in the development of the products, game-based activities: children become co-creators of the products and of their learning, integrated curriculum approach to teaching and learning: project outputs are designed for children to see the connections and relevance between subjects, and the learning vehicle of European cultural heritage. The project provided stimulated experience of children of being co-researchers, and co-imaginers and co-authors alongside with their teachers and families as a practice for their active and engaged participation in care, play, and learning.‘WelComm2 Explore Europe’ project’s results and achievements include:- A series of six board games, that invite players to explore the language and culture of European countries and regions: “Ontdek Nederland” is about the Netherlands using Dutch; “Explore la Belgique” is about Belgium using French; “Explora España” is about Spain using Spanish; “Explore Kent” is about Kent using English; “Опознай България” is about Bulgaria using Bulgarian; “Explorați România” is about Romania using Romanian; - 6 co-creation groups in 6 countries for inclusive learning and co-creation activities built for the development of the board games with 70 target group representatives;- 10 testing sessions of the board games organised in 6 countries with 108 target group representatives;- 10 workshops in 6 countries organised with local action teams for comic stories development with 123 target group representatives;- Comic books “Legends come to life” in NL, EN, ES, BG, FR, RO, containing six comic stories developed by children from local legends;- 19 Educational experience videos where children are the main actors and participated in the creation of scenarios, supported by 57 digital language exercises and mini games in 6 languages;- Guidelines for Educators: Methodology guidelines and a day-to-day tool for educators to support them in redesign their programmes and encourage them to use new methods as part of the development of education material for language and intercultural learning;- Multiplier events in six countries with a total of 572 participants involving target group members, education and integration stakeholders, policy-makers, etc. Project activities have been implemented by a consortium of 8 partners from 6 European countries (The Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom) all having significant and complementary expertise in development and promotion of high quality outputs and their mainstreaming in the partner countries and beyond. The outputs and the project approach can be transferred and used very easily in other countries and languages, thus provide the opportunity for a high flexibility and adaptability to national and European partners.

The ERFAL project is a KA2 Strategic Partnership for Exchange of Practices aimed at creating a thematic network for sharing experience on different topics in the area of integration of disadvantage people. The project developed a collection of good practices dealing with the integration of migrants and refugees, disabled people, NEETs and elderly and providing successful models for raising their skills and supporting their economic and social integration. The project objectives covered:-To establish a thematic network for sharing experience on different topics in the area of integration of disadvantage people -To improve the quality of the educational opportunities offered to disadvantaged people and raise their skill levels in a wide variety of sectors-To support disadvantaged people in their economic and social integration-To enhance the exploitation potential of existing educational projects focused on integration of various disadvantaged groupsThese objectives were achieved through the development of a Toolbox of 75 tools, initiatives and good practices for integration of migrants and refugees, disabled people, NEETs and elderly people from the partner countries and beyond, which are made available on the project website (www.erfalproject.eu). The Toolbox development and information included was continuously communicated with relevant stakeholders dealing with the integration of disadvantaged people. The project website registered 6,000 visitors since its launch.ERFAL used the methodology of the BarCamp participatory workshops where information and experiences are shared through different means and formats. A total of 4 BarCamp workshops were organised under the project, each one dealing with a specific topic related to the integration of disadvantaged people, and namely:-First BarCamp: Integration of migrants and refugees-Second BarCamp: Integration of disabled people-Third BarCamp: Integration of NEETs-Fourth BarCamp: Integration of elderly peopleDuring the workshops each participant presented a good practice dealing with the topic in question in diverse forms – presentations, educational games, national and European initiatives and projects for integration and education of disadvantaged people, first-hand people experiences, mobile applications, videos, educational digital technologies, etc. During the implementation of the project, the ERFAL partners created a network of 54 organisations and hundreds of individuals from the area of integration of disadvantaged people and used them for input and feedback at different project stages. The ERFAL outcomes were spread to relevant stakeholders within two rounds of national workshops aimed at exchanging experience on methods and opportunities for the integration of disadvantaged people. A total of 505 target group representatives participated in 24 workshops organised in the 9 partner countries. The ERFAL project was widely disseminated within 184 dissemination events reaching nearly 8,000 people; thousands more were reached through online dissemination and different informational platforms. In December 2018, the ERFAL project was awarded a Certificate for quality implementation of a project at an official ceremony during the annual valorization conference of the Bulgarian National Agency.