EmpowerED: Final Celebratory Event
Dr. Agueda Gras-Velazquez presenting EmpowerED (photo credit: EdTech Bulgaria)
A milestone for Europe’s digital education community - on the 4 November as the EmpowerED project concluded with its final event at the Empowering European EdTech and Erasmus+ Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria.
This celebratory event was the culmination of the connected series of EdTech Week knowledge exchange and engagement formats organised from July 2024 – November 2025 across 8 events in Sweden, Finland, Portugal, London, Greece, Lithuania and Moldova and finally Bulgaria.
Notably, all partners from the EmpowerED consortium were represented in person across a series of sessions including panels, keynotes and a dynamic workshop featuring all project partners as discussion guides.
As EmpowerED consortium members - Agueda Gras-Velazquez, Michelle DuQuette, Christina Makarona, and Beth Havinga - highlighted during panels and keynotes, EmpowerED has been a collective journey — one defined by shared learning, open dialogue, and a vision for better learning across Europe.
Dr. Agueda Gras-Velazquez presenting the EmpowerED Roadmap objectives (photo credit: EdTech Bulgaria)
At the final EmpowerED workshop, participants discussed concrete actions to advance the five goals outlined in the draft Roadmap Towards Excellence in Educational Innovation, one of the key outcomes of the three-year project. This is the second and final edition of the Roadmap, the previous version can be found here >
The roadmap aims to guide policymakers at all levels in fostering more innovative and value-aligned education systems across Europe and will be published by the end of 2025.
The five goals of the final edition of the EmpowerED Roadmap are:
Key stakeholders have a nuanced understanding of digital education
EdTech solutions are designed to serve clear educational purposes and European values
EdTech adoption in Europe’s educational institutions is guided by intentional, evidence-based decision-making
Evidence is systematically used to develop, select, and implement EdTech tools and services
Knowledge is shared across the European EdTech ecosystem
The Roadmap workshop led participants through a signature EmpowerED discussion format - enabling parallel small groups to work - in English or Bulgarian - through a series of prompts led by an EmpowerED consortium member or an EdTech Bulgaria partner.
Workshop small groups sharing insights - photo credit, EEA
It was really inspiring to see the various discussion leaders share insights across groups and help translate the learnings into English for EmpowerED consortium members to be able to integrate relevant points into the upcoming Roadmap.
While the project formally closes this year, the work continues. The commitment to strengthening the European EdTech community and amplifying its voice remains stronger than ever.
Learn more about EmpowerED and stay tuned for the upcoming Roadmap here >