NKey srl is located in Santa Croce sull’Arno, a small town in central Tuscany, halfway between Pisa and Florence, in a heavily industrialized area. It was born and developed as a qualified and expert company in the IT sector and in the research and development of integrated systems and services for business innovation. Services and products include application development and management, information, analysis, simplification, aggregation, security certification, research and adoption of new information and communications technologies. Its passion for continuous research and development, soon led Nkey to broaden its range of action in the field of VET dedicated first to companies and their employers and consequently to common people, both young, students and adults. Thanks to the acquired expertise and training vocation, Nkey started to cooperate with public bodies, training and employment agencies, municipalities, schools. Today Nkey is a recognized training center for IT, graphics and web design, foreign languages, Italian for foreign students. Nkey organizes computer courses including the achievement of the exam for the European computer driving license (ECDL-ICDL) and language courses for young people and adults, both internally and collaborating with public bodies, municipalities and vocational training and job placement schools. Since the beginning of its training activity, NKey has paid particular attention to the topic of accessible technologies by finding in the ASPHI Foundation in Bologna, one of the maximum expert in the sector and partner in this project, a valid interlocutor thanks to which it has been able to adapt its training offer to as many people as possible. Since 2010 NKey has participated in numerous EU projects both as reliable partner and leader. Today NKey is a flexible structure with a vast network of local and international collaborations capable of providing support, assistance and know-how in both the technological and Erasmus+ projects design fields.
Partners Biography
CEBS – Education and Social Research Centre is a non for profit association. Their mission is to support development of the civil society, education and to promote entrepreneurship, with particular regards to groups exposed to risks of social, economic and interpersonal exclusion. CEBS is born as a social sciences specialists’ initiative for youth and adults educational needs’ adequate response. The expertise of their team permits the complex analysis of educational needs through an application of different research methods and to facilitate to satisfy them in a professional way. We promote education of employees, unemployed people and young people in search of work. CEBS works on new didactic methods, innovative ICT solutions to apply on educational field, and on training pathways’ development. CEBS actively promotes the voluntary activity on the persons in each age and involves volunteers in association’s projects and activities with aim to arise awareness of active citizenship and promote an active participation in social life. It has 15 permanent members (researchers, specialists in European affaires, university professors and ICT and social media specialists), which 10 of them permanent collaborates on employment basis. For last 5 years CEBS provides complex information about all issues connected to European Union and it’s institutions, as well as communicate about European policies and programs. This information takes different form, from single consultation on practical basis, by web and social media, local media and education on social and civic competences.
The main field of adult education is development of civic and social competences with special regard of European education. Through activities implemented within Europe Direct Information Centre it provides courses and events targeted to different groups, but mainly to adults. It organizes training moments on civic participation including: civic commitment of individuals in participatory process of public consultations, democracy in Europe, EU institutions, EP elections, consultations with specific target, active citizenship, and much more.
Since 2013 it implemented above 80 different courses singly tailored to learners needs. Moreover, it organized activites based on non-formal learning, such as city games and happenings.
The Free University of Autobiography of Anghiari (LUA) is a non-profit cultural association, founded in 1998 by Duccio Demetrio, a scholar of autobiography in adult education, and Saverio Tutino, inventor and organizer of the Diary Archive of Pieve Santo Stephen. Their meeting gave birth to a community of research, training and dissemination of the culture of memory, which has grown over the years. The statutory mission of LUA is to promote and provide training for those who want to devote themselves to the theoretical and methodological study of their own and others’ life stories for educational, social, therapeutic and cultural purposes. To achieve these goals, the Association has established a three-year school since 1999, called Mnèmosine, which offers its members educational opportunities and tutorial support in order to create their own autobiographical writing at the end of the first year of the course. necessary to be able to access the subsequent addresses proposed annually by the School. In this way, learners learn to use and disseminate, within their own professional areas, the principles, methods and developments of the “pedagogy of memory”. In addition to the School, LUA organizes workshops, research projects, local, national and international cultural and scientific events to develop and enhance autobiographical culture and education, under the supervision of the National Center for Autobiographical Studies and Research “Athe Gracci”, in agreement with the Scientific Council and the Executive Council. LUA also makes use of a network of territorial contacts, who, through the establishment of Circles, have the task of spreading autobiographical writing and culture in every area of social life, in schools, libraries, residences for the elderly, health centres, institutes penitentiaries, where there are particular situations of hardship, marginalization and loneliness. In 2019 the Autobiographical Writing and Culture Circle of Santa Croce sull’Arno was born at the “Adrio Puccini” Municipal Library, promoted by the territorial referent Grazia Chiarini and inaugurated on March 20 of the same year by Duccio Demetrio, with the participation of Marco Rodi, territorial contact person of the Livorno Club.
