The project 'the Global Village' is supported by the Danish Ministry of Education. The support originates in the fact that the international continuation of the Danish co-operation project between four vocational colleges is considered as having considerable potential and concurs with the ministry's efforts to disseminate Best Practice and at the same time support the internationalisation of the vocational education and training sector.

The project seeks to target a number of the crucial linkages of co-operation spurred by the globalisation of industries and business relations. Particulary the issue of subcontracting plays a pivotal role for the pedagogical innovation in the project, which deals with active and individual responsibility for learning. The project, thus, emphasises the importance of applying and integrating IT solutions and skills - such as processing and managing information - into its courses, whereby it has an immediate parallel to the information society and the contemporary subcontractor business.

The project, moreover, contributes to the ministry's Action Plan 1998 - 2003 for Information and Communication Technology, which is due to be published in the end of 1998. Finally, the element of co-operation between schools and businesses is of central importance concerning the ministry's involvement in the project.

For the Minister