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Together with 9 other partners, the LLLPlatform wasinvolved in the Capacity-Building for the Lifelong Learning Programme (CB4LLP) project. Over two years (December 2012-October 2014), the project aimed to facilitate the exploitation of Lifelong Learning Programme projects’ results creating and promoting new Capacity Building methodologies and practical tools for sectoral, regional, national and European stakeholders. International research and evidence shows that those responsible for development strategies, either at local, regional or national level, tend to be relatively isolated, often relying on their personal abilities and contacts, lacking of a solid background of information on methodologies, tools and good practices emerging form Lifelong Learning Programme and related initiatives. This is even more true when considering the extremely weak degree of cooperation among decision makers and actors from public administration, which is unfortunately also reflected by an extremely weak cooperation among different fields of education, such as VET, higher and non formal education. The project aims at overcoming these barriers and promoting cooperation and synergies among different players sharing methodologies, tools and good practices with a wide audience, primarily with decision makers, public administrators and educational providers, and thus contribute the integration of LLL results and tools within capacity building processes. The Platform organised capacity-building workshops, providing its expertise on the EU level and disseminating the project outcomes to a broad array of stakeholders. The first CB4LLP workshop The LLLPlatform organised its first CB4LLP workshop in the framework of its Europe 2020 Working Group, held approximately twice a year and gathering all interested member organisations of the Platform. The Platform worked as a space for knowledge exchange between its member networks and uses their expertise to discuss and feed in EU policy-making. The Working Group Europe 2020 is an illustration of this peer learning and builds a common voice on issues related to ET2020 and Europe 2020, but is also a place to foster capacity-building among the Platform members. It was therefore the ideal settings to present the CB4LLP project and to involve as many member organisations as possible in the capacity-building process. Second CB4LLP workshop A second CB4LLP workshop was organised in December 2013 during the Lifelong Learning Week annually held by the LLLPlatform, also targeting its members that had the occasion to attend the first workshop or not. CB Ambassadors were also there to assist the Secretariat. After the first workshop, the Platform reflected on how it could provide guidance to its members on how to use successful existing LLP projects outcomes to improve their own project idea. During this second workshop, the LLLPlatform used the example of a pilot project the Platform wants to launch on validation of non-formal and informal learning. It showed how it has compiled the most interesting projects covering this area in LLP databases (ADAM, EVE…) in a grid of analysis comprising several criteria, such as innovative aspects, potential partners or transferable products. This grid is supposed to be a capacity-building tool following the spirit of the second phase of the CB4LLP project to accompany the target group in building successful projects without reinventing the wheel. The LLL-P with this new tool aims to provide consultancy services to its members and potentially stakeholders outside the network. The tool will be applied to EUCIS-LLL members that have answered questionnaires and further developed before the 3rd workshop (aimed to assess end-users satisfaction). First CB4LLP Fair Together with EfVET, the Platform organised its Capacity-Building Fair during the Lifelong Learning Week in December 2013. The idea of organising Lifelong Learning Weeks aims to raise awareness on Lifelong Learning (LLL) in Europe and to put forward the need to adopt a holistic approach at all levels of decision-making, implementation and evaluation. This is necessary if we want the EU to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy as set in the Europe 2020 strategy. This year, the Week had a particular focus on the upcomingEuropean Elections of Spring 2014. At this occasion, the Platform launched its Manifesto for the European elections and many events took place in order to provide ideas on how to modernise education and training systems in Europe. The event is taking place at the European Parliament, which is highly strategic to organise theCB Fair in parallel and give visibility to the CB4LLP project. Second CB4LLP Fair The Platform organised a 2nd Capacity-Building Fair during its Erasmus+ training session on 5 March. The session was aimed at informing stakeholders (50 participants) in Brussels on the opportunities of the new EU funding programme and presenting the CB4LLP method was very much complementary to encourage them to build innovative projects building on LLP initiatives. Third CB4LLP Fair Another CB Fair was organised on 30 June 2014 in the Platform’snew premises to raise awareness of various civil society stakeholders on the advantages of the CB4LLP method. Many participants signed up as capacity-builders on the project website and had the occasion to discover the final CB4LLP guidebook. Coordinator: Centro Studi “Cultura Sviluppo”- CSCS Duration: 01.11.2012-31.10.2014 Partners: Coopération Bancaire pour l’Europe GEIE, BE; EUCIS-LL, BE; Central Denmark EU Office, DK; EfVE, BE; European Minds, SE; Lapplands Gymnasium, SE; ΣΥΝΔΕΣΜΟΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΗ ΒΙΩΣΙΜΗ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗ ΤΩΝ ΠΟΛΕΩΝ, GR; Asset Τεχνολογική ΕΠΕ, GR; University of Sarajevo, School of Economics and Business, BA.

