Socrates is a European-wide education programme and involves around 30 European countries. Its main objective is to build up a network of knowledge in Europe of and thus provide a better response to the major challenges of this new century: promoting lifelong learning, encouraging access to education for everybody, and helping people acquire recognised qualifications and skills. In more specific terms, Socrates seeks to promote language learning, and to encourage mobility and innovation.

Co-operation

Socrates advocates European co-operation in all areas of education. This co-operation takes different forms: mobility, organising joint projects, setting up European networks (disseminating ideas and best practices), and conducting studies and comparative analyses. In practice, Socrates offers people grants to study, teach, undertake a placement or follow a training course in another country. It provides support for educational establishments to organise teaching projects and to exchange experiences. It also aids associations and non-governmental organisations in organising activities on, among other issues, educational topics.

Socrates Programme consists of eight actions:
1. Comenius: school education
2. Erasmus: higher education
3. Grundtvig: adult education and other educational pathways
4. Lingua: learning European languages
5. Minerva: information and communication technologies (ICT) in education
6. Observation and innovation of education systems and policies
7. Joint actions with other European programmes
8. Supplementary measures

More information on the Socrates programme is available on the website of the European Commission at http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/socrates.html.

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