ASPHI onlus Foundation is an Italian non-profit organization operating since 1980, with the mission to promote autonomy and inclusion of people with disabilities in school, employment and society, through the use of Information and Communication Technology.
Aiming to a society where a person with disability has the same opportunities as everyone else, we have been working in research and innovation programs, hardware and software development for special needs, as well as in providing professional training and consultant services. We are active in the field of ICT accessibility: we are involved in ministerial commissions preparing laws about the subject and accredited as assessors for the accessibility of computer systems. We collaborate with some ministries (particularly Ministry of Education, Universities and Research and Ministry of Labour and Social Policies), participate in the National Observatory about Disability, cooperate in research projects with universities and institutions (among which: Bologna University, Politecnico di Torino, Politecnico di Milano, University of Milano-Bicocca, Sapienza University of Rome).
For AICA (Italian Association for Informatics and Automatic Calculation) ASPHI is the national reference entity to provide advice and help about the achievement of IT certifications by disabled candidates. We are also involved in several initiatives aimed to increase the awareness about the potential role of digital technology for disabled people’s empowerment: we participate at conferences and events and we organize Handimatica, an expo-conference attended from all over Italy, which brings together suppliers of solutions for people with disabilities, academic and applied research, experience sharing, educational workshops.
Founded in 2005 by persons with strong experience both in project management and adult’s education field, Pro Xpert Association is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation aiming to contribute to the sustainable development of the local community and to the Romanian Society’s synchronisation with the European Society by offering technical assistance in several fields such as ICT, communication and partnership between public institutions and civil society, strategic planning, environment etc. Some of the most important objectives are: creating, assessment and certifying of professional skills in IT and foreign languages fields as well as consolidating the human resources potential according to the European Union’s standards; supporting the continuous education of all people. Since its establishment Pro Xpert Association has organized over 250 training sessions, seminars, workshops and other public interest events related to education, continuous training, European integration, decision making participation and civic issues as human rights, European Citizenship, European Values, methodology of the election process. Pro Xpert has a professional staff, with extensive experience and expertise in adult education, especially in ITC field and European issues. The association has also co-operated in local projects focused on citizens’ involving in decision-making process, parents’ education and environmental education issues. In 2008 Pro Xpert improved its range of activities by involving as partner in three projects in the framework of Phare Programme – Human Resources Development. Two of them were dealing with marginalized groups at risk of social exclusion: Roma people and unemployed people from rural areas. It organized training sessions in self development issues aiming to improve their access to jobs market and occupational equal opportunities promotion. Between October 2010 – September 2013 Pro Xpert was partner in a big strategic project financed by European Social Fund under the Operational Sectorial Programme – Human Resource Development named “KANT – Entrepreneurial Competencies at European level” in which we will organize 12 training programmes in basic entrepreneurial competencies, 4 training programmes in project management and 9 training programmes in European Business Competence (EBC*L). Pro Xpert also focused on creative activities, both for young and adult person. In this respect they host drama courses for teenagers and were partner in an important project developed by Association Culture and Art from Izmir, (http://www.izmirkulturvesanatprojesi.org). In this festival they contribute with a very young but very talented group of artists and developed pantomime and street art performances. Not at least, Pro Xpert Association has a particular focus on informal education for different categories of persons, young, adults and seniors. This concern comes from their main aim: human resources development – one of our objectives being to support the continuous education of all people. In this respect Pro Xpert has already gained an important experience in informal adult education projects , with