The LLLPlatform is partner in the two-year Erasmus+ KA2 project “Open Your Eyes: Fake News for Dummies” involving seven partners from six European countries, which seeks to improve the digital literacy of adult learners by providing them with tools to identify fake news and fight the spread of disinformation online. After compiling a database of best practices, the partners trained adult educators by delivering “Check IT Out” Labs to willing adult learners. The data and initiatives collected are available on the project website, together with policy recommendations. In the New Media Age, we are constantly surrounded by all kinds of information, from political issues to advertisements and marketing, which gets to us with no filter other than our own capacity to critically assess the validity of the received information. Biased information appears to be particularly difficult to decode for the less media-literate demographics; while the rates of digital literacy have proved to disregard age or educational level, the project targets specifically adult learners and educators, in the hopes of improving their digital skills, raising awareness of the concept of fake news and providing the tools to combat it. The project intends to deliver two main outputs: “Check IT Out” Database: after thorough comparative research, the partners compile a collection of scientific data, best practices and initiatives that enables users to develop a critical approach to news consumption and hopefully trigger their critical sense towards this issue. Research is conducted in a selection of European countries interested by phenomena such as separatism and rising disinformation, particularly around the time of national and European elections, and allows future users to design individual strategies to confront disinformation based on what worked best in other countries. “Check IT Out” Labs: held by especially-trained adult educators and based on the previously developed database, the Labs target groups of 10+ adult learners in partner countries with the objective of developing their critical and digital skills, bringing them closer to the concept of fake news and ultimately spreading awareness about the topic within their network. The developed Handbook for Adult Educators includes 3 modules: Module 1 - Common understanding of Media Literacy in the EU context, Module 2 - Conceptualising disinformation and Module 3 -How to tackle disinformation: tools and methodologies. Coordinator: Nikanor – Bulgaria Partners: OpenEurope – Spain; UPI – Slovenia; ADR Nord-Est – Romania; EU DisinfoLab – Belgium; LLLPlatform – Belgium; DLearn – Italy Website:http://www.openyoureyes.info/

COMANITY is a 2-year (2017-2019) Erasmus+ KA3 ‘Support for Policy Reform’ – social inclusion action coordinated by Arcola Research (UK), involving 9 European partners from the UK, Italy, Spain, Greece and Belgium over two years (2017-2019). The consortium aims to develop a community-based ‘inclusive learning ecosystem’ for marginalised and vulnerable young people by creating the conditions in which ‘hard to reach’ youth can apply their skills, talents and creativity in participation activities that improve their communities, through the “Community Animateur” programme. The project’s vision is based on a stark observation: that the youth system is failing disadvantaged and marginalised young people. Increasing demand for youth services, reflecting high youth unemployment, increasing NEET rates and growing social exclusion are set against significant cuts in social and welfare services as a result of the ‘economic crisis’. This has led to a reduction in the level and quality of service supply, and a lack of credibility in mainstream institutions. One way of addressing this problem is for youth services to increase their intake of volunteers, particularly from excluded communities. However, due to lack of time, money, motivation and trust, marginalised young people are less likely to volunteer. What’s more, many youth workers and current volunteers lack the necessary skills to engage with marginalized youth. The Comanity project wants to fill this gap by creating a new role for youth work: the “Community Animateur”. The programme aims at recruiting and training young people from marginalised communities to carry out this role, as well as existing youth workers. These new actors will represent a new and crucial point of mediation and integration. The objective is therefore dual: getting youth services to become more engaging towards disadvantaged youth; getting marginalised youth to become more engaged in youth work. This will help to provide a credible and trusted source of support to help hard to reach young people realise their potential and play an active role in improving their communities. Main outputs: Competence Framework: identifies the key competences needed to develop the Community Animateur role and provides an assessment tool for youth workers and volunteers Technical Platform and