<< Background >>THE CHALLENGEHUMANS“In learning processes, as machines become better at rote tasks, humans will need to focus on the skills that remain unique to them: creativity, collaboration, communication and problem-solving” - Karen Hao (Taught by AI) CURRENT PERFORMANCEWe believe our project is closely linked to the ability of young people for critical thinking and connecting theory with practice. With its format and MO, INNOVATORY aims to tackle the reversal of this trend through creativity, collaboration and communication which develop skills of young people that allow their performance to improve in the key. Students from Romania, Portugal, Serbia, Greece and Slovenia are on a descendent trend in the PISA 2018 tests compared to both 2015 and 2012 results, Lithuania being the only exception to this scenario. Most of the countries are being classified as level 2 in all three domains.(see detailed PISA performance in the 6 partner countries attached)Complementary, data showed youth aged 15-17 wish they were also equipped with life skills and better training of their teachers in order to transversally help in developing these skills. The consulted stakeholders shared this view, along with the impression that schools are not equipped with the proper methods and tools to stimulate creativity and critical thinking. (LEAP Cluj 2020)SKILLS, TODAY AND TOMORROWDebates regarding the future of work resound through society in the light of the emerging AI or what knowledge will be valid in one or two decades. However, there is no debate on the fact that critical thinking, ability to work in teams, problem-solving skills, creativity and new ways of applied learning won’t lose their relevance and utility.CRISIS AND RESILIENCEResilience was already becoming a theme of interest for urban areas, and the COVID-19 pandemic provided an additional argument. Communities around the world need to adapt, find new ways of dealing with crises and provide solutions to capital challenges. While the focus now is on short term solutions, the long-term sustainability through resilience lies in a widespread of skills through which crises can be managed. And this perspective starts with today’s teenagers as the key decision-making generation.<< Objectives >>GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND TARGET GROUPSWe aim to create European Innovatory, a European movement of 840 high-school pupils, 70 teachers, 50 experts and decision-makers involved in a creative and collaborative learning process identifying needs and problems in society and providing creative solutions on local and European level based on the method of Design Thinking until 2024.We aim for:• involving high-school pupils (aged 14-18) and their teachers from 7 urban areas in developing their critical thinking, creative and problem-solving skills and proactive attitude in a creative and collaborative environment, in a safe space where they can try themselves out while receiving proactive feedback while also improving teacher-pupil working relationships through the creation of 210 creative teams,• developing a creative way of promoting the creative and proactive problem-solving potential of young people towards local stakeholders and decision-makers involved in urban development locally, and overall community development at European level,• creating a Europe-wide proactive scalable learning movement based on social innovation and Design Thinking as key aspects of building individual and community resilience leading to a sustainable transformation in society, involving 840 pupils, 70 teachers and additional 150 experts, mentors and stakeholders,• creating sustainable cooperation, management and decision-making platform involving 7 starting cities and 10 additional European stakeholders aiming to take care of the results of the project including its consolidation as a European programme and movement and a scalable model in Europe and the world.<< Implementation >>A1 General management – full project periodProvides the general management activities and the monitoring of the progress. It also refers to organisational costs of the coordinator and each partner (office costs, stationary, partial salaries of administrative personnel, delegations and trips for the dissemination of the project in the country and abroad).Coordinator: project coordinatorA2 Accounting – full project periodFilling and financial management, according to the clauses of the financial agreement and its annexes.C: accountant/partner, supervised by the financial coordinatorA3 Project launch communication – 1st monthA special activity focusing on announcing the start of the project (objectives, timeframe and expected results), in 7 languages for enhanced acces. C: communication coordinator with partner coordinatorsA4 Dissemination on O1 and the launch of Local Innovatory actions – 6th monthWhen concluding O1, we will conduct a detailed, mostly institutional campaign, presenting the overall framework and next steps, aiming to raise interest towards the process, including local and European action. The public call for teachers will be launched.A5 Intermediate evaluation 1 – 8th monthIntermediate evaluation is conducted before and during the 3rd project meeting and it sums up activities and performance for the first 6 months, especially concerning the creation of O1 and the selection of teachers for the second output. The intermediate evaluation is conducted by a layman involved in the project.A6 Dissemination on O2 – 11th monthE1-E7 (happening simultaneously) are concluded with the dissemination of O2. We will address a wide range of audience and will focus on the simultaneity of the processes and the 200+ generated solutions by the teams. C: communication coordinatorA7 Intermediate evaluation 2 – 12th monthIntermediate evaluation