The European Erasmus+ project Help to Opportunities – H2O, in which the University of Thessaly participated as a partner, received the European Innovative Teaching Award in the category of Adult Education.
The European Innovative Teaching Award is a new initiative established by the European Commission for the implementation of projects within the European Education Area. Its aim is to highlight achievements in the field of education, identify and promote excellent teaching and learning practices, provide tools for collaborative learning, and showcase the value of the Erasmus+ programme for cooperation among European educators and the development of the European Education Area.
The Help to Opportunities – H2O project was implemented between 1 November 2021 and 30 April 2024, with the main goal of strengthening the health literacy of Roma communities in Europe through inclusive and community-based education. The project team of the University of Thessaly, under the scientific supervision of Professor Ioanna V. Papathanasiou, President of the Department of Nursing, designed and implemented a pilot health literacy training programme in which 40 Roma mediators and 158 Roma community members from across Europe participated. Based on primary research, the project team also developed educational material tailored to the specific educational needs of Roma communities.
The H2O project promoted inclusion by engaging people with fewer opportunities and ultimately reached 750 individuals, including educators, NGO representatives and policy-makers. Its key results – a multilingual curriculum, a mobile application, a health-related board game, and EU-level policy recommendations – ensure the project’s long-term impact and transferability across Europe. The ultimate aim is to deliver sustainable, innovative and replicable solutions that address health inequalities and can be reproduced elsewhere.
Project Coordinator: Ljudska univerza Lendava (Slovenia)
Partners: University of Thessaly (Greece), Pučko otvoreno učilište Čakovec (Croatia), Amrita OBK Egyesület (Hungary), Irish Creative Training and Innovative Development Center (Ireland), Previform – Laboratório, Formação, Higiene e Segurança do Trabalho, Lda (Portugal), Obrazovno Kulturna Zajednice Roma “Romanipen” (Serbia), Razvojni center Murska Sobota (Slovenia), Inercia Digital SL (Spain)
Source: University of Thessaly | News – Announcements (https://tinyurl.com/2hm3zvus)