Playing for Purpose

Play Collective (under Playing for Purpose Program) is sponsored by adidas Foundation (in partnership with Beyond Sport and Common Goal). The Play Collective is a multi-year initiative by the adidas Foundation, Beyond Sport, and Common Goal, launched in anticipation of the 2026 World Cup. It aims to create more opportunities for community-based sport programming with a focus on underserved youth in the U.

The impact of the use of digital tools outside school and for communication on educational outcomes and mental health is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Provide policymakers, education practitioners and citizens with a solid understanding of how social media, video gaming and other leisure uses of digital tools relate to the educational outcomes of young people, including through their impact on well-being and mental health. Generate rigorous, policy-relevant evidence about policies and practices aiming to inform and regulate young people’s use of digital tools for non-educational purposes, such as smartphones, at school. Develop actionable advice for policymakers and citizens about how to promote young people’s healthy use of digital tools for leisure, both at school and outside school. Describe and quantify the relationships of using digital tools for leisure and communication with students’ motivation, study habits, attention span and concentration, time management, engagement, social integration and overall well-being. Scope: The increasing prevalence of digital devices in young people’s life has raised concerns about the potential impacts of the use of digital tools for leisure and communication on primary-, secondary- and higher education students’ well-being and educational outcomes [1] . “Digital distraction” is emerging inter alia as a potential threat to academic performance and several countries have started to regulate the use of smartphones at school. There is still limited evidence on the interrelation between the use of digital tools for leisure in-school or out-of-school and educational performance, in both primary and secondary education, because most of the existing literature is purely correlational, or only focuses on effects on well-being. Moreover, most existing research is from extra-EU contexts, which may limit the transferability of findings to EU education and training systems. Several interrelated research questions remain to be addressed, such as: Which types of digital device use do pupils perform during school and do their digital activities differ depending on different contexts (i.e., during class, during breaks or between classes)? How do different activities (e.g. playing games vs. chatting with a parent), on different devices, with different time durations of use, relate to students’ attention span and concentration as well as general school motivation? How does frequent smartphone, social media use and other online leisure activities (such as video games) impact students’ attention span, concentration, memory and relational capacities? How can schools, educators and parents balance the use of those tools to enhance, rather than hinder, educational performance and students’ well-being? What is the potential for addiction when using digital tools and what are the decisive factors for this on the part of the design of tools on the one hand and on the part of the users on the other? How can digital leisure activities contribute to skills development, such as problem-solving and digital literacy and what is the transferability of these skills into education? How do these benefits compare with potential harm? What is the role of parents and educators in guiding digital leisure activities? Explore parental digital literacy and its impact on the use of digital devices by the youth. Proposals should explore the complex, context-dependent ways in which different forms of digital leisure affect attention, motivation, creativity, learning habits, critical thinking, and socio-emotional skills. They should consider variations across age groups, socio-economic backgrounds, cultural contexts, and types of digital engagement and include students with disabilities. Proposals should apply rigorous experimental and/or quasi-experimental methods for their analysis and could complement them with experience sampling research, survey research methods and qualitative research methods. Close cooperation with educational authorities, educational institutions and educators in analys Programme areas: Horizon Europe (HORIZON), Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Culture, creativity and inclusive society, Social and Economic Transformations Keywords: Education, general (including training, pedagogy, didactics)

Antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic biosynthesis in soils: developing key understanding and counteractive strategies using a One-Health approach is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: Activities under this topic will help progress towards the objectives and targets of the Mission Soil and of the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 , the Zero Pollution Action Plan , the European One Health Action Plan against antimicrobial resistance as well as the Sustainable Development Goals [1] . Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes: policymakers, land managers and other relevant stakeholders have an enhanced understanding of antimicrobial resistance development in soils, the key drivers and pathways of soil’s contribution to human and animal exposure to antimicrobial resistant genes and organisms, as well as antibiotic biosynthesis in soils; policymakers and land managers have increased access and capacity to implement evidence-based strategies aimed at reducing the risk of antimicrobial resistance development in soils and minimising the exposure of humans and animals to antimicrobial resistant genes and organisms; policymakers and other relevant stakeholders benefit from improved access to enriched databases of antibiotics-related genes and antibiotic alternatives from soil microorganisms; citizens are more aware of the importance of soil and soil biodiversity for human, animal and environmental health as well as on their potential as a source of molecules of interest for pharmaceutical purposes. Scope: Soil biodiversity plays a major role in human, animal and ecosystem health. Soil microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) have been crucial in the discovery of antibiotics used in human and veterinary medicine. However, soils can also be a hotspot for antimicrobial resistance development and can play a key role in the transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes between organisms and environmental compartments. Antibiotic use is expected to increase globally due to the rising demand for food-producing animals, which may further exacerbate the development of antimicrobial resistance in soils. According to the World Health Organization, antimicrobial resistance is one of the greatest threats to public health [2] . The driving forces for antimicrobial resistance development in soils are however understudied, as well as the role of soils in the exposure of humans and animals to antimicrobial resistance determinants. Moreover, our knowledge of antibiotics-related genes is currently limited, making it challenging to identify new compounds of interest. To better understand and combat antimicrobial resistance development in soils, a One-Health approach is needed. Proposals should: explore the source and dynamics of antimicrobial resistance development and the mechanisms for antibiotic biosynthesis in soils across all relevant land use types. The role of land use, land management practices and other environmental and anthropogenic driving factors should be identified and taken into account; analyse the role of soils in the transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes among organisms and environmental compartments and in the exposure of humans and animals to antimicrobial resistance genes and organisms; expand databases of antibiotics-related genes and antibiotic alternatives from soil microorganisms; develop concrete guidelines for policymakers and land managers to: i) better address the exposure of humans and animals to antimicrobial resistant genes and organisms; and, ii) facilitate the discovery of new molecules of pharmaceutical interest; carry out communication and awareness raising activities targeted to citizens on the importance of soil and soil biodiversity for human, animal and environmental health as well as on their potential as a source of molecules of interest for pharmaceutical purposes. In carrying out the activities, consortia should work in an interdisciplinary way bringing together life sciences, environmental sciences, health sciences and veterinary sciences. Proposals are expected to collaborate with the projects funded under HORIZON-HLTH-2024-DISEASE-09-01: Europe Programme areas: Horizon Europe (HORIZON), Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance, Soil biodiversity, Soil biology, Soil science, Antibiotic biosynthesis, One-Health, One-Health approach