• more than 60% of educators face difficulties in continuing their studies through electronic platforms during the pandemic.

Starting from that, eADULTS collected the best practices of virtual, online and remote education activities for educators and teachers.

The Project

The Covid crisis has showed how the field of education is not 100% prepared to face a virtual, online and/or distance teaching model. This is especially notable in adult education, as this target shows to be less-skilled when it comes to digital competences.

This was the starting point of this “Exchange of good practices for promoting virtual education among adult people through electronic platforms” (eAdults), which arose from the need to seek, identify and evaluate which were the most effective educational platforms and methods in a context of virtual teaching for adults.

The objective was achieved through an exchange of best practices between Bulgaria, Italy,
Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Due to this, the entities that are part of this project were able to increase their knowledge in the field of virtual education and electronic platforms in the field of education (specially among adult people).

The following activities were carried out:

• Context Analysis | A questionnaire was designed to identify which platforms
  were the ones that students and educators had used the most during the
  confinements, as well as how their experience had been using these platforms
  and if they considered face-to-face or virtual education to be better.
• Mapping Best Practices | A template was designed to identify good practices in
  virtual adult education that have happened during lockdowns and the
  pandemic.
• Transnational Workshop | Based on the context analysis and the mapping of
  good practices, a virtual workshop was designed where the different functionalities of the platforms in non-formal education activities were put into practice. At the end of the workshop, the participating students and educators evaluated each of the platforms and gave their final verdict.

Project Results

eAdults have generated evidence for other educational entities (or dedicated to the field of education), so they can develop new, alternative and effective virtual teaching activities tailored to the needs of educators and adult students. At the same time, this project serves as an initial step for the partner organisations to continue researching on online, virtual and distance education.

See the results below:
Good practices in virtual adult education
Results of the survey
How the project started

_________
Project partners:
Associazione di promozione sociale Joint
BB&R
Universidad de Salamanca
Rosto Solidario
MoreMosaic
SAFE Project
Regionlne Centrum Wolontariatu

Co-financed by the Erasmus Plus programme of the European Union.

L'articolo Project Result: eADULTS | Exchange of good practices proviene da Youth Networks.

This study visit has been envisioned to promote the exchange of good practices and the creation of new partnerships between Civil Society Organisations (CSO) active in the field of volunteering.

Participants’ profile:

The Study Visit is addressed to members with a decision-taking power within Civil Society Organisations with a  that are active or very interested in:

1. the recognition of CSOs at public and institutional level;
2. the management of volunteers and the implementation of innovative volunteering programmes;
3. the implementation of specific measures to help volunteers and young people to recognize their learning process and eventually to certify it;
4. the establishment of long-term cooperation between Turkish and European CSOs;
5. being actively involved in the next steps of the project and in future cooperation with the other CSOs.

Contents of the Study Visit:

The Study Visit will last for 5 days (arrival the 19/4/2022 and departure the 23/4/2022). At the beginning of the Study Visit participants will share expectations and contributions, will get to know each other, and break the ice using non formal education activities, thus fostering the creation of a cooperative and proactive group environment. Then we will visit at least 5 CSOs discovering good practises and establishing new partnerships.

Both the participants and the visited organisations will get an explanation of the GloRe Certification System and will be asked to contribute and participate in the process.

Tasks of the participants:

• Prepare a short presentation of your organisation in English,
• Personally participate or involve another staff member of your organisation in a 4-hrs Online Technical Training to learn how GloRe works the in March 2022 (date/time to be defined),
• Share at least 1 content about the project on the organisation’s social media channels.

Selection of participants:

To participate, fill out this  form.

The deadline for applications is the 21st of March 2022. All candidates will be informed about the selection process, while the ones in line with the call might be contacted for a short call, if needed. Interviews will be held on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Economic conditions:

100% of the costs related with travel, accommodation, Visa and Covid-19 tests will be covered by the Project. No participation or membership fee is foreseen.

Visa support:

Turkish participants will be helped in the Visa process by the Italian partner Associazione Joint and the Turkish partner, the Antalya EU Centre, if the process starts in due time.

Covid-19 measures:

All participants will need to have the “Reinforced” Green Pass, thus will need to have completed the full vaccination course and/or to have been infected over the last 6 months. The project will cover the costs for all the needed Covid tests. However, the final status and requirements will be clarified at a closer date to the study visit since Covid-19 related measures may change.

