Brussels, 25/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - Announced last March by Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Education and Culture, and at her proposal, the e-Learning initiative was adopted on Wednesday by the European Commission, in agreement with Commissioners Erkki Liikanen (Information Society) and Anna Diamantopoulou (Social Affairs). The initiative, details of which were reported on by EUROPE in its bulletin of 10 March, p.8, aims to mobilise educational and cultural communities as well as European economic and social actors with a view to adapting education and training systems to the knowledge and digital culture economy. It gives European added value to actions, in progress or in preparation, at local, regional and national levels. It will be the centre of discussions of the next Education Council, to be held on 8 June in Luxembourg.
The initiative, together with specific and close deadlines, commits the Member States, the Commission and the Council to take measures in areas for which they are responsible, explained the spokesperson. The Commission will develop follow-up of actions undertaken, mainly progress reports, which will be subjected to the Education Council, and will support the Member States in their efforts. In support of the actions carried out locally, the Commission will mobilise the Community instruments and programmes for the realisation of shared objectives. This mobilisation will be aimed at three things:
1. Encourage the Member States to use their allocations under the Structural Funds, mainly for equipment and the training of teachers and trainers and to set up multi-use local centres accessible to everyone.
2. Contribute to the Community programmes in the areas of education, culture and learning (Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, Culture 2000, Media Plus), research (both technological, via the IST and TEN-Telecom programmes, and socio-economic, via the TSER programme), and international cooperation, via the programmes for the applicant countries, the MEDA programme, etc.
3. Collaborate with the European Investment Bank to strengthen the European industry of multimedia content for education and training.
The spokesperson announced that a work paper from the Commission services would present, together, the actions at Community level foreseen for supporting implementation of the initiative. This initiative should also come within the European Social Agenda to be adopted by the European Council of Nice in December 2000. In addition, the Commission provides for the setting in place of an e-Learning site on the Internet for stimulating exchange of experience and to provide easy access to all methods linked with the new learning contexts which are emerging and constantly being improved.