On Wednesday 16 October 2024, the International Conference (Multiplier event) of the JOBS4ALL project took place at the N.C.S.R. Demokritos Congress Center in Agia Paraskevi, Athens. Invitations were sent out to youth workers, employers, policy makers, authorities, schools, youth centers, educational centers, teachers of all levels, IT experts & other stakeholders to register online via Google forms.
The JOBS4ALL International Conference coincided with the Erasmus+ Days, which took place on that week and a special mention was made to Erasmus+ and the projects that P1 has completed and is running at the moment with the use of the Erasmus+ Days logo to mark and celebrate Erasmus+.
The over 70 people audience that participated, comprised 15 representatives of all consortium partners (who were in Athens for C2 & TPM4), school teachers from both general & special education, youth workers, parents of youths with disabilities as well as policy makers including 1 senior advisor from the Greek Ministry of Education. The event was entitled “Presentation of JOBS4ALL Project Results International Conference” & lasted over 3 hours (18:00-21:30).
The Multiplier event was treated as the main dissemination event of P1 & a great opportunity to present complete, finalized & tangible results such as the mapping tool, the focus groups results and national infographics, the competence framework (syllabus), the training packs for all three target groups, the e-learning & e-assessment platform using Open Badges, the VR Game which simulates three different job sectors, the national pilot training results, structured dialogues outcomes and conclusions etc. Regarding the e-platform, there was a live presentation of how to register & enrol in the available courses & how to download & use the VR Game and participants in attendance were offered an insight as to the various ways to implement the JOBS4ALL programme in their organizations.
The event was divided into three distinct parts.
The first part included two talks which were more generic albeit related to the project topic. The first delivered by the scientific coordinator of the project, Dr. Athanasios Drigas touched on inclusion and emerging technologies in general and was entitled “Education4All, Inclusion4All, Jobs4All and the role of Emerging Digital Technologies”. The second one delivered by a PhD Candidate with the University of Thessaly, was entitled “Youth, Disabilities and Access to Employability Through ICTs”. Both talks grasped the attention of the audience and paved the way to the second part where all 4 Project results were presented.
In the second part, an overview of the project was given, with the aims & objectives, the partnership, before all 4 Project Results, results & activities, were presented in detail by different members of the consortium. After the exhaustive presentation of the project & its results, which was the main aim of the event, a fruitful discussion was initiated about the importance of emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality in the upgrade of youth work and also the importance of digital technologies in the education of Young People with Disabilities and especially those with ASD and/or mental disabilities in their efforts to acquire the necessary skills that will increase their chances of getting employed.
The third and last part focused on a live demo/workshop of the VR equipment that was used where participants had the opportunity to explore the opportunities offered, get familiar with the controls through an introductory part and also play with the VR Game that was designed and developed for the needs of this project, which simulates 3 different jobs with 3 different levels each.
Through this live demo, participants and especially teachers were able to appreciate the potential of VR as an educational tool for young people in the autism spectrum and/or with mental disabilities offering a safe space for the youths to practice employability skills.
During the event, the workshop & the exhibition, the audience was invited to visit the project e-tools (website, e-platform, VR game, etc.) & register, become ambassadors & to follow the project social media in order to get informed about its activities & how these can be sustained & exploited by other teachers & youth workers in their schools & organizations with their students and other youths.
From the feedback & comments received, it was apparent that the event was a success as the audience showed a real interest in the activities & aims of the project. Emphasis was given on how to keep the project alive after its financial lifetime ends & how to sustain & exploit its results & products with more events such as this one & implement the programme and the employment hubs in more organizations and schools through the creation of synergies.
P1 committed to maintain & support the available e-tools & to organize summer schools for youths to attend VR educational classes & for teachers and youth workers to enhance and take their youth work to the next level with the help of innovative methods and technologies. The event concluded with a light buffet, which proved to be an excellent opportunity for networking where all participants discussed the JOBS4ALL project and its potential further.