x We aimed to create a European Innovatory, involving high-school students, teachers, experts, and decision-makers in a creative learning process to identify and solve societal problems using Design Thinking by 2024. Our goals were: * To help high-school students (aged 14-18) and their teachers from 7 cities develop critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving skills, and proactive attitudes in a supportive environment, improving teacher-student relationships through creative teams of young people. * To promote the problem-solving potential of young people to local stakeholders and decision-makers involved in urban and community development. * To create a Europe-wide learning movement focused on social innovation and Design Thinking, involving students, teachers, and additional experts, mentors, and stakeholders. * To establish a sustainable cooperation and decision-making platform with 7 initial cities and 10 additional European stakeholders to ensure the project's results and its continuation as a European programme.
x We believe that our project was closely linked to young people's ability to think critically and to link theory to practice. With its format and MO, INNOVATORY aimed to address resilience through creativity, collaboration and communication, developing skills in young people that allow them to improve their performance in key areas. Debates about the future of work are reverberating through society in the light of emerging AI or what knowledge will be valid in a decade or two. But there's no debate about the fact that critical thinking, teamwork, problem-solving, creativity and new forms of applied learning will continue to be relevant and useful. Resilience was already becoming a topic of interest for urban areas, and the COVID-19 pandemic provided an additional argument. Communities around the world need to adapt, find new ways of dealing with crises, and find solutions to capital challenges. While the current focus is on short-term solutions, long-term sustainability through resilience lies in a broad range of skills to manage crises. And this perspective starts with today's youth as the key generation of decision-makers. This is why we have developed and implemented European Innovatory.