Future Narratives is a strategic partnership supporting innovation in the field of youth. It is addressed to youth workers and to young people aged 18-30 years old, particularly those from migrant or disadvantaged backgrounds. The general objectives of the project are: to support capacity building for the youth workers; to promote the importance of young people's awareness in common values, civic engagement and participation, fostering their empowerment; to promote dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation between young European people.The project will last 24 months and will reach these general objectives introducing youth workers and young people to the concept of “Futures Literacy”. The concept of Futures Literacy has been developed since 2012 by the UNESCO, seeking to understand “the frames people use to understand tomorrow.” The project will use storytelling as the key heuristic to activate the capacity to reflect on the past, the present and the future and to recognise different approaches to them and their interpretation, thus fostering the understanding of the power of culture, stories and visions in enabling a better future. This understanding will give participants not only the tools to work on a vision for themselves and for their community, but will also develop key competences such as cultural understanding, critical thinking, social media literacy, communication and active participation in civic and social life.The partnership is composed of Traces&Dreams, as Applicant and the young adults training center Möjligheternas Plats, from Sweden; Andalucia Agoce, Federation for the promotion of integration and interculturality, from Spain; Inter Alia, not-for-profit organisation in the field of education and youth, from Greece; Machart, youth training center, from Germany; Euro Project Lab, a company for European Project Management from Italy.Future Narratives is therefore the result of the collaboration between Traces&Dreams, expert in the development of paths and contents oriented towards the promotion of digital literacy, narratives and storytelling, and European organizations that work closely with young people who often find themselves in disadvantaged conditions, caused by structural inequalities, stereotypes, lack of inclusion, fewer opportunities.The specific objectives of the project can be identified as follows:•To provide youth workers with tools aimed at promoting young people’s key competences and active participation to civic and social life thanks to Futures Literacy;•To enhance young people's key competences, with a particular focus on literacy; personal, social and learning to learn; digital; citizenship; cultural Cultural awareness and expression;•To engage, connect, empower young people thanks to Futures Literacy, enabling their voice and their vision to reach out policy-makers, public administrations, civil society and other young people all over Europe.The specific objectives thus identified will be achieved through the following activities:1)A Short-term joint staff training event (C1) for youth workers, engaging all partner organisation. The training will enable project partners to commonly identify the needs of the young participants of the project and to exchange their experience and approaches;2)The realisation of European Guidelines for the innovative use of narrative and storytelling in the empowerment of young people (IO1). This Intellectual Output will allow dialogue between partner organisations and experts in the fields of narrative, storytelling, and Futures Literacy in order to systematize the tools and the methodological approach of Future Narratives. This methodological framework will then be modelled into Guidelines transferable at European level;3)A Digital Platform (IO2), which will: 1) collect and disseminate the project results and digital contents throughout the project, 2) enable an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach to Future storytelling, 3) connect and reach out young people all over Europe;4)The experimentation of Future Narratives approach with young people through: 1) Future Narratives informal innovative pathways (IO3); 2) a series of Transnational Workshops in Spain, Greece, Germany and Sweden addressed to young participants (C2-C5).5)The dissemination of the project through several Multiplier Events (E1-E3) and a final, highly transferable, Multiplier Event (E4) intended as a Future Narrative Exhibition online and offline (in Sweden). 6)The monitoring and evaluation of project’s results.Thanks to these activities the project ultimately aims to reach young people and youth organisations across Europe in order promote the importance of giving visibility to youth aspirations, desires and visions for the future, thus enhancing young people’s participation and engagement in shaping the Europe of tomorrow.

