The UniCredit Foundation "Call for Education 2023", launched with the aim at identifying and supporting programs combating educational disadvantage in 10 different European countries where UniCredit operates, has come to an end.
Out of a total of 175 candidates, 18 projects dedicated to secondary school students (age range 11-19) implemented by non-profit organizations have been awarded with a total amount of nearly 3,250,000 euros.
Congratulations to the winners and many thanks to all the organisations that partecipated to the Call. We will contact the winning organisations in the coming weeks.
AUSTRIA
1. Non-profit: CAPE 10 die gemeinnützige Stiftung
Project: Cape 10 Education Academy (to impact 1,000 children and 500 teachers)
Geography: Vienna
Amount: 300,000€
The Education Academy focus is providing future perspectives and career opportunities, equipping the students with school materials as well as cultural experiences, sport and leisure programs. Through therapies, participation, networking & opinion forming, youngsters should be given the opportunity to discover their own strengths and resources. In collaboration with education, business, health, art, and culture experts, the organization creates interactive programs for young individuals to enable holistic support and to achieve fewer school dropouts, successful career prospects and equal opportunities.
2. Non-profit: Vienna Hobby Lobby
Project: Hobby lobby Skills acquisition through informal education (to benefit 3,000 children/young adults)
Geography: Salzburg, Graz, Lower Austria, Innsbruck and Vienna
Amount: 333,506 €
Over the next two years 420 free leisure courses will be offered at ten Austrian locations for children and young people from socially disadvantaged communities. Through the intensive work in the courses, the participating children and young people achieve improvements in their social skills and further development of their personalities. The acquisition of these skills will enable participants to access the labor market more easily in the long term.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - MOSTAR
3. Non-profit: GUS - Gruppo Umana Solidarietà Guido Poletti APS
Project: The L.E.A.P. project - Learning, Educational Advanced Program in BiH (to benefit 350 children aged 11-19 from Srebrenica and Tuzla, 40 young people from the Tuzla orphanage and 50 Roma young people plus 100 families in social exclusion of Srebrenica area)
Geography: Srebrenica and Tuzla
Amount: 123,710 €
The program, was born from participatory planning process with the involvement of the direct beneficiaries and project partners. The aim is to promote fight against educational poverty in favor of lower and upper secondary school students in the rural area of Srebrenica, one of the poorest areas with very high social marginalization. The project adopts the results-based management of the European National Agencies for Cooperation.
CROATIA
4. Non-profit: Udruga Profesor Balthazar
Project: Enhancing Education and Employability through Professor Balthazar Cartoon (to benefit 50 schools; 1,400 students from lower and upper secondary school)
Geography: 10 counties (of 21 total); 5 schools from each county: Zagreb, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Međimurje, Šibenik-Knin, Karlovac, Krapina-Zagorje, Koprivnica-Krizevci, Bjelovar-Bilogora, Sisak-Moslavina, Vukovar-Srijem
Amount: 188,300 €
The program aims to impact school children in Croatia, focusing on reducing university dropouts and enhancing employability through a cartoon medium centered on the popular character "Professor Balthazar." Over an initial six months, a new cartoon emphasizing STREAM ((Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics) values will be developed, featuring the famed science advocate, Professor Balthazar. The alignment with the Ministry of Science and Education's directives guarantees a sustained impact. The initiative also harbors pan-European aspirations, with provisions for language dubbing to resonate across ten countries, spotlighting its scalability and foresight.
5. Non-profit: SOS Children's Village Croatia
Project: Prepare for Leaving Care (to benefit 70 young people aged 14-19)
Geography: Osijek (Osječko-baranjska County), Velika Gorica (Zagrebačka county) and the City of Zagreb
Amount: 101,760 €
SOS Children's Village Croatia provides high-quality long-term care to children and youth without adequate parental care. Coordinated and monitored by the Program Department Coordinator, a Personal Mentor implements wide range of activities with young people to strengthen their capacities during the sensitive transition to their independent life. For young people who struggle with ensuring quality housing in the first, delicate period of their independence, we they provide housing in three apartments our Association got for use from the City of Zagreb will be provided.
CZECH REPUBLIC
6. Non-profit: Rokit, z.s.
Project: Up we go! Transition from lower to upper secondary schooling (to benefit 1,000 students lower secondary school students, 200 teachers)
Geography: Královehradecký region
Amount: 164,860 €
The project aims to tackle the issue of early school leaving. The target groups include lower-secondary school learners, teachers, school career counsellors, and schools within the region. The goal is to have empowered learners, trained educators, integrated workshops, improved smooth transition between educational levels, reducing difficulties and enhancing students' engagement with education.
By fostering self-awareness, providing tailored support, and training educators, the project aims to empower learners and improve their academic journey.
