"<< Background >>Currently, there are numerous changes in the socio-economic environment. One of the phenomena permanently imprinting on the society is its aging. Europe has the highest proportion of seniors in their populations, where 18% of the population is over the age of 65. In the year 2050, it is estimated that 25% of the population will be 65 years of age or older (United Nations, 2019). Older people are often at risk of digital exclusion and digital divide (Friemel 2016, Millward 2003, Rainie 2015), especially in rural areas. Digital divide prevents elders from accessing important societal information and community services related to science and technology that can offer benefits for autonomy, well-being, and social participation (Quan-Haase et al., 2018; Siren & Knudsen 2017).In 2020, the Office of Electronic Communications studied that only 30% of seniors (60+) use the Internet. Additionally, digitization and access to high-speed internet is increasing. Social media are becoming more and more important. They are democratic but at the same time they are a place of disinformation and misinformation. Fake news spreads freely and quickly (sharing), additionally there are controlled campaigns on the Internet - trolls or bots spread false information, manipulating the recipients. In the post-truth era, anyone can ""sell"" pseudo-truths by pretending they are facts and research findings. Fake news poses a threat to the public, it can change people's perceptions (Balmas 2014, Holton and Lewis 2011), affect trust (Baumpatner and Morris 2006, Tsfati et al. 2009), shape one's perception of others (Lee 2014, Moy et al. 2006), and influence opinions about serious news (Landreville et al. 2010).The themes of the project fit directly into critical thinking and media literacy education priority, especially with the growing importance of social media. It is social media that is highly ""infodemic"" and exposes citizens to fake news and pseudoscience. In addition, in an indirect way, the course itself and other project activities will foster the development of social and intercultural competencies of direct and indirect beneficiaries. The FakeNews&Elders project promotes the social inclusion of elders as people with fewer opportunities, often digitally and educationally excluded. The specific nature of this target group exposes them to age discrimination and can cause deepening of exclusion. The project aims to help overcome barriers faced by elders in everyday life. Barriers stem from a lack of awareness of how the modern digital world works, including social media, an inability to distinguish false information, succumbing to manipulation, and believing in post-truth.The project activities are addressed to local educational and learning environments - educators, libraries, trainers, consultants or NGOs. A special place in FakeNews&Elders project is given to libraries and Universities of Third Age, providing physical space close to the place of residence of people in old age. In rural areas, rural housewives' associations are such stakeholders. Other stakeholders also create micro learning environments and integrate the local community. By equipping participants with scientific and critical thinking skills, the course topics will improve their ability to cope with ever present misinformation and miscommunication in the media.<< Objectives >>When summarizing the planned main achievements of the project, the first step is to refer to the addressees of the project results.First group will be elders (55+) who will gain new competencies on critical thinking, scientific thinking and coping successfully with overwhelming digital communication. The second, diverse and extensive group of recipients are people indirectly benefiting from the project's results are those who work with the elders on a daily basis and also encounter problems related to the dynamic digital changes and the growing popularity of digital media. This group may include: local animators, employees (teachers and an administrative staff) of Universities of the Third Age, NGOs or initiative groups working with mature people, libraries, parish associations, farmers' clubs and societies, trainers and counsellors working with adults, social workers. Further stakeholders include groups that will be able to benefit from selected project results: (1) Social media managers and communicators/journalists/experts/scientists active on social media, (2) Scientists and R&I stakeholder including the business sector, Research institutions, Universities communication staff and press offices, RPOs, (3) legacy media professionals, (4) Face to face events organizers and explainers, (5) Policy makers.In view of the above the FakeNews&Elders project will bridge the digital divide of older people by: (1) sustaining active citizenship by avoiding risk of marginalization of groups affected by the knowledge divide in the digital society. Negative outcomes of a “grey” digital divide are: limited use of on-line public services, social and civil exclusion. It prevents elders from accessing important societal information and services related to science and technology that can offer benefits for autonomy and well-being. (2) improving elders’ media communication competences with the focus on ability to critically evaluate the media and use the media. The solution to the problem of disinformation and manipulation but the solution may lie in the skills of effective communication, critical thinking, media literacy and bigger integration of elders into the internet life and its pitfalls. Thanks to planning in the project activities addressed to the environments cooperating or planning to start or intensify cooperation with people in old age it will be possible to access modern methods of education, contacts with the international environment while maintaining safety - materials will be prepared in national languages. Inclusion will also be ensured by the methodology. In the first stage of the development of the course for adults, a co-creation workshop with the future recipients is planned. Their participation will ensure that the course is tailored to their needs and will allow them to share their experience, which is of high value to people in old age.The ambition of the authors of the FakeNews&Elders project is to permanently awaken civic attitude and acceptance of participation and deepening and broadening the social debate on how elders function in digital space.