Learning Village: combines OER resources with user-generated knowledge to support and maximise learning Training programme: combines self-directed learning on-line with collaborative learning involving the COMANITY team Evaluation toolkit: uses a “Theory of change” approach and embeds evaluation in the project throughout its life cycle Transferability and Replication toolkit: provides a clear guide to how the programme and tools can be accessed and autonomously used after the end of the project, based on the pilot test Coordinator: Arcola Research – UK Partners: Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR) – Spain; Comune di Perugia – Italy; Ke.th.E.A. – Greece; Borgorete – Italy; LLLPlatform – Belgium; Docklands Outreach – UK; Mind2Innovate – Greece; Documenta – Spain

LLLP is a partner in the two-year Erasmus+ KA3 Social Inclusion project “INSCOOL” for “Inclusive schools” (2019-2021), involving seven partners from five EU countries (Greece, United Kingdom, Poland, Belgium and Spain). The project kicked off in London, UK on February 18-20th 2019. It aims to embed inclusive education principles in schools management in Europe by favouring the emergence of a community of leaders standing for inclusion, consisting of heads of schools, teachers and students. Inclusive Schools reached school communities (school leaders, teachers, professors, students, parents, school advisors, school psychologists), policy-makers and public authorities staff (ministries, local authorities), institutions and organisations of educational focus on a local and European level. Schools everywhere deal with ways to embrace diversity as society itself is becoming more diverse every day. The vision of the Inclusive Schools project is to gradually reshape school culture into an inclusive school ethos by fostering long-term inclusion strategies in schools around Europe and engaging school communities in concrete action plans and collaborations that promote equality and value diversity. More specifically key project activities include: Developing tools for Screening Diversity and Strategy development Creating educational manuals, training trainers at local and international level Setting up an Inclusive Schools certification scheme Delivering social inclusion workshops in 61 schools in Europe. It also included an innovative communication and raising awareness campaign reaching school communities around Europe and a detailed plan to open dialogue channels between the school community and policy-makers on the issue of inclusion in schools. The Inclusive Schools team has worked on a set of tools to facilitate the inclusion process of the school community and give incentives to school staff and students to adopt the methodology and adapt accordingly. Some of the developed tools are: Education Pack Education Pack in German Education Pack in Italian Education Pack in Romanian Education Pack In Serbian Inclusive Post Card Inclusive Poster Inclusive Week Guidelines Inclusive Week Template Action Plan Guidelines Action Plan Template Week Activities Pack Educational kit Everybody else is taken Educational kit Hello Salaam Policy Recommendation Policy Paper Coordinator: British Council (Greece) Partners: Lifelong Learning Platform (EU / Belgium), Obessu – organizing bureau of European school student unions (EU / Belgium), Scotdec – Scottish Development Education Centre (United Kingdom), Asamblea de cooperacion por la paz (Spain), Stowarzyszenie Ekspedycja w glab kultury (Poland), Institouto Ekpedeftikis Politikis (Greece)

Increasing the participation of adults in lifelong learning activities up to 15% has been set by the European Union as a target in the frame of its Education and Training Strategy. However, discrepancies remain between EU Member States and regions. European lifelong learning and non-vocational adult education strategies are not sufficiently integrated, especially at the regional level, which limits the policy potential to respond to current structural challenges such as rising unemployment, socio-economic instability, social exclusion and the effects of COVID-19. The COMORELP project (“Collaborative Monitoring of REgional Lifelong learning Policies”) built on the existing collaboration framework among key regional actors in Europe, with the view to expanding the partnership and developing a transnational interregional Policy Lab (the COMORELP Policy Lab Platform). The Policy Lab included educational and training organisations and networks and aimed to assist and encourage transnational exchange of know-how in the design development and evaluation of lifelong learning initiatives/approaches integrated within Lifelong Guidance (LLG). It focused on the role of Lifelong Learning (LLL) to support regional education and training policies that are aimed at socially inclusive economic development with a particular attention to disadvantaged adult groups. The project capitalised on the results of previous initiatives and EU Projects, developing a coherent