Unemployment is a key issue for the EU. The European Commission considers employment as the first target for the EU in 2020 (75% of the 20-64 year-olds to be employed). Therefore, it seem most timely and necessary for European schools to promote teaching activities and active debates on this topic in order to raise the students' awareness of the first EU target in the next five years. In national and transnational groups, this project aims, on the one hand, to examine the reasons and the effects of unemployment in both the partner regions and the EU, taking into account the multiple aspects of vulnerability in the labour market (age, sex, educational and social background, migration, labour sectors, seasonality, etc), and the role of policy-makers and economic actors as well. On the other hand, this project aims to analyse and propose measures to reach the European Union 2020 goal on both regional and European levels. Therefore, students will be asked to find out how the measures proposed by the EU and the national government bodies are being and can be implemented in the specific regions involved in the project and which new measures could be undertaken. In spite of the fact that unemployment can be different from country to country, students will deal with this topic no only from a national and regional viewpoint, but also taking into account the current labour situation in other European countries in order to draw similarities, differences and suggestions on how unemployment and social exclusion can be best overcome. Six European partners are participating in this project: Institut Lacetània in Manresa (Spain) acting as the coordinating school, the Kaufmännische Schule in Göppingen (Germany), the 3rd General Lyceum of Kavala (Greece), the Liceo Morgagni of Rome (Italy), the Lubelskie Centrum Ksztalcenia Zawodowego i Ustawicznego im. Krzysztofa Kamila Baczynskiego in Lublin (Poland), and the Balcova Ahmet Hakki Balcioglu Mesleki ve Teknik Anadolu Lisesi in Izmir (Turkey). All the partners in the project have been cooperating with our school in our last Comenius project, therefore contacts between the partners, working methods, professional competencies, conflict management and cooperation are well-known. All teachers who are participating in the project bring experience in the field of projects related to social and economic issues. We will wok with students between 16 and 19 years of age. We have seven single stages of work and four transnational meetings in which the results will be exchanged and evaluated, while the working phase will be developed by means of etwnning and other online resources. Using online and transnational meetings, we aim to develop the awareness of the diversity of the local, national, and international labour situation and market, as well as the awareness of Europe as a place to work and to live in. Students are also expected to develop methodical competences and to improve their language skills, critical and creative thinking skills, interpersonal skills and practical skills by acquiring research and decision-making techniques. For this reason, this project also aims to create teaching tools to support the continuous development of students' transferable skills (working with people and data) and to increase their motivation by encouraging collaboration and experience sharing. The teachers participating in the project will develop specific competences which are necessary for the successful implementation of research projects and the integration of transferable skills in students' daily activity. Moreover, the introduction of the Europe 2020 targets into the school program can be seen as an enrichment for the educational institutions by adopting methods of analysis and practical questions in normal teaching and extra-curricular activities. The project can also be considered as the consolidation and strengthening of long-term partnerships among the schools involved. Furthermore, we plan to meet social and/or economic actors of the partner region. In this way, those participating in the project will be able to gain first-hand insights on the issue of unemployment all across Europe. The information provided in these meetings will be used to elaborate the project's researches and activities.

The project Social Europe 2020: Combating Social Exclusion and Poverty in the European Union (EU) has taken as a starting point the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth regarding the fight against social exclusion and poverty. The European Commission (EC) aims to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by 20 million by 2020. In order to reach this goal, the EC launched in 2010 the European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion as one of seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy. One of the key actions of this platform, which will remain active until 2020, is to work in partnership with civil society to support more effectively the implementation of social policy reforms. Public schools across Europe are hosting pupils from socially and economically diverse backgrounds and can be seen as key actors in promoting social cohesion and equality and combating social exclusion in their communities. Within this context, six European schools launched in 2017 an Erasmus+ project dealing with the fight against social exclusion and poverty in their own countries: the Institut Lacetània in Manresa (Spain) acting as the coordinating school, the Kaufmännische Schule in Göppingen (Germany), the 3rd General Lyceum of Kavala (Greece), the Liceo Scientifico Morgagni of Rome (Italy), the Lubelskie Centrum Kształcenia Zawodowego i Ustawicznego im. Krzysztofa Kamila Baczyńskiego in Lublin (Poland), and the Zealand Business College in Næstved (Denmark). The teachers involved in this project have extensive experience in projects related to economic and social issues. All the partners have been cooperating for several years now and a significant number of European projects have been successfully carried out in the last 10 years. In this project, our schools have promoted teaching activities and active debates in our communities in order to raise awareness of this topic. Being aligned with the Europe 2020 strategy, this project has also helped our school communities understand social exclusion and poverty and get involved in the fight against this problem by launching an open dialogue with policy makers, social agents, and people who have experienced poverty. It is true that social exclusion and poverty differ from country to country, especially from North to South. Nevertheless, students have dealt with this topic no only from a national and regional viewpoint, but also taking into account the social situation in other European countries in order to draw similarities, differences, and suggestions on how to overcome social exclusion and poverty. Students between 16 and 19 years of age have participated in this project. Each stage of the project consisted of a working phase using