<< Implementation >>The project will result in key FakeNews&Elders supporting tools:- Anatomy of miscommunication and fake news – a guide to understand how mass communication works. This result will provide basic knowledge of the scientific and science communication process, fake news and deep news and the tools to detect them (websites, analytical methodologies, etc.) and individual coping strategies.The guide will provide insight into how fake news can be spread and manipulated on social media. - A practical course for elders on using media communication in a critical way;The course will consist of four fundamental concepts: (1) what fake news looks like and (2) practical activities on how to identify them, (3) media literacy basics and (4) social media problematic.Participants will learn how to spot misinformation on the internet and verify the images, videos, and news. Participants will learn how to work with Facebook and other social media platforms, how to fact-check information using the right tools or report false ones. The course will consist of activities, readings, and quizzes to practise fact-checking skills which is an important part of the course. - Methodological guide for organisations working with elders. The methodological guide aims at offering knowledge and skills to help adult educators to deliver the training and implement a constructive learning environment for seniors using the FAKENEWS & ELDERS resources. It includes principles of pedagogy, andragogy, senior learning needs, mentoring approaches, individualised support approaches and other themes produced by the project partners. The aim is also to allow more experienced educators from different fields and with different expertise to offer their best practices and advice on how to best use the FAKE NEWS & ELDERS tools. It will be created in the form of a Train-the-Trainer Format for adult educators/trainers/advisors/social workers etc. An important part of this guide will be: Toolbox for Adult Educators/social workers and Bank of good examples.- Educational Boards. The boards will have an educational purpose and contain key information about fake news and how to deal with this phenomenon. The slogans will be illustrated with eye-catching graphics. The boards will be produced on a rigid backing and will be ready to be hung in the places often visited by elders.Educational boards are one of the forms that make up the communication system with the public. They help visitors of libraries, universities, coworking spaces or places addressed to beneficiaries of NGos understand basic issues related to a given topic. All activities assume close cooperation between partners and mutual support. After the elaboration of the guidelines and the initial concept, the development, piloting, necessary adjustments and implementation follow. Each time this is done taking into account the needs and expectations of the audience, including research and analysis, in accordance with the principles of citizen science and participation.The cross-cutting assumption is also to ensure high innovation, easy and wide transferability of project results.Associated partners have an important role to play in the project. Their experience has been used in the preparation of this application. In the course of the project they will support the partners in every step of the project and they will disseminate the results using their extensive network of contacts.<< Results >>There are two types of results expected from the project - tangible and intangible. Most relevant tangible products are:1. Anatomy of miscommunication and fake news – a guide to understand how mass communication works; 2. A practical course for elders on using media communication in a critical way;3. Methodological guide for organisations working with elders (E-Seniors) 4. Educational Boards.In addition to the above mentioned Intellectual Outputs, the following outcomes will be delivered: project visual identification, Website, Newsletters, Quality Assurance and Management, Dissemination activities, Project movie, Technical reports (interim and final), Multiplier events in each partners’ country and a European conference in GR.They will be prepared in English and all partners’ languages (PL, ES, CZ, IT, FR, GR) Intangible results are an important complement to tangible products. Acquisition of new knowledge, skills and consequently change of attitudes and habits will concern mainly elders. However, people from their close circle - local animators, employees of Universities of the Third Age, NGOs or initiative groups working with people in old age, librarians, associates parish associations, farmers' clubs and societies, trainers and counsellors working with adults, social workers will also develop their competences. Also further stakeholders, drawing from the project experience, will develop awareness, increase curiosity and become convinced of the contemporary importance and relevance of the project topic. Thus, a ripple effect will appear and the fight against pseudoscience and false messages will enter more strongly into the research agenda, media discussion and policies.By providing support not only to elders, but also to a wide range of people working with them in their daily work, the competencies of educators and other staff involved in adult education will be improved. Higher competence of these groups may lead to a general improvement in the focus and effectiveness of adult education. This will certainly enrich the toolbox of educators with tools to raise awareness and motivate people in old age. Project Results and other materials will be created with a view to building and strengthening European identity. Moreover thanks to the partners' extensive experience with working with elders, the Results planned in the FakeNews&Elders project will take into account the expectations of people in old age and the organizations and stakeholders working with them. The highest standards of ethical working, the ethos of lifelong learning and motivation will be maintained and motivators will be incorporated."