is prepared during the 4th project meeting and it sums up activities and performance, especially concerning the creation of O2. It is done jointly by all partners. C: project coordinatorA8 Dissemination on O3 – 20th monthDissemination of O3 occurs in connection with the European SpeakOut Day and comes as a completion to the third multiplier event of the project, to be held in Cluj-Napoca, city hosting the overall project coordination. The dissemination uses a set of tools and targets a wide range of audiences, as it is presented in the special section dedicated to dissemination activities. C: communication coordinatorA9 Institutional dissemination – 21-23rd monthThis dissemination activity will focus on presenting all intellectual outputs and other results of the project through institutional channels. In this process, we will use institutional e-mail communication, but the management team will also organise a dissemination tour to Brussels and Strasbourg in order to meet key stakeholders. Visits to our associated partners will also be deployed during the last three months of the project.A10 Final evaluation and sustainability planning – 23rd monthFinal evaluation is conducted during and after the last project meeting. We will use the reporting period to enable a broad debriefing among partners and to plan future action and scaling of project results. Final evaluation also sets conditions for impact monitoring and draws up a sustainability plan for the results of the project.A11 Final communication on the project and results – 23rd monthA summary communication of the project’s results is published which provides a summary of all outputs and outcomes and it also reflects on the impact, continuation of the project and the sustainability of results. This communication will be done mostly through online tools on the internet, through e-mail and social networks.<< Results >>CAUSES OF THE CHALLENGELACK OF SOFT SKILL EDUCATION IN SCHOOLSIf one takes a glance at a weekly class schedule of European pupil in the countries involved in this project, it is shocking how any soft skills curricula is missing. Although these skills can be gained through involvement in non-formal learning activities, the burden of a school programme hardly allows a real chance in acquiring these skills without impacting one’s grades. OLD WAYS OF TEACHINGTeaching knowledge is still a mostly one-way process while validation is done with grades based on reproducing memorised information. However, the growing number of teachers trying to bring additional non-formal methods into their work is an opening. OPPORTUNITY IN DIGITAL, FOCUS ON HUMAN SKILLSAs Karen Hao expresses it quite simply, no matter of advance in technology, humans will need creativity, collaboration, communication and problem-solving skills. As Internet is relatively cheap and accessible, quality is good, there is an opportunity to deploy creative learning and collaboration processes supported by up-to-date digital solutions. There is a real opening for enabling a creative and collaborative environment focusing on problem-solving and enabling communication towards stakeholders.We aim to achieve the following results:AT OUTPUT LEVEL* the creation of an overall European Innovatory Framework comprising of an overarching context, a resolution on the needs of skills development, an open methodology for implementation at local level, an open platform supporting overall awareness, dissemination and enabling, recording and tracking of cooperation between teachers, young people, mentors and stakeholders,* the delivery of 7 Local Innovatory actions resulting in the creation of a total of 210 creative solutions developed by young people to problems and needs in their surrounding and society in general,* the delivery of 14 innovative solutions developed by young people, improved to the level of business cases ready for implementation on European level,* the formation of 210 working teams in which high-school pupils and teachers work together in developing their skills and competencies through Design Thinking,* the formation of Local Innovatory support networks involving teachers, stakeholders, decision-makers, their working ways being captured in 7 specific city-level study cases,AT OUTCOME LEVEL* 840 young people involved through 210 teams in innovative ways of developing skills and competencies regarding creativity, problem-solving, collaboration and communication,* (at least) 84 young people from fewer opportunities provided with an equal chance of developing they skills and competencies in a similar way to their peers involved in Innovatory,* 70 teachers with developed skills and competencies regarding creativity, problem-solving, collaboration, communication and facilitation involved in a pool of teachers supporting the skill development of young people, organised in local networks but also as part of a European movement,* 150 experts, mentors and coordinators are involved in supporting teachers and pupils themselves in developing new ways of collaboration in education processes aiming to develop skills and competencies of young people,* 7 local networks of stakeholders are created in support of young people’s skills development.* sustainability conditions are met for the continuation of the 7 initial Local Innovatory processes from 2024 on,* 30 more cities express their intent to adapt and deliver Local Innovatory starting from 2024.* a European Innovatory model and open movement is created for the support of skills development, able to extend and involve other cities and their local communities,* an enhanced cooperation of cities in the framework of the Network of European Youth Capitals and including a renewed commitment considering youth as a key priority in shaping the future of these cities in the long term.

