The project EcoHeroes – Join the Plastic-Free Revolution! (2025-1-IT02-KA210-ADU-000349513), a Small-scale Partnership in Adult Education (KA210-ADU) co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme, officially kicked off with its international Kick-Off Meeting held in Palermo on 29–30 April 2026, hosted by FICUS ETS.
Background: why EcoHeroes was created
The project addresses one of the most pressing environmental challenges in Europe: plastic and microplastic pollution. Although awareness of the issue is steadily increasing, a significant gap remains between knowledge and everyday behaviour. Adults aged 30–40, while generally informed, often lack practical tools and structured opportunities to adopt sustainable habits in a consistent way.
EcoHeroes has been designed to bridge this gap by promoting a practical, collaborative and digital approach, with the aim of transforming awareness into concrete and lasting action.
Objectives and target group
The partnership, involving organisations from Italy, Bulgaria and Malta, works to develop innovative learning pathways tailored to adult learners. The primary target group consists of individuals aged 30–40, who play a crucial role in influencing behaviours within families, workplaces and local communities.
The project aims to reduce plastic consumption, promote sustainable practices, and strengthen both green and digital skills, while fostering active participation and community engagement.
The Kick-Off Meeting in Palermo
The Kick-Off Meeting represented a key milestone for the operational launch of the project. During the first day, partners focused on the first core activity, EcoHeroes Gamification, led by Walk Together. This session initiated a collaborative process to define the eco-missions, which will serve as the main engagement tool of the project.
Eco-missions will take the form of practical, digitally supported challenges designed to actively involve participants in sustainable actions. Each partner will develop missions adapted to their national context, while following a shared methodological framework based on gamification principles, including scoring systems, leaderboards and validation mechanisms.
Social media will play a central role in the implementation of the eco-missions, enabling participants to share their actions, document results and engage with a wider community.
The target groups and stakeholders are encouraged to follow the project’s social media channels to stay informed about ongoing activities and results.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecoheroeserasmus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecoheroeserasmus/
During the session, partners also defined the operational structure, implementation timeline and coordination mechanisms, ensuring a coherent transnational approach. An overview of upcoming activities was also presented, including workshops on alternative materials, clean-up actions, creative challenges and digital storytelling initiatives.
Communication, quality and coordination
The second day focused on the dissemination and communication strategy, led by Eurodimensions, and on the review of the Quality Assurance framework, coordinated by Walk Together. Partners worked in detail on monitoring tools, quality indicators and data collection processes to ensure consistency, effectiveness and measurable impact.
Internal coordination and project management were also addressed, with particular attention to communication tools, documentation management and the planning of future activities.
Future developments
In the coming months, the project will enter its implementation phase, starting with the launch of the eco-missions and the activation of communication channels across partner countries.
EcoHeroes aims to generate tangible behavioural change, demonstrating how individual actions, when shared and replicated, can contribute to a meaningful collective impact.
The Kick-Off Meeting concluded with a strong alignment among partners and a clear roadmap for the next steps, laying the foundation for a structured and impactful project implementation.
Partners will meet again online for the next coordination meeting, while the next transnational project meeting is planned to take place in Malta in 2027.