The goal of the project “Effective guidance for successful integration of foreign communities through language acquisition” (WHATtoDOif) is to help newly-arrived foreigners, migrants and refugees to get oriented in the host-country economic, education, social and other systems, thus preventing their social exclusion or heavy dependency on their ethnic community. In order to address this goal the project stipulates to deliver the following intellectual outputs:IO1: Migrants Info & Glossary Compass – based on research made at the first months of the project with members of foreign communities in partner countries. It will take a look at main life areas of foreigners (e.g. job market, schooling/education, visa, children care, health care, housing and realities, etc.). The Compass will contain results of this research, short description of each dimension and basic problematic situations that have been identified from research within each dimension, experienced by foreigners living in partner countries.IO2: Solutions map – on the basis of the identified most common problematic situations, basic “What To Do If” scenarios/appropriate solutions to each troublesome situation in each country will be defined. The collection of appropriate solutions will accompany the Compass and will be published online linking each problem to a relevant solution.IO3: WHATtoDOif Language Package – Each “appropriate solution” will be accompanied with a language learning unit containing basic phrases and terminology related to the issue. Each learning unit will be related around one issue defined in Output 1.IO4: WHATtoDOif Video tutorials – Video materials describing the Solutions map. Each video will be prepared in all partner languages as well as in all languages of selected migrant communities. These videos will be filmed in partner languages as well as in languages of selected migrant groups. The videos will accompany Output 2 (for some foreigners, it could be easier to listen to the instructions rather than to study the text, because of their weak literacy skills) and can also be used as part of IO3.IO5: WHATtoDOif Web Repository and Mobile application – This application connected to the web page of the project will contain all outcomes from IO1, IO2, IO3 and IO4 in an easy-to-use structure, where each troublesome issue (IO1) will be linked to appropriate solution (IO2), related learning unit (IO3) and video tutorial in a related language (IO4). The application will also be available on mobile phones, so the users will be able to work with it on a daily basis and use it at the moment they need to find a proper phrase or term.As a result of the project migrants will improve their knowledge on the thematic areas selected by the consortium regarding the local system in partners’ countries. In addition, migrants will be provided with useful glossary and video tutorials that will support their communication and interaction with local employees when explaining their needs, and therefore the project will have an impact on their language skills in the local language. Last but not least, migrants will be more confident on how to find solutions for specific problems they might face while trying to organise their life in a new country.The WHATtoDOif outcomes will also support language educators working with migrants by equipping them with new attractive methodologies and products. The existing language materials are often not adapted for migrants, the content is too complicated, grammar-oriented and does not provide motivation for learning. In this project, the materials will be directly related to problems migrants face in their interaction with local public authorities, and private institutions as well.The products that will be created by the project will be of valuable support for all those organisations working for/with migrants (NGOs, volunteers, migrants’ associations, etc.) as they will be equipped with a guide with useful information on how the local system is functioning in important areas for a migrant’s life. They will be able to use the guide to provide guidance to migrants and suggest it to them for download on their mobile phones as an application. All organisations delivering language lessons will be provided with a set of tools for language teaching purposes.Countries beyond the partnership will also benefit from the results because of the multilingual character of the outputs and the need of such resources due to similar challenges Europe-wide. WHATtoDOif is poised to have a long-lasting and far-reaching impact as a project bringing together different institutions, which actively contribute to migrant’s integration into the European society. Their close cooperation and partnership, as well as involvement of new stakeholders at national and European level, will result in creation of Europe-wide network of education providers sharing knowledge and best practices in intercultural research and integration training.

