Youth unemployment as well as the school-to-work transition challenge European countries. The research project "A European Concept to Visualize and Reflect One's Vocational Biography Using Digital Media - Show Your Own Gold (Acronym)", funded under the European Commission's ERASMUS+ Key Action 2, Strategic Partnerships (2014-2017) aims to develop a European concept for consultancy, including course design and its' application, in order to enable young, unemployed people to reflect and display their vocational and educational biography by creating media. The project intends to encourage self-awareness of young people, last not least fostering competencies for approaching the labour market. This is realized by creating meaningful media in the context of a digital learning narrative, linked to an environment to activate learning in processes of creation, using diverse media to visualize informally and formally acquired skills. The research looks at curriculum development, appropriate media as well as the application in the context of practice based workshops with young participants.

In the framework of the project, a digital learning narrative is developed, based on a curriculum to facilitate the young reflecting about their learning and design processes as well as on their individual vocational perspectives is developed. Target group are young unemployed participants in the wide field of pre-vocational education and training, vocational preparation courses, projects and measures in different European countries.

The symposium discusses the research undertaken from 3 perspectives, such as the theoretical frameworks, the VET policies and labour market interactions as well as educational practice.

The idea of activating learners to support them visually reflecting their education and training undertaken in the past, was introduced as opposed to the common practice of an information overkill the youngsters and students in pre VET are often confronted with.
In the project, a curriculum is developed, tested and evaluated.

The symposium intends to present the research undertaken in the 4 participating countries. The presenters are the following:

1. Graham Attwell, Jenny Hughes, Pontydysgu, Wales, U.K.

2. Fernando Hernandez , Juana Sancho Gil/ Rachel Fendler, University of Barcelona, Spain

3. Daniela Reimann/ Kerstin Huber/ Kirsten Kramer/ Martin Fischer, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

4. Liliana Voicu, SC AxA Consulting 99 SRL, Bucarest, Romania

Fischer, Martin., Witzel, Andreas. (2008): Zum Zusammenhang von berufsbiographischer Gestaltung und beruflichem Arbeitsprozesswissen. Eine Analyse auf Basis archivierter Daten einer Längsschnittstudie. In: M. Fischer, G. Spöttl (Hg.): Forschungsperspektiven in Facharbeit und Berufsbildung. Strategien und Methoden der Berufsbildungsforschung, S. 24-47. Frankfurt a. M. Institute for Vocational and general Education at KIT/ CJD Offenburg & Offenburg University of Applied Sciences (ed., 2013, 2014) : The board game ‘My Way! Find your way’ for different types of schools (developed in the research project BerufReal, 2013, and BerufBV, 2014). Kaufhold, M. (2009): Berufsbiographische Gestaltungskompetenz. In: Bolder, A., Dobischat, R. (Hg.): Eigen-Sinn und Widerstand. Kritische Beiträge zum Kompetenzentwicklungsdiskurs. Heidelberg. Munz, Claudia (2007): Berufsbiografie selbst gestalten: Wie sich Kompetenzen für die Berufslaufbahn entwickeln lassen. Bielefeld: Bertelsmann (2., Aufl. Juli 2007) Reimann, Daniela/Bekk, Simone (2015): Game design with portfolios and creative skills, in, Zagalo, Nelson/Branco, Pedro (ed. 2015): Creative Technologies - Create and Engage Using Art and Play, in press (Springer) Reimann, Daniela/ Huber, Kerstin/ Stoewe, Kristina (2014): "A European Concept to Visualize and Reflect One's Vocational Biography Using Digital Media - Show Your Own Gold (Acronym)", proposal, European Commission's ERASMUS+ Key Action 2, Strategic Partnerships programme. Bonn: NA BIBB Reimann, Daniela (2014): Digital Media in Creative Processes with Young People in Vocational Preparation Measures, In. Aguirre, I. (ed., 2014) More than image consumers: Mapping and evaluating research on Young people as Visual Culture Producers, Edarte-Pamiela: Pamplona(Spain)