<< Background >>The project “Fair News” is a cooperation partnership to support innovation in the field of school education. The project aims not only to enhance understanding among high school students of the operation of fake-news, but also to work with students on a deep level in order to strengthen their understanding of how knowledge and media content is created and distributed. The project aims to help students to become more conscious readers, co-creators and co-distributors of knowledge.The project is addressed to high school students in four European countries (Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Austria). As leading organisation, Fondazione Spazio Reale has a long tradition of developing and implementing social and cultural projects in the field of education, with an emphasis on multiculturalism, inclusion and ‘giving voices to difference’, thus motivating Fair News as a project designed to address the defined needs of high school students.In the current landscape, in which young people are exposed to multiplying media perspectives, the question of how knowledge is created, disseminated, and consumed is ever-more important. Young people need the ability to recognize bias and identify fair and trustworthy sources of news and information. Further, as the digital world becomes increasingly atomised, and much of social and civic life takes place online, many young people risk disconnection and isolation from the local, national, and international communities. A recent OECD Report, Developing Literacy Skills in a Digital World (2021) has highlighted the need for new skills in media literacy given the “massive information flow of the digital era.” The report shows that less than 50% of 15-year-olds in OECD countries were able to distinguish fact from opinion, with students in Italy and Austria below the OECD average. The report makes clear that schools are not, currently, fulfilling the role of teaching the skills necessary to navigate ambiguity and manage complexity in the digital world. New approaches are needed to develop these skills among high school students by creating broader educational communities beyond formal education and including a range of stakeholders.This necessity has been foregrounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has not only led to increased social isolation, but has also highlighted the importance of the ability to navigate and participate in digital media. The questions of what makes news fair, and how the voices of young people across Europe can be heard in the media landscape, is now of pressing importance. This means that there is a need to create broader connections between young people, to enhance their understanding of their reality, and to offer them spaces where they can not only reflect on their situation but can experiment with and experience a knowledge community. Recent movements, such as FridaysForFuture, have shown the depth of desire among young people to be heard, to participate in society, and to imagine alternative futures. We want students to possess the skills to take the lead in reshaping media discourse. As the future voters and makers of our reality, we believe that these skills are vital in supporting and enhancing democracy and we aim to create a community of mature listeners, media consumers and media creators.We believe that these needs can be approached from a holistic perspective by bringing together conceptual and practical knowledge in critical thinking, media literacy and news creation. By partnering with educational organisations, media producers and communication specialists in five European countries, we aim to facilitate and develop the skills and knowledge needed to understand and create news which is fair and inclusive, and so to foster a new form of educational community capable of enhancing social engagement and cohesion, in relation to the Key Competencies for Lifelong Learning laid out in the Recommendation of the Council of the European Union in May 2018.<< Objectives >>This project aims to help high school students to learn to navigate ambiguity and manage complexity.It will introduce them to the theory and practice of Fair News by:-Developing a deeper understanding of how knowledge is created, co-created, distributed and amplified in an increasingly complex digital landscape;-Improving awareness of the power of words and images from a holistic, multidisciplinary, and long-term perspective;-Offering a space in which students can learn and teach, enabling them to become media literate by listening as well as speaking to them, to prioritise the needs and voices of students;-Empowering students as digital citizens and participants in democratic life through new ways to consume, create, present and distribute their own news content.The innovative aspects of the project derive from:-The holistic approach which emphasises the transdisciplinary nature of knowledge and the need for a bottom-up approach to education, in which students are active co-creators of knowledge, and not placed solely as consumers or recipients; -The creation of educational communities at a local and transnational level, seeking to overcome disconnection and disengagement among high school students by bringing together schools, non-formal educational organisations, online student groups, and a broader network of stakeholders such as families, cultural organisations, and media producers.In accordance with the Erasmus+ General Objective of building a European Education Area and supporting the implementation of the European strategic cooperation in the field of education, the project will prioritise connection and collaboration between young people and educational organisations across Europe, creating an international and transnational educational community.The project aims not only to enhance the ability to identify and decode fake news, but also to work with educators and students to develop sophisticated understanding of how knowledge and content is created and distributed. While fake news is a societal concern for all ages, it has a huge relevance for young people. The ability to understand and evaluate information and knowledge is the foundation of becoming and being a conscious citizen. Further, young people, compared to older generations, use social media and peers on a large scale to access and share information. The focus of the project is not only on the ability to identify fake news, but on understanding and enabling a fair, co-created, and shared media landscape. The project’s objectives thus align with the Key Competencies defined in the EU Recommendation of May 2018 such as literacy and digital competence and cultural awareness and expression.By developing an educational community that brings together young people, educational organisations, schools and media producers, the project aims to challenge the ‘educational crisis’ that affects the relationship between generations and furthers social marginalisation and cultural exclusion. The project’s focus on collaboration and shared experiences resists the impulse to talk down to young people through the transmission of fixed knowledge, but rather seeks to develop new understanding and articulate new concepts through listening to the voices of young people themselves. Through developing the concept of ‘fair news’, we aim to help young people to become more conscious readers, creators and distributors of knowledge. Fair news involves not only the ability to detect and deconstruct disinformation and bias, but also to create and participate in a discourse which connects diverse social groups, fosters intergenerational