Credit: EU / Erasmus+
2022 marks the 35th anniversary of the European Union's (EU) Erasmus+ exchange programme.
To mark this anniversary, European Commission Vice-President for Promoting the European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, and Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, will meet 35 current and former Erasmus+ participants as well as representatives of the founding team of the programme, on Tuesday 20 September 2022. The event will honour the achievements of the programme, which has involved thirteen million people since its creation in 1987.
Ahead of the event, Vice-President Margaritis Schinas said: "Erasmus+ is a 35-year-old success story that has provided life-changing opportunities to millions of people. I could not think of a better and more compelling example of what 'European way of life' concretely means. I look forward to exchanging with the participants about their experiences and with the programme founders who planted the seeds for this great programme more than three decades ago".
Commissioner Mariya Gabriel added: "Erasmus+ is a true European success story. The numbers speak for themselves: by now, almost thirteen million participants have been able to learn, work or train abroad. Every year, more than 600,000 Europeans make use of the opportunities Erasmus+ offers. And they all tell us the same afterwards: that the programme is life-changing. Since its creation in 1987, Erasmus+ raises new generations of educated, trained, committed Europeans, connected beyond borders. And that truly is a reason to celebrate".
Each participant will share their personal experiences and discuss the achievements and challenges of the EU's flagship programme for education, training, youth and sport.
There have been substantial changes to the Erasmus+ over the years; it has been continuously modernised, expanded and opened up to countries that were not part of it in its early days. Starting with just 3,000 university students, the programme now offers cooperation and mobility opportunities in school education for pupils and teachers, in vocational education and training, higher education and adult education, as well as projects for apprentices, young people, youth workers and, as of 2023, sport coaches.
This enlargement in geographic and sectoral scope resulted in 2021, despite the adverse sanitary situation, in over 615,000 realised mobilities. In 2014, the name changed from "Erasmus" to "Erasmus+" to mark the broadening of the programme to all education fields as well as youth and sport.
The current 2021-2027 Erasmus+ edition marks the integration of "DiscoverEU" into the programme. With this change and through funding granted in the context of the 2022 European Year of Youth, 70,000 travel tickets are being made available in 2022. DiscoverEU is open to eighteen-year-olds and gives them the opportunity to discover Europe through travelling and learning experiences. The next application round will open on 11 October 2022 and is now open to candidates from the EU and all Erasmus+ programme countries, including Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey.
Viewers can watch the discussion on 20 September live on the Erasmus+ website and on social media. They will also be able to participate and contribute to the debate online.
