BIGTIME TAKEOVER is aimed at empowering young people to use their creativity and the potential of technology in positive ways that give them a voice in issues that affect their lives. It is based on applying the concept of a digital site “takeover” - where the users of a communications site monopolise that site to curate and promote their own message and creative content. It will use the Takeover model as a basis for engaging young people in devising their own Creative Action Projects – ie: projects that deploy and develop imaginative creative skills to create positive social change and to benefit the wider community. In the context of high levels of youth unemployment and predicted to rise dramatically in the wake of the COVID-19 virus, such projects, enabled and facilitated by professional Youth Arts Educators, offer young people a route to develop creative solutions to issues that affect their lives, engage productively with stakeholders in their communities, develop active citizenship and deepen political, social and civic participation.BIGTIME TAKEOVER will harness the capacities of evolving new digital technologies as a tool for transnational transfer and exchange of these models led by the young people themselves. Starting with projects aimed at making a positive change in their environment at a local level, it will incorporate increasing stages of transnational collaboration as young people gain confidence in taking over the power to direct their own expression, which will give them an edge as they prepare to enter a competitive labour market or progress into education and training.The project partnership consists of 6 youth arts providers in 5 European countries: Italy, UK, Cyprus, Poland and North Macedonia. Five have extensive experience and history of collaborating together on Erasmus Plus. The sixth partner from North Macedonia is a long established Youth Arts Cultural Centre with extensive experience of European and international artistic collaborations but new to Erasmus Plus, and therefore the project facilitates an important knowledge transfer element. The project targets young people at risk of social and cultural exclusion including refugees and migrants. It also addresses the needs of Creative Arts Educators, who play a key role in fostering young people’s creative skills acknowledging the impact of this crisis on Youth Arts Mentors by incorporating a module addressing wellbeing and mindfulness.The project will create the following results from the Intellectual Outputs:IO1: Youth Arts Educators Toolkit to enhance the transferability of Creative Arts Actions that foster young people’s empowerment and civic participation. The target users are Youth Arts Educators who support young people who face barriers of exclusion and disadvantage to develop confidence and motivation through creative expression.IO2: A Youth Powerpack designed and co-created by young people as a mechanism through which learning is transferred and expressed from local Creative Arts Projects in each country. IO3: The BigTime Takeover Digital Platform an online vehicle for young people’s transnational collaboration and a showcase for the BigTime Takeover, through which creative content generated by the project will be publicly shared and available, and which will continue as a legacy of the project, disseminating the Arts Actions and as a platform for future collaborations. All these results will be hosted on a new transnational online communications platform, through which all the learning resources and creative content generated by the project will be publicly shared and available.The project will generate the following additional results in terms of participation:- 100 young people participate directly in local Creative Action Projects;- 36 young people participate in BigTime Takeover;- 12 young people and 6 youth arts mentors attend 5 day transnational blended mobility event;- 5,000 visitors use the digital communication tools, platforms and social media;- 150 attenders at 6 Multiplier Events in 5 partner countries;- 10 Youth Arts Mentors participate in transnational peer-to-peer mentoring and achieve accreditation of their competences at EQF Level 4;- At least 60 % of young people participating will be female, addressing gender disparity in the field of digital technology.The combined results will create a package of digitally accessible learning resources, which can be used in formal and non-formal youth arts and education settings and will be widely disseminated through social media, supporting young people to find their creative voice, make new connections and collaborate with different stakeholders across national boundaries to make a difference to issues that affect their lives.

