Structure and Network

EU BEACON connects more than forty COST member countries and partner nations worldwide. Each country nominates representatives and expert teams across strands dedicated to curriculum design, educational technologies, data integration, and policy alignment. Through a federated governance model, institutions, ministries, NGOs, and individual educators cooperate in real time on open-source platforms hosted within our secure infrastructure.

Our network relies on constant communication, transparency, and inclusiveness. It operates according to high standards of open science and open governance, recognising that knowledge gains value when it is verifiable, shared, and accountable. We enforce open-source principles across infrastructures and methods to guarantee reproducibility, independence, and integrity. Every platform, dataset, and protocol is auditable and documented, preventing monopolisation of knowledge and ensuring that scientific progress serves collective interests.

Our collaboration environments integrate file sharing, project management, video conferencing, task boards, and participatory decision-making tools under the same ethical framework. Decisions, datasets, and documents remain traceable, preserving institutional memory and protecting contributors' rights. This technical and procedural transparency deters corruption, opacity, or misuse of power, allowing every participant to act under the same rules of accountability and scientific rigour.

EU BEACON functions as a horizontal excellence network where leadership facilitates rather than dominates. Coordination bodies safeguard the Action’s goals, values, and collective direction, not centralised control. Leadership ensures procedural fairness, protects members from exploitation or exclusion, and upholds the integrity of our common objectives. Through democratic mechanisms, every member can propose, review, and improve initiatives so that innovation grows from collaboration rather than hierarchy.

Openness is both a technical choice and an ethical commitment. It enables interdisciplinary trust, cross-border solidarity, and sustainable knowledge exchange. Transparency protocols, open-source infrastructures, and participatory governance keep EU BEACON aligned with its mission, free from abuse, and fully accountable to members and the wider public it serves in One Health education.

Objectives

The Action pursues four objectives. First, to create open and modular One Health curricula that can be adopted by schools, universities, and non-formal education settings across Europe. Second, to develop digital infrastructures including knowledge graphs and AI-assisted tutors that help learners and teachers explore interconnected data safely and critically. Third, to foster a self-sustaining network of educators and researchers who maintain and update content through open governance mechanisms, ensuring accuracy and long-term relevance. Fourth, to support policy alignment and teacher training so that One Health education becomes integral to European and global strategies.

How We Work

Work progresses through coordinated strands that align to the strategic goals of the Action. The pedagogy strand designs adaptable course materials and learning pathways. The technologies strand deploys open-source platforms and AI tools for collaborative learning and assessment. The dissemination strand manages outreach, partnerships, and media presence. The policy and sustainability strand ensures integration with education and health frameworks. Short-term scientific missions, training schools, and workshops allow members to exchange expertise and co-create solutions. All outputs are released under open licences for universal access and reuse.

Outputs and Impact

By the end of its mandate, EU BEACON will deliver a suite of open educational resources, a federated digital infrastructure for One Health learning, and a sustainable governance model linking research and education. Expected impacts include the mainstreaming of One Health concepts across education systems, stronger digital literacy and scientific reasoning among youth, closer collaboration between academia, public authorities, and communities, and a replicable European model for global health education reform.

Why It Matters

The digital revolution and environmental crisis converge with rising inequality and misinformation. Without systemic literacy, societies cannot manage the interdependence between health, environment, and economy. EU BEACON offers a scientific, democratic, and ethical framework to navigate this complexity. Its urgency lies in prevention rather than reaction. By embedding One Health concepts into early and higher education, the Action lays the groundwork for resilient and equitable health governance. The network integrates responsible AI and open-source technologies directly into One Health education, helping Europe lead in trustworthy digital innovation.