In Europe, there are approximately 51 million people with hearing problems (including hearing loss and deafness), which is 9% of the EU population (1 in 10). In line with the “Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021”, launched by the European Commission (EC) to ensure their inclusion and economic autonomy, and with the EU agenda for Higher Education (HE), which includes among its priorities the creation of inclusive HE systems.

For many years, one of the primary objectives of EU Member States has been the development and promotion of entrepreneurial education. In the current context of high youth unemployment, economic crises, and rapid changes in our complex knowledge-based economy and society, transversal skills such as entrepreneurship are critical not only for shaping young people's mindsets, but also for providing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are essential for developing an entrepreneurial culture in Europe.

Currently, over 34 million foreigners reside in the EU. The 2016 Action Plan showed the need for stronger measures to integrate and include migrant children and families, enabling them to contribute sustainably to the local community. Reports such as the Eurydice 2020 and OECD 2019 state a series of barriers faced by migrant children, their parents and educators including inadequate knowledge of local language, insufficient provision of social and emotional support, teachers are insufficiently trained for multicultural classrooms and with new innovative methodologies-resources, weak home-school cooperation and provision of limited funding for support.

In the face of growing climate challenges and the rapidly expanding green job sector, ensuring equal access to information and training in green skills has become crucial. According to the EU Climate Pact, 81% of young people are unaware of the existence of green jobs, and this issue is even more pronounced within the Deaf community due to the lack of Sign Language terminology for environmental concepts, creating additional barriers to participation.

The European Union, through initiatives such as the EU Green Deal, the Skills Agenda, and the Youth Guarantee, emphasizes the development of skills necessary for the green transition and equal access to education and employment in the environmental sector. Eurostat data shows that employment in green professions has increased from 3.2 million in 2000 to 5.1 million in 2020 and is expected to grow further. The Directorate-General for Climate Action also highlights the increasing demand for green skills, which is reflected in the analysis of CEDEFOB SKILLS INTELLIGENCE.

Gender equality is grounded upon all human beings’ entitlement to ‘equality in’ rights, freedoms and opportunities and asserts that, as human beings, women in all their diversity (as well as the LGBTQI+ community) have the same entitlement to freely realise their human capabilities (Nussbaum, 2000). This condition today is not attained in the European Research Area and in the HED Sector in general. According to the 2021 She Figures report, only a third of researchers in the EU were women in 2018 and their working conditions were inferior (more flexibility and less salary) (European Commission, 2022). Women are still under-represented in university governing bodies, in the representation of universities, and at various levels of university decision-making.

Research demonstrate that nearly 2/3 of young people in Europe are affected by depression and anxiety, with those from marginalised backgrounds being at higher risk. Also, Covid-19 Pandemic had severe impact on young people’s mental health. The worsening of mental health can be attributed to the wide-ranging impact of educational institutions closures, the quality of remote education and the labor market crisis that is affecting young people. Youth struggling with disadvantages, including mental health challenges, are generally less active citizens and have less trust in institutions. The challenges being acknowledged, Hold On objective will be to enhance young peoples’access to mental health support service and their proactive engagement in improving mental health outcomes.

During the pandemic, the social distancing and isolation, that happened the two last years due to pandemic, revealed a great demand for young people to stay connected with other peers, to interact, to keep on developing professional skills, creativity and imagination. Young people in many countries were confined to their homes and, for many of them digital technologies and arts, were the only way of expression and connection with the outside world.

With the rapid technological advancements, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies have been increasingly adopted to address various challenges in emergency management in the built environments.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the need to digitalize the educational system. Formal and non-formal education is becoming more and more digital. In the adult education sector this has had the positive effect of promoting inclusion, as distance learning enables the participation of adults who would otherwise be excluded for various reasons. On the other hand, the digitalisation of the education system has not paid much attention to environmental goals and sustainability, or to inclusion and diversity; it takes place primarily though platforms with high carbon emissions and many platforms and digital tools are not adapted for learners with special needs. The project proposal aims to support adult educators and educational institutions to adopt more eco-friendly practices and to adapt their learning offer for learners with special needs.

Our project aims to facilitate mainstreaming of Inclusive Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (II&SE) education in HEIs’ curricula by developing teaching and learning resources and building capacity of academic staff to design and deliver education in this field. Our project will develop a comprehensive course in II&SE that will enhance integration of education and inclusive innovation, promote cooperation with social economy actors, and foster learning “for” and “through” social entrepreneurship. We will develop a teacher/trainer support Toolkit, that will enable faculty members to master new instructional design approaches and teaching methods conducive to the development of innovation and entrepreneurial skills. By doing so, our project will contribute to the Erasmus+ priority for higher education “Rewarding excellence in learning, teaching and skills development”.