Opening up education through technologies

"It is a great pleasure to announce the Ministerial Conference "Opening up education through technologies: Towards a more systemic use for a smart, social and sustainable growth in Europe" to be held in Oslo, Norway on 9-11 December 2012. Sufficient return on public investments in education and our ability to innovate are today more important than ever for future growth, competitiveness and strong social cohesion. The conference will constitute a unique opportunity to capture the key issues that matter for a systemic approach to educational innovations which facilitate quality 21st century education for all. Our goal is to dedicate particular attention on how education and training systems can fully reap the benefits of modern technologies so as to create innovative ways of accessing learning content, building creative learning environments and fostering virtual learning communities. As part of the Cyprus EU Presidency Program during the second half of 2012, the Conference will bring together Ministers of Education from the Member States of the European Union, candidate countries, as well as the EFTA States. The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture will co-host the conference, in close cooperation with the European Commission. The debates will be stimulated by key notes from highly profiled international experts from both academia and the private sector and will aim at identifying good practices at national level. In the early evening of December 9, Ministers and delegations will have the occasion to meet informally during a cultural program with dinner, hosted by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. On Monday afternoon, 10 December, there will be visits to different Norwegian schools and kindergartens, where digital learning practices are well integrated in different ways. The Ministers exclusively are kindly invited The Nobel Peace Prize for 2012..."