"The first principle of the European pillar of social rights, endorsed in December 2017 by the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission is: ""Everyone has the right to quality and inclusive education, training and life-long learning in order to maintain and acquire skills that will enable them to participate fully in society and to manage successfully transitions in the labour market"".However, even though significant progress has been made in many areas, we still encounter many vulnerable groups, who do not have access to quality and inclusive education. This group includes children of foreign origin who enter school late and often do not speak the local language, such as unaccompanied minors, and children with disabilities or long-term health problems, who cannot attend school regularly and whose learning is therefore affected. Many of these children will leave school before completion because their teachers do not have the knowledge and tools to deal successfully with this type of student. As a result, they will have fewer opportunities to enter the labour market. Without work or with a low-paid job, the risk of social exclusion increases exponentially.To prevent this, educators should be able to adapt the teaching process to the abilities of all the students. The MAIN OBJECTIVE of this project is to extend and develop educators' competencies, including their digital skills and knowledge of ICT tools, to create an inclusive classroom environment. Such knowledge is aimed at a better integration of all students, with the consequent improvement of their academic results and motivation to continue with their education. The project's DIRECT TARGET GROUP are educators, tutors and teachers in formal and non-formal education centres, school and other educational centre directors, teachers in training and teacher trainers. The INDIRECT TARGET GROUP of the project are the students, especially the ones with migrant background and students with some disability or special needs, who will improve their motivation and the quality of their learning due to the new methodologies and resources that the teachers will implement in the classrooms.At the end of the project, the partners expect to achieve the following RESULTS: 1) interactive database of good practices, 2) lesson plans for teaching English, mathematics and robotics, 3) photo-manifesto with recommendations for educators, 4) identification of ambassadors as role models in each partner organization to implement the action plans, 5) project website with pedagogical resources for educators, 6) action plans to be implemented by the partners and 7)4 transnational meetings.Regarding the METHODOLOGY, each activity will be led by a partner, who will provide the relevant guidelines. All partners will participate in the generation of the materials, always under the supervision of the leader. Once the materials are generated in English, there will be an internal evaluation and the materials will be improved with the instructions received. Finally, when the final English version is available, it will be translated into the partners' languages. This will ensure that it reaches more educators in the partners' countries.The project will have a significant impact on the direct target group, educators, tutors and teachers working in formal and non-formal education centres, and on the learners in these educational centres, especially those with special needs related to learning, the children's families and the whole community in general.The project will have an impact at a local, national and international level not only in the partner countries but also in other EU countries due to its transferability, sustainability and potential for exploitation. The project will contribute to higher quality education and a greater awareness of the importance of promoting innovative pedagogical methods for quality teaching and the importance of ICT education, especially for students with special needs."

Based on the need to increase the quality of foreign language teaching to children, pupils and students with hearing impairment, with cochlear implants and with other related disabilities we decided to take part in the international project with other EU countries. The elementary target of this cooperation is to gain knowledge about methods and strategies of teaching the national language, sign language and English language to children, pupils and students with hearing impairment. Special emphasis is placed on the national language and sign language. We would like to increase the level of language knowledge of these persons as well as to increase their interest in the study and school attendance by improving and enriching teaching methods, making the learning process more engaging and also by implementing more attractive educational programs. Good knowledge of communication systems i.e. sign (mother tongue), national and English language (especially in the read and written form) is a very important element of forming the self-esteem as well as strengthening social integration of these people. Their ability to actively join in the society increases their value at the labour market and also the possibility to take part in the democratic life of Europe. Insufficient or low level of communication skills can lead to failure at school. It can also become an obstacle in gaining relevant qualifications. In some cases there is premature or early termination of school attendance and thus these young people are at risk of unemployment as well as social exclusion. Education and special preparation of pupils and students with hearing impairment and other related disabilities is seen as an important means of how to achieve their personal fulfilment. Both communities, the deaf and the hearing, can benefit from the functioning and inclusive educational approach, which can contribute to higher level of understanding between these two communities. Due to their active role in the society, the pupils, students and their families will benefit from the positive and complex consequence of language learning. We also hope, that this project will lead to the professional growth of all participants, their motivation for further education as well as the increase in work satisfaction. The number of 18 specialists and pedagogues with years of experience will take part in the project. These experts are authorized to pass their knowledge on the pupils, colleagues as well as partners from other countries. The project will concern mainly the following activities: implementation of digital technologies into the learning process, bilingual approach to learning (national language/English language), bilingual teaching and bilingual dictionaries (national language/sign language), the specificities of teaching migrants, immigrants and asylum seekers, the introductions of eTwinning platform, national and foreign language vocabulary learning, reading comprehension, and special teaching and reading materials for hearing impaired persons, other language or communication systems used in language learning (sign language, Cued SPeech) and integrative systems of education for hearing impaired persons and students with additional disabilities. The project will be realized in 4 meetings, where the participants will develop the teaching and learning methods, pedagogical approaches and activities via demonstrations and examples of best practice, discussion workshops and presentations. The output of the project will be publishing of international collection of the best practices. The results of the project will be clearly presented there and will be available to specialists as well as the general public. Moreover a network of support specialists will be created. These experts will specialize in the language teaching to hearing impaired persons and will cooperate and take part in improving education in the wider European context.