The overall aim of Talent Matching was to design, test and validate a new training programme and EQF-aligned standards of competency framework for Vocational Mentors that support young disadvantaged people into initial Vocational Education and Training in Europe’s Creative and Cultural Industries (CCIs). The project objectives were to:(i)Research, map and specify the critical factors across the partner I-VET systems, CCI job entry routes, CCI sub-sector employment trends and the location, occupations and qualifications that impact upon the CCI Vocational Mentor role, in order to assess and outline professional training and learning content needs(ii)Develop the specifications and standards for the Vocational Mentor in the CCIs to address learners' individual needs and expectations.(iii)Develop Vocational Mentor Curriculum, Learning and Tools: providing a blended learning framework for Vocational Mentors to engage in flexible online learning, and participate in joint training events.(iv)Create an Open Source Learning Environment for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of Vocational Mentors in the CCIs providing shared learning experiences. (v)Disseminate the results widely at local, national and EU levels and embed the products and results within the practice of the partner organisations and their networks in sectoral VET.The TME partners were: - Collage Arts (London, UK), Lead Partner: manages a Creative Industries Business Centre for over 220 CCI SMEs and employers. Its VET programmes provide entry routes to the CCIs for socially disadvantaged groups and enterprise support for cultural employers.- Rinova Ltd (London, UK): a social enterprise that specialises in learning programmes at the interface between vocational education, employment, employability, enterprise and cultural learning.- CEPS Projectes Socials (Barcelona, Spain) manages and implements socio-educational programmes for children, young people and adults, further training for professionals, and innovative research and development in new practices.- Association Prostor Plus (Rijeka, Croatia) works in performance arts through public events and the education of young people, supplying professional training and performance opportunities as part of Molekula, ten collaborating organizations from four spaces in Rijeka. - ARTeria Foundation (Zabrze, Poland) is a registered training institution in Poland, providing VET training for unemployed job-seekers, primarily through culture and art activities. ARTeria supports the Private Music School Veno’s Studio in Zabrze.- Association for Social Action, Education and Prevention EASP (Skopje, FYOM Macedonia) replaced the original partner from Macedonia, CESOR, in the opening months of the project. EASP delivers VET training and programmes supporting social action and inclusion. - Associazione Culturale MuLab (Rome, Italy) is a not for profit organisation providing consulting, training and education in the CCIs. MuLab organises and delivers professional training courses and activities in the creative and cultural sector, with a focus on disadvantaged people.The project activities and results were:IO1: Research Study: Vocational Mentoring in the Creative and Cultural Industries Successful mapping of the situation in each country: identifying the challenges and opportunities for the Vocational Mentor role. IO2: Occupational Profile and Personal Specification for the Vocational Mentor in the CCIs In depth, and workable, occupational profile of the roleIO3: Competency Standards for the Vocational Mentor in the CCIsDetailed competency grid developed. IO4: Vocational Mentor Programme and Syllabus, piloted through Action Learning Sets in each countryOnline learning programme trialled by partners with 113 learners, mapped against accredited curriculum framework at EQF Levels 4 and 5. IO5: Vocational Mentor Diagnostic Skills Check Tool Detailed DNA tools for each of the four curriculum units IO6: Mentoring the Mentors – Trainers Pack. “The Fomentor’s Manual”The Fomentor’s Manual provides guidelines for those who wish to become Vocational Mentors IO7: Open Source Platform for the Vocational Mentor Programme (in final stages of development)Accessible learning resource making available the project learning materials online IO8: CCI Vocational mentors validation and practice license External evaluation considering next steps for validation of Vocational Mentor role and making recommendations for extending the impact of the project TME included multiplier events in each partner country to promote and test the project outputs attended by over 300 people. It culminated in an International Conference at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje, Macedonia, which linked the project with CCI and VET projects and policy initiatives in the South East Balkans and across Europe.

The CREUS project developed and applied new, innovative ways for young people who are disadvantaged and NEET to develop transferable and transversal key competences for the labour market by engagement through non-formal, cultural and artistic learning. Led by Collage Arts (UK), CREUS was delivered by seven Vocational Education and Training partners in five European countries, UK, The Netherlands, Greece, Cyprus and Italy.The project aimed to improve the prospects for young people (aged 16-24) who have been alienated by traditional educational experiences and/or as a result are at risk of severe social and economic exclusion. One of the project’s main innovations was to focus on learning located in “unconventional places”. These included creative industries workspaces in London, refugee centres in Cyprus, a market forum in Greece, a housing project, shopping centre and theatre in Rome, and an Academy for Community and Talent in the Netherlands which works with young people who have dropped out of conventional education.CREUS was implemented in a way that reflected a range of research studies that call for innovation in the design of post-statutory, employment-related VET through transversal skills.The CREUS methodology had at its heart the deployment of peer mentors in motivating disaffected young people and bringing them back into learning. In the context of CREUS, peer mentoring is defined as learning from individuals with similar backgrounds, enhanced experiences, through cooperation and shared practices. CREUS explored how space is important as a factor potentiating the interaction and exchange of knowledge between mentor and mentee, between peers.The CREUS partnership engaged 138 disadvantaged young and unemployed people aged 16-24 directly in the project activities. Key to the process were 25 young peer mentors who worked with the Creus methodology to develop the young people’s motivation, confidence and transversal skills.The key activities of CREUS were:1) testing pilot activities;2) writing case studies and recommendations;3) developing a modular learning curriculum;4) building recognition tools for peer mentors;5) producing an e-Learning guide for young peer mentors.The professional development of the 25 participating peer mentors was highly impactful, both on informing the content of the project's IOs but also in terms of the