"<< Background >>The ubiquity of digital technologies is transforming agriculture and food production. Specifically, in the agricultural sector, the deployment of mobile technologies, remote sensing services and distributed computing are already improving small holders' access to information, inputs and markets, increasing production and productivity, streamlining supply chains, and reducing operating costs and environmental impact. But it is not just farmers. Consumers, both at home and abroad, are becoming more informed about the products they buy. They require high-quality food and fiber and produce in a sustainable way and want to know more about where the products come from. Digital technologies enable better traceability of agricultural products, providing peace of mind for consumers and greater value for farmers. Therefore, farmers need to develop a new set of skills in different fields of application. In order to address this macro-need, the Digital Farmer project, through European funding and an international multi-stakeholder cooperation between training institutions, research, universities, industrial consulting and territorial promotion companies, intends to develop a project aimed at producing teaching materials and innovative work-based learning methodologies, platforms for awareness raising and exchange of good practices and a general qualification of European VET systems related to agriculture, The ""Digital Education Action Plan"" is based on the assumption that it has become indispensable for the European population to possess digital skills appropriate to our times. The educational system consequently needs a process of adaptation in this direction, which has been made even more urgent by the Covid-19 pandemic. A fundamental aspect is the strengthening of the skills of educators and trainers, starting from the recognition of a common problem in Europe, which is the frequent lack of preparation of educators and trainers in general, not yet accustomed to the use of digital technologies in teaching and the use of forms of distance learning, especially in VET. At the same time, the agriculture sector is one of the most important areas of challenge for the achievement of several of the European Union's development objectives. The sector faces the need for a) Promoting an intelligent, resilient and diversified agricultural sector that ensures food security; b) Strengthening environmental protection and climate action; c) Strengthening the social fabric d) Promoting and sharing knowledge, innovation and digitization in agriculture and rural areas; in summary, through the European Commission's December 18, 2020 recommendation, the solution to many of the aforementioned challenges lies in a ""smarter,"" more precise and sustainable agriculture built on innovation and digital tools in agriculture. To achieve this goal, it is necessary that all stakeholders of the agricultural system are involved in a process of empowerment and awareness to approach the objectives outlined in the CAP, the European Green Deal and the From Farm to Fork strategy. This system action was precisely the logic behind the development of the Digital Farmer project, which is aimed at all European stakeholders in the agricultural sector, with particular focus on educators and trainers through a train-the-trainer approach, aimed at generating a multiplier effect in different European contexts.<< Objectives >>The innovation of the VET System cannot disregard digitalization, and in fact the Digital Education Action Plan starts from the assumption that it has become essential for the European population to possess digital skills appropriate to our times. One of the key points of the DEAP is the strengthening of the skills of educators and trainers, starting from the recognition of a common problem in Europe that is the frequent lack of preparation of a teaching staff and educators and trainers in general not yet accustomed to the use of digital technologies in teaching and the use of forms of distance learning, especially in VET.Innovation cannot ignore the importance of the environment and the fight against climate change, to which Europe has paid close attention with its accession to the Paris Agreement and the recent European Green Deal, which in its strategy aims to invest in environmentally friendly technologies and support industry in innovation. Digital farmers intend to apply these priorities to a sector such as agriculture, one of the most important challenging areas for achieving the different development objectives of the European Union, which in the Recovery Plan focuses on modernizing traditional policies such as cohesion and the common agricultural policy, in order to maximize their contribution to EU priorities. Among the challenges to be faced are the promotion of an intelligent, resilient and diverse agricultural sector that ensures food security by strengthening environmental protection and climate action, the socio-economic fabric of rural areas and responding to social concerns. It is also necessary to promote and share knowledge, innovation and digitalization in agriculture and rural areas. Through the Recommendation of the European Commission of December 18, 2020, the solution to many of the challenges mentioned consists in a more ""intelligent"", precise and sustainable agriculture built on innovation and digital tools in agriculture. With this project we intend to develop teaching materials and innovative methodologies of work-based learning, platforms for raising awareness and exchange of good practices and a general qualification of European VET systems related to agriculture, to achieve a change of system capable of having a concrete impact on the achievement of greater environmental and economic sustainability of the agricultural sector and the renewal , greater attractiveness and effectiveness of the European VET system The project, through a train-the-trainer approach and innovative