Twelve schools were online with Commissioner Figel', chatting about the future of European education.
The participating teachers and pupils - from Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain - prepared by discussing, formulating and selecting the questions.
The youngest participants were pupils from Finland. The 11- and 12-year-olds did not ask about European educational policies but about the Commissioner's hobbies and his daily schedule. Their teacher, Tiina Kähärä, said, "my pupils really enjoyed it, as Commissioner Figel' himself answered their questions. This was a great opportunity for them to get closer to the EU, by getting a bit of a personal touch."
Another class, from Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria, booked an Internet café for the chat as their school did not have Internet access.
Click here to read the chat transcript (in English, PDF format).
These photos and video clips were taken at the European Schoolnet office in Brussels during the chat. Click on a picture to see a larger version of it.
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| Left to right: Commissioner Figel', Peter Javorcík and Ulf Lundin, European Schoolnet director |
Commissioner Figel' and Peter Javorcík |
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| Seated, from left to right: Paul Holdsworth and Brian Holmes. Standing: Peter Javorcík and Katerina Bavorova (European Schoolnet staff) |
Commissioner Figel', Peter Javorcík |
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| Commissioner Figel' |
The Commissioner's team and European Schoolnet staff |
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| Brian Holmes, Tapio Saavala, Katerina Bavorova (European Schoolnet staff) |
Commissioner Figel' and Sylvia Binger (European Schoolnet staff) |
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| Paul Holdsworth |
The Commissioner's team and European Schoolnet staff |
Video-clips:
Video-clip 1, (AVI format)
Video-clip 2, (AVI format)
Video-clip 3, (AVI format)
Video-clip 4, (AVI format)
Video-clip 5, (AVI format)
Video-clip 6, (AVI format)
Video-clip 7, (AVI format)
Video-clip 8, (AVI format)
Video-clip 9, (AVI format)
The Commissioner's team:
Peter Javorcík, Member of the Commissioner's cabinet
Paul Holdsworth, Deputy Head of Unit Language Policy
Brian Holmes, Expert at the European Commission
Tapio Saavala, Expert at the European Commission
Pictures from some participating classes
