The project was launched by the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE) last March. It is financed by the Japanese Government. Following the meeting in Skopje, thematic seminars, training sessions and workshops will be held for educational specialists, policy- and decision-makers in the region.

This Project aims at strengthening national educational capacities by harnessing information and communication technologies for education and diversifying their application for training purposes. Its immediate objective is developing systematic use of information and communication technologies for educational planning and policy-making, through multi-country ICT and education projects and through the sharing of information.

The main targeted audience are: policy- and decision- makers; heads of pedagogical institutes, trainers of trainers for ICTs in education; developers of instructional materials; teachers, ICT school coordinators and other educational personnel.

The following issues are to be addressed in the framework of the project:

• ICT Usage for the Development of General Education;
  
• ICT Usage for the Development of Higher Education;
  
• ICT Application in Technical and Vocational Education and Training;
  
• ICT in Special Education;
  
• Application of ICT for Improvement of Teacher Education.

Reports and analytical surveys and databases on ICT usage in education are among the expected outcomes of the project. It is also planned to elaborate material for national action plans on ICTs integration in education, to develop educational policies based on analytical data and to train senior educational management personnel.