GreenWave: Youth driven digital transformation of green employments for a sustainable future

As the European Green Deal is the new growth strategy of the EU (Ursula von der Leyen) and a roadmap both for contribution to the UN's 2030 agenda and European greener future, it became crucial r...

GreenWave, a 24-month Youth Sector project with 6 organizations from 5 EU countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Portugal, and Greece), addresses youth unemployment due to COVID-19 and expands the creation of new routes for youth for greener and sustainable economic development. The project both raises awareness of the environmental challenges and provides practical opportunities for the acquisition of green competences and attitudes based on GreenWave Competence framework which combines green and entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and attitudes. The framework is aligned with the Green Deal and the Roadmap to achieve its goals, incorporating the newest approaches towards the topic. The project fosters the adoption of green skills and youth contributions to the community.It also provides valuable materials for youth workers, emphasizing entrepreneurship and self-employment as keys to developing a new green economy in response to unemployment. The traditional narrative of business operations with an end goal devoted to gaining profit has been viewed,adapted and developed to address climate change. GreenWave's results aim to enrich both the knowledge and sense of responsibility of young people towards the planet and future generations

During the duration of the project, four TPMs (1 online and 3 physical) and 12 online meetings were conducted by the partners, aligned with the project milestones. At the beginning of the project a Management Plan, a Quality Assurance plan and a Dissemination plan were developed and agreed upon as part of the main project documentation. The Quality of the results, TPMs was evaluated after completion and each semester the quality of the overall project developed was assessed. Dissemination was monitored and evaluated on a 6-month basis. Fincial documentation was reviewed regularly. The partnership decided to strive to lead potentially interested YP to the website, so most of the produced content and ads on social media of the project (Facebook, Instagram and YouTube) contained a link (call-to-action) to the website and e-learning platform, thus we attracted over 12000 unique users to familiarise themselves with the project's website and 432 to the platform. Newsletters, QR codes (for environmental reasons were used when possible as they reduce the excessive printing on paper), leaflets and banners were used in the activities. 11 pilot events, 5 info days, 6 MEs and more than 10 expert-led workshops were delivered.