training activities, aims to contribute to the transformation of VET institutions to better include in their programmes digital innovations in the agricultural sector with a dual action on trainers and students, creating an international and multisectoral network to achieve together a set of objectives:- Standardize and improve digital skills to be used in the pedagogical field of educators , and VET trainers at European level in the field of agriculture - Enhance the use within VET educational paths of recent innovations and new technologies in the agricultural sector - Ensuring continuity, while innovating, work-based learning in an international environment through the Erasmus programme - Promoting the adoption of innovative practices related to digital agriculture in individual local contexts with positive effects in terms of environmental sustainability in the companies and organizations involved - Improving the skills of participating organizations in digital agriculture and teaching skills through transnational cooperation<< Implementation >>The project includes the following tasks: WP1. Coordination and monitoring: Partners will adopt common implementation and monitoring methodologies, so as to work consistently on deadlines, objectives and indicators. During the transnational meetings partners will also organize and develop the dissemination activities of the project and develop further ideas, follow-up strategies and stakeholder involvement. WP2 Local Roundtables (M2-M6): Each partner will activate their network to activate an ""innovative ecosystem"" related to digital tools and recent innovations in the agricultural sector. Through roundtables, individual partners will collect best practices and the latest innovations applied in their local context in relation to the agricultural sector and digital education. The results will be summarized in final reports that will be the basis of the content to be developed. WP3 International Workshop (M7-M12): Before the start of the Workshop, local reports will be forwarded by the different partners to the coordinating body of this activity Cosvitec, which will summarize the material received in two final reports that will be discussed during the WI: the first will be the basis of the drafting of the Manuals Digital VET Trainer in Agriculture (O1, O2). The second will serve for the emergence of good practices and innovative systems at local level, but also to identify potential fields of application of WP4 Training International digital internships (M13-M18): IT will take place in asynchronous and synchronous mode.At least 4 weeks before the start of training, the first version of the manuals (O1, O2) will be forwarded to the participants. The part in presence, lasting 5 days, will be divided into two phases. The first will deal with the topics already addressed in asynchronous mode, while the second will deal with the techniques and methods of implementation of wp5 digital internships Digital internships and elaboration of the Digital VET Trainer in Agriculture (M19-M27): internships abroad in digital form are one of the innovative project actions and their implementation will ensure continuity of work-based learning within the Erasmus+ programme, which has achieved extremely positive results over the years. In addition, the elaboration of the manuals will serve to facilitate the replication of this experience even to bodies that have not directly benefited from the WP6 Project Activities MO6 Production MOOC Digital VET Trainer in Agriculture (O3) (M1-M28) will be built around the first 2 project outputs and aimed at transmitting the basic skills for effective distance learning and increasing skills related to the 6 macro-arguments of innovation in agriculture and on the methodologies and techniques of carrying out digital internships WP7 Network of Digital Farmers (O4) Platform Development (M1-M30): The platform will be a tool of fundamental importance for all project objectives. In fact, the platform will enable empowerment actions of stakeholders active in the field of VET, the exchange of best practices and innovative methodologies, will positively influence the aspects related to dissemination and will offer networking opportunities that can trigger future projects and further developments WP8 Dissemination and Networking Activities Dissemination and networking activities: The promotion of activities and dissemination of results are an element of fundamental importance to ensure the success of the project.fundamental importance to ensure the success of the project and to generate a multiplier effect both in the territorial contexts of the territorial contexts of the project partners and at community level. To this end, a dissemination event will be organized dissemination by country. The materials produced and the results achieved will thus have a further opportunity for dissemination as well as the opportunity to promote further follow-up projects initiated by partners and stakeholders.<< Results >>Digital Farmer is an ambitious project that aims to make a concrete contribution to achieving the following outcomes:- Qualification of digital skills to be used in the pedagogical field of VET educators and trainers at European level in the field of agriculture;- Introduction and greater use within the educational paths of recent innovations and new technologies in the agricultural sector; - Development of a new methodology for the realization of forms of work-based learning through digital tools- A greater awareness, in different local contexts, of innovative practices and digital agriculture with positive effects in terms of environmental sustainability in the companies and organizations involved; - Empowerment of organizations involved in digital agriculture and educational skills through transnational cooperation. To achieve the aforementioned general outcomes through the achievement of the following specific results: - Production of