eTwinning and other online resources, and a transnational meeting in which the results were exchanged and evaluated. Our dissemination activities took place both inside and outside our schools, especially during the transnational meetings. As for the results of the project, the partnership has produced a number of comparative researches on how the participating countries legislate against social exclusion and poverty, giving special attention to the translation of the EU recommendations and directives into national law and practices, i.e., how the participating countries are developing their national policies according to the EU directives and goals. Special attention has been given to the role played in each country by policy makers, economic and social actors. The outcomes of the research reflect the feasibility of the EU 2020 goals and measures for the EU, focusing on different situations and particular circumstances at both national and transnational level.As for the most significant impacts of the project, students have been able to develop methodical competences and improve their language skills, critical and creative thinking skills, interpersonal skills, and practical skills by acquiring research and decision-making techniques. Teachers participating in the project has also developed specific competences necessary for the successful implementation of transnational projects and the integration of transferable skills into students' daily activity. Moreover, the introduction of the Europe 2020 targets into the school program has been an enrichment for our schools. Finally, one of the most significant impacts of this project has been the close collaboration between the schools involved in the partnership and significant social bodies and key persons in our local and regional communities dealing with issues of poverty and social exclusion. We expect, therefore, our analysis and researches to be helpful for these institutions and people, as they will be able to perceive the strengths and weaknesses of their initiatives and measures to reach the EU goals.

The 3rd Gener. Lyceum of Kavala, aiming at constant self-improvement, innovation & internationalization of the education process, pursues direct contact with the European mentality of cooperation & new educational approaches in school practice. In the framework of this vision, we devised the current educational training project so that the participating teachers improve their professional skills and, subsequently, upgrade the whole school unit by introducing new experiences, knowledge & novel practices into the teaching process.The preponderant aims of this project are:-Acquaintance with teaching methodologies that will lead to a more effective teaching process-Occupational socialization in ICT skills with the aim of implementing them in teaching practice-Innovative utilization of instructive techniques for differentiated teaching -Creative integration of refugee students with the use of more effective teaching techniques-Improvement of classroom management skills in order to cope with xenophobia, racist attitudes & bullying-Direct contact with colleagues from European schools, aiming at experience-sharing & the prospect of future cooperation in Erasmus+ KA2 projects -Promotion of a cooperative culture between our school & European schools There are four participants in the project: the headmaster, 2 language teachers & the teacher of English. The common denominator among them is, beside personal advancement, their desire to involve in innovative actions, their sensitivity in pedagogical issues & their vision for a modern school of European dimension. All 4 of them have rich & prolific involvement in cultural, environmental and Erasmus+ e-Twinning & KA2 projects. The overall designing of the proposed project includes the attendance of four structured training programs, 2 of which will be carried out in Sweden & 2 in Spain. The subject matter of the first 2 relates to student groups with special educational needs, such as refugee children & students with learning disabilities. Our work group expects to:-Be instructed on how to deal with dissimilitude in the classroom framework through creative ways & innovative techniques-Develop effective strategies in acting upon xenophobia, stereotypes, discrimination & marginalization of specific student groups-Become able in recognizing & dealing with the most important forms & aspects of learning disabilities encountered in a school class & devise personalized teaching plans-Become able to provide quality education to students with learning disabilities through differentiated teaching & learning in mixed classesIn the two subsequent training seminars, the basic subject matter is ICΤ & its effective implementation in the everyday teaching process. Our main goal is to be trained on ways of utilizing ICT as a tool to enhance discovery learning & contribute to the development of critical thinking. Moreover, we aim for our familiarization with the use of internet tools such as Kahoot, Socrative etc, as well as getting acquainted with techniques of designing & putting up an open digital classroom that will actively engage students in the learning processThe participating teachers aspire to capitalize on their newly-acquired knowledge & skills by putting them into their teaching practice. Specifically:-Training in the Refugees & Migrants seminar will help the teachers to coordinate actions for the gradual, well-tempered & effective integration of refugee students in both the social & educational environment, offer them psychological support & assistance so that these children feel equal & accepted, fact which will lead to their willing & active participation in the learning process-The second training seminar on Special Education will help participating teachers to develop certain skills & acquire techniques (role playing, simulation, brainstorming, interview) in order to deal with learning disabilities, restlessness, attention deficiency, behavioral disorders The other 2 training seminars focus on ICT & will contribute to digital literacy in mixed classes & the cultivation of active involvement in learning through a pleasant & creative way The resulting long term benefits will pertain to teachers & students, the school community & the local society. Teachers will get professional training of high quality which will boost their performance. Students will start learning how to learn, overcome their differences & coexist. At the same time, European prerequisites like cooperative spirit, active participation in learning, innovative thinking & problem-solving mentality, will be implemented in the educational process. Diffusion of the newly-acquired knowledge will create the basis for a school of European orientation, open to society, which provides numerous skills to its students, assisting their future professional development. Finally, the local society will become recipient of a common European policy aiming at equal opportunities & job seeking.