communication, and allows young people to formulate and express their views, concerns, hopes and aspirations. Fair news is honest, communicative, inclusive, and equally representative of all; we seek to resist the idea of news as objective ‘truth’, and to deepen an understanding of knowledge developed through perception and interpretation<< Implementation >>The project will proceed through four stages of activities, aiming to achieve the project objectives by facilitating educational organisations in the theory and practice of Theory of Knowledge and Media and Information Literacy; training and facilitating high school students as co-creators of knowledge, using a holistic approach which prioritises their needs and capabilities according the the EU Recommendations of May 2018; training young students in the theory and practice of media literacy and media creation, including the production and distribution of knowledge and hand-on experience.The implementation of the project will use methodologies drawn from two disciplines:-Theory of Knowledge (TOK): A purposeful enquiry into ways of knowing, including the interpretative nature of knowledge and its creation across multiple disciplines, enabling students to understand their own perceptions and beliefs, and appreciate the diversity of cultural perspectives. TOK is a key part of the International Baccalaureate curriculum, and the implementation of this project will make the discipline accessible to a wider audience of students and educators;-Media and Information Literacy (MIL): Defined by UNESCO as “a set of competencies that empowers citizens to access, retrieve, understand, evaluate and use, to create as well as share information and media content in all formats, using various tools, in a critical, ethical and effective way, in order to participate and engage in personal, professional and societal activities.” Competencies in MIL are closely aligned with those laid out in the May 2018 EU Council Recommendations for Lifelong Learning.The structure of the project is the following:Phase 1 (4 months): Research, training and facilitation of educators in experiences, needs, and skills in critical thinking, Theory of Knowledge and Media and Information Literacy for high school students.This phase foresees a transnational training activity (C1) for educational workers, involving all partners, followed by a series of webinars through which educators can share their experience of the problems faced by students and develop a methodological approach to solutions. The training will be facilitated by Traces&Dreams. Phase 2 (6 months): Collaborative laboratories with high school students on critical thinking and Theory of Knowledge.This phase foresees a series of collaborative laboratories, hosted by educational organisations in each country with the methodological support of Traces&dreams. Transnational communication and collaboration will be enabled through digital blended learning. The laboratories will foster understanding of critical thinking and the Theory of Knowledge through analysis of how knowledge is created and disseminated in the media. Young people will develop the skills to share their experience and communicate their understanding through personal and group projects.Phase 3 (6 months): Practical workshops on principles of Media and Information Literacy and the creation and distribution of knowledge.This phase foresees a series of practical workshops focusing on media literacy, digital citizenship, and the analysis, production and distribution of news in various media, held with high school students in each country with the methodological support of Traces&Dreams and Toscana Oggi. The participants will produce their own digital newspaper based on the concepts of ‘fair news’.Phase 4 (2 months): Installations and Digital Newspaper launchMultiplier events in each country, through which young people will launch the digital newspaper, share their knowledge and their creations, act as ambassadors to their peers and engender an ongoing educational community including all stakeholders.<< Results >>OUTCOMES.For partner organisations:The project will introduce partners to theoretical, methodological and practical concepts related to critical thinking, the Theory of Knowledge and Media and Information Literacy. The focus on collaboration and learning-through-doing will enable organisations to develop a new form of education through facilitation, which can be utilised in both their work with students through this project and through future projects with young people.Schools and educational organisations will become increasingly aware of the problems of fake news and social disconnection among young people, and will enhance their ability to adopt a holistic and bottom-up approach when addressing these issues.Strategic relationships will be formed between schools, partner organisations and other stakeholders within and between countries, enabling an ongoing ‘enlarged’ educational community.Traces&Dreams will lead the preparation of educational material on critical thinking, the Theory of Knowledge and media literacy that will be accessible to a broad audience.For students:The project will enable students to understand the detection and deconstruction of fake news, and the principles underlying fair news, using an innovative bottom-up approach which emphasises the experiences, views and needs of students.Students will gain enhanced abilities in critical thinking, Media and Information Literacy and the Theory of Knowledge, according to the EU Recommendations of May 2018.Students will also develop practical skills and abilities in content production and dissemination, including the production of their own media creations based on the principles of fair news.RESULTS.The outcomes of the project will be synthesised, realised and shared through the following Project Results:PR1: Formative report on the creation and development of educational communities using methodologies of Theory of Knowledge and Media and Information LiteracyLeader: Spazio Reale. All partners participate. Based on the training activities undertaken through C1, the knowledge created and the experiences shared will be developed into a document reflecting the needs of students in relation to MIL, and the use of TOK in the creation of educational communities, to be implemented through laboratories and workshops with high school students and designed for ongoing use and adaptation in various contexts.PR2: Framework for innovative pathways in the use of Theory of Knowledge among high school students Leader: Centrul de Resurse si Consultanta in Educatie. All partners participate. Based on the theoretical innovation and practical application of the training activities undertaken with high school students and the methodologies defined through PR1, this result will present a document outlining the use of critical thinking, Theory of Knowledge and media literacy in facilitating the skills and competencies required for high school students to participate in democratic life through the understanding and creation of fair news and the formation of broader educational communities. PR3: Resources for the creation and dissemination of Fair NewsLeader: Traces&Dreams. Toscana Oggi participate. Based on the innovative experimentation defined through PR2 and the practical activities in the production and sharing of news by high school students undertaken through workshops, this result will present a hands-on guide for the creation and communication of fair news from the perspectives of high school students, and its realisation through a digital newspaper.