7. Non-profit: Chance 4 Children
Project: Springboard to Life - Every child has the right to an education (to benefit 500 teenagers and young adults)
Geography: Czech Republic - all regions
Amount: 175,000 €
The project aids institutionalized children transitioning into society - by providing supplemental, educational opportunities - teaching participants vocational and practical life skills to make them either employable or pursue higher education. The program is currently active in 25 children's homes and aims to expand its reach by 2026 to 32 institutions. In 2022 the Czech Ministry of Education fully accredited the HELPMATE online platform for self-education and community sharing for educators in children's homes.
GERMANY
8. Non-profit: Joblinge e.V.
Project: PLAN A@School - Improved early career orientation and securing career entry after school graduation for socially and economically disadvantaged pupils (to benefit 375 pupils from the ninth and tenth grades of regular schools, comprehensive schools and secondary schools)
Geography: Berlin
Amount: 150,000 €
The project program aims at developing and piloting of a new modular career orientation and preparation offer for schools with a strong focus on pupils with special need for support. The program It intends to establish a completely new career preparation program for schools to effectively support pupils in their two years before graduation. Further, it aims to fund an extensive pilot at a secondary school in Berlin, which benefits a total of 375 pupils (age 15-17). The new program will consist of 12 mandatory modules such as Career Orientation, Job Application and more than 15 additional modules.
9. Non-profit: TeachCom Edutainment gGmbH
Project: NAWI-KATOR (to benefit 3,000 students primary and secondary school)
Geography: Berlin (Mitte district)
Amount: 375,000 €
The project will provide extracurricular support to children and young people of primary and secondary school-age in neighborhood areas with high levels of unemployment and child poverty. This support will take the form of easy and free access to STEM education and integrated language acquisition programs delivered in community housing facilities, young people's recreational facilities, family canters, schools and children's day care centers. The fundamental principle of the activities is "Teaching and Learning New Things", which prioritizes identifying problems and relevant actions.
HUNGARY
10. Non-profit: Bagázs Public Benefit Association
Project: Growing by learning - Reducing early school leaving among Roma (to benefit 80 children, 80 parents, 15 teachers, 120 volunteers)
Geography: Pest County (Bag and Dány)
Amount: 154,380 €
The program aims at promoting the further education of children aged 11-19 living in or coming from two Roma settlements in Central Hungary by building a complex support system that simultaneously tackles most of the barriers to children's learning. The project aims to strengthen the responsibility of the majority of society to promote equal opportunities. Another main goal of the project is to communicate the structural anomalies that hinder children's education and further education through social media and media platforms, in order to give visibility to the fact that the difference between the educational attainment of Roma and non-Roma is mostly due to the disadvantage amplifying effect of systemic failures.
11. Non-profit: Technológiai Oktatásért Alaptívány
Project: Skool Skiils for a better life (to benefit 1200 children in a year)
Geography: Countryside of Hungary rural regions
Amount: 216,370 €
One-year holistic program for high schoolers aged between 15-19, during which coding and soft skill training for students will be provided. Strong emphasis will be given in developing young people's personal and social competencies through experiencing success and joyful learning processes while boosting their self-confidence and preparation during their subsequent job search and career.
ITALY
12. Non-profit: Soc. Coop. Soc. In-presa
Project: GO-PRO - Giovani Orientati al PROtagonismo (to benefit 715 students)
Geography: Lombardy (Monza and Brianza, Lecco and Como provinces)
Amount: 149,942 €
The program consists of 5 courses: ALZIAMO LA MEDIA and FUORI DALLA MEDIA for youth aged 12 to 16 who fail to complete the 1st year at secondary school, providing specific aid at school and at home; LABORATORI DEL FARE to offer laboratory orientation moments, so that young people are stimulated to practice technical-practical activities; ORIENTAMENTO aimed at young people attending the 2nd year at secondary school, at risk of dropping out of school; LA CASA DEI MESTIERI open to all young people who have dropped out of 2nd year at secondary school and need to resume their journey within meaningful relationships; IN-CIRCOLO IN-CIRCOLO is a youth gathering center of In-Presa whose priority is to promote the welfare of young people between the ages of 15-and 20 years old to help them not to be apathetic and boosts their self-esteem by giving them useful tools to cope with school difficulties.
13. Non-profit: Centro Calabrese di Solidarietà
Project: YEI! - Youth Education Improvement (to benefit 100 primary school students age 12-14; 100 secondary school students age 15-18; 70 disadvantaged families and 50 teachers)
Geography: Calabria - several towns
Amount: 132,764 €
YEI! is an experimental project lead in collaboration with the Regional Department of Schools of Calabria Region. The goal is to establish a regional changemaker partnership in the field of education, developing an innovative model aimed to reduce the number of NEET and dropouts.