The project's partners worked towards full, complete, and qualitative achievement of the proposed results in the application of GreenWave 1. Main Results: PR1 BUILDING THE GREEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETENCE FRAMEWORK: MAPPING GREEN ENTERPRISES AND DEFINING PROFILES FOR YOUNG GREEN-PRENEURS. Under this result the following was achieved: - THE GREEN-ORIENTED INDEX developed including 101 green enterprises, green initiatives, programs, youth activities and training mobilities, 50 green practices/cases, 10 greenpreneures cases, which was incorporated further into the MAPPING TOOL (PR3). - GREEN-ENTREPRENEURIALAUDIT TOOL was developed based on EntreCOMP and GreenCOMP (BG, EN, PT, EL). 185 YP and WP took part in the assessment and provided valuable insight over the learning gaps. - NATIONAL INFOGRAPHICS VIDEO PRESENTATIONS - 5 National infographic videos (EN) and 1 Consolidated (BG, EN, PT, EL) were created consolidating the results of the INDEX and AUDIT TOOL. The videos are available on the website and YouTube channel of the project. - GREENWAVE COMPETENCE FRAMEWORK was developed describing the 12 green and entrepreneurial competencies (based on A1&2, GreenComp, EntreComp).12 frameworks developing the specific learning objectives and outcomes of each competence defining it at 3 levels (begginer, intermediate and advance) - EN, BG, PT, EL ADVISORY COMMITTEE was formed based on 5 expert profiles. PR2 MULTIMEDIA PACK FOR BLENDED CAPACITY BUILDING TRAINING AND APPLICATION WITH AUGMENTED REALITY FEATURES FOR GREEN ENTREPRENEURS was developed including (BG,EN,PT,EL): CAPACITY BUILDING MULTIMEDIA PACK FOR GREEN ENTREPRENEURS containing 12 Handbooks developed covering the competencies of PR1A4, 36 presentations (3 per module), 36 lesson plans for YWs for more than 50 hours of facilitated training content (3 per module), 12 assessments integrated in Open Badge System (PR3) and the Booklet for setting up Green Enterprises. DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAME APP. GreenWave GAME APP with AR Features developed based on a storyboard approach was developed. The content facilitates the learning journey and it is designed to spark interest in the YP to explore the 12 Modules, leading them to more information on the educational platform. The APP is available for download on https://greenwave.lyk.io, PlayStore (for Android), and TestFlight (for Apple users). PR3 OPEN INTERACTIVE PORTAL, E-LEARNING AND RECRUITMENT TOOL FOR GREEN-PRENEURS available in EN, BG, PT and EL was developed containing a variety of educational interactive tools as follows: MAPPING TOOL - greenwaveproject.eu/mapping-tool/, incorporating the INDEX (PR1) and open for more YP to share their green initiatives; GREEN ENTR. AUDIT TOOL incorporated in the training platform in order YWs to assess easily the skills and gaps in the YP; GREEN ENTR. RECRUITMENT TOOL - greenwaveproject.eu/job-search. One of the most innovative and useful tools of the project which allows like-green-minded job-seekers and companies to meet. Functionality allows the creation of a profile for a candidate or an employer, the upload resume, the publication of job opportunities and the matching applications on them. Data can be deleted/managed according to GDPR. For the project duration, we attract 45 Employers to register, 59 job-seekers; 29 jobs / interships to be published. The Job Portal had 1,007 page views within the first 3 months of introduction. LEARNING ENVIRONMENT integrating the content of PR2 (training handbooks, presentations, lesson plans), offering enrollment, registration, and non-registration access in the 12 modules - https://training.greenwaveproject.eu/ and the connected GREENWAVE TOOLS. Unique Visitors on the platform between launch and end of project 432; Registrations - 45; Pageviews on the platform (traffic) - 27,607. GREEN e-LIBRARY - integrated in the Learning env. providing over 70 external resources for further exploration. GREEN NETWORK - forum linked to the Learning env. created at https://greenwave.createaforum.com/ ECO-SYSTEM OF OPEN BADGES - System integrated with assessment after each module to evaluate the level of learning success. Open Badges are awarded based on the score. PR4: GREEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP YOUTH HUBS and TOOL KIT were delivered as a form of direct interaction and engagement with the target group, including the following main activities: LAUNCHING THE CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM AND THE RECRUITMENT SCHEME – MEMORANDUM OF GREEN COOPERATION. Parters delivered a versatile campaign both for awareness creation and engagement, conducted through various channels, reaching up to 23,200 people with over 2,000 actively engaging in the project. The Green Cooperation Memorandum was constructed as a commitment and sent to prospective stakeholders; 33 companies and NGOs across the EU signed and submitted it, and 64 more signed through online form collection. Recruitment Scheme Guide for Green Employment was developed, supporting both candidates and employers in the process of searching for the perfect green job or the perfect green-minded candidate - EN, BG, PT, EL. During the online Launch of the Recruitment Scheme, 17 151 people were reached, and 848 engaged. 61 job-seekers and employers participated in the evaluation of the Green Recruitment Scheme. GREEN YOUTH HUBS - 5 Green Youth Hubs took place featuring diverse activities totaling over 150 learning/workshop hours (5 pilots of materials, 5 info days, 10+ workshops and presentations); 82 young people participated in the HUBs, 22 of whom were selected to participate in the training mobility in Cyprus. 9 Mentorship Agreements were signed / conducted. Alongside Hub's activities, 78 people took part in infodays, 70 in workshops and 82 in the pilot testing of the materials. 9 mentorship agreements were signed. DIGITAL STORYTELLING - 6 videos with testimonials were produced and published on social media channels. Additionally, reels were created with selected parts of the videos for better attraction scores. 2. A 5-day long-training mobility was organized in Cyprus, where 22 participants explored the diverse world of green entrepreneurship. 3. 6 Multiplier events were organized (3 in BG, 1 in CY, GR, PT) involving 198 participants. 4. The multilingual project's website greenwaveproject.eu had 123,222 pageviews (traffic) and 12,906 unique users during the project's duration. A total of 152 dissemination activities were conducted reaching 43695 people.