At local and regional level, the 7 partners of the ENRYP project have identified the need to increase direct communication among young people, especially the ones active in youth platforms (be they councils, forums or parliaments), in order to share ideas and exchange good practices related to topics such as youth participation, active citizenship, EU awareness and identity. ENRYP project started from a situation where young people were described in the EU Youth Report 2015 as having low interest in participatory processes. However, the last SWD “Situation of young people in the European Union” (2018) states that while young people are described as being more disenchanted with politics, “this might be true for traditional modes of participation (i.e. those related to the representative democracy), increasing numbers of young Europeans are exploring new routes to political engagement and expression, in particular those made available by the Internet and the social media. Remarkably, young people seem to have found renewed interest in political issues and identify themselves as European citizens to a greater extent than older generations.” It highlights the shift towards new models of political engagement and communication such as using the internet to interact with public authorities and the use of websites and social media to post opinions on civic and political issues.In this context, the ENRYP project has worked to develop a space for young people to share ideas and exchange practices, so to increase youth participation at local level and to strengthen capacities and skills. This has also led to an increased international dimension of the partner organisations involved and the request from young people for organising more mobility activities. Through the implemented activities, young people involved as well as partner staff members were able to:- exchange good practices on youth participation, active citizenship, EU awareness and identity, and social inclusion, including country-based strategies on how to approach them- discuss about values and principles that should lie at the foundations of regional and local youth platforms- establish the ENRYP as a multi-stakeholder network and virtual space for young people, public authorities, youth workers and academics- register an increased participation of young people at local level, in their communities, and interest in strengthening the international dimension of organisations.ENRYP was carried out by 8 partners with different profiles: two youth forums operating at regional level from Italy and Romania (Forum Regionale dei Giovani dell’Umbria and Fundatia pentru Tineret Timis), 2 municipalities from UK and Portugal (Manchester City Council and Camara Municipal de Cascais), a CSO – Europa Jovove Egyesule in Hungary, FORMA.Azione srl VET and AL training centre from Italy and a youth research centre from Finland – Finnish Youth Research Network.The main activities involved:- collecting good practices related to the topics of the project, of which 21 on paper and more than 40 learned, shared and discussed by young people at local level, during the blended mobility activities and online- 5 transnational project meetings held in Perugia (IT), Manchester (UK), Helsinki (FI) and in Timisoara (RO);- 12 staff members during the short term training held in Kecskemet (HU), that was preparatory for the two blended mobility activities with young people- 33 participants during the blended mobility in Cascais (PT) and 32 during the one in Timisoara (RO), including young people, group leaders and trainers/facilitators- a validation process related to the key concepts of the ENRYP project (youth participation, active citizenship, social inclusion and European awareness) applied by countries involved in the project and support for the realisation of the European network in the long run- communication and dissemination towards over 5.000 people.Results:- country-based strategies on how to raise awareness of young people about the functioning of youth platforms in other countries, to inform on good practices and the need to build a functional European wide network as a space for sharing ideas on issues that are concrete and meaningful for young people- elaboration of a long-term strategy related to the European network with a vision and goals to be pursued in the following 5 years together with the identification of its members and stakeholders- raised awareness about the importance to approach the network from an online and offline perspective, identified by participants as crucial aspect in order to maintain connections and continuity- a collection of good practices that allowed young people to reflect about the diversity of the contexts;- a validation document that guarantees the quality of the results- commitment of partners in order to further support the network in strategic actions to guarantee its sustainability.- application for a new project.