<< Background >>The environmental question is becoming one of the most urgent global issues that policy makers and communities need to face concretely for the future sustainability of the planet. Because of this, in the past years many international deals established new rules to overtake the actual situation: the Paris Agreement (2015) during which, for the first time, the United Nations brought into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, and the Agenda 2030 (2015) which committed almost 200 nations to reach a more sustainable development for the planet and the human beings.As established also by the European Green Deal (2019) and by the Green Deal Work Programme 2018-2020 under Horizon 2020 (Area 10, topic 2: Behavioral, social and cultural change for the Green Deal), the main challenge at European and international level is to “foster changes in societal practices and in the behaviour of individuals, communities, public and private organisations, that can be achieved through collective and participatory processes or through a sense of environmental citizenship and climate justice. To address these issues requires research and experimentation on behavioural, social and cultural change across Europe, and requires the analysis of social practices and behavioral change processes, including sharing good practice, tools and resources”.This great challenge requires deep adaptation in life styles and behaviours, by addressing citizens’ engagement and social innovation through innovative approaches, for a fair and inclusive transition.NEEDS TO ADDRESSStarting from the Green Deal purposes, GREEN Factor project aims to address the global need concerning environmental protection, which is strictly related to behavioural processes, cultural and social practices. GREEN Factor aims to approach this need by fostering a change in mentality to embrace new sustainable individual/collective actions and choices, as we all live on this planet. As the “GREEN Factor” name points out, the project's main challenge is to enhance mentality change and sense of initiative especially in young generations, as a necessary step to raise and develop their green consciousness and to empower them becoming a “real factor of change”.In fact, over time, young people become more informed and aware of environmental topics and issues, by considering themselves as active participants in the global changes. “Friday for Future” movement demonstrated that. Started in 2018, it soon became viral with thousands of young activists protesting against the governments’ lack of action on the climate crisis. Then, the movement reached meaningful numbers, by impacting 7500 cities and 14 million people across all continents (https://fridaysforfuture.org/).In this context, the needed actions are the creation of tools and opportunities to educate and engage young European citizens, in order to develop a new mindset for generating more sustainable behaviours, choices and ideas to be impactful in the short/long term. Since GREEN Factor aims especially to foster young people’s consciousness, since they will become the adults of tomorrow and responsible of future generations, the project will focus mainly on young people’s needs and attitudes (16-30 y/o) and on professionals who work with youth, in order to impact on them more efficiently and in the long term (youth workers, youth and green associations’ staff).<< Objectives >>Starting from the Green Deal purposes, GREEN Factor main challenge is to foster young people environmental consciousness and activism, by leveraging on 2 interconnected objectives:Young citizens’ engagement and participation - the idea behind the project is to strengthen young people's awareness about environmental issues, by concretely boosting their behavioural change. Greener behaviours will be the turning point to become not just more conscious citizens at individual but also, at collective level, by generating more sustainable actions and initiatives that would impact society and human lives, for example through green entrepreneurship, becoming aware and informed green entrepreneurs. In fact, in order to have a green entrepreneurial mindset and to build up an eco-oriented business, the crucial precondition is to have the practical know-how to progressively change the personal attitude in daily life. In order to achieve this objective, a Good Practice Catalogue will be produced (PR1), based on the collection of good practices from Europe and partner Countries about greener behaviours. Research will be conducted to figure out which are the young people’s most relevant behavioural gaps to be fulfilled in the everyday-life domains to reach an effective long-term impact (i.e: food consumption, shopping, cosmetics, energy use and waste etc).Youth entrepreneurship and sense of initiative - the more younger individuals acquire this ecologic behavioural know-how in their daily life as citizens, the wider range of green attitudes, ideas and initiatives will be generated by them also as green entrepreneurs, by creating a cascade effect of personal, social and economic benefits in the short and long term, definitely beyond the project duration. In order to achieve this objective, a Green Challenge Report will be produced (PR1), recording the current trends of Green Entrepreneurship concept in partners’ Countries, its diffusion in Europe and the main environmental issues to be addressed at national level in order to solve them.Starting from these two research deliverables (Good Practice Catalogue, Green Challenge Report) developed within PR1 - THE GREEN FACTOR PATHWAY FOR BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES, all the other project results will be designed based on those findings and discoverings, in order to provide both youth and youth workers with good practices, tools and resources specifically developed to foster and achieve the above mentioned objectives (PR2 - MY GREEN FACTOR VIDEO TUTORIALS TO BOOST CITIZENS’ BEHAVIORAL CHANGES, PR3 - MY GREEN FACTOR GAMIFIED E-COURSE FOR ASPIRING GREEN ENTREPRENEURS, PR4 - THE GREEN FACTOR REPLICABILITY GUIDE FOR YOUTH WORKERS).Of course, even though young people aged 16-30 are the main project target group, youth workers will also benefit from project results, not only in their professional activities, but also as individuals living the necessary green transition. For the same reason, this is also true for the other project target groups (youth & green associations’ staff and stakeholders in general). As a wider objective, GREEN Factor project results have been conceived to be exploited independently from the project framework and to be highly shareable and replicable during and after the project life cycle, in order to boost a real factor of change within a wider community as well.