"This report provides valuable insights and guidance for policy-makers and school leaders about the need to embrace digital and open resources.

(d) ‘mass caterers’ means any establishment (including a vehicle or a fixed or mobile stall), such as restaurants, canteens, schools and hospitals, where, in the course of a business, food is prepared for delivery to the final consumer and is ready for consumption without further preparation.

30. In relation to life-long learning, businesses have a key role to play at several levels: contributing to a better definition of training needs through close partnership with local actors who design education and training programmes; supporting the transition from school to work for young people, for example by providing apprenticeship places; valuing learning, in particular in the Accreditation of Prior and Experiential Learning (APEL); and providing an environment which encourages lifelong learning by all employees, particularly by the less educated, the less skilled and older workers.

During the last Council meeting of the Education Ministers on 21 November 1996,Mrs Cresson has indicated her intention to launch experimental projects in the field of 'Second Chance Schools'.Following the successfull launching conference in Marseille (France) of the first 'Second Chance School' in Europe, on 9 and 10 December 1996, Mrs Cresson has decided on the identification of pilot projects in five other Member States, in cooperation with the interested governments.

Besides the actual organization of common courses in certain priority areas and aimed at key players in the police forces of the Member States -- such as courses for so-called "fast streamers" or the next generation of high-ranking police officers --, CEPOL should concentrate on the development of common curricula for police training, which would be applied in all Member States' police colleges, as well as on the development of common quality standards for both courses a ...[+++]nd trainers.

The requisite funding can be obtained: by making use of Community resources, particularly from the programmes concerned with developing multimedia "content" (Media 2, Info 2000), education and training (Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci), and research (telematics applications, information technologies, socio-economic research) under the joint calls for proposals coordinated by the research/industry Task Force on educational multimedia software (launched in 1995 by Edith Cresson and Martin Bangemann), as well as funds allocated to the trans- European telecommunications network and to the Structural Funds; by promoting permanent partnerships be ...[+++]tween the public and private sectors for fitting out and interconnecting schools in accordance with their needs and constraints (involving the signature of "letters of intent" and the possible setting-up of a European entity, such as a private foundation, and for designing multimedia content; by encouraging general goodwill through publicity events in conjunction with schools, multimedia firms and network operators. What the Commission is suggesting is an action weekend of networked schools to show what is being done and what progress has been made in networking schools electronically; or a European competition for the best educational multimedia products (with the award of a European label) in partnership with young people and teachers.