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home > Media services > Press releases > 35, 000 schools now involved in eTwinning virtual school partnerships 35, 000 schools now involved in eTwinning virtual school partnerships eTwinning (www.etwinning.net) is an EU initiative to encourage schools to network with each other over the internet. In the three years since its launch, over 35,000 schools have signed up. At an eTwinning conference held in Bucharest on 14-16 March, the European Commission will be handing out prizes to eight outstanding eTwinning school projects. The eTwinning action was launched in January 2005, and since then, over 35,000 schools across Europe have joined in. The action is now part of the Comenius action within the Lifelong Learning Programme, the Commission's flagship funding programme in the area of education. The eTwinning action allows schools to find, free of charge, partners for collaborative school projects using the internet. In 2008, the emphasis will shift its focus from projects towards promoting online communities, where schools can share knowledge and participate in discussion platforms in addition to running projects.This year’s annual eTwinning conference is held in Bucharest from 14-16 March 2008. The event will host over 400 participants, comprising teachers from across Europe, representatives from eTwinning's central and national support services, and other important stakeholders in school education On the eve of the conference, Ján Figel', the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, explained the significance of eTwinning: "This programme elegantly combines learning about other cultures with the use of information and communication technologies. With its virtual school partnerships, involving tens of thousands of European schools, eTwinning helps children familiarize themselves with computers, while at the same time breaking down barriers of ignorance that they may have about their fellow Europeans. In this European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008, I particularly welcome this aspect of the eTwinning experience." The highlight of the conference will be the award ceremony, at which awards will be handed out to eight of the best eTwinning projects from the 2006-2007 school year. There are four categories, three by age (4-10, 11-15, 16-19) and one for Science and Maths. Over 400 project entries were assessed, based on their innovative nature, integration in the curriculum, collaboration, creativity and transferability. The top eight finalists came from 26 schools from 17 countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom). The top four winning projects win a trip to the eTwinning Camp in May. More information: The eTwinning Portal: www.etwinning.net Central Support Service Office - European Schoolnet 61 rue de Trèves B - 1040 Brussels About European Schoolnet European Schoolnet (www.europeanschoolnet.org) is a unique not-for-profit consortium of 31 ministries of education in Europe created in 1997. EUN provides major European education portals for teaching, learning and collaboration and leads the way in bringing about change in schooling through the use of new technology. About eTwinning The eTwinning action was launched earlier this year at a conference in Brussels. It is a core part of the European Commission’s eLearning programme. eTwinning aims to foster and facilitate exchanges and partnerships between European schools. European Schoolnet has been granted the role of Central Support Service, it is supported by a network of National Support Services throughout Europe whose role is to promote the eTwinning action and report on the activities in their countries. The main tool of the eTwinning action is the eTwinning portal developed by European Schoolnet. The website is available in 20 languages. It is the official website that offers, among others, a partner finding section and a the communication platform; it is the online interface of a human network and provides information for schools.
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