Giunti Labs hosts an international training event in Sestri Levante

The initiative, which is part of the wider regional project MEDA ETE (Education and Training for Employment) aims at enhancing the use of ICT for teaching and learning and promote their further integration into the overall Vocational and Educational Training (VET) reform processes in the countries.

Around 150 trainers from the ten MEDA countries learn via blended learning - both online, through an e-learning open source portal (Moodle) and in classroom with cycles of face-to-face meetings in each participating country to support the participants’ learning path.

This important regional training was the first regional classroom-based training meeting organised under the project. For the first time, this event brought together all the teachers of the MEDA region who are attending the course.

The event took place in the Annunziata Convent in the Bay of Silence (Baia del Silenzio), in Sestri Levante - the headquarters of Giunti Labs, a world leading provider of learning and knowledge content management solutions which leads the design, development and delivery of the e-learning programme in the MEDA ETE project.

ETE (Education and Training for Employment) is an ambitious project which has been introduced within the framework of the Euro – Mediterranean Partnership. It is being implemented within the
‘Barcelona process’ - a wide framework of political, economic and social relations between the Member States of the European Union and Partners of the Southern Mediterranean.

The ETE project, which has identified education and training as the main tools to facilitate the economic and social development of the North African and Middle East Mediterranean region, focuses on vocational education and teacher training as ideal drivers of change to help the economic and social development of the MEDA region, in order to make the markets of those emerging areas more competitive.

The MEDA ETE regional project, which lasts for three years, is financed by the European Commission with a € 5m budget. It is implemented by the ETF (European Training Foundation), an EU agency which supports the development of education and training systems in its partner countries.

Acting on behalf of the European Union, ETF supports these countries in the development of individuals’ ability and knowledge in order to improve living conditions and provide an active community and democratic society which respects human rights and cultural diversity.

The e-learning component of the regional MEDA ETE project aims to help the countries of the MEDA region (Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco) to further develop and strengthen teachers’ and trainers’ professional qualifications. This is done through the increasing use of e-learning solutions and services and aims to train around 150 teachers of public and private institutes throughout the ten countries of the region in the use of new technologies for online teaching and training.

The e-learning initiative is unique as it is tailor-made to the needs of a specific target groups. In addition, using new learning technologies enhances the participants’ knowledge and skills.

The participants can use these skills in their own working context, improving their professional performance. The collaborative learning approach ensures the sharing of knowledge and experience in their own country as well as at regional level. Giunti Labs is responsible for the development of the e-learning component of the MEDA project. It has scheduled the planning and implementation of an e-learning course which lasts 192 hours on the technologies of distance training and supporting teachers with interventions in class directly in the MEDA countries through its network of experts.

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Notes for editors

Pictures of this event are available, on request, from Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, on 00 44 (0) 1727 860405 or via bob.little@boblittlepr.com

About The Barcelona Process, MEDA (www.meda-ete.net) and so on

The Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, held in Barcelona on 27th and 28th November 1995, marked the starting point of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (Barcelona Process), a wide framework of political, economic and social relations between the Member States of the European Union and Partners of the Southern Mediterranean.
The latest EU enlargement, on 1st May 2004, brought two Mediterranean Partners (Cyprus and Malta) into the European Union, while adding ten Member States. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership thus comprises 35 members, 25 EU Member States and ten Mediterranean Partners (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey). Libya has had observer status since 1999.
The Barcelona Process is a unique and ambitious initiative, which laid the foundations of a new regional relationship and which represents a turning point in Euro-Mediterranean relations. In the Barcelona Declaration, the Euro-Mediterranean partners established the three main objectives of the Partnership:
1. The definition of a common area of peace and stability through the reinforcement of political and security dialogue (Political and Security Chapter).
2. The construction of a zone of shared prosperity through an economic and financial partnership and the gradual establishment of a free trade area (Economic and Financial Chapter).
3. The rapprochement between peoples through a social, cultural and human partnership aimed at encouraging understanding between cultures and exchanges between civil societies (Social, Cultural and Human Chapter).
The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership comprises two complementary dimensions:
• Bilateral dimension. The European Union carries out a number of activities bilaterally with each country. The most important are the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements that the Union negotiates with the Mediterranean Partners individually.
• Regional dimension. Regional dialogue represents one of the most innovative aspects of the Partnership, covering at the same time the political, economic and cultural fields (regional co-operation).
The existing MEDA programme is the main financial instrument for the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. From 1995 to 2003, MEDA committed € 5,458m in co-operation programmes, projects and other supporting activities - the regional activities comprising some 15 per cent of this budget. The other important source of funding is the European Investment Bank which has loaned € 14bn for developing activities in the Euro-Mediterranean Partners since 1974 (€ 3.7bn in 2002-2003).
About Giunti Labs

Giunti is unique in the international publishing industry.

In 1497, Giunti publishers and typographers in Florence, together with others in Venice, began modern book manufacturing. Over the years Giunti has built a ‘historical catalogue’ of huge dimensions, through a gradual process of ‘fusion’ of different publishers, but also through the creation of new brands, including Giunti Labs. Giunti Editore now includes 20 companies in the publishing sector. Giunti Labs, which has its global headquarters in Italy and offices in London (UK), Frankfurt (Germany), Lund (Sweden) and in Boston (US), provides a wide range of services, in response to any content, learning and knowledge management need, covering:
• Technological solutions for content, learning & knowledge management
• Architectural and technological solutions for mobile & wireless
• Consulting and training
• Content production
• Research and development

Giunti Labs provides the learn eXact® suite, Europe's leading e-learning and mobile learning content management technology. This suite is interoperable with all major vendor-driven and open source LMS and VLE solutions in the market including Plateau, Oracle, SumTotal, Saba, WebCT, Blackboard, Sakai, LRN and Moodle.

Moreover, Giunti Labs does not just adhere to the international standards relating to the LMS/LCMS world, it is one of the organisations that helps to determine and drive these standards: co-writing and developing them. Giunti Labs plays a key role in most of the international institutions for the definition of eLearning specifications (IEEE LTSC, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC36, CEN/ISSS WSLT, AICC, IMS, ADL-SCORM and OKI).

About Giunti Labs’ learn eXact® suite

Giunti Labs’ learn eXact is an e-learning and mobile learning content management system (LCMS) that enables users to create, manage and deliver content based on learning objects, XML, standards and international specifications. It delivers learning content to location-based mobile devices, interactive TV and wearable computer devices. Now the solution with its new eXact VLW plug in also delivers standard learning contents into 3D Virtual Worlds.

Further information from:
Minna Leikas, Giunti Labs, +39 3474435167, m.leikas@giuntilabs.com
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, +44 (0)1727 860405, bob.little@boblittlepr.com