conceptual and operational framework. Concrete objectives:   To conduct a longitudinal review of LLL policies in each participating region, including a multi-stakeholder self-assessment exercise; To review and synthesise existing contributions on regional lifelong learning and “Learning Regions” approaches to develop a new context-sensitive comparison/benchmarking platform/tool; To pilot a data collection approach to feed and validate the system among the pilot Partner Regions; To organise regional and European inter-regional Round Tables to exchange and reflect upon practices in the field of Lifelong Learning and lay the foundations for inter-regional cooperation and common LLLpolicies; To promote participation of new regions in the COMORELP Policy Lab Platform and to develop a sustainability action plan. To draw lessons from the process, both in terms of quality assurance and in terms of policy recommendations. The target groups of COMORELP were practitioners, education and training providers and employment centres, as well as policy makers (regional and local administrations). Through the networking exercise, all the lifelong learning (non-formal and informal learning providers, social partners, NGOs, cultural institutions, professional associations, etc) within each region will be identified and invited to participate in the Policy Lab. The expected results, impact and longer-term benefits were to increase participants’ awareness of regional lifelong learning policies and increase their capacity to make comparisons to rebuild or reorganise their own policies by detecting deficiencies or gaining alternative perspective from other contributors such as stakeholders, other regions or policy makers. Existing data collected on the platform will be the starting point for further developments and extensions by the participants. The COMORELP Policy Lab Platform aims to evolve after the end of the project and build a broader community of users, coming from all other European and Third countries, stakeholders and regional bodies not originally involved in the project. The main deliverables of the project can be found below: Read the Report on Distance and Online Learning Practices: The report was developed jointly by all regional partners to explore the dimensions of the rapid global transition to distance and online learning during the pandemic, an extraordinary evolution in our education systems. The report derives essential conclusions from participating European regions: Malopolska (Poland), Emilia-Romagna (Italy), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (France), Wales (UK) and Istanbul (Türkiye). The report presents insights that underscore the need for targeted interventions and puts forth recommendations to harness the potential of digital lifelong learning while mitigating challenges. Read the Regional Reports: The Reports explore in depth the state of play in the participating European regions acting as a compendium of regional LLL policies, and especially the innovative changes made recently and the trends for the future. The regional reports were fed by the work of each partner in the regions including meeting with stakeholders, the Round Tables and the implementation of the self-assessment methodology making use of the COMORELP benchmarking tool. Explore the COMORELP benchmarking tool: This tool can also be found in the project’s website and it is currently available in English and Polish. The self-assessment tool aims to support policy makers and stakeholders to determine the current stage of development of lifelong learning policies in their own region. By engaging with stakeholders and organising regional roundtable discussions, regional LLL laboratories can be established. In the COMORELP project the approach to benchmarking does not have a competitive sense: benchmarking primarily serves as an opportunity for mutual learning, sharing best practices, and inspiring one another through comparisons between regions. Policy recommendations : The report exploits the lessons learnt throughout the COMORELP project, both in terms of lifelong learning policies shortcomings and improvement opportunities, and in terms of measures suggested to base future regional lifelong learning policies on better access to evidence and participatory monitoring of results. The Recommendations are the result of interaction within the regional Policy Labs that took place in 5 European regions in the first project phase, and of the EU policy labs events that took place later and that aimed to connect regional stakeholders at EU level. The EU policy labs took place during LLLP’s Lifelong Learning week 2022 in Brussels in March 2023 and the online final conference in May 2023. Explore all Resources in the project’s new website hosted by the Jagiellonian University, it features the different publications developed by the partnership as well as the practical tool for inter-regional comparison and learning or ‘ COMORELP benchmarking tool ’.

