JamToday aims to use game design principles not just to create useful and meaningful games, but also to explain and design the context (such as the classroom) where games can be effectively implemented. Each year, JamToday organises game jams in multiple locations focusing on a particular theme and each year a pan European conference will be organized around one of the main areas of application: improving ICT skills, adopting healthier lifestyles and supporting learning of mathematics.

PELARS is a project about learning and making. We are studying how people learn about science, technology and mathematics when they use their hands as well as their heads. We’re exploring real technologies (kits, electronics systems & sensor systems) and customised furniture both designed specifically for the classroom that help teachers and learners understand what’s going on when people do science and maths – innovative concepts derived from the constraints & inspiring practices of real teachers themselves.

About

The European Social Innovation Competition, launched in memory of Diogo Vasconcelos, is a challenge prize run by the European Commission across all European countries, now in its sixth year. The 2018 Competition is titled RE:THINK LOCAL and seeks to find the most innovative projects, products, services, business models and collaborations that empower young people to participate fully in a changing economy.

http://eusic.challenges.org/

EUSIC’18 mission

The competition calls for social innovations that are inspired by, make use of or address specific local characteristics creating opportunities for young people in the new economy, also known as the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’. New technologies have led to trends such as improved connectivity, automation, decentralised manufacturing and digitalization. However, the impact of these trends is uneven: some regions and communities benefit, whereas others experience job losses and deindustrialisation

New technologies and ways of working have the potential to revitalise regions facing problems. Innovative solutions can build resilience within communities, address their specific needs and generate sustainable economic activity and employment opportunities.

Young people must be involved, engaged and empowered to make the most of new opportunities and supported to develop the skills and capabilities to harness change. This happens on a local level. An opportunity exists to ensure young people are not only resilient but also equipped to shape and lead the new economy.

In particular, the competition was calling for proposals in the form of:

• Initiatives that use new technologies and ways of working to provide opportunities for marginalised youth within their local communities;
• Ideas that assist young people who wouldn’t otherwise have become innovators to create their own opportunities for smart, inclusive and sustainable employment in their local environment;
• Ideas co-created with young people to respond to specific requirements in their local community for skills, experiences and opportunities;
• Solutions to improve the quality of life and financial security of youth in irregular work
• Innovations that provide information, advice and guidance to young people so they can navigate their options in the new economy;
• Programmes that equip the next generation of workers with skills that allow young people to harness technological change.

ENoLL role

• Assessment of 250 entries and recommendation of judges from different countries for the selection of the semi-finalists.

• Selection of Local Mentors from Living Labs across Europe to support the semi-finalists through their development process and provide them with specialized assistance. We will deliver a workshop at the Academy on user-centred design. We will contribute to mapping the social innovation ecosystem in Europe to help connect semi-finalists with relevant support organisations.

• Contribution to the communications strategy and tested messaging documents to make sure they were culturally appropriate. We will use the digital toolkit to spread the word about the Competition through their communication channels (newsletters, social media, blogs etc). The toolkit will be shared with Living Labs across Europe and Horizon 2020 countries and will be actively promoted by 10 particular target countries each year.

•  Identifying speakers and venues and participation at key events.

iSCAPE aims to develop and evaluate an integrated strategy for air pollution control in European cities grounded on evidence-based analysis. The project will develop the tools required to obtain an air pollution free/low carob society by addressing air quality and climate change concerns together through the application of new smart and sustainable technologies for integration into urban design and guidelines.

Download the iSCAPE Living Lab Guidebook for Cities fighting against air pollution

iSCAPE mission

iSCAPE tackles the problem of reducing air pollution impacts, focusing on the use of “Passive Control Systems” in urban spaces, on policy intervention and behavioural changes of citizens’ lifestyle. Projections and real-world physical interventions will be applied on the urban tissue in the selected cities assessed for future climate change scenarios and representative of different cultural & lifestyles in Europe.

ENoLL role

To support the implementation of the approach from different Living Labs to design and deploy a network of air quality and meteorological sensors (both stationary and mobile) and evaluate the benefits expected from the interventions on a neighborhood and city-wide scale, ranging from quantification of pollutant concentration to exposure.

The Smart Control of Air Pollution – Policy Briefs series summarises key outcomes of the iSCAPE project with a clear policy orientation, to provide practical information to EU local decision-makers and other urban stakeholders. They cover the following topics:

No. 1: Living Labs for air pollution control and prevention
No. 2: iSCAPE manifesto for citizen engagement in science and policy
No. 3: Effectiveness of travel behavioural change interventions
No. 4: Simulating change in urban air quality and climate conditions
No. 5: Urban strategies and interventions for planning healthier cities
No. 6: Improving air quality and climate with green infrastructure
No. 7: Air quality sensing and real time reporting in cities
No. 8: Introducing infrastructural passive control systems in cities
No. 9: Citizen Science: a collaborative approach to air pollution control