My Experience: eTwinning Multilateral Seminar for Ambassadors 2025

Charmaine Attard
Mar 23
6 min read

I have been lucky enough to be given the go ahead, to attend the 3 Day eTwinning Multilateral Seminar for Ambassadors seminar and it was not short of rich experiences.

As an eTwinning ambassador I always look for new ways how to develop and learn how I can support other eTwinners like myself. Meeting different ambassadors and be able to network and discuss our strengths and challenges face to face, made this experience even more wholesome. Both local and international eTwinning ambassadors ranging from different age groups, work environment and experiences met up in Malta, to brainstorm new ideas how we can keep growing as eTwinners, but more so how we can support other stakeholders in the best possible way.

How did it all start?

A preliminary online session was held to meet informally and give a rough introduction about who will be present during the seminar, hence also started networking prior to even meeting face to face. However the buzz of it all initiated when we started to meet in person.

Day 1: Thursday 20th March 2025

Right after finishing work, I rushed to the Northern part of the island to make it on time for registrations and welcome speech. Checked in the hotel, registered and entered the meeting room. Wow!! So much effort has been made by the Maltese delegation. The registration area was ever so welcoming. Very organised, on point and already looking amazing. Upon entry, on the left hand side, a photo booth. Celebrating eTwinning's 20th anniversary in style, laughter and above all through innovative ideas. The balloons, the frames, the props... Fantastic!

Glancing quickly around the meeting room, I spotted some familiar faces. Gave eachother warm greetings, exchanged thoughts and of course checked in on eachother. Ushered ourselves to a seat and listened in to the welcome speech by Maltese NSO Dr. Rose-Anne Camilleri, followed by greetings from the Permanant Secretary Mr Matthew Vella. Shortly afterwards, Guest speaker Prof. Richard Powers presented ideas how we as eTwinners play a crucial role in Strengthing European Citizenship. This insightful speech shed light on how our world is constantly changing. Clearly we have to be prepared for what is yet to come and unite together through responsible actions.

Best part of Day 1, for me personally was definitely the Ice-Breaking Activities, co-ordinated by the Spanish and Estonian NSOs. I was assigned with Group 4 and I don't regret being part of such a fun filled yet motivated group. Our team "Ham & Jam" was not short of innovative ideas, full of energy and of course endless memories. From singing, posting memes, gibberish doodle drawings and much more, we were able to connect through laughter and cheeky, clean competitive tasks.

Day 2: Friday 21st March 2025

A full day of professional development started on a full tummy. Right after breakfast we made our way to the workshop stations. Three different parallel workshops working hand in hand for one goal. That is of enriching effective collaboration through hands on opportunities which we can all take back to our educators or classrooms.

Workshop 1: Ambassadors as Pillars of the eTwinning community.

Moderated by the Estonian ambassadors, we started with a fun Bingo ice-breaking activity, that actually helped us reflect on eTwinning successes and challenges we face as eTwinners. These kind of Ice-Breaking activities help us kick off with a meaningful reflection. Being we were all ambassadors, we could all relate to a statement or two on the Bingo Sheet, hence opening up further discussions on the topics at hand. These were later useful when we did a chocolate roulette to determine our working groups. I was assigned with the chocolate group "Tallinn". Together we had to answer an assigned scenario and come up with solutions for the stated problem. Our task had to then conclude with a fun poem or song. Luckily, thanks to AI tools, we did a catchy rap song about motivating new eTwinners to join the eTwinning community.

Workshop 2: Collaborative Storytelling with Artificial Intelligence in eTwinning.

An extremely insightful workshop with ample resources on how AI and storytelling can intertwine. A fruitful session presented by a fellow Spanish ambassador who clearly has the best interest to heart the ethical issues of AI and above all the use of safe online tools. Learning about new online sources while understanding the dangers of some, was insightful, also as a parent and not just as an educator. I would be looking into the presentation over and over again, to learn about how I too can assist in furthering the knowledge of such amazing and safe AI online resources. Luckily I was grouped with a theme titled "Rescue the Ocean" and I learnt how from a simple title, we can incorporate different age groups through storytelling tasks. This is what we need! We can't stick to what we already know only, but it is crucial to extend areas we don't.

Workshop 3 : Planning effective eTwinning Professional Development

A whole group workshop moderated by Profs Richard Powers guided us to find our working groups and come up with different professional development ideas that we can all implement with our eTwinning community, irrespective of age groups and countries. This international collaboration proved that it takes passion to mentor others. Hence all working groups were full blast brainstorming different ideas, in relation to how we as ambassadors can improve eTwinning collaborations from different perspectives, age groups, expertise and above all keep the interests in eTwinning going. My group started off with 2 other Early Years ambassadors, but quickly we were joined by a middle school ambassador. Did it stop us? No! All as eager about teaching, learning and mentoring. That is the beauty of being an eTwinner. We all have the same mindset, the same goal and the same passion. Our group of 4 individuals coming from Malta, Slovakia, Cyprus and Estonia came up with a "Survival Kit to find you eTwinning Spirit". This survival kit is still being finalised however the idea is to assist each eTwinner to use their strengths and great abilities to their advantage even throughout challenges.

Day 2 was not short of ideas, innovation and collaboration, however it didn't end during the day. After a short refresh, we joined eachother once again for an evening celebration. We celebrated Malta, friendships and eTwinning's 20th anniversary in style. We had fun music, dancing and of course cake. Who can forget the cake right? This was all done to unite us ambassadors and remind us how far we have come. 20 years of eTwinning, 20 years of collaborations, 20 years of projects, 20 years of learning through failures and 20 years of even better successes.

Day 3: Saturday 22nd March 2025

The final day! A bittersweet moment when you have to say goodbyes face to face, but eventually know that this community will not stop here. The day started with a Discussion Panel with NSO's from Slovakia, Spain, Estonia, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Malta. They shared with us how grateful they are for us ambassadors to be part of their team. Respectively, they also stated what each country was doing with their ambassadors. Their work, visions and future objectives. This insightful discussion lead us to understand better how our roles differs but are similar in many ways too. What works in one country may be insightful for another. Different challenges and opportunities aroused and of course new ideas generated from such inspiring experiences.

Before concluding the day, the ambassadors dessimated the Professional Development ideas in a presentation. YES my group included! We presented our "Survival Kit" plan, while others shared theirs. From Face to Face meetings, online Webinars, Courses and much more. The sheer amount of quality and dedication through such networks and collaborations hightlighted the initial objectives of this 3 Day Multilateral Seminar for Ambassadors. It showed how many people unite for one goal when there is passion, understanding and cooperation. This is eTwinning! This is what we strive for!

Finally we recieved our certificates and eventually bid our farewell. Is it really the end? Or is it time for a new era to begin? I am thankful for this opportunity to learn, grow and connect with like-minded members of the eTwinning community. Most of all I am grateful for the ambassadors who reached out to work with me, us and the educators I support. I have grown in knowledge and skills, but the most important part of the seminar, I was able to grow along side people who are as passionate about eTwinning as myself.

Special thanks goes to our Maltese eTwinning NSO and ambassadors. You are another part of my family and I see you as my extended cousins. Each one with remarkable knowledge, each one with exceptional skills and above all each one eager to bring eTwinning to the next level. Until the next one!

Saħħa!