four Gruntvig Partnerships, four Grundtvig Workshops, three Senior Volunteers Exchanges and two Leonardo da Vinci Partnerships. They also developed a Youth in Action TC focused on environmental issues and four Erasmus + for youth (that included 3 exchanges and 2 trainings for youth workers). Now they coordinate a KA2 for adult education, they are partner in two other KA2 (one for adults and one for youth). Related to experience with groups who have specific needs, Pro Xpert usually works with persons at risk of social exclusion from rural areas – unemployed, families with high level of poverty; persons with disabilities or with other special needs and ethnic minorities – Roma people. In many cases beneficiaries belong to two or more categories, for example: Roma unemployed persons, people with disabilities and with a high level of poverty etc. – and in these cases the low level of self esteem grows inverse proportional with the level of welfare and formal education and, at a certain level, a really “vicious circle” appear – where poverty diminish the level of self confidence and self esteem and the low level of self esteem cancels any step toward improving the welfare level. The association focuses on increasing self confidence and self esteem of these persons by training sessions in self development issues aiming to improve their access to jobs market and occupational equal opportunities promotion.
The Associação Social Recreativa Cultural e Bem Fazer “Vai Avante” is a local non-governmental, non-profit organization with the status of Private Institution of Social Solidarity and Public Utility Institution, based in the parish of S.Pedro da Cova, Municipality of Gondomar. The mission of the Vai Avante Association consists of the social and cultural promotion of the inhabitants of the municipality of Gondomar, aiming to support families, children, youth and the elderly population, economically and socially more deprived. This objective is met, not only through the various valences and services existing in the institution but also through partnerships with other institutions and entities in order to enhance and increase the quality of the services provided. This institution is based on the development of an articulated work, involving the various social partners in order for the community to participate actively, promoting their quality of life and meeting some of their needs.
It has a wide range of services to support the community, coordinating 5 centres with very diverse valences as Daycare, Kindergarten, Recreation/Leisure Activities Center, Community Center, Social Center for the elderly, being the holder of a project called REaCORDAR, directed to the elderly with Alzheimer, Home Support Service, protocol of RSI and Professional Insertion Office. The institution also has a Snoezelen room, which enables the sensory stimulation of children and adults with difficulties, disability or dementia. In addition to the social area, the Vai Avante Association has a wide range of activities in the recreational and cultural field, namely the dance group Roda Viva, with about 100 young participants, the capoeira school, the music school, the theatre group Vai Avante, the sportfishing section, the classic checker’s section and the hiking group. The institution presents cooperation agreements with Social Security in the services of Daycare, Recreation/Leisure Activities Center, Community Center, Social Center and Home Support. It has an insertion social income protocol team, which is a social response in partnership with the Institute of Solidarity and Social Security, with the main goal of promoting autonomy and social inclusion. Currently, this multidisciplinary team accompanies 240 families, covering a total of 667 beneficiaries.
The institution also has the ‘GIP’- Gabinete de Inserção Profissional (Professional Insertion Office) being a space created from a partnership between the IEFP – Instituto de Emprego e Formação Profissional de Gondomar (Employment and Professional Training Institute of Gondomar) with the aim of providing the young and adult population of the municipality with support in the definition or development of their path of insertion/reintegration into the labour market. The ‘GIP’ also seeks to meet the needs of companies and collects job vacancies from them. It also publishes the hiring support measures that exist and assists companies in applying for internships.
Currently, the institution has going on, within the framework of the European Solidarity Corps (new European Union initiative aimed at young people, giving them the opportunity to volunteer or work on projects, at home or abroad) a solidarity project implemented by 5 young people on gender equality and another project in the measure of internship/employment and volunteering. At the European level, the institution is a partner in several KA2 mobility projects, promoted by Erasmus +.