"""Global Europe - Connecting realities, building Communities, Developing Capacities"" project appears under umbrella of Cascais European Youth Capital 2018 (EYC2018), a title awarde by the European Youth Forum.Recognizing the value and consistency of the other cities that also reached the final - Kecskemét, Manchester, Novi Sad and Perugia, as they all invested in the process of applying for EYC, meaning that all share the same priority given to youth in local policy and gather he recognized experience and background, contact was established between the 5 cities, with a clear motivation to strengthen the connections and share through this project.The aim of the project is o empower active participation of young people in their communities, social inclusion and cultural diversity through sharing and exchanging on themes of common interest, related with the main priorities of European and local youth policies.This is a multi-activity project composed of four bilateral exchanges and one multilateral exchange over a period of 2 years.These exchanges will allow groups of young people from Cascais and the five finalist cities EYC2018, to live together for a week and, with the support of the group leaders and using non-formal education methodologies, promote experiential learning, learning from peers, intercultural learning and personal development.The first four bilateral exchanges will take 4 different groups of Cascais to be hosted by a group of young people respectively in Perugia (September 2016), Kecskemét (April 2017), Manchester (July 2017) and Novi Sad (September 2017). Continuing the process, the multilateral exchange will welcome in Cascais during the CEJ2018, the groups that took part in the bilateral exchanges.Each exchange will have a specific theme linked to European priorities:• Perugia 'Employability and entrepreneurship as key aspects of empowerment and youth participation.• Kecskemét »Creativity and culture as a way of expression and active participation in society.• Manchester 'Volunteering as a way of participation and skills development.• Novi Sad »Social inclusion and solidarity as pillars of building a just society - especially looking into the situation of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers in the European context.• Cascais' European Citizenship - values, identity and cultural diversity in Europe.The project also includes:- Advance planning Visit (APV), taking place in Cascais in July 2016 with the leaders of all partners.- Meetings Glocal Europe: monthly meetings in Cascais between October 2016 and June 2017 at least, promoting conviviality and keeping connected and motivated participants,- Intermediate Event ""Gloconections"": activities that involve participation at the distance involving people from all the exchange projects. Taking place in June 2017, concrete format will be decided jointly, but will be something online, possibly simultaneously, to share results / views / connections and contributions to CEJ2018. Can consist of: an online conversation, sharing of short videos produced by young people, a mini-competition among all arts (photography, text, music, etc.), special editions of games / articles / images on social networks, etc.These activities will generate 145 mobility spread over 72 youth and 12 leaders. With local and online activities there is potential for the number of young people directly concerned to be higher.The target group is young people between 18 and 25 years, from the partner cities, motivated to participate. The group will respect the principle of gender balance and integrate young people with fewer opportunities, whether from more disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, particularly marginalized, young people with special physical needs, or young immigrants or ethnic minorities who are in a situation more vulnerable.With the project we hope to contribute to the debate, exchanging ideas and building a common understanding of issues relevant to young people, including youth participation, active citizenship, European identity, social inclusion, volunteering and employability.We want to awaken inspiration and gather ideas about what defines a ""youth friendly city "" and inn this line, a European youth capital.In terms of results, we hope to develop social and personal skills of the participants through non-formal learning, promoting the expression, creativity, initiative and building a European identity."