transformative experiences in mobilities and transnational exchange of practice. The peer mentors participated in a peer to peer mentoring process which enabled them to reflect upon their practice and equipped them to support learners with new and improved processes for recognition of transferable competences, providing a rich vein of experience and content for the intellectual outputs. Evaluation, both internal and external, demonstrated the positive impact for the young learners from participating in creative learning outside a formal educational setting. By delivering the pilots in refugee centres in Cyprus, a peripheral housing project suffering from failed infrastructure on the outskirts of Rome and in urban settings where unemployed young people gather in Larissa, London and Arnhem, CREUS was able to reach marginalised and isolated groups who would not have attended vocational training in a conventional setting, and to test and demonstrate new creative approaches to engaging young people in vocational learning. Spaces used in the project ranged from disused warehouses to museums and galleries to a community music festival within a housing estate or at an immersive theatre event in a shopping mall, or an arts session within a young people's hostel or refugee centre. Mentors attested to the impact of CREUS upon inclusion of vulnerable young people, which arose from the powerful combination of non-formal education in unconventional spaces, cultural awareness, exchange and creative learning. Finally, the European perspective in CREUS has also enabled participating VET organisations to innovate in their training. Through the process of developing the CREUS modular curriculum they have deepened their understanding of the potential of non-formal learning. As a result they have been able to strengthen learning resources and the skills and experience of staff in this area. The transnational mobilities, exchange and transfer of experience have had a particular impact.At the end of the project there was a shared conclusion that there is further potential for empowerment of the young people in co-design and co-creation activities through which they take more of a lead in shaping the provision to effectively fit their needs, and that this is an area that the partners will seek to build upon.

The project proposes an adult learning programme for professionals in the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs), who wish to learn practical applications of digital tools to design innovative cultural experiences in their city. The focus will be on creating alternative narratives as well as new digital environments, whilst designing city tours in peripheral spaces.The project responds to the dramatic changes this year that have left many CCI professionals unemployed. Many creative activities have moved from live to virtual space, and professionals have either been made redundant, or have found themselves unskilled to adapt to the new online interactions. In addition, the employees first impacted dramatically by the COVID-19 lockdown, are self-employed, freelance and people on short term contracts, which is the majority in the CCIs. There is a clear need for training professionals in the CCIs, in soft and hard skills, to adapt to our “new normal”, and creating employment opportunities.Tourism and heritage are closely linked to the CCIs, providing audience and income for cultural activities. Festivals, theatres and cultural centres (to name just a few) are dependent on tourism, and provide work for many professionals in the CCIs: guides, designers, curators, audio visual and sound technicians, programmers, musicians etc.However, mass tourism has become unsustainable. Its negative impact on the ecosystem and local environments has long been criticised. Since the COVID-19 travel restrictions and lockdown of public places, it has become evident that relying on mass tourism as an economic driving force is no longer possible.As an alternative, there is the tourism of experience. It focuses on “living” experiences in the city instead of “visiting” it, and it seeks alternative spaces to the overcrowded main attractions. It aims to move away from the centre to the periphery, and it has always included local and national audiences. To improve digital skills in the CCIs in Europe, the project offers a learning programme around new heritage narratives combined with digital content creation. It proposes an innovative methodology, combining learning by doing and creative uses of free digital tools for city tours. The curriculum will teach various technologies: Augmented Reality or Printed Material, ebooks and geolocation features. Participants will experiment with their project and improve digital communication. They will increase their soft skills, confidence, and work opportunities. The target audience of the project are professionals in the CCIs, especially unemployed, or in short-term employment, or simply wish to develop their skills. On a second level, the project targets adult education organizations and employment services, as key stakeholders to help disseminate the material. The project will train 18 professionals from the CCIs during a blended mobility training, and engage further 60 with local training actions. More professionals, stakeholders and relevant policy makers, will be reached through a social media campaign and 1 international conference and 5 national events in the partner countries.Professionals in the CCIs need to acquire practical digital skills, and new concepts to imagine tourism and heritage in their local context. This transnational project will offer a European perspective, an insight into different local experiences, but from places with shared problems. Partners will implement the project in 6 cities across Europe: Brussels, Barcelona, Rome, Paris, Zabrze and Nicosia. They will design a course with 5 modules and 4 related toolboxes:Module 1 : Introduction to creating innovative city tours with digital toolsModule 2 : research - shape your ideaModule 3 : storytelling - how to engage your audienceModule 4 : technological skills - incorporating digital tools in your tourModule 5 : entrepreneurial competencies - new dreams and opportunitiesThe curriculum will offer 24 tools to help learners design their city tour and develop these key competences: Literacy; Digital and technology-based; Interpersonal skills, and the ability to adopt new competences; Active citizenship; Entrepreneurship; Cultural awareness and expression; Multilingualism. Results will be online in 6 languages (EN, FR, IT, ES, GR, PL)• Tourism profiling and training methodology report • Training programme and curriculum for professionals in the CCIs • Introductions to 24 digital tools • Audience engagement analysis report with adaptable strategy template • Training organization recommendations booklet • Open Educational Resource (OER) • 12 tours designed by 12 participants, and testimonies about their learning experienceThe long term benefits of the project will be the impact on learners’ competences and their improved employability, the free available material online, and the transferability of the tools to new training environments and sectors.

