Escape to Your Future

Background Our project deals with upgrading the qualifications of youth and youth workers. At the time of applying, according to Eurostat in 2018, the school dropout rate was still very high in Europe. On the other hand, countries like Poland (partner country of the association) had lower numbers with 4.8%. This country is having good results using gamification methodologies in their classes and could share those practices with other countries in the association. Early school leaving leads to lower-skilled jobs with lower earnings, higher numbers of unemployment and social exclusion. According to PORDATA, in 2018 there was a large number of inactive European citizens with lower qualifications compared to the population with higher qualifications, with the group aged 15 to 24 being the group with the highest level of inactivation. Our project aimed to increase the social inclusion of young people by providing them with tools for better employment and better labor and social integration. In addition, we have promoted the participation, connection and empowerment of young people through business education and social entrepreneurship, transversal skills and the tools to approach an employer or create their businesses. Objectives This project has sought to promote actions, build content, digital and physical instruments, educational resources and analyze the impact of innovative methodologies on the target groups (youth workers and young people), rooted in a process of social, political, economic and cultural change. The objectives have been: 1) identify and share good practices in innovative gamification methodologies (inclusion and employability); 2) requalification and upskilling of youth workers with a focus on the development of basic and specific skills; 3) develop innovative non-formal methodologies and materials; 4) improve youth employment and entrepreneurship skills, 5) Guarantee equity in the exercise of rights and 6) disseminate results (in a variety of ways), promote impact, and keep results sustainable beyond the life of the project. These objectives have been achieved through activities such as innovative intellectual outcomes, teaching-learning activities (youth workers and young people) and multiplier events (to spread the products and better reach stakeholders) Implementation - Intellectual outputs: 1. How to take advantage of gamification in teaching and learning activities: gamification guide on how to design gamified educational experiences beyond formal education in 4 languages ​​(Spanish, English, Polish and Portuguese) and with a series of graphic organizers that help users to organize their ideas. 2. Gamified course on employment and entrepreneurship: MOOC-style open online course that aims to contribute to innovation, impact and transferability in the area covered by this project. This course is available in 4 languages. 3. Escape Box and guide on how to create one: Innovative escape Box with a mix of physical and digital brain teasers and puzzles. In addition, a tutorial on "How to create your own Escape Box" has been offered, thus increasing the transferability of the result and the project itself. - Learning/teaching/training activities: 5-day face-to-face activity aimed at 12 young people who followed an online course developed at IO2 and also played Escape Box developed at IO3. - Multiplier events in Portugal, Spain and Poland in order to disseminate the results of the project. - Transnational project meetings. Achievements As we have said before, in this project there have been three intellectual results that we have described previously. These have been: O1: How to take advantage of gamification in teaching and learning activities O2: Course on employment and entrepreneurship O3: Innovative Escape Box and Guide on How to Create One In addition, it is worth noting as a result the achievement of all the objectives that were raised at the beginning of the project. Thus, it has been possible to identify and share good practices in game-based learning methodologies for social innovations (inclusion and employability, increase the qualifications of youth workers, develop innovative non-formal methodologies and materials to help youth workers, improve employment and entrepreneurial skills of young people, ensuring equity in the exercise of rights (helping citizens with disadvantaged backgrounds (social/geographical) to better integrate into society and the labor market) and disseminating the results (in a variety of modes), promote impact and maintain sustainable outcomes beyond the life of the project.