For the ninth consecutive year, European Schoolnet is launching the eLearning Awards, Europe's leading competition to reward excellence and best use of technology in education. Schools and teacher training institutions are invited to take part and register at http://elearningawards.eun.org to present their best projects making use of ICT for teaching and learning purposes.

The 2009 Awards, organised by European Schoolnet, have been running since 2001 and key industry partners are supporting the event.

The 2009 edition will feature a new category for international cooperation, specially dedicated to non-EU countries. The winners for each category, selected by an international jury of experts, will be offered thousands of euros in cash prizes and brand new ICT equipment.
 
Another new feature is the inclusion of all entries in the Learning Exchange Resource library (http://lreforschools.eun.org), to increase the visibility of teachers’ innovative practices, improve peer-learning, knowledge building and resource sharing.

The prize-giving ceremony, including a gala dinner, will take place during the annual EMINENT conference - this year to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 26-27 November 2009. The EMINENT conference is a unique chance to meet and discuss with European ministries of education, global companies and key stakeholders in education.

Prize-winners will win an all-expenses paid trip to Vilnius including a two-night stay, to visit this “Baltic pearl” and appreciate its characteristic atmosphere.

To be eligible for the eLearning Awards, entries must be submitted by schools or teacher training institutions in EU Member States, EEA Countries, EU Applicant Countries as well as Switzerland, Israel and Georgia. On the eLearning Awards website, a gallery will showcase contributions, which will be judged by a panel of experts. Entries can be made from now until 23 October 2009 directly through the website: http://elearningawards.eun.org.

The eLearning Awards are also a contribution towards the European e-Skills week, to take place in March 2010. The week is co-organised by Digital Europe and European Schoolnet on behalf of the European Commission. Further details on e-Skills week will be available shortly on the European eSkills career portal (http://eskills.eun.org) and on the European Commission website (http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/ict/e-skills/index_en.htm).

Marc Durando, Executive director of European Schoolnet said: “The eLearning Awards is a unique opportunities for schools and teacher training institutions in Europe and beyond to demonstrate how innovative they are and share with others their projects and ideas. This year we introduce the publication of the eLearning Awards entries on the Learning Resource Exchange, a library of learning resources from 16 Ministries of Education and other content partners. This will help raise further the visibility of teachers participating in the eLearning Awards.”