Brief Info About the Project, the Certification Platform and The GloRe Network:

The project: Euro-Turkish Civil Society Recognition (EUROTUREC):

“EUROTUREC” (ref num. CSD-VI/372) is supported by the EU Programme “Supporting Civil Society Dialogue Between EU and Turkey Grant Scheme (CSD-VI)”. The aim of the Program is to foster cooperation between the Turkish and European Civil Society.

EUROTUREC is the follow-up of GloCal Recognition (CSD-V/397) and it aims at fostering the recognition and establish long-term cooperation between Turkish and European CSOs.

The main concrete objectives are:

1- reinforce partnerships and create concrete support to foster cooperation opportunities between Turkish and European CSOs;

2- further development of certification-and-support tools for volunteers and CSOs’ staff;

3- train organisations’ key members in volunteers’ management, networking and project development;

4- increase the number of CSOs and of young people benefitting from the GloRe system and network;

5- reinforce the network internal governance fostering a sense of belonging and reliability;

6- boost the recognition of involved CSOs and the civil society ecosystem through activities of analysis, networking and dissemination.

The Certification platform

It is a certification platform that allows both international and local volunteers to receive a certificate with recognition of the soft skills they acquired while volunteering.

The latest version of the platform, launched in March 2021, enables users to get a certificate either in English, Turkish, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese. Volunteers have the possibility to go through 26 e-learning modules that help them in assessing their level in each soft skill (the ones certified by the platform) and in creating a short dossier about their learning. At the end of the process, the host organisation will validate the certificate, taking responsibility for approving the information on it. The platform is complementary to other certifications as Youthpass and is meant to provide volunteers with a flexible and reliable certificate while investing a few hours in it. The certificate is recognised internationally by the members of The GloRe Network international community and by several educational and public institutions.

The GloRe Network

The GloRe Network is the umbrella organisation that overviews the correct usage of the platform and the memberships. Organisations need to become members of it to be able to use the certificate platform. For more information visit this page.

L'articolo EUROTUREC Study Visit in Milan on Good Practices in the Field of Volunteering proviene da Youth Networks.

This study visit has been envisioned to promote the exchange of good practices and the creation of new partnerships between Civil Society Organisations (CSO) active in the field of volunteering.

Contents of the Study Visit

The Study Visit will last for 5 days (arrival on 28/3/2022 and departure on 1/4/2022). At the beginning of the Study Visit, participants will share expectations and contributions, will get to know each other, and break the ice using non-formal education activities, thus fostering the creation of a cooperative and proactive group environment. Then we will visit at least 5 CSOs discovering good practices and establishing new partnerships. 

Both the participants and the visited organsations will get an explanation of the GloRe Certification System and will be asked to contribute and participate in the process. 

Participants’ profile

The Study Visit is addressed to members with decision-making power within Civil Society Organisations that are active or very interested in:

1. the recognition of CSOs at the public and institutional level; 
2. the management of volunteers and the implementation of innovative volunteering programs; 
3. the implementation of specific measures to help volunteers and young people to recognise their learning process and eventually to certify it; 
4. the establishment of long-term cooperation between Turkish and European CSOs; 
5. being actively involved in the next steps of the project and in future cooperation with the other CSOs.

Minimum level B1 of spoken English and B2 of English comprehension is required.

Tasks of the participants

• Prepare a short presentation of their organisation in English,
• Personally participate or involve another staff member of your organisation in a 4-hrs Online Technical Training to learn how GloRe works the in March 2022 (date/time to be defined),
• Share at least 1 content about the project on the organisation’s social media channels.

Selection of participants

If you are interested and would like to participate in this study visit, you can fill out this  form. 

The deadline for applications is the 4th of March 2022. Only the candidates with the profile in line with the call will be contacted.

Interviews will be held on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Economic conditions

100% of the costs related to travel, accommodation, Visa, and Covid-19 tests will be covered by the Project. No participation or membership fee is foreseen.

Covid-19 measures

All participants will need to have the Green Pass, thus will need to be vaccinated and/or to have been infested over the last 6 months. The project will cover the costs for all the needed Covid tests. However, the final status and requirements will be clarified at a closer date to the study visit since Covid-19 related measures may change.

Brief Info About the Project, Certification Platform and the GloRe Network

The project: Euro-Turkish Civil Society Recognition (EUROTUREC)

“EUROTUREC” (ref num. CSD-VI/372) is supported by the EU Programme “Supporting Civil Society Dialogue Between EU and Turkey Grant Scheme (CSD-VI)”. The aim of the Program is to foster cooperation between the Turkish and European Civil Society. 