Context and objectives of the project:Intercultural competences are crucially needed in our globalised world because of the increasing diversity and the pressing global challenges we face in our societies. In the year 2015 while planning the project there was the sudden flow of asylum seekers to Europe. We found an urgent need in the adult education sector to learn new ways and methods of how to teach newcomers in intercultural settings.This project aimed at promoting intercultural learning by developing arts-based and action-oriented methods and by producing new material for intercultural teaching and learning. Moreover, the project’s objective has been to enhance educators’ capacities to shape intercultural awareness and teach intercultural competences in culturally diverse settings.Participants and activities:During the project, we created, tested, taught and evaluated a variety of methods in the six adult education institutions in Finland, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Italy, Romania and Poland. Each partner piloted different arts-based and action-oriented methods in their local groups. These pilot groups were culturally diverse and there were learners from a variety of backgrounds. For example, participants included deaf people, minorities, refugees and people with different socio-economic backgrounds.As intercultural competences consist not only of knowledge but also skills and attitudes such as empathy and active listening, learning beyond the book is vital. That is why we were exploring how different kinds of arts-based and action-oriented methods can be effectively applied in multicultural settings. By combining creative practices with theories on intercultural competences, we developed new insights on how to create spaces for intercultural learning.During the last quarter of the project the partners implemented dissemination events with different kinds of themes for representing the variety of content of the guidebook. All the outputs collected to the guidebook are so comprehensive that they need an own event or own workshop in one event. All partners have also made the dissemination work by informing their stakeholders in their newsletters, web sites and social media channels Results, impacts and long term benefits:The project results brought new approaches to the choice of the methods for intercultural learning activities. The main output of the project is a digital guidebook for teachers, facilitators and educators, which contains all the materials developed through the project. The book provides new theoretical approaches on intercultural teaching and learning as well as practical methodological tools for educators. It also introduces an innovative reflection method to be applied by the educators and how to use game-like elements in intercultural learning. In addition we created the e-book for all people who are interested in intercultural learning. It is an interactive online tool that can be interesting for anyone to “challenge” their own intercultural competences and learn new point of view.The results of the project are available for all who are interested of intercultural learning and ways of promoting it. The guidebook and the e-book are open for everyone and easily accessed since it is published in a digital format. Guidebook is published in PDF format and it can easily be printed entirely or partly for present needs. The books can be benefitted by all kinds of educators, facilitators, instructors, social workers, community pedagogues and youth workers. In addition to the adult education field, the project results are useful for other sectors working with culturally diverse groups, such as NGOs and cultural organisations.Investing in educators’ capacity building yields long term benefits because they play an in important role in fostering enlightened, creative and interculturally competent global citizens. The project has brought new perspectives to actual and important themes, as intercultural competence is a prerequisite for community dialogue, civic engagement and inclusion, community building, problem solving, celebrating diversity and finding common ground.