<< Implementation >>GREEN Factor is structured around 4 work packages that lead to the achievement of its objectives.Since the beginning of the project, partners will select young people (min. 10 per partner) and youth workers (min. 2 per partner) to be involved in the activities. They will be both involved in the testing phase of the project results, in the training sessions and in the multiplier events. Partners will involve youth & local environmental associations as well, especially for the communication activities.WORK PACKAGE 1: THE GREEN FACTOR PATHWAY FOR BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES (PR1). It represents the conceptual basis for all the following project results and it will produce:A Good Practices Catalogue based on the collection of good practices from Europe and partner countries about greener behaviours. Research will be conducted to figure out which are the young people's most relevant behavioural gaps to be fulfilled in the everyday-life domains to reach an effective long-term impact (i.e: food consumption, shopping, cosmetics, separate collection of waste, energy use and waste etc).A Green Challenge Report recording the current trends of Green Entrepreneurship, its diffusion in Europe and the main environmental issues to be addressed at national level.WORK PACKAGE 2: GREEN FACTOR EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR YOUTH (PR2, PR3). This WP includes:PR2 My GREEN Factor Video Tutorials To Boost Citizens’ Behavioral Changes - a set of video tutorials will be developed to give practical tips and instructions to truly affect the mindset and lifestyles of the target groups in order to make users active participants of change. The topics will be those identified in the Good Practice Catalogue (PR1), which concern basically the fields that impact mostly citizens’ daily choices and actions. PR3 My GREEN Factor Gamified e-course For Aspiring Green Entrepreneurs - based on the Green Challenge Report (PR1), a gamified e-course specifically targeted to aspiring green entrepreneurs will be developed to test the knowledge acquired by young people and youth workers. In parallel to the e-course itself, gamified solutions will test entrepreneurial skills through a gamified approach (quizzes, small learning scenarios etc.) by fostering a more active and participative acquisition of knowledge among youth.WORK PACKAGE 3: THE GREEN FACTOR REPLICABILITY GUIDE FOR YOUTH WORKERS (PR4). It has the main scope to provide youth workers with instructions on how to guide young people in the process of becoming active promoters of their locally green-economic landscape. It is developed in 3 main phases (training sessions, My GREEN Factor Day, drafting the Guide), both as a methodological resource to be used in youth workers’ professional activity and to describe GREEN Factor experience with youth.WORK PACKAGE 4: Sharing & Promotion, Multiplier Events and Final conference in Valencia (ES). All the communication activities have the main aim of spreading GREEN Factor message and products both online and offline, within and outside partners’ networks. METHODOLOGY:All the project results will be developed taking into account an edutainment (education + entertainment) and gamified approach, to actively involve target groups and provide impactful instructions by entertaining them. This approach is winning and enjoyable not only for youth, but also for professionals and adults who will benefit from PRs as well.<< Results >>PROJECT RESULTSThe PRs have been designed taking into account the results of a survey carried out before the project submission, delivered to a sample of 107 respondents in partners’ Countries (youth & youth workers, youth & green associations, green entrepreneurs), to understand which skills young people should have to become virtuous citizens & committed entrepreneurs, and to identify the best educational approaches. PR1 THE GREEN FACTOR PATHWAY FOR BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES - It represents the basis for all the following PRs and will focus on:How to boost youth behavioral change - partners will produce a Good Practice Catalogue based on the collection of good practices from Europe and partner countries about greener behaviours. This Catalogue will be the base of PR2.The green challenges to be faced by aspiring green entrepreneurs - partners will produce a Green Challenge Report that analyses current trends of Green Entrepreneurship in partner Countries. This Report will be the base of PR3 and training sessions with young people (PR4).PR2 MY GREEN FACTOR VIDEO TUTORIALS TO BOOST CITIZENS’ BEHAVIORAL CHANGES - video tutorials will be developed to fulfill youth behavioural gaps and to maximize the replicability of practical behaviours. The topics will be those identified in the Good Practice Catalogue (PR1), which concern the fields that impact mostly citizens’ daily choices and actions. The aim is to give practical instructions to truly affect youth mindset and to empower them to be active participants during the green transition. An edutainment