EUROTUREC is the follow-up of GloCal Recognition (CSD-V/397) and it aims at fostering the recognition and establish long-term cooperation between Turkish and European CSOs.

The main concrete objectives are:

1. reinforce partnerships and create concrete support to foster cooperation opportunities between Turkish and European CSOs;
2. further development of certification-and-support tools for volunteers and CSOs’ staff;
3. train organisations’ key members in volunteers’ management, networking and project development;
4. increase the number of CSOs and of young people benefitting from the GloRe system and network;
5. reinforce the network internal governance fostering a sense of belonging and reliability;
6. boost the recognition of involved CSOs and the civil society ecosystem through activities of analysis, networking and dissemination.

The Certification platform

It is a certification platform that allows both international and local volunteers to receive a certificate with recognition of the soft skills they acquired while volunteering. 

The latest version of the platform, launched in March 2021, enables users to get a certificate either in English, Turkish, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese. Volunteers have the possibility to go through 26 e-learning modules that help them in assessing their level in each soft skill (the ones certified by the platform) and in creating a short dossier about their learning. At the end of the process, the host organisation will validate the certificate, taking responsibility for approving the information on it. The platform is complementary to other certifications as Youthpass and is meant to provide volunteers with a flexible and reliable certificate while investing a few hours in it. The certificate is recognised internationally by the members of The GloRe Network international community and by several educational and public institutions.

The GloRe Network

The GloRe Network is the umbrella organisation that overviews the correct usage of the platform and the memberships. Organisations need to become members of it to be able to use the certificate platform. For more information visit this page. 

L'articolo EUROTUREC Study Visit in Istanbul to Exchange Good Practices proviene da Youth Networks.

SALTO Inclusion & Diversity organised the conference with the aim of focusing on creating greater visibility for inclusion & diversity and building bridges between stakeholders in the EU youth programmes.

The participants exchanged good practices, looked over achievements and learned more about the Inclusion & Diversity strategy.

Inclusion & Diversity in Erasmus Plus

The Inclusion & Diversity Forum 2021 was structured around participatory activities, such as:

• round tables;
• presentations by national and international experts;
• workshops on specific topics;
• best practices.

Purpose of which was to highlight the work that has been done in the past generation of the EU youth programmes, as well as the new formats and possibilities in the new Erasmus+ programme and European Solidarity Corps, and in the new Inclusion & Diversity Strategy.

To explain how to drive Inclusion and Diversity in Youth Programmes (Erasmus Plus and European Solidarity Corps) SALTO made available a roadmap.

How To: ID in Youth Programmes

The five main points on how to drive Inclusion and Diversity in your European projects are:

1. Increase commitment and buy-in: through increased knowledge, awareness and understanding, people should feel inside themselves why I&D are so important and connect their beliefs to their attitudes and actions. Nobody should doubt that this is (one of) the priorities.
2. Active outreach, to have more young people with fewer opportunities in the EU Youth Programmes: it is not enough to just say ‘we are open to all’ but there should be some active effort to appeal to and reach out to (organisations working with) specific (underrepresented/disadvantaged) target groups. Going the extra mile – not just waiting for them to come. It is about promotion to specific organisations/networks that represent young people with particular needs.
3. Reduce barriers: take away as much as possible all obstacles – and if not possible, support beneficiaries to overcome the obstacles, either by upskilling them and increasing confidence and know-how, or with structural support. Give the (potential) beneficiaries the tools/skills to make it happen. Aim towards a system for the programmes that is flexible enough to accept and support all people with different needs, not asking the individuals to adapt to a system.
4. Maximize the impact of your European projects;
5. Mainstreaming Inclusion and Diversity: all E+ youth & ESC projects should be ‘inclusive with diverse participants’ by default. In the ideal case, there should not be any special I&D projects anymore. The basic setup of all projects should cater for different needs and diverse backgrounds. It’s not about ‘normalising’ the topics, but embracing it, making it ‘every day’ and encouraging for everyone and anyone to be ‘within the circle’.

To see the above steps in more details, visit the roadmap.

The ID Forum 2021 website is everyday-updating with new contents and information about how to consider Inclusion and Diversity when writing your European project.

