Environment Online-ENO is a global virtual school and network for sustainable development where currently 400 schools in 104 countries study same environmental concerns together, make observations about their local environment and share the results of learning locally during the campaign weeks and globally on the website. In addition to environmental issues, this programme network and encourage schools from developing countries to participate.

Our vision: we want to spread our activities to every country in the world with the help of partners and stakeholders. We want to make a difference together with children, youth, parents and local people around the world.

Objectives

• to use ICT for the environment and sustainable development

• to foster environmental themes and sustainable development in education and share them in local communities

• to see environment not only in ecological aspect but also social economical and cultural dimension

• to get schools in developing world as an active part of network

• to teach that we can have an effect on the state of environment with our personal actions

ENO was founded seven years ago because of a need to utilize ICT in environmental education and to interact with other schools around the world, as well as to spread the environmental concerns to public at large.

In the beginning there were 50 schools in 30 countries involved. Today there are 400 ENO schools in 104 countries about 10 000 active users. Since the beginning, about 100 000 students and 5 000 teachers in total of 115 countries have directly participated to this programme, not to mention the indirect effect at schools and in the communities. Each year, four campaigns have been arranged locally and globally to spread the awareness of environmental issues. In 2007 ENO Schools planted over 110 000 trees to preserve the environment. Altogether over 250 000 trees have been planted by ENO schools around the world. For 2008 we aim to plant one million trees and by the end of year 2017 one hundred million trees.

ENO programme would not exist without ICT. With ICT we can interact globally and share our work on the web. ICT empowers people to work towards the common goal. People are encouraged and proud of themselves when they see the work of ENO network around the world. They feel themselves important. Together we can do better and more, with ICT. It is also more ecological way to learn, instead of traveling around the word and consuming our energy resources or polluting the air.

ENO Programme offers easy acitivities and modules that have been utilized around the world in Iran for instance.ENI (Environment Club of Iran) was developed to raise the awareness of people about environmental issues in Iran and to publish the different activities carried out in different schools on the web. A bilingual site has been developed to share experiences with others all around the globe. The original idea was taken from ENO site but activities have been defined that are most suitable for environment in Iran and to implement ENO on a national level. ENO teacher Mariam Mokhtari has developed this website and encouraged other schools in Iran to join these activities. This website is supported by Schoolnet Iran Science and Arts foundation and Saziba. See more here: http://eno.schoolnet.ir/

LATIN AMERICA: Fundación GEO’ in Mexico has translated our activities into Spanish to get more schools involved especially from Latin America.

Georgia: There are about 10 ENO Schools in Georgia. They have created ENO website in Georgian language:

http://siqa.gol.ge/eno.ge/

ENO-Environment Online is a global virtual school for environmental awareness and sustainable development. It has been running for seven years and it is administrated by the city of Joensuu, Finland. There are about 400 schools in 104 countries who are actively involved. Four environmental themes are studied within a school year on a weekly basis. They cover environmental protection, social development and cultural diversity. Each school year starts with ENO Tree Planting Day 21st of September and ends on World Environment Day, 5th of June.

Information comes from the participants and environmental knowledge is built together with the help of ICT. The aspect for environment is strongly local. Learners gather the information through different student-centred activities that are online. They study their local environment through online and offline activities , see the results and compare them with other schools globally on the website. Through activities, learners are encouraged to be more aware of the environment as well as to do concrete things for their environment. At the end of each theme there is a campaign week when students share their results and raise them in their local communities. They become ambassadors for environment in their respective local communities and regions and worldwide. ICT enables all the activities and forms this global action towards better environment.