‘YCreate: Voices for respect, celebrating difference and tackling hate' is a transnational, cross-sectoral Strategic Partnership for Creativity in the field of Youth. The focus of YCreate is on equipping young people - and the youth workers who support them in a range of non-formal and 'out of school' youth work contexts - to counteract hate speech and behaviour, disinformation and misinformation targeted at minorities and vulnerable communities - through creative, arts-based and participatory activities that foster active citizenship and socially responsible actions.Hate Speech (HS) is defined by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation 97/20 as any form of expression that spreads, incites, promotes or justifies forms of hatred based on intolerance. UNESCO (June 2020) considered COVID 19 an information crisis that resulted from high quantity of misinformation available and the low capacity to understand its veracity. Unsubstantiated online information during the pandemic has led to a rise of hate speech and hate crimes targeted against minorities and vulnerable groups. This is a social challenge exacerbated by the Covid19 pandemic - UN General-Secretary, António Guterres, appealing to address hate speech, stressed that “We must act now to strengthen the immunity of our societies against the virus of hate” , highlighting that “the pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering.” Yet the Covid-19 crisis has raised alert, yet again, on the invisibility and absence of opportunities for youth from decision-making processes on matters that directly affect their lives. The YCreate methodology focuses on three tiers of participant. First, 20 youth workers and tutors from non-formal education, training and youth stakeholders with community arts and cultural sector grassroots organisations will work together transnationally to develop new participatory and learning methods on issues of counteracting hate speech and misinformation through cultural practice. Second, 50 young creatives – performers, writers and aspiring producers – aged 14-21 are capacitated and trained to act as youth leaders and mentors to their peers, addressing issues of respect, celebrating difference and tackling hate through music in a variety of genres, songwriting, drama and dance. Third, 500 children and young people, at school or in youth work settings aged 11-18 are empowered through the YCreate approach to find their own voices through sketches, songs, animations and participation designed to combat hate speech and misinformation through intercultural dialogue and exchange. Through this process, the partners will prepare new contents for testing and validation with the target groups, capturing the experiences in the UK, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Greece and Italy to produce three brand new Intellectual Outputs:- IO1 YCreate Development Curriculum Programme - improving the competences and skills of European youth workers, tutors, facilitators and community artists to empower young creatives as peer mentors counteracting hate speech and misinformation through artistic and creative participatory action- IO2 YCreate Peer Mentoring Community Action Toolkit - guidance and resources for and co-designed by young creatives – performers, writers and aspiring producers –to act as youth leaders and peer mentors. It will enable them to be innovators in cultural and artistic community interventions with children, pupils and youth, counteracting hate speech, behaviour and misinformation towards minorities and vulnerable groups- IO3 YCreate Crisis Communication Online Human Library - this output has at its core the human library concept bringing it to the digital environment by creating an OER platform for knowledge exchange and good practices in contexts of crisis.Ultimately, reinforced by a comprehensive programme of dissemination, its longer-term results are aimed at equipping Europe’s young people - and the youth work and educational organisations that support them in a range of non-formal 'out of school' youth work contexts as well as with teachers in schools - with innovative, collaborative practices and resources to counteract hate speech, behaviour and disinformation, online and offline, through creative, arts-based, social responsible actions. Therefore, the title of YCreate reflects the 2 main pillars upon which YCreate is built:- Artistic and creative practices as engines of change: ‘Why Create?’ - realising the potential of artistic and creative practices expressed by youth as catalysts of social inclusion, innovation and social change. - Creative youth as agents of change in the community: ‘You Create’ – addressing the need to empower young people through opportunities for cultural and artistic participation, for active citizenship and commitment towards community action.