The use of internet has become an inevitable part of the life of each person. Nowadays, some parents face the problem of bare existence, while the others are obsessed with their career, so they deliberately or not most often neglect their children not paying them the necessary attention and care. On the other hand, the children start living virtually in the world of internet, games, sometimes even with virtual not real friends and get lost in that world.The project aimOur project’s aim is to work on improving the key competences i.e. knowledge, attitudes as well as basic skills in order to ensure personal fulfilment and development, empower employability, social inclusion and active citizenship. We also aim to foster ‘learning to learn’ skills in order to be able to organize ones learning and to manage the information we get, but also to be able to identify the need to learn and to focus on proper adopting the skills needed. Furthermore, we would like to motivate the students to use different educational applications such as Web 2.0 tools.We believe this project will foster the students to appreciate the European values and other cultures, but at the same time help us to share best practices with their colleagues from the other EU countries and to make contacts for future collaborationWe also believe that we will raise student’s awareness on safe and efficient use of the social media, which will influence students drop out from school. The project objectives are:The main project objective is to prevent students from being addicted to social media in negative way, and to prevent them from spending most of the their time using internet and social media, whereas we want to improve student’s learning using different methods and strategies in order to motivate them in the present education, but also to continue their further education.We also want to motivate the students to learn by introducing new methods, strategies and ICT skills, and shorten the time they spend using social media, find alternatives to spending time online, promote education of healthy lifestyle and active citizenship, develop digital competences and media literacy, encourage them to respect different cultures, values and diversity and promote tolerance, respect, and understanding of different languages, improve information, instruction and student responsibility in online safety.The project mobilitiesParticipants - The project is going to involve 5 students (15-18 years of age) and 2 teachers from each partner school participating in each mobility activity. Of course, the number of host students and teachers will be much bigger. The expected number of beneficiaries is estimated to a number of 450. The participants will be chosen in a fair and transparent process conducted in each partner school upon previously set criteria.Project methodologyThe methodology applied to carry out the project will include presentations, workshops, discussions, interviews, debates, portfolio creation, research, and data analyses. The students and teachers are going to share experience and best practices, while working in multicultural teams will enhance their motivation to fulfil the project objectives.Project managementThe project management involves all phases of the project – planning the project - where needs were inentified and the objectives set, organization of the activities, implementation , providing with monitoring techniques, setting clear terms, seting evaluation and dissemination plan. The good organization will help us ensure proper project implementation and good quality of the project which aims at achieving the envisaged project goals.Expected results of the projectStudents to become aware of their addiction to social media and the harm they do to their lives, they have developed ITC skills, English language skills, social and civic skills, creativity, critical thinking and self-esteem, team work, use social media mainly for educational purposes, gain knowledge of EU values, cultural diversity and other languages and they increase their chances for employability Teachers to improve their professional portfolio, team work, digital and English language skills, project realization and management skills. Also to gain EU values knowledge and European educational systems. The school to have improved image and become more attractive and competitive as part of the European family schools and will be promoted on EU level.Other schools to become aware of the Erasmus+ program opportunities, and will be encouraged to apply and benefit from the Programme Parents to become aware of the dangers social media bring to their children and encourage them to use social media in educational purposes, also to become aware of European values.The long-term effects and benefitsThe project is going to have impact not only during the project lifetime but also after it has ended by help of the experience gained, but also by sharing the final project

Accredited projects for mobility of learners and staff are implemented by organisations holding an Erasmus accreditation. Each accredited project represents a step in the implementation of the organisation's long-term Erasmus Plan.