Network for Sustainable Innovation

eTwinning ambassadors are a network of teachers committed to promote cross-border collaborative learning between European students and teachers. They have experience and expertise in project-based learning and enthusiasm for spreading the good word.

Last weekend almost 300 eTwinning ambassadors gathered in a conference in Catania in Sicily. The special theme of the conference was Network for Sustainable Innovation, containing three equally important terms that are at the basis and define the essence of eTwinning.

Network

eTwinning is a huge network consisting of (216,000) European teachers, HTs and librarians sharing the desire to connect and collaborate across borders, develop the understanding of different cultures, find friends and enhance 21st century skills such as communication, ICT, team work, creativity, entrepreneurship etc. Through its members the eTwinning network is connected to over 100,000 schools and more than a million teachers around Europe.

Within this continuously growing network there are smaller networks of practice (foreign language teachers, school librarians, creative classroom teachers, ambassadors etc.) There are also communities of learners, often developed during a Learning Event or around a special group with shared objectives and interests.

Sustainability

In the global world with common world-wide problems such as pollution, global warming, limited resources and poverty, it’s vital that children learn to understand the consequences and the environmental impact of their actions. As citizens of the world we bear the responsibility of protecting and saving our environment for future generations.

Through eTwinning and internationalization at home we don’t only enhance values embedded in global education but also support sustainable way of life by offering a real possibility of working together and making friends on the net and promoting virtual cooperation and collaboration instead of actual traveling.

Innovation

By their nature eTwinning teachers are pioneers of educational change. They are willing to explore and plunge into the unknown. They’re looking for new ways of learning and willing to open the classroom doors and windows to the future. This creates the mental state and atmosphere in which creativity and innovation bloom. The moment when you enter the discomfort zone is crucial. Innovation can only take place outside the box, preferably working, learning and building knowledge together in a Network for Sustainable Innovation.