The SignMedia Vocational Training (SMVT) project aimed to address some of the issues across the partner countries in relation to providing VET based resources for deaf people in the media sector and those wanting to work in the sector. It extended the reach of the SignMedia SMART media glossary for French sign language users and created and delivered a training course for the target audience. The project aimed to empower deaf people in the media sector by facilitating peer learning, up-skilling, knowledge exchange, European mobility and further facilitating communication and collaboration between deaf and hearing media professionals and crews.The key target groups for the project were deaf media professionals and those who want to work in the sector. Other beneficiaries were media VET providers, policy makers, employers and enterprise agencies, sign language interpreters, media students, hearing business professionals, teachers/trainers of the deaf, sign language students and policy makers. The project aimed to not only support deaf people who are already working in the media sector, but also those with ambition to work in the sector. These target groups, therefore influenced who we engaged with. Participants were selected through contact with the target groups and providers of relevant VET provision. The consortium consisted of 6 partners. University of Wolverhampton (UK) as lead partner, Bellyfeel Media Limited (UK) , University of Klagenfurt (Austria), Istituto dei Sordi di Torino (Italy), Alba Società Cooperativa Sociale (Italy) and University of Rennes 2 (France).The methodology and results of the project were based around 2 key Intellectual Outputs (O1 French Glossary Version and O3 Training Course), 4 project meetings, management activities, dissemination and a multiplier event. The French glossary can be accessed here and is free to access. http://www.signmediasmart.com/?lang=fr . It contains 500 media terms which are defined with a written definition, signed video and illustration. A group of relevant individuals from the target groups tested and piloted the app at various stages. In addition, other relevant stakeholders and internal partner staff formed part of the testing. The French glossary was launched at the Clin O'eil Festival in Reims in 2019. The event attracted a significant number of target groups from France, and also from across Europe and the world. Due to COVID travel restrictions, the planned face to face training course could not take place, and instead, an online course was created and delivered via Zoom. The course ran for 4 days and consisted of live sessions, pre-recorded videos and other supporting resources. The course was delivered 3 times in total (to UK participants, to Austrian participants and jointly to French and Italian participants). In total 35 people attended the course. The full course can be accessed here http://www.signmediasmart.com/smvt-course/ It is available in all languages of the project partners (Italian sign language, BSL, Austrian sign language and French sign language along with international sign). The suite of resources are now available for all to access for free and this has created sustainability for the project. A user guide for trainers was also created in all partner languages to support use and delivery of the online course in the future. It was envisaged that 750 people would be reached directly and indirectly through project activities and outcomes and this was far exceeded through extensive dissemination activity, a Multiplier Event at the Clin D'Oeil Festival 2019, in Reims and social media. SignMedia Vocational Training’s online course, glossary, websites and social media were joined in an intelligent way with other online Sign Media properties to maximise interest from the target groups and cross fertilise traffic from each project’s activity. This worked extremely well with some very busy periods surrounding events and online courses.The project has positively impacted across the partner countries in relation to the availability of VET based resources for deaf people in the media sector and those who want to work in the sector. Feedback from piloting and testing has been positive and the evaluation of the course by participants demonstrated the need and demand for such training. A wide range of individuals and organisations outside of the consortium were engaged with. This engagement increased throughout the project, and in particular when the French glossary version and training course content were ready. All project outputs are available free of charge to all and will continue to be available for the foreseeable future. There is potential for the glossary and training course to be replicated in other languages and topic areas.

In the post-COVID-10 era, Europe has to keep up with innovative ideas to ensure a sustainable and inclusive recovery. “If we choose to hold on to the innovator’s path…we have to focus on people, places and processes.” (European Political Strategy Centre Strategic Notes, 2017)In the last months, we witnessed the creation of a stronger sense of community and people supporting each other and their communities. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, supporting communities and people and promoting their development is essential. The partners of the Count Me In project focused on improving learning opportunities for low-skilled adults, especially from the disadvantaged groups, such as unemployed young people and adults with special needs to improve their life chances, promote their inclusion, and connect members of a community to support it flourishing. The main objectives of the project were to: 1) support development of a quality learning offer in the field of adult education focusing on learning outcomes and learner responsibility and autonomy; 2) promote the use of technology in educational and civil participation processes, 3) provide all interested stakeholders – adult learners, educational centres, civil organisations, decision-makers - with an access to open and innovative teaching/learning tools through the SMART platform; 4) foster the international cooperation of organisations active in adult education and civil participation focusing on active inclusion of the youth and people with special needs.Employing technology maximizes teaching /learning efficiency, encourage active participation of the disadvantaged groups in society processes and, consequently, make them able to better their environment – on personal and community level - transforming it into smart. Even basic digital competences combined with imagination empower ordinary people to design solutions for problems in their environment, making it smarter, conserving resources, and optimizing free time. The project partners sought to raise curiosity of adult learners about the world; help them to understand that they are a main chain in the change process; plant the seeds of the knowledge sharing best practices and working out new creative solutions. Within the project, the partnership 1) designed a SMART platform, an open education resource; 2) designed and deployed a training for trainers and an e-course for adult educators in order to improve their digital and professional competences; 3) designed an e-course for adult learners and organise piloting in partner countries targeting young people and people with special needs in order to improve their digital skills and civic literacy to be able to make “smart” changes; 4) improved attractiveness and access of the disadvantaged groups to new career paths in the field of digital technologies and sustainable community developmentThe strategical partnership pursued the creation of an international network where the partners were able to share information on Smart practices on personal/community levels to find cost-saving tech-solutions. The project was carried out transnationally in order to acquire already contrasted knowledge and, thus, to be able to adapt and apply this synthesized knowledge for future actions on personal/community levels. The developed transversal and longitudinal courses created synergies between knowledge fields. The results of the project are available on the website www.countmein.eu. The developed SMART platform provides an open access to teaching and learning materials for both adult learners and adult educators or volunteers working in this field. All the teaching and learning materials were developed in English and partner languages and are freely accessible for anybody interested in the topic.