Last week, two milestone events under the Belgian Presidency of the European Council took place in Belgium, but while coated with good intentions, it was a missed opportunity to build coherence in our policies in lifelong learning. The Belgian Presidency has put social rights and lifelong learning at the core of its agenda, and rightly so given the current social and economic context. Two events took place back-to-back to signal the political intention to keep on building a social Europe that protects its citizens and offers development opportunities for all: the High-level conference on the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), and the Conference on Lifelong Learning. The first event, on 14-15 April, promised to take stock of the action plan around the EPSR and to reiterate the commitment; it concluded with the adoption of a declaration on the future of social Europe, dubbed “La Hulpe Declaration”, from the town next to Brussels where the conference was held. Unfortunately, this declaration seems to fall short of the commitment undertaken when the EPSR was launched. It would have been important here to see the right to lifelong learning and the need to ensure a lifelong learning mindset as going beyond “widespread labour shortages and skills mismatches” in EU Member States; indeed, lifelong learning is not a quick fix to long-term issues and it serves first and foremost learners, providing opportunities for personal development to citizens before adapting to labour market needs. Moreover, this approach signals another missed opportunity to look at a wider population age beyond the merely working-force age; the Pillar of Social Rights was a wide political commitment that was specifically designed to support rights which all Europeans hold. Learning should be ensured for its intrinsic value, instead of instrumentalising social rights for economic purposes solely. Though it is clear that skills required by the labour market of the future will inevitably enrich other aspects of one’s life, they cannot encompass the entire diversity of competences needed to thrive in society. La Hulpe Declaration is a great opportunity to strengthen social dialogue but unfortunately a missed one to bring in the civil dialogue and wider social actors (such as civil society) onboard. Its narrow focus on learning and training for workers fails to address what in our understanding should have been the right holistic approach to the implementation of social rights such as the one on lifelong learning. In fact, none of the education and training stakeholders were invited. Following the La Hulpe Summit, the Belgian Presidency convened a conference on lifelong learning in Brussels on 17-18 April. This flagship conference explored in more detail the core of lifelong learning, addressing why some people thrive in this dynamic landscape, while others are harder to reach. In a constantly changing world, lifelong learning gives individuals the power to thrive in this dynamic landscape, while enhancing our economies and societies at the same time. During this conference, education and training stakeholders (including LLLP and its members) got to speak to reinforce one message: that we must place learners at the centre of all education activities. As LLLP General-Secretary Raffaela Kihrer explained in the panel discussion, structural inequalities prevent an inclusive lifelong learning culture for some groups - especially older people. This is where the challenge of coherence intervenes: as civil society and wider stakeholders were ignored from the La Hulpe conference, partnership was championed at the lifelong learning conference but without going beyond higher and adult education institutions. LLLP General-Secretary warned against making learning pathways flexible for the labour market, instead of for the learner, capturing the general feeling of a conference that seemed ready to adapt the learning offer for those already benefiting from learning, without providing sufficient consideration on facilitating the right to learn for those most disadvantaged in society. Both events showed a very narrow understanding of lifelong learning, confined to being the sparring partner of the labour market that for various reasons is putting extra pressure on our education and training systems. Though the social function of education and training, at large, should not be confused with one of the specific by-products, that is to make the economy advance, even less shall be such a short term view that forgets about the long term value it brings to the society. Disconnecting lifelong learning policies from economic concerns is an endeavour that we, as civil society organisations, shall not fail to bring forward at any given occasion. Strengthening civil dialogue in this regard will help going beyond purely economic oriented policies in education and training and maintain the humanistic vision we all aspire for.

As part of a larger vision towards a European Education Area, the EU is supporting Member States in improving their education and training systems, responding to the need of life-long-learning based on innovation-driven approaches towards education and training. Investing in skills, competences and knowledge is essential to boost Europe’s resilience, competitiveness, employability and to overcome skills mismatches. The Council of the EU calls upon all member states to “foster the acquisition of competences in sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), taking into account their link to the arts, creativity and innovation and motivating more young people, especially girls and young women, to engage in STEM careers”. In line with the mentioned EU initiatives and policies, CHOICE (01/2020 – 12/2022) aims to develop and test an innovative and collaborative approach to STE(A)M education, complementing existing initiatives to support the reform of school curricula . CHOICE promotes the joint action of 9 organisations (non-profit, business, education institutions, advocacy network) across 5 European countries who will carry out a cross-disciplinary, bottom-up process leading to the production of innovative open educational resources (OERs) providing real-world examples regarding the implementation of STE(A)M approaches into teaching. The OERs will be collected in a MOOC, accompanied by a good practice tool providing guidelines on the implementation of the proposed activities. The project will directly involve teachers and students and role models representing companies and HEIs in the creation of n ew resources promoting STE(A)M approaches to STEM education , thus ensuring that the OERs respond to current skill challenges in higher education and labour market. The consultation of policy-makers and stakeholders in the round-tables leading to policy recommendations supporting the shift from STEM to STE(A)M education to reform school curricula, will be key to mainstream of the CHOICE action. Project Results EU and National Reports on STEM education National reports gathering findings on local and regional initiatives connected to the reform of STEM education, best practices, students’ attitudes and teachers’ approaches at local and EU level. Available in: Italy ; Spain ; Cyprus ; Greece ; And the European report. State-of-the-art study The State-of-the-Art study is a cross-country comparative analysis of the findings across the involved countries, thus providing a comprehensive overview and conclusions. Available in: English ; Italian ; Spanish ; Greek ; French Framework for Reforming Curricula The framework indicates the areas in need of improvement within the current state of STEM curricula and educational approaches. Available in: English; Italian; Greek; Spanish ; French Reflective Practice Case Study Compendium This is a collection of case-studies discussed during the reflective groups with experts from companies, Higher Education Institutions and local authorities conducted in 4 countries. The groups identified a set of issues at university, labor-market and policy level demonstrating the need to adopt a STE(A)M approach. Available in: English; Italian; Spanish; Greek; French   Working Guidelines The working guidelines will guide partners in the delivery of the design & development workshops at local level involving students and teachers. Available in: English; Italian; Greek; Spanish; French Policy Recommendations The policy recommendations aim to support the reform of the school curricula by making the shift from STEM teaching in silos to a more interdisciplinary and practice-oriented approach of STE(A)M education, as proposed in the CHOICE MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on STE(A)M education , and integrating this innovative digital-based instrument into school curricula. Available in: English CHOICE @SCHOOL Good Practice Tool This document intends to guide schools, directors and teachers in integrating the CHOICE approaches and tools to their curricula and STEM teaching practices, especially in applying the CHOICE MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) on STE(A)M education. It considers the experiences and lessons learnt from the piloting implemented in partner countries as well as challenges and opportunities arising from the application STE(A)M education in partner schools. Available in: English For more information about the project, visit the website www.euchoice.eu .

