About Erasmus+
What is this?
Erasmus+ is the European Union’s program for education, training, youth and sport for years 2014–2020. This program will be continued under the new budget perspective (2020–2027). Each EU country has its own National Agency for the Erasmus+ Program, which is the link between the European Commission and the organizations benefiting from the program.
For example, in Poland, it is the Foundation for the Development of the Education System based in Warsaw. On its website, it states:
“Erasmus+ is designed to support the efforts of participating countries to make effective use of the potential of Europe’s human skills and social capital, while affirming the principle of lifelong learning: by linking support to formal, non-formal and informal learning in the fields of education, training and sport.”
What activities does the program finance?
The total budget of the Erasmus+ Program for 2014–2020 was as much as EUR 14.7 billion. The implementation and financing of activities under the program are foreseen under the three above-mentioned actions, with different objectives and principles:
| Action 1 | Learning mobility of individuals |
| Action 2 | Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices |
| Action 3 | Support to policy reform |
These actions can be implemented in various sectors. The sectors are:
- school education,
- vocational education and training,
- higher education,
- adult education,
- youth.
Funding from the Erasmus+ Program can be obtained by Polish institutions and organizations. This means that, apart from foundations and associations, also schools, universities and enterprises can apply for funding.
Erasmus+ Guide
Every year, an updated Erasmus+ Program Guide is produced, a document that is very comprehensive, but therefore extensive and quite complicated. You can find it here (2020 version):
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/documents/erasmus-programme-guide-2020_en
While implementing our activities, we looked at it many times. If you are looking for detailed knowledge of an action or sector of your choice, you will surely find answers to your questions, but using the guide can be challenging, especially if you want to do your first project yourself.
That is why we have prepared this portal – in order to make it as easy as possible for you to get through the difficult process of preparation for organizing your own international activity.
How does Erasmus+ Youth work?
This sector of the Erasmus+ Program is entirely devoted to the development of young people (13-30 years old). Action 1 (Learning Mobility of Individuals) in the Youth Sector concerns the mobility of young people and youth workers, Action 2 (Cooperation for innovation and good practices) is about strategic partnerships and international youth initiatives, and Action 3 (Support to policy reforms) is aimed at development of youth policy.
This sector’s priorities include engaging and connecting young people, supporting pro-civic and democratic attitudes, and promoting volunteering. Youth projects should promote intercultural dialogue based on European values of tolerance and solidarity as well as the development of young people’s key skills, such as entrepreneurship, foreign languages, social competences and cultural awareness. An important aspect of activities in this sector is the inclusion and development of young people at risk of social exclusion, with fewer opportunities.
What is a Youth Exchange?
The area we mainly describe on this website is Action 1 in the “Youth” sector – so it concerns the mobility of young people and youth workers. The mobility of young people, or Youth Exchanges, are meetings of groups of young people from at least two different countries.
Participation in such a project is possible for young people (13-30 years old) and people working with youth – as leaders. The minimum number of mobility participants is 16, the maximum is 60. The exchange may take 5 to 21 days. The topic of the exchange itself is not imposed in any way and leaves the organizers a lot of room for creativity, but it is to correspond to the priorities of the Erasmus+ Program and the interests of the participants.
The workshops conducted as part of the exchanges are to use non-formal education methods. One of the most important assumptions of this action are: the principle of lifelong learning, strong involvement of young people in each stage of the project implementation, their initiative and decision-making, and the development of European key competences.
You can find out more about it here: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/documents/call-2019-youth-mobility-ka105_en
Who can get funding for a Youth Exchange?
In Poland, the following entities can apply for a project from this sector:
- organizations (having legal personality),
- public bodies (local, regional or national) working for young people or youth workers.
Go to your National Agency’s website to find out how does it work in your country.
To find out more about the application process itself, go to the “Application” section.