"Globalisation is here to stay," said Gard Titlestad, Head of Department of Education, Research and Labour Affairs at the Nordplus launch conference in Copenhagen 8-9 November 2007.
The theme of the two-day long conference was to present The Nordplus Framework Programme as a programme which supports, develops and spreads innovative products and processes in education through the exchange of experiences and best practice. The new programme is a result of collaboration between the five Nordic countries, and the three Baltic countries.
"Intensified Nordic and Nordic-Baltic cooperation will strengthen our home base," Titlestad pointed out.
Best practices
The best practice examples presented showed a wide range of possibilities that Nordplus offers to institutions already involved in the programme.
"The aim of the project is to develop knowledge of and reflection about culture in general, and children’s culture in the Nordic countries in particular," said Eva Maagerø, one of the coordinators in the children’s cultural expression project at Vestfold University College in Norway.
Online application and reporting system
To ensure transparency and dissemination of information a new website, nordplusonline.org, has been developed. Also, a new application- and reporting system (ARS) is developed for the new programme.
"ARS will go live the first week of 2008 and all application and reporting procedures will be done through the system," said Søren Langgaard of Peytz & Co., the company responsible for the development of the system.
A new era for Nordic-Baltic cooperation
Involving thousands of people from the Nordic and Baltic region is the aim of the Nordplus Framework Programme for 2008-2011, making it the largest education and research programme of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
"Happy new Nordplus to us all," concluded Thórir Ólafsson, Consultant at the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture in Iceland.
44 applications to the Nordplus adult programme now approved
The application round for the Nordplus Adult programme in the spring of 2010 is now terminated and the result is that 44 new Nordic-Baltic initiatives now can get started.
Nordic Climate Day 2010
November 11 is the date for Nordic Climate Day 2010, targeting school pupils in all the five Nordic countries. Climate issues have also been decided as an overarching priority for the Nordplus Framework Programme thi...
Crossing borders in agricultural education
Synergies within Nordic-Baltic agricultural education reinforce the cooperative environment between the two regions. After having met in Lithuania last year, coordinators of the networks NOVA and BOVA decided on a co...
Call for applications for Nordplus evaluation
The Nordic Council of Ministers (NMR) wishes to conduct an evaluation of the Nordplus Framework Programme and the Nordplus Nordic Language and Culture Programme during the period 2009–11. The call for proposals to ca...
Granted Nordplus-projects
The results of the 2009 application round are now ready, and the applicants will be contacted by the chief administators of their respective Nordplus-programmes.