Between 6 and 9 June 2024, citizens of the European Union will engage in the European Elections which determine the direction of the EU for the upcoming five years. The EU Elections represent a significant moment for citizens to strengthen democracy and shape the future of the EU and their lives, therefore, the EU has made available different resources to stay up to date with the process. Available resources to stay up to date with the EU Elections EU citizens have the flexibility to vote either in their home country or their country of residence, though registration with local authorities may be necessary. Voting will span three days, from June 6 to 9 June, to accommodate the differing voting schedules of EU member states. For guidance, the European Parliament has a dedicated website . Q&As resources explaining how the European elections work. An infographic on national rules. The "Remind me to vote" feature. The together.eu community connecting people locally and across Europe.

LLLP joined forces with the Civil Society Outreach Unit of the European Parliament for the upcoming EU Elections! As part of a longstanding cooperation, we organised an informal get-together with representatives of civil society organisations to share our plans and campaigns around the milestone elections. No wonder, civil society can sure mobilise their constituencies, engage citizens and deliver! Our members OBESSU presented their project EPIC (Empowering students Participation in Campaigning), which seeks to empower young people and have them engage directly with decision-makers. As a matter of fact, did you know that on 6-9 June citizens of 16 years old will able to cast their votes for the first time in many EU countries? The Erasmus Student Network also presented their informative initiatives to make sure students in learning mobility have the right to vote from abroad (and know how to use it!). And we, as LLLP presented our Alliance for Youth Vote, stemming directly from our project COVY. This event was part of a larger cooperation that LLLP has been putting in place with the European Parliament for the EU Elections through a Meomrandum of Understanding: expect more to come!

The LLLPlatform was one of six European partners involved in the Erasmus+ KA2 project “DIMELI4AC – Digital and Media Literacy for Active Citizenship: a tool kit for promoting critical thinking and democratic values”. The project, spanning over two and a half years, seeked to support the development of digital skills among school students aged 10 to 15, thus empowering them to become responsible digital citizens in an increasingly interconnected and digitalized world. More specifically, the project aimed at developing, pilot-testing and evaluating a Tool Kit that supports schools in establishing their own Digital Media Literacy Action Plan. Our objectives In recent years, the ability to read and interpret different types of media has become an increasingly essential skill to possess as most of the information we receive on a daily basis comes to us through a complex and interwoven system of media technologies. Taking on board the 2016 Council Conclusions, the DIMELI4AC project aims to promote the development of Digital Media Literacy skills among students by supporting schools in the development and implementation of their own Digital Media Literacy Action Plan. The project will provide students with the necessary skills to access, analyze and engage with online information, ultimately contributing to the reduction of disparities and social exclusion as well as to ensuring e-access and e-participation. While primarily targeted to students (with a focus on those with fewer opportunities), the project will also serve to upgrade and strengthen the professional profile of the school teachers involved. The project delivered six main outputs: A comprehensive Toolkit aimed at supporting schools in the development of their own Digital Media Literacy Action Plan for active citizenship. Among other resources, the Toolkit will include strategy templates, good practices, guidelines for the creation of synergies, monitoring tools and implementation tips. Each school’s Action Plan will be developed in synergy with all relevant stakeholders, including school leaders, teachers, parents and authorities. A multilevel Educational Pack including interactive learning resources (videos, games, simulations etc.) and two upskilling programmes for teachers and parents dedicated to the acquisition of digital and media literacy skills. An Assessment and Validation Tool (in the form of a game with an avatar) meant to monitor, record, evaluate and validate the acquisition of digital and media literacy skills. The assessment system will be based on a common framework designed with inbuilt benchmarks and indicators in order to ensure visibility, recognition and transferability at EU level. A dynamic and interactive Portal / Platform with different purposes and