Skill IT is a transnational European adult education innovative strategic partnership which aims to develop, design and implement inclusiveness strategies for enhancing basic skills, in particular digital skills for specific adult groups -– adults with low level or no qualifications, those in low skilled occupations, unemployed, migrants and economically inactive, older people and least skilled. Skill IT will:a) address the issues of low levels of digital literacy and competency amongst adults who are disadvantaged and at risk of exclusionb) address stagnating participation in adult learning in EU countries through inclusive strategiesc) strengthen the partnership between local and regional organisations in partner countries working with the target groups of adult learners; d) increase digital competence and literacy amongst the hardest to reach groups in 7 partner countries using an innovative transnational approach involving local and regional adult education organisations, teachers, trainers and the adult learners themselves;e) improve and extend access to learning opportunities in accordance with Europe 2020, ET 2020 and Erasmus+ goals. Skill IT transnationality allows adult learners from different target groups and staff from partner countries to cooperate innovatively in order to design and develop an innovative ICT Education Model which will be tested within the 7 partner countries: Northern Ireland; Turkey; Czech Republic; Italy; Greece; Spain; Croatia.Partners will be involved in identification of the needs of their target groups-adults with low level or no qualifications, those in low skilled occupations, unemployed and economically inactive, migrants/refugees, older people and least skilled in terms of digital skills. ICT modules will be developed is response to these needs. Implementation and delivery of the ICT modules will involve the use of peer mentoring and partners will be involved in the identification of peer mentors within their target groups to complete a peer mentoring training course. All partners will be involved in the implementation of the ICT education model. Skill IT will be produced in an online tool box for future use by teachers, trainers, organisations and adult learners.The overall results of the project are:- Development and implementation of effective strategies to meet the digital needs of disadvantaged adults- Enhanced adults learners' ICT literacy and competencies- Promotion and cooperation between adult educators to increase disadvantaged adults participation in lifelong learning- Enhancement of transnational cooperation and networking between partner organisationsThe Skill ITproducts are:1) A Digital Needs Analysis Report of adults form the target groups within partner countries - 2) A ICT Competency profile in a table detailing the expected knowledge, skills, competencies and learning outcomes of the ICT educational model.3)Peer Mentoring Training Course for adults based on the competence profile including curriculum, course design and implementation 4) Production of ICT educational model - curriculum, course design and implementation.5)Skill IT Toolbox with guidelines, methods, training modules to enhance disadvantaged adults digital literacy and competency6) Promotion of exchange of experiences, further adapations of the innovation and transnational networking by integrating the local stakeholders of each partner in the project7) Skill IT website with all productsThe Skill It project will enhance the digital skills of adults who do not traditionall engage in ICT Training through lack of skills, fear or ability and are at risk of exclusion. Skill IT will create new inclusive opportunities for increased participation in lifelong learning activities. Skill IT will reconnect groups at the risk of exclusion to learning, to the labour market, to public services encouraging them to become more active citizens within their countries.

"In society today opportunities to harness the pervasiveness and potential of media applications for developing key competences of marginalised groups are plentiful. What stifles the development of new educational interventions, in many cases, is the unpreparedness, even reluctance, of educators to engage in new environments that undermine their perceived role as educators. There are now a wide range of ubiquitous learning environments that are accessible and user-friendly and offer potential learning opportunities for marginalised groups that are attractive and engaging. In this evolving education landscape the old 'sage-on-the-stage' model of institutional based provision is no longer the only educational act in town. Adult and community education programmes, free from the shackles of institution based provision, are often places where real educational innovation takes place. These programmes differ significantly from formal education and according to the Eurydice Report in 2014 ""adults are much more likely to participate in non-formal learning activities than in formal education and training...the take-up of non-formal education and training is nearly six times higher compared to formal education"". There is a significant lack of appropriate in-service training to support the CPD of educators and nowhere is this more apparent than in the adult and community education sector which is traditionally the poor relation where investment in CPD is concerned. Although there has been significant progress in the last 5 years ESL remains a significant problem in many Member States. Research shows that the prospects for early school-leavers throughout the remainder of their lives are bleak. They face significant difficulties in finding work and are more often unemployed and dependent on welfare benefits. There is also a cyclical element to early school-leaving with children of parents with low levels of educational achievement more likely to leave school early themselves without appropriate qualifications The DIME consortium has: - developed a bespoke in-service training programme for adult and community educators that supports them to use digital media production and digital media platforms as robust, pertinent and highly attractive learning environments - developed a comprehensive suite of digital media embedded learning and enquiry-based learning key competence resources for use with marginalised young adults in formal and non-formal settings. - provided a series of virtual learning and collaborative environments that bring adult and community educators in 8 countries and young marginalised adults in 8 countries together to support exchange of best practice, stimulate collaborative endeavors and raise awareness of cultural diversity. The key target groups were adult and community educators for whom a bespoke in-service training programme was developed and the young marginalised adults they work with to develop key their key competences.24 adult educators completed the in-service training programme at the transnational training event in Italy. A further 80 adult educators, 10 per partner country, completed the first iteration of the in-service training programme developed. A minimum of 20 marginalised young adults in each country were engaged in the audio-visual production training to develop their key competences before the end of the project life-cycle. This resulted in 160 marginalised young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds who have been distant from education and training being re-integrated into lifelong learning. The Dime consortium held 8 Short Film Festivals, 8 National Campaigns and held a Final Conference in Belfast.Social networking sites are the new ‘street corners’ where young people hang-out and digital media has filtered right down through the ranks of young people regardless of their social, economic or educational status. Providing appropriate training for adult and community educators to support them in harnessing the interest in digital media among their marginalised target groups is an innovative and worthwhile pursuit."

