REGGAE will showcase the role of scientists in the achievement of a greener, more resilient and innovative European society, by involving researchers and public side by side in lively activities. By engaging adult citizens and showing how innovation and knowledge can lead to growth and to a more sustainable future, the project will also contribute to reinforce trust in science and its methods. Young researchers, as role models for students, will be involved in activities specifically designed for youngsters and schools, in order to promote STEM careers. The topics addressed in the activity programme will cover the main areas of the European Green Deal, namely, climate ambition; clean energy; circular economy; energy and resource efficient buildings; sustainable and smart mobility; farm to fork; biodiversity and ecosystems; zero-pollution and toxic free environments. The programme of ERN and warm-up events will include lively formats like hands-on activities, workshops, science shows, science cafés, demonstrations, informal talks with researchers and guided tours, specifically designed according to the age-group and social background of the participants. The detailed programme will be developed by a consortium that includes research centres - IBMC and ITQB - and science communication institutions closely connected to universities (science centres of the Ciência Viva National Network). All the participating institutions have a large experience in organizing both face-to-face and online engagement activities, enabling to ensure an extensive impact of the project even if health contingencies still apply. Both the research centres and the Ciência Viva network provide extensive dissemination channels that will ensure the engagement of a wide range of stakeholders and publics.

Innovation makes Europe one of the most socially inclusive and developed regions of the world. A significant public policy effort was put in place to foster science, technology and innovation, while contributing to solve societal challenges. The main purpose is to unleash innovation-led growth that also contributes to reinforce societal values and sustained development. Engaging society with science and innovation has reached a new paradigm with the Horizon Europe Missions. All sectors need to be actively involved in implementing the Missions to reach the expected goals. From schools to companies, from scientific associations to NGOs, all will be called to contribute by co-creating new solutions, products and processes. The new generations are of particular importance. The innovators of 2030 are now being nurtured in schools, supported by science centres, museums and other non-formal education stakeholders. However, many still feel that those spaces are not meant for them. In fact, participants for these science communication activities are drawn from socially dominant groups. We can also infer () who is less likely to participate in science communication: people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and ethnic minorities (Dawson, 2021). EU-EMBRACES will address this challenge, by engaging those communities while showing how the HE Missions can positively impact their lives. EU-EMBRACES will be developed by a consortium led by ITQB NOVA, a research and academic institution with extensive experience in outreach and event organization, in partnership with Cincia Viva, a national agency dedicated to Scientific Culture; and i3S, a research centre with a solid educational programme for schools and the public. The project will bring together researchers and other stakeholders involved in the HE Missions and the public, in more than 250 activities in 10 venues across the country, with the support of research institutions and local authorities.

Our proposal for ERN 2016-17 is focussed on foresight, exploring alternatives to consider and manage the future with researchers and the public, envisioning new trends of science and technologies and of their impacts on society. Of special concern are the complex problems and challenges that humanity faces: climate change, sustainable energy, food and water supply, ageing and social inclusion, to name but a few of the global trends identified for the next 10-15 years. FORESIGHT will consider how scientists, technologists, policymakers and citizens together will cope with these challenges; it will also look at the public perception of the associated risks and of the scientific capacity to manage them. FORESIGHT aims will thus be twofold: on one hand the project will provide opportunities for direct contact of scientists with the public in open, lively events, promoting trust and providing role models for younger generations. On the other hand, FORESIGHT will identify trends, challenges and barriers related with scientific and technological developments with societal implications that may become relevant in Europe in the near future. This will be pursued through ongoing debate and deliberation with different stakeholders: business, NGOs, youth clubs, makers and the DIY groups, education community, etc. The detailed programme will be developed by a consortium that includes research centres (IBMC, ITQB) and science communication institutions closely connected to universities (science centres of the Ciência Viva National Network, science museums, botanical gardens). Both the research centres and the Ciência Viva network provide extensive dissemination channels that will ensure the engagement of a wide range of stakeholders and publics.

The overall objective of the STEM School Label project was to guide European schools in increasing young Europeans’ interest and skills in mathematics, science, engineering and technology (STEM) education and careers and to provide the schools with the necessary tools in order to engage their students, teachers and other actors, in related activities. In line with this objective, the STEM School Label project developed a framework where schools can evaluate their performance in STEM via an online self-assessment tool, according to the set of criteria defining a STEM School. This self-assessment tool helps schools identify required areas of development and provides suggestions of resources for applicant schools to improve their STEM activities at school level. Since the launch of the STEM School Label platform (www.stemschoollabel.eu) and by the 28th of August 2020, 1,912 schools joined the STEM School Label, which means that the STEM School Label already reached over 229,440 students. 552 schools received the Competent Label and 9 reached the Proficient Label. From primary to upper secondary, the STEM School Label reaches diverse levels of schools and audiences including teachers of STEM and other subjects, school managers, teacher trainers, students and parents throughout Europe and beyond. STEM School Label has undoubtedly made a significant impact on schools, the development of their STEM strategy and consequently their students, throughout Europe, for example, by providing them with a framework organized around 21 criteria and by allowing schools to share their practices via Case Studies and School Practice Evidence.The STEM School Label is a joint initiative of EUN Partnership, and several organisations specialised in STEM education. The consortium developed complementary blocks of activity:1) Developing a transnational set of criteria in order to define STEM schools as it is essential to scale them and evaluate successful models at a European level. This was done with the European STEM Schools report (O1) available under https://www.stemschoollabel.eu/criteria, which presents the results of an analysis developed to establish and validate the definition of a STEM school. Following this report, the consortium also developed a reference framework for schools to complete in order to be labelled as a STEM School (O2). In this report we explain the development of the reference framework which constitutes the basis of the self-assessment tool, as well as provide the actual initial reference framework.2) Guiding schools and its stakeholders in improving their level of STEM education activities in the classroom but also favor connections and links with STEM stakeholders outside the school. In this regard, the consortium developed a Progressive Pathways Guide to obtaining the STEM School Labels (O3), where we explain the processes to be followed by the applicant schools in order to apply for the STEM School Labels and how they can improve their level of activities. This objective was also achieved by developing the self-assessment tool (O5) which identifies areas that require development and provides training and resources (via the Ecosystem of resources- O4) for its participating schools, with the aim of improving their activities in STEM. The content of these deliverables is available on the different pages of the platform. 3) Compiling existing innovative STEM education resources useful for schools in order to improve their level of STEM activities. This was done by developing the Ecosystem of resource (O4) which constitutes of a compilation of links to existing resources at transnational level but also at the national level for some questions (France, Lithuania, Portugal and Serbia) which allow directing each school to resources in different languages (in English, in French, Serbian, Lithuanian, and Portuguese). These resources support professional development opportunities in the areas covered by the self-assessment tool and constitute the Action plan automatically sent to schools once they carry out the self-evaluation.4) Developing a transnational network and community of STEM schools in order to allow peer to peer learning activities. This was done with the development of the platform (O5) which allows a number of opportunities to exchange among schools (forum, galleries of School Practice Evidence and Case studies) and the development of the capacity building programme (O7) that was developed for Ambassador STEM Schools, which are selected schools that are the starting point of a learning community and learning partnerships on STEM schools. The best practices from this community of STEM schools and findings from the project are highlighted in the STEM School Label report on Best practices (O8), available under this page: https://www.stemschoollabel.eu/news/detail?articleId=276118