The new Erasmus + program for the years 2021-2027 was launched today by the European Commission. The program for education, training, youth and sport will have € 28.4 billion, almost double compared to the previous programming; 70% of the funds will be earmarked for mobility in Europe and beyond its borders and 30% for cooperation projects.
Erasmus is known to be one of the most successful programs in the European Union. Since its inception, it has allowed more than 10 million people to have an experience abroad, thus changing their lives.
Building on the success of the previous program, the new Erasmus + for the 2021-2027 period announced, therefore, a significant increase in the budget, is improved and renovated, is increasing opportunities and focuses on results and impact of quality; in line with the changes in our societies, in continuous and rapid evolution, it becomes more inclusive and accessible, strengthen the digital dimension, tackle climate change
The new Program presents a series of innovations in all the sectors of its relevance, from education, to vocational training, to youth and sport; areas of fundamental importance for the personal and professional development of young people and participants of all ages, providing them with the qualifications and skills necessary for participation in democratic society, intercultural understanding and a successful transition in the labor market. It also aims to reach an increasing number of young people across Europe, ensuring that they can benefit from the mobility opportunities offered.
Under the slogan “Enrich your life, open your mind”, Erasmus + becomes a powerful learning experience, which opens up development opportunities for all.
General Objectives
Through lifelong learning, the Program promotes the educational, professional and personal development of young people and target groups in the education, training, youth and sport sectors, to foster sustainable growth, employment, innovation, social cohesion, the strengthening of the European identity and active citizenship. Each sector therefore has an important task and is equipped with specific key tools to work towards the construction of a European education area, strategic forms of cooperation in the field of policies for youth, with a European dimension in sport.
The mobility is one of the main tools offered by the program to promote formal, non-formal and informal; the Youth sector has among its specific objectives the mobility for non-formal and informal learning, the active participation of young people, inclusion, creativity.
The “More” of Erasmus: 3 Key Priorities
A “more inclusive and accessible” Erasmus +, designed to reach young people with specific needs or with fewer opportunities and diversified organizations.
The distinctive feature of the sector has always been attention to young people with fewer opportunities, which aims to actively involve in projects and in society: inclusion and diversity, in fact, together with the promotion of equal opportunities, represent a priority of the chapter Youth.
The Program provides mechanisms and resources that allow for the most inclusive approach possible and make projects and activities accessible to a wide range of participants.
In order to implement these principles, the National Agencies will develop a strategy for inclusion and diversity, to overcome the barriers that hinder access to European opportunities and funding, such as: disabilities, health problems, social, cultural, economic, geographical barriers linked to education and training systems or discrimination.
A strengthened digital dimension, addressing the need for better infrastructure and connectivity, as well as access to digital tools for the development of digital skills and competences, essential for fully participating in civil society and democracy.
The crisis caused by Covid-19 has shed light on the importance of digital education and highlighted the need to exploit the potential of digital technologies.
The “Action Plan for digital education 2021-2027” identifies strategic priorities that the Program intends to support, involving young people, youth workers, organizations: the promotion of basic and advanced digital skills and digital literacy; the spread of innovative pedagogies and open and distance learning.
A “greener” Erasmus +, which demonstrates the importance of addressing the challenges of climate change, now and for the future.
Environment and climate action are key priorities for the European Union: the Communication on the European Green Deal thus becomes the new growth strategy for a successful transition towards climate change by 2050.
The Program thus becomes a key tool for building and developing knowledge, skills and attitudes on climate change and sustainable development in Europe and beyond its borders. The opportunities for “green” mobility are increasing, deepening the issue, paying attention to rural development, promoting sustainable and ecological modes of transport and responsible behavior.
And Even More
The new Program also reconfirms the other aims of the Youth sector:
- the participation of young people in democratic life in Europe and in the labor market;
- language learning and linguistic diversity;
- the international dimension, through cooperation with partner countries;
- the recognition and validation of skills and qualifications, in particular through Youth pass, the EU tool for the recognition of non-formal and informal learning in youth projects;
- the importance of communicating project results during and beyond the project life cycle, to ensure impact at different levels;
- access open to the results of the projects and the tools education, to support the learning, training, youth work.
The Program supports the objectives of the current EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027, in particular through the three pillars “Mobilize, Connect, Empower young people”, and the promotion of a process of dialogue with young people through the 11 Goals for European youth, which identify intersectoral areas that affect the lives of young people.
Take Part
The Youth chapter of Erasmus + is aimed at all young people between 13 and 30 years of age, regardless of their social and cultural background and their level of education, youth workers, organizations, institutions, informal groups of young people and all persons active in the field of youth and non-formal education of young people.
Participation in the opportunities offered by the Program takes place through the presentation of projects and the request for a financial contribution from organizations, local authorities and informal groups of young people.
Projects under Key Action 1 – Learning Mobility for Individuals and Key Action 2 – Cooperation for Innovation and Exchange of Good Practices can be submitted to the National Youth Agency according to the rules indicated in the Program Guide and on the basis of the established deadlines.