approach will be used for the creation of these non-formal learning resources as a winning educational model to engage not just target groups but also stakeholders.PR3 MY GREEN FACTOR GAMIFIED E-COURSE FOR ASPIRING GREEN ENTREPRENEURS - taking into account the Green Challenge Report (PR1), a gamified e-course will be developed to train and test the knowledge acquired by aspiring green entrepreneurs. The gamified approach will foster a more active and participative acquisition of knowledge thanks to the impactful format & layout. A project platform will be developed to contain all GREEN Factor PRs.PR4 THE GREEN FACTOR REPLICABILITY GUIDE FOR YOUTH WORKERS - it will:explain youth workers the project methodological approach on how to use properly all the PRs in their professional activity;provide youth workers with guidelines on how to work directly with young people for the creation of their own business idea;describe the direct experience with youth during the training sessions and My GREEN Factor Day.EXPECTED OUTCOMES They concern the impact within & outside the project target groups during and after the project duration:Within - through PRs youth will have the chance to change their mindset in acquiring greener behaviours and in generating greener initiatives & business ideas. PRs will also be impactful resources for youth workers, youth & green associations’ staff that can deliver them during their professional activity. Outside - a wider community will be reached thanks to the high shareability and replicability of all the PRs. They will be available in 6 languages in the project platform, to easily reach a transnational wider audience (EN, FR, IT, ES, CZ, GR).Moreover, GREEN Factor aims to highly share the project outcomes through 1 day Multiplier event at national level to actively involve youth & youth workers, associations, institutions, policy makers, educational entities, media and stakeholders. During the events all the young people & youth workers involved will receive a certificate of “Green Ambassadors”, which testify their engagement in putting into practice what they have learnt and in sharing it with other people.The intention to reach a wider audience will be also reflected by the inclusion purpose that is at the basis of the selection of target groups and of the promotion strategy (gender, social, religious, cultural).

Not applicable.

"<< Background >>As more attention is given to the Sustainable Development Goals, it is strategically important to take a serious look towards the development of new concepts, models, methods, and practices that will lead society towards becoming more ecologically sustainable and socially responsible, besides being economically efficient. Many small hold farmers struggle to make their products visible and find it almost impossible to compete against the big players on the market. Their competitors’ products are often mass produced and accessible, and they have the financial power to get the best placements, playing right into the hands of the consumers. But what they often are not; based on a long-term sustainability plan. The project idea became a reality, when the consortium found themselves asking; Why can consumers in super markets in Guadeloupe only purchase chicken that has been imported from i.e. mainland Europe? How does a microbusiness in agriculture let consumers know that they sustainably produce ecological produce of very high quality? And how can these small producers be part of the solution for the Sustainable Development Goals? Part of the solution to these questions is; innovation through sustainable agripreneurship. We say this, because it is proven that innovation can “radically change the ways individuals, organisations and societies do things and their relationship and are a fundamental issue for our societies facing globalisation, complex interdependencies, worldwide risks, natural resource depletions, biodiversity collapses, climate change, world population ageing, or urban inhabitant evolutions” (Motesharrei et al. 2014; Pueyo 2014; Barnosky et al. 2012; Dearing et al. 2014). Socio-cultural and economic challenges are central to the design and to the construction of a society in which all individuals feel integrated and responsible. And based on this, we feel that there is a great opportunity for small hold farmers in rural and outermost regions of Europe, to play into a market that is demanding more sustainable produce, and for larger companies such as the retail sector, to take real action towards the SDGs. These opportunities mean that small hold farmers have a market of buyers, but they need help to get there. On top of this, the COVID-19 crisis inflicted a disproportionate toll on microbusinesses, especially in rural communities. This is particularly concerning, as they are often the lifeblood of their local economies. While much attention has been paid to small business closures in urban communities across Europe, the same dynamic is unfolding in underserved rural areas, with desperate consequences. As rural communities all over Europe grapple with challenges such as these, they will undoubtedly require coordinated relief to get back on their feet after this crisis. (Rural small businesses need local solutions to survive: Hanna Love and Mike Powe, December 1, 2020) https://www.brookings.edu/research/rural-small-businesses-need-local-solutions-to-survive/. Rural areas can benefit from a vibrant small business and entrepreneurship ecosystem. These have been found to generate wealth that stays in the community, build local leadership, and even contribute to population health and cultivate vibrant “regional hubs” that foster locally owned businesses, and contribute to a sense of neighbourhood identity that retains residents and attracts new ones.Whether you’re looking for growth, perseverance or stability, the acorn symbolises it all. All the wonder in a mighty oak grows from a single acorn and is a reminder that the difficulties we incur help us to grow strong. The acorn is a constant reminder to continue; to persevere; and to keep working hard, because as we feel is the spirit of the project concept; “Everything that made that giant tree is already contained inside this tiny little seed”, and so, project ACORN contains all that we need to create sustainable ecosystems in rural communities.