"Almost recently, the European Union has been hit by the economic crisis. More specifically, the European South, which is mainly devoted to agriculture, has been in the centre of the storm, with youth unemployment to be the most severe. Despite the fact that, according to Eurostat, the regions in the South have suffered the most as seem to be even more traumatized by the economic consequences, these same countries have given signs of progress concerning the increasing trends in the number of young people who decided, instead of searching for a job in the city, to go to the countryside and start their own business with a specific focus on agriculture and organic farming. However, as has been described by the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA), the majority of them lack the necessary skills and competences as many of them have not studied in the sector but took over their family business (e.g family inheritance) or decided to work in the sector due to the high rates of unemployment, which still remains an unresolved problem in the Southern EU region. Under this spirit, “Grow Green” seeks to manage the combination of the above issues in order to tackle them with a holistic, practical approach. For that reason the project is not merely limited in helping young people to construct their business ideas correlated to the agricultural sector, but it goes even deeper; seeking to provide concrete guidelines on how to develop the necessary skills and competences to accomplish the above target by using innovative ideas and methods, with the scope to renew the whole sector of agriculture, based also on the EU’s Recommendation on ""Youth Guarantee"", already adopted since 2013. Besides, for the period 2014-2020, EU has set as one of its main objectives, the reinforcement of agriculture and organic farming and simultaneously the enhancement of young farmers, by providing them the necessary to get into the entrepreneurship sector. ‘Grow Green’ comes to complete this boost by providing young farmers with all the information needed in order to be capable to convert their business into profitable and sound enterprises. In that way, ‘Grow Green’ will not only enrich young professionals’ knowledge concerning the field, but will also contribute to addressing the issue of youth unemployment by boosting rural and regional economy through the creation of new agribusinesses. More specifically, the amplification of education in combination with the creation of an unprecedented strong networking amongst young people in the sector of agriculture and bio-agriculture will definitely help to refresh the economic activities in rural areas, thus aiming to regional development, a fact that provides an additional quality to the project. ""Grow Green"" focuses on the: 1. Decrease of youth unemployment by involving more young people in the agriculture sector. 2. Reduction of NEET (referring to a person who is not in employment, education or training), by mostly focusing and approaching countries which have both high rates of NEET, but also growth potential of the agro-food sector. 3. Boost of agro-entrepreneurial culture amongst young people. Therefore, it will set up a package of a 'web platform' and educational videos that will: - inform young people on both the agricultural market trends and the business environment of agriculture. - meliorate young people’s knowledge and skills in order to strengthen their agro-business profile. -evolve good practices, and particularly educational methods on agricultural fields, thus seeking to motivate youngsters to be involved with the agricultural sector. -assist young people already involved in the sector to develop and implement innovative practices in the agricultural sector. -create potential partnerships and future collaborations, through which new initiatives between experienced farmers and newcomers will arise. Furthermore, ‘Grow Green’ will give the opportunity to aspiring young farmers to move one step further in their training, by providing them a web platform specially-designed for the purposes of the project, where young farmers/participants will have the opportunity to identify the skills and knowledge needed to be involved in the sector in a successful way. It is equally important that ""Grow Green"" does not only focus on young people who either want to start their own agricultural business; it also seeks to provide additional knowledge and skills to persons who are already engaged in the agricultural and bio-agricultural sector whilst simultaneously ensuring the creation of a strong networking with other successful professionals. The consortium consist of the Cypriot NGO Citizens in Power, the Greek NGO iED and the Spanish company Red2Red. The three organizations share a common objective which is the development young people with necessary skills that contribute to their coveted entry into the business arena."

"When we started the project Entrepreneurship was seen as ""a key competence that could boost competitiveness and growth"" and contributed ""to the general good of society."" According to a study on the SME's impact on the EU labor market published by the European Commission in January 2012, 85% of new jobs created in the EU between 2002 and 2010 were in fact created by SMEs. The consortium has left the hypothesis that the business and make it prosper it will be a challenge, regardless to the location or environment of the entrepreneur. There were various business creation and development barriers that hampered even the most courageous entrepreneurs. The lack of entrepreneurial culture and the knowledge of some tools needed to create companies limit the survival of companies and prevent persons with relevant ideas to implement it. An OECD study, indicated that on average, one third of new European enterprises did not survive its first year of existence.The results obtained from the research carried out within the project indicated the need to develop services, including guidance and counseling services, of young entrepreneurs to implement their business idea. In this respect, the most obvious challenge was to adequately contextualize the business idea by combining some fundamental aspects that were preliminary to creating the business.As far as small, small and medium enterprises are concerned, the results of the research reveal from the entrepreneurs a significant level of uncertainty and concern over the economic situation, the obstacles that may arise in the path of the necessary and continuous process of innovation and change.In these sense a consortium of 6 organizations from 6 different countries (Italy, Slovakia, France, Turkey, Spain, Romania) aimed to provide potential entrepreneurs with support, training and guidance. This project was about sharing knowledge and experience and developed pertinent tools for startups.This project intended to provide a sustained support to entrepreneurs through a system already existing in France, called ""CAE Co-op"". This feature allowed persons, often away from employment, to test their business idea before creating their own business enjoying a support and training for entrepreneurship. Emphasis was be placed on developing the capacity of trainers,counselors, coach and consultants in entrepreneurship to guide better the entrepreneurs on trial. The pilot project within this program was fully involving a 24 people with this profile, who was coached by professional trainers for entrepreneurship, receiving all the necessary tools to start their own business. Once the system made its evidence, it might be a system open to all unemployed people of these area, in particular the young people who were particularly attracted by this kind of system (already proven in France).The specific objectives were:- To develop entrepreneurial skills of persons excluded from employment, especially young people.- To strengthen support and secure the path of entrepreneurs.- Professionalization of support entrepreneurship operators through the development of a common framework for entrepreneurship training adapted to the context of respectively four territories referred by the project , drawing French, and Slovak tools.- Creation of a network involving the formation operators, economic integration, coaching and social entrepreneurship through the establishment of a platform for economic initiative.- Exploitation of results at regional and national levels.- Undertake an effective dissemination and exploitation plan, in order to spread the results and reach the highest number of end users and beneficiaries, to ensure that the results of the project will be sustainable also after the end of it."