Employability Tools is a project that addresses the need of strengthening local work carried out by stakeholders throughout Europe in developing and promoting employability of vulnerable groups, focusing on young people (often with fewer opportunities). This need, felt at a local level, is in line with the major European guidelines. Europe 2020 strategy aims for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, creating the conditions for youth to develop their skills, fulfil their potential, work, and actively participate in society. Successful labor market integration is a key aspect in unleashing young people’s potential and achieving EU2020 objectives, equally as in our direct local & regional needs and interests. OBJECTIVES: (1) To create and develop 4 tools for employability: an App, an educational Board game, an interactive Planner and a Handbook for technical staff working with employability issues; (2) To contribute to the development of the quality of support systems for employability; (3) To increase youngsters disposition towards entrepreneurship, employability opportunities and recognition of personal and professional competences; (4) To foster the cooperation between different entities from different countries in different fields (NGOs, companies, public bodies); (5) To assist youngsters on their development of key competences towards employability using the tools developed, and with better qualified youth workers on that field.PARTNERSHIP: This project brought together NGOs, public bodies and social responsibility companies, who had already cooperated and established a trustworthy relationship in the past. Partners came from Portugal, Belgium and Italy - DNA Cascais, Câmara Municipal de Cascais, Produções Fixe, Vzw Elegast Wijkwerking, Xena and Insight. The fact that Cascais was the European Youth Capital (EYC) in 2018, title awarded by the European Youth Forum, boosted the motivation to carry out this project and deliver results during the EYC year, thus enlarging the potential for visibility, dissemination and creating long term value. ACTIVITIES: between September 2016 and August 2018, the following activities took place: » General project management.» Communication between partners.» Quality checks and evaluation: control meetings, reports, evaluations.» Financial control: expenses report, bank transfers, coordination control. » 4 transnational meetings: Cascais (PT) in December 2016 - kick-off, get to know each other, setting the vision and procedures of the project, work on the outputs; Antwerp (BE) in June 2017 – testing the outputs, evaluating and planning ahead; Padova (IT) in December 2017 – development of the outputs, assess project results and plan adjustments; Cascais (PT) in June 2018 – launching event with Cascais EYC 2018, evaluation, planning dissemination and multiplying events.» Development of the 4 intellectual outputs: concept development, technical development, first prototype / beta production, testing, feedback, improvement, producing final versions of the outputs.» Project dissemination and visibility: creating image, promotional material, online promotion, contact with other stakeholders, press releases, events within Cascais EYC 2018, local presentations. RESULTS AND IMPACT: This project generated 4 “EMPLAY” Tools, Open Educational Resources, which are useful tools for youth workers and employability workers, and are now already increasingly used by NGOs, local schools, social organisations and public organisations. For these, impacts are: increase in the knowledge about employability and entrepreneurship and strategies on how to develop young people’s competences; teamwork, self esteem, communication; a wider knowledge and visibility of E+ program; new views on the use of non formal education; positive attitude towards community building and networking. Young people (and also job seekers, people wishing to change career, etc.) are being targeted through these organisations, while others have been directly targeted by events or workshops developed by partners. Young people worldwide can also take advantage of using EMPLAY tools on their own, particularly due to the fact that some of the partners have extensive networks (e.g. Cité des Metiers or Organisation International de la Francophonie). Connecting this project with the implementation of Cascais EYC 2018 increased its impact at European level. On a LONG TERM perspective, project results will contribute to a more sustainable, socially cohesive Europe, where young people can more successfully integrate in the labour market, fulfilling their potential. There was a clear expressed wish by Portugal's Secretary of State for Employment to disseminate the tools to the wider employability structures, which can bring concrete unforeseen impact. At the moment, consortium received already a request for the production of 20 units of the boardgame Emplay, besides expressed wishes of other youth workers and institutions.

"Throughout the world, young people have become easily manipulated, receiving information that they can not discern, both online and offline. A Stanford study of 2016, which assessed students' ability to evaluate sources of information, described the results as ""terrible,"" ""grim,"" and ""a threat to democracy."" A research carried out in 2017 by FITT in partnership with UVT on 1160 young people in Timis reveals that over 50% of young people do not watch local, national or international news and have little or no confidence in institutions such as school council, school inspectorate, City Hall, County Council, Parliament, Government. It's hard to trust when you do not get the information you need, or you do not know if that information is real or not. Moreover, more than 60% of young people claim to be affected by the quality of the learning, being the category of the survey they are the most affected. objectives 1. supporting the 24 participants in identifying the relevance of critical thinking skills in today's society; 2. Involvement, familiarization and support of the 24 participants in activities based on non-formal education, meant to develop their own critical thinking; 3. facilitating a favorable environment for the 24 participants to develop their ability to collaborate, give and receive feedback (sharing best practices). The three youth workers in each country are either volunteers or employed in partner associations and want to deepen their knowledge of working with young people. In particular, there are people who want to get the tools to develop critical thinking skills for the young people they work with. Methods of non-formal education will be used."