British MPs to review British Council's 'Connecting Classrooms' project in UAE

During the UAE visit, which is being hosted by the British Council, the MPs will also meet senior representatives of the education authorities, policy makers and institutions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

'Connecting Classrooms' aims to build trust and understanding between people in different societies through sustainable partnerships between schools in the UK and around the world. There are currently 230 schools across the Middle East and the UK working in 85 British Council 'Connecting Classrooms' partnerships and this number is set to rise as schools continue to join the programme. The ultimate aim is to directly engage over 30,000 schools and two million young people worldwide by 2013.

Since its launch in the UAE in 2006, 'Connecting Classrooms' has benefitted from the support of the UAE Ministry of Education, Abu Dhabi Education Council and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, and the British Council has been able to establish nine successful international partnerships involving 14 UAE schools and nine UK schools. Six more schools from the UAE have joined the programme since the start of the current academic year.

The visiting MPs will visit Al Mawaheb Model School and Al Suqoor Model School, in Abu Dhabi, and Al Khansa School in Dubai. Al Mawaheb Model School and Al Suqoor Model School have been a part of the programme since its inception in 2006 and successfully completed the first year of project activities and are currently working on their second project plan. Al Khansa School joined the programme at the start of the current academic year. Al Mawaheb Model School and Al Suqoor Model School are working in parnership with Caedmon School in Robert Goodwill MP's constituency.

Amy Cottage, British Council Regional Manager Schools, said:

"This visit by MPs to the UAE is one of several to the Gulf region organised by the British Council Middle East to give parliamentarians from the UK an opportunity to learn first hand about 'Connecting Classrooms'. The focus of the visit is on the impact of the programme on increasing dialogue between young people in the Middle East and the UK."

The 'Connecting Classrooms' school partnerships aim to build an international dimension into the participating schools' work, as a way to help build greater understanding between young people around the world and the UK so that they can make a more positive contribution to global society in the future.

"Connecting Classrooms gives these participating students a fantastic opportunity to share their lives and learn from one another by working on joint projects," adds Amy Cottage. "In today's global society, developing a broader understanding of different cultures will help these young students to develop the skills and cultural understanding they need for their future as active global citizens."

"This is just one of the programmes run by the British Council as part of our work in cultural relations and this is an exciting time for 'Connecting Classrooms' as we plan to expand and broaden its appeal and strengthen its impact," added Cottage.

From April 2009 the 'Connecting Classrooms' programme in the Middle East is expanding and details will be announced at a regional conference on internationalism in education, organised by the British Council, in Kuwait at the end of March.