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Author: Chara Pilidou

GreenYOU

Written by Chara Pilidou on . Posted in Projects & Initiatives.

GreenYOU is an innovative project with a wide focus on promoting climate action and enhancing the employability of young people during the green transition. The project aims to develop Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that will encourage and equip young individuals with the necessary skills and competencies to actively participate in addressing climate-related challenges. These MOOCs will cover various topics related to climate action and serve as accessible learning resources. This will also include GreenYOU augmented reality technology and digital escape rooms and animation videos. 

In addition, GreenYOU will design a Green Curriculum specifically tailored for youth workers. This curriculum will focus on building their capacity to effectively mentor and guide young people in developing green skills and key competences. By empowering youth workers, the project aims to create a strong support network that can guide and inspire young individuals in their journey towards a sustainable future. 

ProW Newsletter: Get Updates on the Final Conference and More

Written by Chara Pilidou on . Posted in Project News. No Comments on ProW Newsletter: Get Updates on the Final Conference and More

In a significant stride towards promoting the well-being of teachers in early childhood education, our project has successfully concluded its field trials in Cyprus. The completion of this transformative initiative signifies a pivotal step towards enhancing the overall quality of education and support provided to educators.

With meticulous planning and collaboration with educational institutions, the “Promoting Teachers Wellbeing Through Positive Behaviour Support in Early Childhood Education” project embarked on a two-year journey to explore and evaluate the effectiveness of PBS interventions in real-world early childhood education settings.

The successful completion of the field trials has generated widespread excitement and anticipation within the education community and as the “Promoting Teachers Wellbeing through Positive Behaviour Support in Early Childhood Education” project progresses, stakeholders remain committed to further refining and disseminating the knowledge and tools generated.

By prioritizing the well-being of teachers and adopting supportive practices, the project envisions a future where early childhood education environments are nurturing, inclusive, and empowering for both educators and young learners.

To celebrate the achievement, an open-day conference was held on the 27th of May at the University of Nicosia where all interested parties joined together to discuss the impact of the project and future steps.

FMID June Newsletter is Here!

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The Film Making for Inclusion and Development project has just released its latest newsletter covering the developments of the project up to date, including the summary of the final conference and project meeting in Perchim.

Check it out and learn more about the resources and tools that are now available for free, in multiple languages, through the project’s elearning platform to elevate the video-making skills and by extension the employability and development of young people.

A whole school approach to transform schools into Inclusive Hubs

Written by Chara Pilidou on . Posted in Projects & Initiatives. No Comments on A whole school approach to transform schools into Inclusive Hubs

The purpose of the INCLUSIVE HUBS project is to transform school spaces into inclusive hubs, where all learners will feel welcome, respected, and valued, particularly those with fewer opportunities like migrants.

The project will support holistic approaches to teaching and learning as well as collaboration among all actors relevant to schools (school staff, communities, migrant learners, and their families). According to the European Commission, low proficiency and early school leaving can be a result of the struggle in learning and social exclusion, a phenomenon faced by many European areas.

Several European Union (EU) countries have already developed national strategies to facilitate stronger communication between schools and local communities and provide measures to foster inclusion.

Therefore, the project will contribute to those efforts by developing materials and tools focused on well-being, inclusion, mental health, and personal development.

An Intergenerational Active Debate on How Countering Disinformation to Empower Citizens

Written by Chara Pilidou on . Posted in Projects & Initiatives. No Comments on An Intergenerational Active Debate on How Countering Disinformation to Empower Citizens

MEDIAWISE aims to foster active European citizenship and to improve conditions for civic and democratic participation at EU level by raising citizens’ awareness of national and EU level initiatives to counter fake news and online disinformation.

The project will organise online and onsite events firstly to understand citizens’ attitude, habits, needs and ideas about fake news online especially considering the amount of fake news emerged during COVID19.

Consequently, experts will discuss these results in order to organize intergenerational events and debates:

● Contributing to a better understanding of the fields of media literacy and critical thinking within the European perspective through citizens engagement at European level

● Outreaching to EU citizens and raising awareness about fake news in Europe today and their impact on democracy.

