"Schools adopt Monuments" - A pilot action for children in the Information Society

Over 160,000 school children, in more than 700 schools throughout the 15 EU Member States, will take their first steps in the Information Society in a project financed, in part, by the European Commission.

At the initiative of Mr. Martin Bangemann, Commissioner responsible for industrial affairs, information and telecommunications technologies, the Commission will provide ECU 414,740 in funding for an innovative pilot action aimed at introducing children to the new possibilities of multimedia.

This pilot action is part of the project "Schools adopt Monuments", which is coordinated by the Pegasus Foundation, an organization founded by Members of the European Parliament to promote the European identity primarily through actions in education.

Within this action, which combines education, culture and advanced technologies, students will be able to experiment with multimedia workstations, software applications, the Internet, digital cameras, scanners, and video equipment in the production of materials related to the historical monument that they have symbolically adopted. This direct-involvement, transdisciplinary approach will give them a unique opportunity to experiment with the tools of the Information Society and to develop a deeper understanding of their own cultural heritage, within a European context.

Cities participating in the project include: Amsterdam (NL), Athens (GR), Brussels (B), Canterbury (UK), Copenhagen (DK), Dijon (F), Dresden (D), Dublin (IRL), Luxembourg (L), Naples (I), Rauma (SF), Santarem (P), Stockholm (S), Toledo (E), Vienna (A).