International Dimension

  
  
Since the programme's development in 1994, its simple but comprehensive approach to environmental education and management has allowed it to grow quickly within participating countries but also in term of its international network.
  

Eco-Schools across the World...

  
Initiated as a European programme, Eco-Schools now has a more international dimension, as FEE develops partnerships with NGOs in other regions of the globe. South Africa was the first country outside Europe where a national organisation became a FEE Member (WESSA), and work is underway to build ties between existing environmental education programmes in Southern Africa with the Eco-Schools network. Eco-Schools are now represented in almost all European Union Member States, and various countries in Central and Eastern Europe. There are also some pilot projects taking place in other parts of the world.
  
The number of participating schools has grown considerably since the beginning of the programme, as the graph shows. By the end of the 2006/2007 school year, there were about 21.000 schools participating of which more than 6.000 were Green Flag award-winners. These numbers are expected to increase until the end of the current academic year.