teaching materials related to ICT tools in teaching: within the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators, the partnership will deal with the production of Open Educational Resources in the 6 key areas identified: 1. Professional Engagement, 2. Digital Resources, 3. Teaching and Learning 4. Assessment, 5. Empowering Learners, 6. Facilitating Learners' Digital Competence - Production of teaching materials and information documents in relation to the 6 in-depth areas identified in the design field (Decision Support Systems, Block Chain Technologies, ICT Information and Communication Technologies, NIR and Drones, Farmbot, e-Commerce Software, Marketing and Advertising Platforms) and guidelines related to the conduct of ""digital internships"" for the elaboration of the Digital Traineeship manual in Agriculture. - Empowerment of 21 trainers and educators from 7 Member States and their organizations: progress will be assessed through ex-ante/ex-post evaluation questionnaires, DigCompEdu Check-In for participants and SELFIE for their organizations; - Design and implementation of 84 ""Digital Internships"": through the joint action of the members of the partnership, the participants in the International Training and the host companies/bodies themselves, learning paths based on innovative practices in agriculture will be structured. The route will be characterized by a first week in presence and the next continuation for a further 4 weeks at a distance, through digital tools - Creation of the Network of Digital Farmers: a platform will be developed for: a) dissemination of European policies and recommendations on distance learning and digital skills; b) provide a tool to improve the digital skills of educators, trainers and facilitators through the dissemination of OER related to digital tools in agriculture (produced in the design and non-design field) and European best practices and tools available c) provide a space for comparison for educators, trainers and facilitators with an international section in English and a specification in which stakeholders can compare themselves in their mother tongue; d) matching between companies and trainees/training institutions for subsequent implementation of ""digital internships"""

Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behaviour (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities.Mental illness does not discriminate; it can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, geography, income, social status, race/ethnicity, religion/spirituality, sexual orientation, background or other aspect of cultural identity. Poor mental health has substantial personal and economic impacts across the European Union. Stigma and discrimination exacerbate these impacts. Consistently, the evidence points towards strongly negative attitudes towards people with mental health problems. Mental illness is treatable.Mental health first aid (MHFA) is the help offered to a person who is developing a mental health problem or who is experiencing a mental health crisis, until appropriate professional treatment is received or until the crisis resolves. It follows the model that has been successful with conventional first aid. We have occupational First Aid in the workplace but no Mental Health First Aid. To put this project in context the following stats are published by EU-OSHA and WHO.•Each year, 25% of the population suffer from depression or anxiety•Up to 50% of chronic sick leaves are due to depression/anxiety•About 50% of major depressions are untreated•The total cost of mental ill health in Europe is €240 billion/per year •€136 billion/per year is the cost of reduced productivity including absenteeism•There are 228.7 million employees in the EU•The average person spends more than 90,000 hours in their lifetime at work•91.4% of EU households have a working adultThe BeWELL project results will enable SME's all over Europe to implement these important mental health initiatives, and incorporate them into how they do business, without financial strain. The results include;•Project Platform (website/app) •A handbook for Employers on how to implement MHFA in the workplace, to work in conjunction with the website and training videos. •An informative and training handbook for Employees to work in conjunction with the website and training videos.•Suite of Employee Training Videos•Suite of templates, forms and documents needed for the MHFA management system.•A suite of dissemination and promotional materials for running a Mental Health Awareness campaign in the workplace.•A campaign to have Occupational MHFA adopted as Best Practice in EuropeThe main aims and objectives (impact) of BeWELL are; •To increase awareness among employers of the personal and economic cost of Mental Illness, and the benefits, personal and economic, of addressing this issue•To provide employers with a cost effective solution to address the issue of mental health in the workplace and comply with their regulatory duty of care•Eliminate stigma and address discrimination in the workplace by having MHFA form a fundamental part of H&S management systems in every workplace in Europe•Promote more inclusive workplace by helping people to help each other•To tackle the issue at EU Policy level to achieve this goal of Occupational MHFA being the recommended best practice solution.Project partners have the requisite range or skills, experience, expertise and reach to deliver on this important project;•Mullingar Employment Action Group Ireland - working in the field of employment and enterprise support•Good2Talk Ireland - working in the field of counselling for mental health.