<< Objectives >>Some say that rural economic stagnation is a natural result of progress and that the only thing we can do, is to move towards opportunity in bigger cities. The ACORN consortium struggles to see where the sustainability mindset is at, in this attitude. As an alternative to the traditional industry mindset, rural areas can benefit from a small business and entrepreneurship ecosystem. (April 26, 2017: John W Lettieri, Economic Innovation Group) We can instead aim for creating a change for the achievement of the SDGs, by implementing strategies that are holistic and not designed for a singular purpose of attracting tourism or preserving historic buildings or even growing businesses, but to bring to their communities the resources and services that national retailers and groceries often will not, ultimately, improving the quality of life and prospects for residents, that often go unnoticed. The ACORN consortium aims towards the creation of a concept that will develop a sustainable agripreneurship competence in small holder farmers in rural and outermost areas of Europe, specifically in Guadeloupe (France), Portugal, Czech Republic, and Denmark. The concept idea has its roots in the sustainable development dimensions; environmental protection, social equity and economic viability, and is designed around the creation of a circular approach to everything from business development to the mind-sets of the people. A sustainable Agripreneur is someone in the field of agriculture who takes risks, manages & organises a business enterprise which is regenerative by design and aims to gradually decouple growth from the consumption of finite resource.The consortium feel that we can help to achieve the SDGs and especially create attractive, vibrant and sustainable rural communities, by developing end user friendly resources, presented as an an opensource, online learning tool that will help small holder farmers acquire the competences needed to become sustainability agripreneurs.The concept will address some of the key unanswered questions on “how” a management model can contribute towards becoming a sustainable enterprise, better integrating the environmental, social, and economical spheres. Management innovation capable of establishing a balance between nature and mankind, are required to overcome the impasse highlighted by the ecological, social, and economic crises. Through the application of innovation to meet new requirements, unarticulated or existing market needs, the partners aim to stimulate the emergence of more effective products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that are readily available to markets, governments and society. By combining the skillsets needed to build sustainable businesses in rural areas, and by stimulating innovation competence, we will develop the ability in people to generate ideas and act upon them. This will not only help the consortium radically change the ways we conduct our own businesses, but also show how individuals, other organisations and societies can do things and relate to each other.The overall outcomes of the project will be to shift the focus from a ""Western linear type thinking"" towards a more circular one, especially when it comes to how we conduct business, with whom and why. Furthermore, with an angle that plays into the retail industry's CSRs for achieving SDGs (whose clients demand more and more sustainability) small holder farmers will be able to think flexibly and stay dynamic in a rapidly changing market, and as a result; gain the opportunity to compete with bigger, financially stronger, but less sustainable competitors.<< Implementation >>From the modern environmental movement and the establishment of environmental regulations in the 1970s, the sustainable business has become a strategic concern driven by market forces. More than 90 percent of CEOs state that sustainability is important to their company’s success, and they are attempting to develop sustainability strategies, market sustainable products and services, and publish sustainability reports for consumers, investors, activists, and the public at large. The consortium believes that this trend is unlikely to die out any time soon, and we are all working towards this same agenda. We will be promoting the coming together of small holder farmers through the implementation of a circular and sustainability mindset to doing business, to improve the prerequisites for lifting rural communities in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. The combination of best practice from Sustainable Agripreneurship, Collectives ideologies, and a hands-on approach to the acquisition of knowledge perspective on enhancing creativity, communication, networking and innovation competence, we will empower thoughtful, labour efficient designs for the improvement of societies and the relationships that are the connections between all things. And through the introduction of our concept, we will contribute to the achievement of the European Green Deal and help small holder farmers gain more stability, particularly in times of crisis.Through collective creations and networking skills development for people in rural and outermost regions of Europe, we create sustainable rural communities with local produce, and by providing non-formal learning resources within a framework that is designed to suit small hold farmers, we put the power into the hands of the people to be the change they need. The resources will also be available to adult training centers