● Stimulating an active debate with citizens at European level to foster a better understanding of different perspectivesMEDIAWISE will have an intergenerational approach targeting both older people and young adults who equally face a distinct set of challenges when encountering information online and offline.

Building a Digital World for All

Written by Chara Pilidou on . Posted in Projects & Initiatives. 1 Comment on Building a Digital World for All

Research to date suggests that newly arrived migrants and asylum seekers use mobile devices, digital media and social media platforms to seek information throughout their journeys. Access and consumption of reliable information is therefore crucial for their safety and inclusion – which ultimately depends on migrants’ digital literacy.

The main aim of this project is to foster youth workers’ understanding and preparedness to promote young migrants’ digital and media literacy through critical thinking and motivation, impacting inclusion processes.

This project will train and empower youth workers to prepare young migrants to critically question and evaluate information disseminated through digital media by combining digital, information and media literacy with critical thinking techniques and the behavioural model of Tiny Habits.

This strengthens the role of youth workers in building the resilience of democratic societies against disinformation through collaborative strategies, while contributing to migrants’ inclusion.

Increasing Anxiety awareness in higher education during (post) Covid-19 pandemic

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Mental health and well-being of students in higher education is an increasing concern, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic which had a considerable impact on them. Anxiety and depression are the two most common reasons that students seek mental health services. However, professionals who interact with students the most, such as Higher Education institutions’ staff, are not trained to recognize or work with anxiety among students.

AWARE aims to:
● Equip staff with the needed tools, resources and knowledge to recognize, manage, and support students with anxiety.
● Develop and improve anxiety management skills among students, while expanding emotional competence and positive attitudes.
● Accommodate the anxious students in HE Institutions by increasing knowledge and skills among the rest of their surroundings.

NEWSPIRACY: Fighting the online Post-Truth conspiracy

Written by Chara Pilidou on . Posted in Projects & Initiatives. 1 Comment on NEWSPIRACY: Fighting the online Post-Truth conspiracy

NEWSPIRACY aims to raise public awareness of the existence of fake news and their influence, learning about their mechanism and their creation process, in order to be able to detect and analyze them in greater depth. In addition, the project addresses topics on good use of the media, types of fake news, and possible ways to put an end to this phenomenon, with a special emphasis on the development of critical thinking as the main promoter of change.

Specifically, it aims to:

•  Develop critical thinking skills among university students on fake news
•  Raise awareness of the realities of the most sensitive sectors of society and the negative impact fake news has on them
•  Detect and analyse fake news
•  Address possible ways to end the phenomenon of fake news

YouthASD Commemorates World Autism Day

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YouthASD, in cooperation with CARDET, has just released a newsletter highlighting the activities and events organized across Europe to commemorate World Autism Day. The partners, from Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Denmark, and Greece, have joined forces for YouthASD Erasmus+ project to raise awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and promote the inclusion of individuals with ASD in the workforce and society as a whole.

We wish to highlight that autism is not a linear condition, but rather a diverse spectrum, each individual with ASD is unique, possessing their own capacities, needs, and interests. Therefore, personalized and specialized support tailored to different stages of their life cycle is necessary to promote their social participation.

To better address this, one of the principal objectives of the 2023 ASD campaign is to draw attention to the variability of the autism spectrum, alongside promotion of social recognition and the sense of belonging to the group. Check out the newsletter to learn more about YouthASD’s efforts or visit the website to stay up to date with the upcoming events. 

Training and Equipping Young Accessibility Ambassadors for the European Projects

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The main motive behind Way2Go has been to encourage youth to participate in different projects Europe-wide by equipping them with online and networking tools that will help them feel prepared for participation and confidence in their talents and knowledge.

Way2Go also aims at equipping youth workers and other stakeholders with necessary skills through training camps to prepare them for self-assessment before engaging youth with disabilities and/or disadvantaged backgrounds in their activities.

The main deliverables of WAY 2 GO project are:

  • online platform and app,
  • skilled and trained Youth Accessibility Ambassadors, and

 functional network of project seekers of mixed abilities and open, accessible, and inclusive organisations to partner up and secure fully accessible Erasmus and ESC projects