Actions: 1) Call for schools to identify the 10 participating schools. The selected ones will win a 1000,00 Euros prize; will be officially involved in the YEI! Network; will host one of the 10 pilot centers against educational poverty. 2) In the pilot centers against educational poverty students at risk dropout will receive an innovative kind of support through students-led focus groups and teacher supervision. 4) Educational and vocational guidance and Experience Summer Programs; two-month internships for 18-19 years students in the informatics, social services, healthcare or legal field.
14. Non-profit: Coop. Soc. Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII
Project: SOS No One Out - Empowerment of students, school staff and parents to prevent the early school leaving (to benefit 3300 students - 90 teachers supported through the online counselling service - 150 parents supported through the online counselling service - 50 parents involved in mutual aid groups - 5 school principalsHeads supported through the mutual learning network)
Geography: Zelo Buon Persico (District of Lodi, Lombardia Region), Viserba and Misano(District of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna Region), Erice (District of Trapani) and Viagrande(District of Catania) in Sicily.
Amount: 190,400 €
The program intends to identify and mitigate the risk factors that could lead to school drop-out, working together with students, school staff and families to prevent the early school leaving. The specific objective of the program is to build in the 5 involved schools a supportive environment that promotes learning, self-awareness, life skills and opportunities for students to express themselves in accordance with their interests and attitudes.
SERBIA
15. Non-profit: Friends of Children of Serbia
Project: Steps to Independence: Supporting Children in Institutional Care for Successful Education and Career Paths (to benefit 80 young people 11-19 years old)
Geography: Republic of Serbia - all regions
Amount: 128,170 €
The project aims to support vulnerable children (victims of violence, abuse, human trafficking, forced begging, and those involved in criminal activities due to harsh socio-economic conditions) by providing direct support for their education, promoting higher education, teaching employability skills, and connecting them with potential employers. This project will also empower staff of state care institutions, employment agencies (national and private), social workers (including students) and companies to help this vulnerable group on their way to independence.
SLOVAKIA
16. Non-profit: Cestavon
Project: The Zebra Program: A positive youth development program empowering Roma youth to overcome poverty through mentoring, life skills training and increased access to the labor market (to benefit 240 youngster 11-19 years old in 3 Roma communities)
Geography: Roma settlements in Chminianske Jakubovany, Veľká Lomnica, Kecerovce
Amount: 155,840 €
This pilot initiative aims at disrupting the cycle of poverty during the vital developmental stage of adolescence. It emphasizes the augmentation of emotional, social, and intellectual growth among youth participants from marginalized Roma communities in Slovakia. It is committed to empowering emerging leaders within the Roma communities by applying a participatory approach, who will subsequently engage their peers in enriching activities. These will serve as conduits to overcome barriers to social inclusion and employment. By fostering connections between the marginalized Roma youth and the Slovak majority, the program aspires to mitigate social exclusion, prejudice, and institutional racism, all of which have historically impeded the Roma community's pursuit of dignity and self-sufficiency.
17. Project: Skills4Life: Empowering Young Women in IT (to benefit 2,100 at-risk female high school students (aged 15-19) originating from least developed regions and areas with limited access to IT education. and 600 IT teachers / schools will receive learning materials and improve their didactic and technical skills)
Non-profit: Aj Ty v IT
Geography: several towns and cities in approx. 20 districts located in the Banská Bystrica, Košice, and Prešov regions
Amount: 150,000 €
The project aims to enhance the competitiveness of at-risk female high school students in least developed districts and areas with limited IT education access by offering specialized IT courses and essential soft skills training. These programs will equip them with technical IT skills and essential soft skills, providing a strong foundation for either entering the job market or pursuing higher education at the university level. The project will also create a comprehensive guideline for IT teachers to promote inclusive teaching methods, creating sustainable impact on the whole educational landscape of Slovakia. To further motivate girls to pursue higher education in IT, the project will collaborate with various universities in Slovakia to enable female high school students to spend half a day at different university IT faculties. This will provide them with firsthand experience and boost their motivation to pursue such studies.
SLOVENIA
18. Non-profit: Association of Friends of Youth Ljubljana Moste-Polje
Project: Study Buddy - Learning support program (to benefit 400 children and adolescents)
Geography: Central Slovenia region
Amount: 53,476 €
The program's goal is to help children improve their learning and social skills, knowledge, attitude towards schoolwork and school environment. It also aims to empower their parents to gain more knowledge on how they can be of help to their own children. Learning Support encompasses the academic, social, behavioral, and emotional needs of students and targets processes and resources that enable students with additional needs to participate meaningfully within the school community.