Embedding eTwinning in national educational policies from practice to policy : monitoring report 2021

For the last 17 years, eTwinning has grown from a grassroots initiative into an active schools' community which has involved, since its launch, more than 937,000 teachers working in more than 217,000 schools across 43 countries. Funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ programme, eTwinning provides a safe digital platform, where teachers are engaged in various activities: from the design and implementation of European collaborative projects to networking, from participation in virtual groups to professional development and peer-learning. eTwinning, through its platform available in 30 languages, provides a range of resources and learning opportunities for teachers. Indicatively, topics of these resources include the benefits of engaging with eTwinning, 21st-century skills, use of ICT in education, project kits for inspiration and guidance. Registered teachers have access to eTwinning Live, a restricted area of the platform with more advanced features and possibilities of the eTwinning community. Alongside this, teachers may participate in professional development activities that are offered at national level and focus on fostering their pedagogical, collaborative and digital competences. At European level, eTwinning is coordinated, on behalf of the European Commission, by the Central Support Services managed by European Schoolnet, a consortium of 32 Ministries of Education. At national level, the National Support Organisations (NSO) promote eTwinning by offering a range of communication and learning activities and provide guidance and support to end-users.