The world is being transformed by new technologies, which are redefining the way people live, work, do business, and function as a global society (Introducing the Digital Transformation Initiative, World Economic Forum, 2017). We are witnessing the digitalisation of our society, the digital transformation of the economy. New ways of working are affecting the types of skills needed, including innovation and entrepreneurship. Digital skills are needed for all jobs and occupations, and many sectors are undergoing rapid technological change (New Skills Agenda for Europe, European Commission, 2016). People need digital competence to be able to participate, link to and benefit from digital opportunities - but also to mitigate possible risks. This is clearly a challenge that is being addressed today (DigComp 2.0: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens, 2016) and that become even more critical in times of pandemic.Digital transformation was a growth driver within the Europe 2020 Strategy which emphasises smart, sustainable and inclusive growth to strengthen the EU economy and prepare its structure for the challenges of the next decade. Digital transformation will be present in Europe 2030 Strategy as well. Digital technologies are key drivers of innovation, growth and job creation, and therefore digital competence is more and more linked to participation in the labour market. Digital competence is not only about being familiar with digital technologies. It is also about the way new technologies and social media are used. In terms of digital skills, considering that to function effectively in a digital society more than low level skills are needed, about 50% of the EU population can be considered as insufficiently digitally skilled (having either low or basic digital skills). In Turkey 45% of the population does not have the skills they need to function effectively in the digital world, while the share is 43% in Portugal, 47% in Italy, and over 50% in Bulgaria and Spain (Eurostat 2017). The situation is far from having become better, according to the most recent data (Eurostat 2019).The job search process and the employers’ recruitment and selection methods are being re-shaped by internet. Employers and recruiters are not only posting vacancies on the internet, but they are increasingly using the internet (including social media) to screen and select applicants. Despite the significant increase in the use of ICT & social media by low-skilled/low-qualified adults, they reveal a low level of awareness and understanding of the broader implications that their online activity can have on their social and professional life. It was - and it continue to be - thus important that low-skilled/low-qualified adults (especially over 45) develop their media and digital skills in order that they can effectively use social media in a way that can create increased opportunities for them in the social and professional sphere. More specifically, LINK-UPS project targeted: - Low-skilled/low-qualified unemployed adults, particularly over 45, in Bulgaria, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Turkey and - Employment/career counselors and/or other relevant professionals and organisations working with low-skilled/low-qualified unemployed It aimed at: - Developing the digital and media skills of low-skilled/low-qualified unemployed adults, mainly over 45, through innovative tools, so that they are motivated and able/ready to build a strong online professional identity to reinforce their access to employment, thus leading to social and economic inclusion. - Upgrading the knowledge of employment/career counselors, VET providers, recruiters and/or relevant public and private stakeholders working with low-skilled/low-qualified unemployed and providing them a new approach and tools for supporting and interacting with middle-aged unemployed persons through social media. The above-mentioned goals were achieved through the implementation of the following activities/tasks: 1. Development of a methodological framework for the building of digital skills through social media for low-skilled/low-qualified unemployed persons (assessment of online recruitment, screening and selection methodologies, practices and tools; development of skills building framework). 2. Development of a mobile and online interactive platform for building the digital competence of low-skilled/low-qualified unemployed persons (development of the interactive platform and mobile app, production of the training content); pilot implementation of digital skills building carried out with 190 participants). 3. Development of an online self-assessment tool and a usability manual for professionals supporting low-skilled/low-qualified unemployed persons (development of pre/post self-assessment tool and manual for professionals; dissemination of self-assessment tool and manual to professionals, namely by means of Info Days nationally organised for 437 participants).