"<< Objectives >>The objectives are to create a recognition & course model for Digital Competences (based on DigComp 2.1) with * A pedagogical framework (based on Flipped Learning 3.0), * A quality enhance framework for course creation, implementation, and evaluation; * Pilot course modules covering the items of the DigComp 2.1 Citizens framework (https://goo.gl/T8TpJ9); * A recognition model for Europe defining the curriculum, training environment, evaluation andgrading, and consistent certification.<< Implementation >>(A) PROJECT RELATEDThese activities are for example the project setup, branding of the project (Logo, Corporate Identity), the preparation of meetings, general administration(B) PROJECT RESULTSThe development of the WPs & Deliverables, pilot courses, a Learning, Teaching and Training event(C) DISSEMINATIONThe foundation of ""DigiComPass Foundatioon""Implementation & Development of the webpage, the regularly sent newsletter, the publishing of project results in the blog and other similar task<< Results >>The project results will be a Flipped Learning 3.0 based framework for teaching digital competences (based on DigComp 2.1)This framework will include* a well-structured Recognition Model Package, * a tailored Flipped Instructional Design as a base of the pedagogical approach,* Course Training Material (covering competences as described in DigComp 2.1), * Pilot Courses (methodology & development), * ""Trainer Handbook"" and * “Evaluation and Transferability Guide”"

Across Europe, mental health issues are on the rise. Statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO), show that one in four people in Europe suffer with poor mental health and that almost 20% of all diseases treated across Europe are linked to mental health illnesses; including anxiety, depression and eating disorders. Research shows that negative mental health does not discriminate - it affects all cohorts of society, all communities and all socioeconomic demographics; however, it is most common among young people. A report published by OECD found that 75% of all mental health illnesses emerge between the ages of 15 and 25 years. These formative years are crucial for young people to cultivate habits, routines and behaviours to support positive mental health. Empowering young people to develop behaviours and habits that will support their positive mental health is critically important especially in the face of the youth mental health epidemic that we are witnessing today. Mental health issues affecting young people are often a direct response to what is happening in their lives. Terms that help to describe this youth mental health epidemic did not exist a decade ago but are now commonplace in our vocabulary. Terms such as FOMO (fear of missing out), social anxiety, social media validation, virtual identities and emerging issues including climate anxiety caused by the unknown consequences of climate change on the future of younger generations, have joined the ranks of more established terms like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia etc. to provide a snapshot of the myriad of serious and mounting mental health concerns that afflict young people today. These concerns manifest themselves in drug and alcohol abuse, self-harm, social withdrawal and in worst instances, suicide. Most children grow up mentally healthy, but surveys suggest that more children and young people have problems with their mental health today than 30 years ago. This research shows that there is a need to engage young people in tackling this issue, if they are to overcome the threats and negative impacts that poor mental health can have on their overall well-being, their personal development, their goals, expectations and active participation in civic and social life. Through the peer leadership programme that will be developed by the Safe Space project, partner organisations aim to work directly with young people in their communities, to empower them to become local peer advocates in promoting positive mental health and to tackling this scourge on the well-being of our younger generations. When young people begin to show the early signs of mental health problems, research shows that early intervention is crucial in preventing mental health issues from getting worse. However, it is not always possible for young people to access the services and resources that they so desperately need. The aim of this project is to train youth leaders to support prevention and early intervention measures on a local level among their peer group, as a means of tackling this issue through a bottom-up approach. The project proposes the following outputs to achieve its objectives:(1) Peer Leadership Programme - this programme will comprise 4 modules that will support young people to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to become leaders in tackling poor mental health among their peers.(2) Self-help Cartoons and Resources - this suite of positive mental health cartoons and self-help resources will support young people who are cut off from service providers and counsellors, to access resources that can help them to develop positive mental health habits. They will also be used by newly-trained peer youth leaders in their local mental health promotion activities aimed at their peers. (3) Safe Space Stories Video Library - this library of Safe Space success stories will act as inspiration and motivation for young people who are currently experiencing mental health problems, but who are looking for support and guidance to overcome these issues. Producing the video case studies will also empower the young people engaged in their production to tell their story of overcoming negative mental health and developing positive behaviours and habits.

"<< Objectives >>With this project, to learn, apply and include Montessori methodology in the educational curriculum, to highlight the individual skills of students, to enable students to learn according to their own learning speed, to improve their mathematical and language skills, to organize classes according to Montessori methodology and to learn how teachers can guide their students in the classroom and It is intended to apply.<< Implementation >>In this project, in order to learn the Montessori method in detail, training will be taken from the academicians of our university partner in Poland and Montessori practitioner teachers in Italy. The application examples shared in these trainings will be applied in the schools of the participating countries. In addition, the book ""Montessori Methodology and Applications"" will be prepared at the end of the project and will be a detailed reference source for participating institutions.<< Results >>At the end of the project, we expect the participant teachers to increase their knowledge and skills about Montessori education and learn the application methods. In addition, the expected results of this method are the development of cognitive skills of the students and the acceleration of the adaptation of disadvantaged students to the school. Academic partners will use the project results as a stepping stone for their new projects. The project will make participating institutions visible."