•Dramblys Spain - works in the promotion of social innovation•Inn Training UK - specializing in training for the workplace, including OH&S and MHFA•Agency for Territorial Marketing Slovenia - working in sustainable development in training and social infrastructure•Ekpaideftiria Kaloskami S.A Greece – working in the field of VET•Karabağlar District Governorship Turkey - local authority working with Education, Health, Sports and Youth, Population and Citizenship AffairsThe management and coordination will be based on the Institute of Project Management system and tools that will ensure the correct information processing and will present clearly the decision making responsibilities and tasks by partner. Project management will be closely interlinked with Quality Assurance, Monitoring & Control and Evaluation processes.The milestones of the project are summarized as follows;•Delivery of national 'state of play' reports from all partner jurisdictions, which will be compiled and reviewed with a view to inform the content of the intellectual outputs going forward•Delivery of draft versions of the intellectual outputs•Revision and pilot testing of the intellectual outputs•Final revision and translation of intellectual outputs followed by publication and 'official launch'•Complementing the dissemination strategy which has its own targets and milestones, with a series of multiplier event

"Gastro-tourism, culinary tourism or food and beverage tourism is the exploration of food/beverage as the purpose of tourism. It is now considered a vital component of the tourism experience. Dining out is common among tourists and ""food is believed to rank alongside climate, accommodation, and scenery"" in importance to tourists.Food/Beverage Tourism is ‘the act of travelling for a taste of place to get a sense of place’ Erik Wolf, Executive Director World Food Travel Association. Gastro-tourism, a niche that attracts billions in revenue worldwide, involves intentional pursuits of authentic memorable culinary experiences while travelling internationally, regionally or locally. For gastro-tourists, food/beverage is the motivation for travel; the locations merely functions as vehicles for gastronomic experiences (food-related-activities that involve behind-the-scenes observations, cultural/regional illuminations and often hands-on participation, culminating in partaking food or drink.) •7.2 travellers choose a destination by its food and drink*•53% of all travellers are ‘culinary’ travellers*•49% of all travellers are beverage travellers*• 80% of travellers research food and drink while they are visiting a destination*(* source World Food Travel Association)The fact that Food and Beverage helps to underline and strengthen local and regional identity is an important point for tourism development. Tourists are often in search of some kind of regional specificity or 'authenticity. Top Tourism Industry Benefits include sustainable, respectful, and educated visitors. Increased media coverage including social media influencers and food and travel bloggers. Increase in tax revenue allocated to government authorities. Increased community awareness and pride in local culinary cultures. Increased benefits to local economy in terms of tourism spend, local agriculture and employment. The BevTOUR project results will help food and beverage producers, and the support organisations and intermediaries in this sector all over Europe to understand the potential benefits of Food and Beverage Tourism to their own business, and to the wider region. It will help them to understand what is possible in terms of developing their tourism potential through best practice cases from around Europe.The results include;•Project Platform (website/app) •A handbook detailing best practices case studies in Food and Beverage Tourism from around Europe, and tools and templates to develop and promote a gastro-tourism destination.•A Tourists Guidebook of Food/Beverage Tourism projects in each partner country, a minimum of 33 projects covering a range of categories of food and beverage including suggested itineraries, recommended stop off points.The main aims and objectives (impact) of BevTOUR are; •To increase awareness among artisan food and beverage producers of the economic opportunity presented•To provide producers and regional intermediaries with the tools to develop their tourism product and marketing strategyProject partners have the requisite range or skills, experience, expertise and reach to deliver on this important project;•Strode College United Kingdom •Mullingar Employment Action Group Ireland •Inn Training Ltd, United Kingdom •Dramblys Social Creative Lab, Spain •Agency for Territorial Marketing, Slovenia •E-Code,Slovakia •Eurotracks France •Med.O.R.O. scarl Italy•Institute Of Entrepreneurship Development Greece •Sihtasutus Noored Teaduses Ja Ettevotluses Estonia•Comparative Research Network EV Germany•ESE, Ensino Superior Empresarial, LDA (European Business School), PortugalThe management and coordination will be based on the Institute of Project Management system and tools that will ensure the correct information processing and will present clearly the decision making responsibilities and tasks by partner. Project management will be closely interlinked with Quality Assurance, Monitoring & Control and Evaluation processes.The milestones of the project are summarized as follows;•Delivery of national reports from all partner jurisdictions, which will be compiled and reviewed with a view to inform the content of the intellectual outputs going forward. These reports will include a minimum 3 best practice case studies from each jurisdiction, minimum 33 in total.•Shortlisting of the case studies and selection of minimum 11 for the BevTOUR Handbook.•Compilation, testing, translations and release of the BevTOUR Guidebook, with minimum 33 BevTOUR destinations, itineraries and maps.•Development of tools, templates and campaign materials for BevTOUR campaigns•Revision and pilot testing of the intellectual outputs•Final revision and translation of intellectual outputs followed by publication and 'official launch'•Official Launch of the Project Web Platform, the BevTOUR Handbook which will include all project outputs, in 10 languages.•A series of Multiplier Events"