"The project ""Eco-management: yesterday's knowledge, tomorrow's know-how"" (Ecomanagement) aimed to take into account the environmental impact of land use as directed in recent decades, to assess this impact and reduce it in order to place it at the centre of a sustainable development perspective.To do so, work was conducted in perfect symbiosis between, on one hand, seniors - holders of ancient know-how - and, on the other hand, citizens / young people in social and / or economic difficulties, including school dropouts, migrants, jobseekers... who are looking for the untold wealth, the priceless capital at a time when fight against climate change is pervasive and pressing.On each areas of the partnership were thus carried out:•a collection of good practices for sustainable development;•an awareness raising - environmental education during an ethnological field survey with the production of videos by (young) adults;•teaching techniques and ancestral knowledge for ecological transition (experimentation of the formations / actions) with production of a territorial guide for ecomanager citizens.To carry out intergenerational transfer and project work, the partners adopted a very participatory and citizen-oriented methodology that included the constitution and intervention of various groups at different stages of project development: local expert groups with participation in the project. local elected representatives, youth groups and citizen groups.It should be noted that the intergenerational transfer took place on very diverse themes related to the cultural heritage (tangible and intangible goods), local / regional / national identity marker.Thus, capitalization of knowledge and skills at European level has not only tied young people and seniors around the same project - protection, management and valorisation of a common space - but also set this ancient heritage into tools useful, usable and used by all, while empowering citizens and giving them keys to finding a job: development / acquisition of social and civic skills, technical knowledge, network of local and European stakeholders, European mobility, etc.Finally, the project proposed a formal and permanent dialogue between local authorities and organized actors from civil society including companies, academics, ... on the issue of heritage enhancement (constitution of Living Labs) as well as networking at European level.A total of 36 seniors and 246 (young) adults were directly involved in the activities for a total of 44.5 training days (figures exceeding the forecast of the application).All the deliverables are freely available in English, French, Greek, Slovak and Spanish on the interactive platform ""Ecomanagers citoyens"": http://www.ecomanagement.eu. The virtual community of users and beneficiaries is also embedded into the platform : https://www.facebook.com/ecomanagement.eu/ ."

Migration and asylum seekers represent nowadays a great challenge for the whole Europe, where the migrants’ integration and refugees’ flow have become topic of a lively debate across the enlarged Europe. The “MigrEmpower: Itineraries and resources for migrants and refugees’ empowerment and integration” project, was aimed to contribute to migrants/refugees’ social and labour integration in the hosting societies, involving 8 partner organizations from 6 EU countries: Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Germany, Austria and France. These 8 organizations attempted to promote equal opportunities and social inclusion by designing the MigrEmpower itinerary, a 3-phase path embodying intervention tools for orientation, assessment of competences, self-evaluation and empowerment aimed at promoting migrants and/or refugees’ integration, making them immediately usable by professionals and social workers. More in concrete, as a starting point for the MigrEmpower itinerary, a Study on integration policies and good practices (IO1) was elaborated by partners, offering the insights of the state-of-the-art of migrants and refugees both at European and partner countries level, selected Good Practices of social and labour integration and policy recommendations. On the basis of the carried out research, the MigrEmpower itinerary was designed by partners encompassing 3 phases: 1) the Orientation and Counselling phase (IO2), focused on participants’ first needs analysis, self-evaluation and balance of competences and qualifications; 2) the Training Package (IO3), with five modules in relation to the subjects of Computer Literacy, Linguistic Literacy, Citizenship and Social Skills, Communication and Personal Brand and Self-Employment; 3) the Guidelines for Employment Support (IO4), focused on the organization of meetings with local employers, networking sessions and other employment supporting activities addressed to improve participants’ employability and entrepreneurship. The itinerary was tested by project partners in the 6 EU countries during the 2nd project year by involving a total of 342 participants and 26 professionals. Evaluation activities demonstrated that participants benefitted from the itinerary, as they gained knowledge and information about local labour markets and job search strategies, improved or acquired key skills such as communication and language, empathy, solidarity, tolerance, creativity, open-mindedness, a sense of respect, equality and diversity through interculturality, dialogue, exchanges, informal moments and debates, gaining self-confidence and motivation. The successful piloting of the itinerary demonstrated that social and labour integration paths for migrants/refugees are possible: this requests a strong commitment and responsibility of all entities involved: policy makers, administrations, bodies/services working with these beneficiaries, employers, etc. Moreover, the itinerary has been considered as useful path for professionals as it provides a framework and tools that can be applied to all kinds of local and personal circumstances, thanks to its openness and high degree of flexibility. As well, by undertaking the piloting phase, partner organizations’ staff members and professionals working with migrants/refugees could enrich their knowledge and competences, acquiring new skills for supporting the beneficiaries, finally expanding their local networks in the sector. Through accurate dissemination and exploitation campaigns carried out through the production and distribution of brochure, 4 newsletters, creation of the project web page, a Facebook page and LinkedIn group, 2 press releases, organization of 6 final conferences in each partner country, publication of articles and participation in related events, a total number of 190,431 stakeholders was reached. Project sustainability is ensured by the adoption of the created tools in partners’ and stakeholders’ daily work, as the project Outputs can be part of future activities related to education and training of migrants/refugees, or be adapted and used to meet migrants/refugees’ needs as well as other disadvantaged groups around Europe, thanks to the high flexibility of the MigrEmpower methodology. The MigrEmpower materials are available in English, Spanish, Italian, German, Greek and French and freely accessible and downloadable from the project web site (www.migrempower.eu).