Welcome to ICONS
International Community of Online Schools
The global voice of online schools
The initiative for ICONS was taken in March 2023 by d-teach online school, the first online school in Belgium, which has been specializing in online education for expat families for more than 10 years.
The initiative grew within the accelerator process of the digital education hub of the European Commission, a key instrument in the implementation of the Digital Education Action Plan.
The need for online education is growing worldwide and its added value for all students, including those with special needs, is increasingly recognized. We strongly believe in the inspirational power of bringing together online and traditional schools.
ICONS has the ambition to become the global voice of online schools, offering a vibrant and truly international network to engage with policy-makers, academia, edtech companies, and of course, students and parents.
We are proud of the videomessage from Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Education, Culture, Youth, and Sport at the European Commission, for our first ICONS summit. Her supportive words reinforce the value of our work and the direction we are heading.
Quotes from Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen:
“Digital technology provides boundless opportunities for innovative practices in education, including distance learning. ICONS is fully embracing those opportunities, bridging together some of Europe’s leading online schools and platforms.”
“I personally look forward to the innovations in online education that the ICONS community will inspire in the years to come.”
Our mission
What?
Building a virtual international community of online schools, dedicated and willing to contribute to realise the SDG4 goal of ensuring inclusive and equitable education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Why?
Advocacy: supporting online schools at K-12 level in their efforts to be officially recognised by the government as fully-fledged education actors (level playing field); spreading the message about the complementary added value of online and hybrid education compared to traditional face-to-face education.
Inspiration: encouraging mutual exchange of information and relevant good practices to gain new insights and improve processes (e.g. online teacher training, quality assurance in online education, IT platforms, etc.).
Joint applications for international funding: creating a permanent pool of like-minded partners who can form a consortium to attract projects from different sources (Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, UN, World Bank, UNESCO, etc.).