eTwinning : a new initiative from the European Commission

"eTwinning is one of the four initiatives of the eLearning programme for 2004-2007. It was created to give schools the opportunity to learn from and with each other. It promotes the awareness of the multilingual and multicultural European model of society.

The goal of eTwinning is to give education a European dimension. It is a crossroad for two important issues for schools: Europe and ICT.

eTwinning can be defined as a long term partnership where at least two primary or secondary schools from at least two different European countries use ICT to carry out some form of pedagogically relevant activity together. It can take place at several levels: an exchange between two individual teachers, two teams of teachers or subject departments, two librarians or two head teachers.
The eTwinning vision foresees educational partnerships where a large number of teachers, school managers and support staff will engage in a multilevel activity. The intention is that the staff of two schools interact for an extended period of time. A wide range of disciplines, curriculum topics or even staff related professional development should be involved. " (EUROPA - Rapid - Press Releases)