<< Background >>Evidence that in the pandemic context inequalities in education have been exacerbated and that more flexible and inclusive learning paths are needed (EEA Communication, 2020) has pushed the LINK Partnership to be established, addressing in particular the needs of adults with behavioural and cognitive disabilities (AwBCD) aged 19-24. The need analysis undertaken through desk research and interviews pointed out that the completion of secondary education is a crucial and scary moment for AwBCD and their families. In front of them there is the risk of being excluded from society and from the job market. Secondary schools make a great effort to support the transition to the job market but many young adults with behavioural disorders and mild cognitive disabilities, despite having the potential for actively participating in the society and its economy, fail this transition. In this context, post-secondary and adult education can play a crucial role. It emerges however that only few adult education institutions and disability day care centers offer structured high learning possibilities to AwBCD that are generally limited to artistic and manual competences. The preliminary need analysis has highlighted the following main needs of AwBCD:- Have more and higher quality learning opportunities after secondary education - Increase their digital skills - Learn how to find a job, prepare for a job interview and handle emotion and communication - Learn with the support of digital tools that decrease the stress of the face-to-face interactions- Learn through innovative teaching methods that goes beyond the traditional teaching schemes - Increase their self-esteem, sense of initiative and relational skillsAn internal needs analysis has been conducted by the partnership (IT, PT, LT, ES, BG) through questionnaire and focus groups identified the following main needs:- Increase and make the training offer more digital, innovative and tailored for AwBCD- Increase the digital competences of their staff- Increase the capacity to work at international level and connect with adult educators and adult educator trainers across Europe- Raise awareness and share the best practices and success stories related to AwBCD inspiring AwBCD (and their families) to enroll in learning opportunities after secondary education- Inspire other adult education institutions to organize high quality learning opportunities for AwBCD- Prompt the policy makers to care and invest more on adult and lifelong learning opportunities for AwBCD<< Objectives >>Following the needs analysis, a major focus on the importance of fostering digital education seems to have emerged. The Digital Education Action Plan has indeed highlighted that “digital education should play a pivotal role in increasing equality and inclusiveness” and that after the COVID-19 crisis more than ever “being digitally competent is both a necessity and a right”. What seems particularly relevant for the purpose of this project and for the target group it addresses, as shared by the educators interviewed, is the role that digital tools and new technologies might have as a “mediating” tool to address their relational and learning challenges. The main aim of LINK is therefore to allow AwBCD aged 19-24 to develop digital and employability skills enabling them to actively participate in the society and find a job. The following objectives summarize what LINK wants to achieve:O1. Developing an innovative flexible modular curriculum on digital and employability skills tailored for AwBCDO2. Developing gamified and digital learning activities and materials adequate for AwBCDO3. Inspire and enable adult educators to organize high quality gamified and blended learning opportunities for AwBCDO4. Raising awareness on the needs and potential of AwBCD and the learning opportunities that can unleash it<< Implementation >>LINK planned activities are structured in order to ensure the achievement of the project objectives and are coherently organized into 4 Work Packages. WP1-Project Management is aimed at guaranteeing the smooth and efficient realization of the activities planned in the WBS. Periodical coordination meetings, collection of financial and supporting documents, constant tracking of the progress of the activities, prompt evaluation of the project result achieved will contribute to ensure that LINK is properly implemented.WP2-Preparation is aimed at awareness-raising and knowledge-spreading on the themes of our project. In particular, the following activities will be carried out:- An Open Web Conference on Gamification, Game-based learning and digital learning will give Adult Educators of partner staff, associated partners and stakeholders an opportunity to share and exchange experiences and best practices on the use of gamification and game-based teaching, creating a fertile ground and commitment towards approaching and introducing innovative teaching practices. - An Awareness Campaign will showcase success stories of AwBCD who managed to find a job and successfully integrated in the job market and in society, thus sensitising the audience towards the opportunities that innovative education paths may bring to social inclusion. WP3-Development of the Project Results is aimed at producing the main Project Results to develop digital and employability skills of AwBCD and enable Adult Educators of AwBCD to integrate the activities developed into their teaching practices (in particular a LINK Adult Education Course and LINK Handbook for Adult Educators). Besides this major intellectual work, the following activities will be organized:- A Training for associated partners in which partners’ staff who participated in developing the Course will showcase its use inspiring and enabling adult educators to implement in turn gamified learning activities for AwBCD- A Local Adult Education Course will be organized in each partner country to implement the curriculum developed empowering AwBCD to experience an innovative educational and training opportunityWP4-Dissemination and Follow-up will make wide use of online and offline media channels in order to share and promote the project results, increase their visibility to spread knowledge about LINK as far as possible and boost their exploitation, aiming at maximizing their transferability. In particular, the following activities will be organized: - Meeting with local stakeholders will be organized after each milestone reached, to promote and deepen their interest in the project activities and in turn boost the project visibility. - Creation of LINK Community of Practice enabling a cross-sectoral cooperation among adult educators, adult educators trainers, policy makers, AwBCD and their families, potentially giving birth to new projects and initiatives in the fields of education opportunities for AwBCD- One Multiplier Event targeting 60 people in each country aimed at increasing the visibility and advertise the outcomes of the project and in particular the two main Project Results, LINK Adult Education Course and LINK Handbook for Adult Educators, multiplying the possibilities for them to be exploited.<< Results >>The results expected to be reached are tangible and intangible in nature.The main tangible results are:- LINK Blended Adult Education Course on digital and employability skills with 6 learning Modules including Gamification and Game-based activities in 6 languages aimed at improving digital and employability skills of AwBCD- LINK handbook on digital and gamified learning activities for adults with behavioural and cognitive disabilities (Project Result 2) aimed at supporting Adult Educators of AwBCD to use LINK CourseThe following intangible results are expected to be achieved for adult educators (AE), AwBCD and partners:- Increased digital and employability skills (AwBCD)- Fostered ability to participate in the society and strengthen social relations (AwBCD)- Fostered employability and increased chances to find a job thanks to the awarding of microcredentials (AwBCD)- Capacity to deliver of LINK Adult Education Course with the support of LINK Handbook (AE)- Developed experience to provide a high-quality learning experience (AE)- Increased knowledge and competencies to delivered to deliver digital and gamified learning activities(AE)- Gained inspiration and shared best practices on the use of Gamification, Game-based and digital learning (AE)- Professional contacts and relations with fellow AE working with AwBCD in EU (AE)- Raised awareness on the needs of AwBCD and the learning opportunities that can unleash their potential (AE and AwBCD)- Raised awareness on the possibilities offered by digital education, Gamification and Game-based learning to address AwBCD (AE and AwBCD)- Increased ability to reach out for sharing purposes to stakeholders from various sectors (public, private, formal, non-formal learning, etc) (all partners)- Fostered cooperation, exchange of knowledge and capacity in the field of Gamification and integration of people with disabilities (all partners)- Gained experience in implementing and managing a KA220 Project for the 3 newcomers (Agrupamento de Escolas de Anadia, CEPA Teresa Enríquez, Maria’s World Foundation)