functionalities, including an e-Ambassadors communication platform for teachers and students to disseminate examples of their work; an e-Tool Kit database collecting resources, materials and good practices; and an e-Academy offering online courses for teachers. Digital and Media Observatories accompanied by the launch of a strong multidisciplinary campaign as well as the setup of a Digital and Media Ambassadors Network with key personalities. A Digital Media Literacy Summer School offering blended learning opportunities. What do we mean exactly when we say we aim to support students in the “development of their Digital Media Literacy skills“? The DIMELI@SCHOOL Competence Framework is the answer: this instrument contains a list of specific skills that we consider essential to become a responsible digital citizen. Find the others instruments and outputs in the official website. Coordinator: Leibniz Universität Hannover – Germany Partners: LLLPlatform – Belgium; Antenna Ltd – Cyprus; CCS Digital Education – Ireland; Emphasys Centre – Cyprus; Ellinogermaniki Agogi – Greece

On 4-5 March, the European Students' Union alongside Vlaamse Vereniging van Studenten and with the support of the Flemish Ministry of Educaiton organised an event on the European Elections. The Conference brought together student leaders from across Europe, decision-makers (Minister of Education in Flanders, Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, the Secretary Generals of three European political parties - PES, ALDE, Greens, MEP João Albuquerque , the head of unit of Higher Education in DG EAC) and stakeholders like LLLP, EUA, and EURASHE. You can read the summary of the discussions here .

The KEEP IN PACT project involved 6 partners from 5 EU countries (France, Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Croatia). It kicked off in Paris (France) on the 23rd and 24th of September 2019. The project aimed at promoting upskilling in the field of lifelong career guidance services, as well as at developing an innovative ecosystem approach to the management of professionals working together in partnership. In recent years, regional, national and European policies have stressed the crucial need to increase cooperation and synergy research in order to deliver better services in lifelong guidance. To do so, the Cités des métiers International Network launched a new project in strategic partnerships about the development of “multi-partnership management” in Cités des métiers and other lifelong career guidance centres. Indeed, we need to go further than the traditional fields, as public needs are evolving, and the lifelong career guidance approach is not addressed enough. The project is a continuation of the European project COCADE “DEveloping CAreer COunselling services in integrated spaces”, during which good practices within lifelong guidance services were shared. The objectives of the project are: To promote upskilling in the field of lifelong career guidance services; To develop an innovative ecosystem approach to the management of professionals working together in partnership. As a result, this would lead to better services adapted to the needs/expectations of clients and to an increase of digital tools in lifelong career guidance services while building up new partnership cooperation between actors coming from different fields: education, training, employment, entrepreneurship, etc. It is a good way to avoid silos and ensure consistency in stakeholders’ initiatives in particular with public policies. Partners of the project want to achieve these objectives through innovative tools and contents, such as, among others: learning materials, virtual reality, a repository of skills for the non-formal competences validation process of the partnership management function. Lifelong career guidance centres are understood as onsite or online space providing information and counselling to citizens about their career life. It involves stakeholders working in different fields such as education, training, employment, entrepreneurship, social care, etc. Partner organisations identified lifelong career guidance centres in Europe such as one-stop shops or integrated spaces such as Cités des métiers, which were includes the in an interactive map, as a European community of practitioners. The project was structured around 4 intellectual outputs, 2 training and learning activities and 2 dissemination events. Intellectual outputs focus on: IO1 Analysis regarding stakeholders cooperation in lifelong learning guidance. IO2 Toolkit for mutual learning and training activities IO3 Non formal validation of skills IO4 Building up an European Community of Practitioners Project overview Lifelong career guidance: To provide information and advice to people wishing to build up their career path by themselves at different times of their lives, helping them be aware of and learn how to use their skills and abilities to access or change jobs.