The EMINENT 2009 conference (Experts Meeting in Education Networking), annually organised by European Schoolnet, takes place this year in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 26-27 November. It is co-hosted by European Schoolnet, the network of 31 Ministries of Education in Europe, and the Centre of Information Technologies of Education (ITC), a governmental organization funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of Lithuania. 

The conference brings together key leaders in Ministries of Education, together with their counterparts in European institutions and industry, to engage in high-level reflection and planning in the field of ICT in education in Europe. About 300 policy-makers, researchers, school leaders, leading-edge practitioners, industry partners and other stakeholders in the area of new technologies applied to education are due to attend the event. 

EMINENT will also feature the high-profile eLearning Awards ceremony, during which the most innovative projects to promote the use of ICT in teaching and learning are rewarded following a competition for teachers from all over Europe. Each year the event is supported by leading industry partners and is a highlight of the conference. This year, the eLearning Awards are supported by ACER, Promethean, eInstruction, Elluminate, Intel, Young Digital Planet and CISCO. 

In addition, a small exhibition area for ICT in education tools and applications will be available for conference attendees to browse during coffee breaks. A delegation of Lithuanian teachers will also attend the exhibition. 

The EMINENT 2009 Conference will mainly focus on the issue of developing teacher and student skills for the future, through a variety of mechanisms, namely:

• Enhancing teacher and pupil accreditation schemes
• Supporting new pedagogies through innovative digital learning resources, and how such resources can leverage cultural heritage for education
• Addressing competency gaps through European networking and schemes for eSafety and eSkills development. 

Thus the following workshop tracks are foreseen:

• Track a: Developing and accrediting teacher and pupil competencies
  Chair: Patricia Wastiau (European Schoolnet) and Roger Blamire (European Schoolnet)
  
  
• Track b: Supporting new pedagogies through digital learning resources 
  Chair: Jim Ayre (European Schoolnet) and David Massart (European Schoolnet)
  
  
• Track c: European networking for eSafety and eSkills 
  Chair: Janice Richardson (European Schoolnet) and Alexa Joyce (European Schoolnet)

Part of the programme will be dedicated to eSkills, in preparation for the pan-EU eSkills week, foreseen for March 2010 (tbc).
see the detailed programme.

EUN Steering Committee members can register up to five delegates per country. Participants from outside the EUN Consortium wishing to take up one of the expert places should register their interest by sending an email to eminent@eun.org.

We look forward to seeing you in Vilnius.