Edu-larp to IT (Educational Live action role-playing to Italy Turkey)

<< Background >>We presented this project because we are constantly looking for ways and approaches to engage young NEETs, who continue to be a problem to be addressed in many European countries. Every now and then, we hear about some improvement, but this does not change the fact that young people are increasingly disoriented and far from living life and Europe to its full potential and in all its manifestations. With Erasmus projects, we try to bring them closer to Europe in a direct and experiential way. In this specific project, we wanted to involve Turkey because, as it is a different country from a socio-cultural point of view, we thought it would be more motivating and interesting for our young people to interact with peers who see and experience life through different “cultural filters”. In reality, this choice has been rewarding because prejudices have given way to appreciation and consideration that it is very nice to “get to know different worlds” but that it is also important to realise that “people” are always “people” and experience the same emotions that we experience in the face of pain or pleasure.<< Objectives >>The goal we wanted to achieve with this project, which we believe we have largely achieved, was to verify whether Edu-larp would also work as a “business incubator”, and whether the element added experimentally to Edu-larp, “suspense”, would help staff maintain high attendance at training workshops and motivation for the project. We have been working for several years on the use of Edu-larp for educational purposes, both for boring or difficult topics and, above all, to reinforce and/or bring out soft skills. This project not only confirmed the potential and versatility of the methodology, but also helped us understand that it can be a valuable support for intercultural communication. Working together according to a script forces people to find all possible solutions to understand each other beyond language, to discover each other beyond their differences, finding themselves together that a 19-year-old Turkish person is no different from a 19-year-old Italian and that if they want to, they can form alliances even without speaking the same language.<< Implementation >>Tested and implemented two Edu-larps (Educational Live Action Role Playing) to use them as a business incubator. A protected space where every young person, placed in the shoes of a hypothetical role to play in a company, could express their personality, their actions as a person and potential employee.The first Edu-larp was the start-up of a travel agency and the other was about the creation and management of a restaurant. The preparatory course provided them with professional and transversal skills. No one knew what they would be experimenting with; they were told three days before the event to give them time to prepare. We used suspense to keep motivation high and encourage young people to attend the course. We intervened ad hoc when we noticed even the slightest drop in interest, increasing suspense and curiosity. Our efforts were rewarded, and today we would like to carry out another experiment to make our “Edu-larp business incubator” even more sophisticated and obtain further confirmation of its effectiveness. The experiment was preceded by training for trainers and the co-design of the Edu-larps by the staff of the two organisations.<< Results >>• Two innovative Edu-larp business incubator models, as they are part of a larger project that is not “consumed” in the day or days of the game but requires a longer process for its implementation, which may include a professional path with skills certification.• Edu-larp to IT user manual for trainers: methodologies for the use of educational role-playing, strengths, reflections following experimentation in Sardinia and Turkey. Approaches and tools for the preparatory process with young people.• Video telling the story of 12 young people who got involved knowing they were participating in an Erasmus+ project (an attractive brand). But also a methodological guide on Edu-larp. •Brochure about young Italians.•1 memorandum of understanding between the two associations to implement the use of Edu-larp in VET as a lever and/or teaching method to attract NEETs and/or to teach subjects that are difficult or boring or considered as such. •12 young people with enhanced transversal skills and in whom we have observed important “changes” of which they are aware.•10 professionals who have understood the potential of Edu-larp and acquired the skills to design and use it in different educational contexts.