Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct

Core Principles eTwinning is the largest network for schools in Europe. This is your community and a platform that helps you improve your skills, expand your professional network, and improve your students' skills. Therefore,the eTwinning spirit is based on mutual understanding and respect.That is why every eTwinner and their events, messages, posts, projects, materials and everything published on the eTwinning area must adhere to, and comply with, the following core principles .

◆ Be inclusive. Everyone’s opinions and views are always welcomed and allowed within the boundaries set in this Code of Conduct. eTwinners are encouraged to relate to different cultures and show sensitivity when including other eTwinners in their events, projects, groups, and networking activities – both online and on-site. eTwinning fosters understanding, empathy and openness towards one another with the aim of making the community a safe, harassment-free space.

◆ Be respectful. When dealing with their peers and interacting with one another, members must be respectful to other people, and their activities on this platform,.This will make eTwinners not only feel comfortable and safe, but also motivated and productive. eTwinners cannot insult or put down others, or incite violence against people based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or gender, and/or as a member of a country, group, or minority. If you encounter posts, events and comments on the Logs and Forums that you find offensive, infringing on copyright or inappropriate, receive a private message or see such content,you can use the "report" button and share your reporting reasons. Your message will be handled by Support Services. Therefore.when / if necessary, we ask you to report such situations.

◆ Be tolerant. Disagreement is inevitable, from time to time. Tolerance for the views of others drives the pragmatic approach encouraged in this community. What is important is to seek constructive solutions to disagreements and differing views, always within the limits as described and defined in this Code of Conduct, and accept that some cases may result in “agreeing to disagree”. Users who do not comply with this Code of Conduct will receive a warning and in some cases will be banned from the platform

Rules that all eTwinners must follow: To facilitate the understanding of what is allowed and what is not allowed on the eTwinning area of the platform, eTwinning has drawn some rules which must be respected by all eTwinners.

1. No use of eTwinning for commercial purposes It’s strictly prohibited to use the platform for commercial purposes. Any company, initiative, event or software with a commercial intent will be removed, as will their access to the platform itself. 2. No direct threats, bullying,cyberbullying nor harassment. eTwinning does not tolerate bullying or harassment. If you are victim of cyberbullying or someone is threatening you while using any of the eTwinning spaces (public and private ones), please report the message or contact your Support Organisation. Be aware that anyone caught bullying or harassing other members of the platform may be permanently banned from eTwinning.

3. Intellectual property. Make sure that the content you upload to the platform does not infringe any copyright. Before sharing pictures, videos, documents or any other resources, please make sure you have the right to do so.The eTwinning platform cannot host videos - you must first upload your video to YouTube, DailyMotion or Vimeo and paste the corresponding link to eTwinning. Don't forget to check copyright policies too. 4. Impersonation . eTwinners cannot impersonate other individuals or groups/organisations they do not represent in a manner that is intended to or does mislead, confuse, or deceive others5. Students’ (minors) privacy. eTwinning takes pupils’ privacy and safety seriously. Avoid posting pictures of pupils on your eTwinning profile, TwinSpace, Groups, etc. In case you do, make sure you have the consent from the minor entitled to give consent or from the holder of parental responsibility over the child in line with the Regulation 2018/1725 (link), also that you have provided a copy of the privacy statement or make sure that pupils are not recognisable

6. Private information and Sensitive data . Be thoughtful about content you post that relates to others. You should not share your or other eTwinners' private information - such as personal phone numbers and addresses, credit card details or other private information - or intimate pictures and videos. Always think before you post! 7. Random contact requests and project invitations 1. Avoid asking e twinners to be your contact person or participate in your project without contacting them in advance. 2. Make sure there are a reasonable and manageable number of contacts on your list. 3. Want to follow other people's updates? Follow them instead.

8. Internal messaging system abuse: 1. Avoid sending too many messages to teachers you don't work together. 2. Before contacting a user: check his / her profile; see if he / she has indicated that he / she is eligible for the Project and make sure that your message is relevant or not. 3. Don't send messages that are exactly the same to too many e Twinners.

9. Irrelevant and inappropriate comments about people's messages. When posting a comment on someone else's profile, make sure that comment is appropriate for the user. Comments should be for individuals and related to the user's message. Don't write the same comment to too many user 10. Unwanted emails in sessions (Spam). Thousands of messages are sent from the eTwinning Live in partner forums. Make sure that your message is related to the topic of the title. Before posting a new post, check for other relevant messages and reply to them. This help us to improve collabration conduct forums in a relevant way.

Violation of the Code of Conduct What can you do if you feel that an eTwinner is not respecting the Code of Conduct? In the Support Community, we do our utmost to protect people from abuse in eTwinning, but as an active and pluralistic community, we count on each and every eTwinner to help us maintain the positive attitude and reduce unwelcome incidents. Therefore, we encourage eTwinners to report when necessary. In case you encounter posts, events or comments in Journals and Forums, receive a private message, or see content that is offensive, infringes copyright or data protection, or you simply find inappropriate, you can use the “report” button – if available, otherwise you can contact your Support Organisation - and share your reasons for reporting. Your message will be handled by the Support Organisations. What happens if somebody is not respecting the Code of Conduct? Failure to comply with the rules included in this Code of Conduct constitutes a violation of its terms and may result in temporary or permanent removal of any posting or material uploaded by eTwinners, at any time, without prior notice. In such cases, the authors of the materials and their Support Organisation will be informed and reasons for the removal will be provided. Users who do not comply with the Code of Conduct may also be banned, temporarily or permanently, from eTwinning. In case of controversies, a final decision will be taken by the European Commission, on behalf of which eTwinning is operated.