Read also

The Meaning of Solidarity in European Projects 

Erasmus Plus Programme Guide 2022 Just Published

L'articolo ID Forum Event: Inclusion & Diversity in Erasmus Plus and European Solidarity Corps proviene da Youth Networks.

For this reason, Open Space Foundation, an organisation based in Bulgaria supporting youth initiatives, has released a book on short-term volunteering as a door for development. The aim is sharing good practices on the basis of their gathered experience over the last eight years.

The purpose of the book, called “Short-term volunteering as a door for development“, is to give useful information. The target is any organisation that wants to know more about what dealing with international volunteers means. In fact there are not-written challenges they may face, in terms of reputation and also on the human side. It focuses also on how to get prepared and to be able to make the best out of the program’s provisional accomplishments. The beneficial effect of hosting international volunteers is indeed achievable but it does not have to be taken for granted.

It is important to point out that the book covers several and detailed topics. They concern both Short-term and Long-term projects, including:

• The accreditation process step by step (now called Quality Check)
• The further steps in terms of partnerships, applications and selection process;
• Any aspect concerning the preparation of hosting volunteers (the agreement, the infopack, living basics);
• What must be considered upon arrival, the scheduling, the mentor;
• How to boost motivation;
• What comes next: the effects on the organisation after the conclusion of the projects.

The book is available both in English and Bulgarian and it is free to download.

Read also

How To: Positive Organizational Culture
How to Empower and Support Young Entrepreneurs

L'articolo Short-term Volunteering: a Book by Open Space Foundation proviene da Youth Networks.

The seminar represents an opportunity to meet other like-minded actors of the same field, to increase networking, and to exchange knowledge and good practices. Your contribution is an added value to a meeting that marks the conclusion of the EU-Turkish project “Speaking the Same Language”. The project, carried out by ANSIAD (Antalya Industrialists and Business People Association), Associazione di promozione sociale Joint and No Borders, is part of the European-Turkish cooperation among Civil Society Organisations and has been funded with EU funds. The aims of the project are:

• strengthening entrepreneurship and establish formal cooperation among cross-sectorial stakeholders;
• enabling the Exchange of knowledge and good practices among CSOs to support career development and entrepreneurial skills of young people;
• enabling intercultural learning experience among Turkish and European stakeholders;
• supporting personal and professional skills for young people to increase their employability.

The seminar sees the participation of 50 stakeholders from Europe and Turkey. The aim is to discuss how Civil Society Organisations from Turkey and Europe can cooperate more effectively in entrepreneurial activities, what challenges they may face while enabling new collaborations in this field and creating future partnerships and common projects.

The Seminar is held online on December 16-17th 2020 and the schedule is as follows:

1st day (December 16th 2020)

11-11.30 am: opening speeches and presentation of the project
Speaker: Akın Akay AKINCI, ANSIAD Chairman of The Board
11.30-11.50 am: the role of civil society in the entrepreneurial ecosystem – overview
Speakers:
– Assoc. Prof. Nuray ATSAN, Akdeniz University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences
– Nikolaus MEYER-LANDRUT, Head of EU Delegation to Turkey: Why EU gives importance to civil society dialogue between EU-TR?
– Mr Sezai HAZIR, Habitat Association Founder & President: How does CSOs contribute to the entrepreneurship eco-system in Turkey?
– Mr Orhan TURAN, President of TURKONFED: “Importance of EU-Turkey Dialogue from the Perspective of Business World CSOs”
– Mr İsmail HAZNEDAR, 2015 President of JCI Global: Importance of CSOs’ Support to Youth Entrepreneurship
– Mr Tommaso PESCETTO COSENTINO, General Manager of Joint Association: Importance of International Collaboration & Networks in Supporting Youth Entrepreneurship.

11.50-12 am: break
12-1.30 pm: the role of civil society in entrepreneurship ecosystem
1.30-2 pm: break
2-3 pm: small groups workshops: developing suggestions by stakeholders from civil society and other sectors
3.30 pm: closure

2nd day (December 17th 2020)

11-12 am: networking event – part 1
12-12.15 pm: break
12.15-1.15 pm: networking event – part 2
1.15-1.45 pm: general evaluation
1.45 pm: closure

The entire seminar is in English with simultaneous translation when needed. To participate, it is necessary to fill out the form.

Read also:

Introduction Day of “Step Into Solidarity” – Online Conference

L'articolo International Seminar on “The role of Civil Society in Entrepreneurship Ecosystem” proviene da Youth Networks.