in rural and remote areas, where people are facing socio-economic difficulties. By proposing our content to them, we provide them with the opportunity to create such activities themselves. By stimulating small business and entrepreneurship ecosystems in rural areas, we help generate wealth that stays in the community, builds local leadership, contributes to population health, cultivates vibrant “regional hubs” that foster locally owned businesses, and contributes to a sense of neighbourhood identity that retains residents and attracts new ones.The nature of the concept encourages the coming together of individuals through flexible learning offers adapted to the learning needs of adults which stimulate networking, communication, intercultural understanding (necessary for intercultural collaboration also within a country), technology and social media presence, and innovation, subsequently contributing to vibrant hubs in rural communities. And by exploiting digital technologies we can encourage civil society and the wider community to join in on the movement.The project outcomes will overall contribute to the acceleration of the transition towards a sustainable food system that will have a neutral or positive environmental impact; help to mitigate climate change; reverse the loss of biodiversity; ensure food security & nutrition; make sure that everyone has access to sufficient, safe, nutritious, sustainable food; preserve affordability of sustainable food; generate fairer economic returns; foster competitiveness of the EU supply sector; promote fair trade; and last but not least; create environmental, social, and economical gains for rural areas through dynamic and sustainable ""agripreneurial ecosystems"", that provide opportunities for new innovative players. By collaborating with associated partners form the beginning, we create activities that kick start the sustainable agripreneurship processes from the time the development of the concept takes place. By acting and testing during the development phases, we ensure that the resources can stand alone after the project ends.<< Results >>The preparation of the team will take place via the joint learning event, where the partners share their expertise and create a common language and references, which will result in a joint understanding of each others' processes and the tools that we work with, as well as insights into the demography and circumstances of each partner country. The work will circle around the production of tools and good examples for i.e. network creation; learning frameworks & best practice examples, illustrating opportunities for people who want to work together and share skills, knowledge and attitudes to gain stronger profiles & make a greater impact.The resources and inspirational audio-visual materials will be published on a learning platform (suitable for different learner styles, and the zone of proximal development of the end users) with the following topics:1. Sustainability Business Model; tool for the development of a sustainable business which is based on an adaptation of the Business Model Canvas, SWOT & PESTLE combined with sustainability dimensions integration (environmental, social, and economical). The user will be able to get answers to the questions; What am i doing?, and; What opportunities do I have? and through processes for mastery, will become better at understanding their own business. The resource will include illustrative models, and not be solely based on academic content, to open up the creative parts of the brain, ideal for hands-on people .2 Marketing;Many small local producers of quality and sustainable produce have trouble reaching out to buyers, making it difficult for them to stay afloat financially. To support this, we will develop resource for brand core strategy. This includes my identity through the 3 dimensions & how I present my company physically and on SoMe , and which activities for marketing can be helpful in gaining a foothold alongside the bigger players. I.e by proposing super markets and chain stores to collaborate on achieving their CSR goals in the race to achieving the SDGs.3. Networking;Involves the development of networking skills in order to find different ways of creating microbusiness collectives, development of sustainable communication skills for equality, empathy, diversity, conflict management, democratic processes, and how to collaborate and engage with a.o.; others like me, local businesses, local talents, and potential clients.4. Relations building & client feedback;We will show users how to connect with others ""unlike me"". I.e.; other industries for potential collaboration, or to sell products/concepts, and how a group of SM/microbusinesses get a foot in the door of the big players like supermarket chains, & how they can use this to innovate.5. Sustainable innovation;These resources will be structured around design/innovation processes, filtered through the 3 SDG dimensions. The focus of the innovation will be on how our target groups can gain advantage, not by working more efficiently, but by harnessing initiative and creativity for people in rural and remote ares, designing new activities that ie. gain new clients. Inspired by the creative platform from Aalborg Uni, we will combine traditional innovation methods ideal for our target groups, seen from the perspectives of the 3 SDG dimensions.The resource will be set up in a flexible - circular process. The user can choose to start with step 1 and work their way through the 5 steps, or simply select the 3rd step, if that is most relevant at the time. Users who follow the circle step by step, can keep returning to step 1 to adapt to market changes and start the cycle again, asking themselves, where am I now?Piloting Workshops to test the resources will be held during testing phases, and the official multiplier events will implement the resources with end users in our respective regions."