The Erasmus+ programme, much more than just an exchange between colleges and half-price pints
The Erasmus+ programme? Come on, we’ve all heard it: “Erasmus? Yeah, it’s that thing where you go to Barcelona for six months to learn how to say cerveza and then forget how to get home.”
A cliché, to be sure. But if you think that Erasmus+ is just a student binge in a flat full of European flags, you’re missing the point.
Because in reality, Erasmus+ is without doubt the most useful and powerful European programme. The one that touches people directly, without detours. It enables a young person in a village to discover Athens for the first time. It helps a local youth worker create international projects with teenagers who have never been on a plane before. Helping local associations to learn, cooperate and build.
Yes, Erasmus+ can really change your life. But you still need to hear about it from someone other than a flyer printed askew in a social centre. And that’s what we’re going to do here.
A huge budget for a meaningful programme
With more than €26 billion for the period 2021-2027, the Erasmus+ programme is not a small grant hidden under a desk in Brussels. It is a pillar of European policy on youth, training, education, culture and citizenship.
And the beauty of it is that this budget is not just for those who already know how to fill in Excel spreadsheets with their eyes closed. It’s accessible. It’s for you, your association, your collective, your social centre, your school, your youth organisation or even… your independent media (yes, yes).
What the European Union doesn’t always say very well is that it also funds those who question it, those who want a different Europe. A fairer, greener, more feminist, more humane Europe.
The Erasmus+ programme can really transform a career path
Take Lila, 19, who had never been outside her home town before and who took part in an Erasmus+ exchange in Slovenia on LGBTQIA+ rights. It was a week of discussions, workshops, improbable evenings around a campfire and unlikely friendships with a Finnish Queen fan and a Greek anarchist. She came back with stars in her eyes and a project for an association in her head.
Or Mathéo, 22, passionate about theatre but convinced that “this kind of project is for people who speak English really well”. In the end, he left with a group for an Erasmus+ project in Italy focusing on memory and anti-fascism. He doesn’t speak English, but he plays, he shares, he learns. Two months later, he applied for a professional training course in the cultural field. “I realised that I wasn’t actually that bad.
These are not fairy tales. They are true stories. And there are thousands of them every year. The Erasmus+ programme is a confidence booster, a machine for creating connections and breaking down barriers (geographical, social, mental).
And you can apply too
You don’t have a doctorate? I’m glad. You don’t speak English? No problem. You don’t have a structure? That’s not even a barrier.
Erasmus+ is also for small groups just starting out, associations with no employees, tired activists, insecure artists, educators in the field, people who don’t necessarily have a technocratic vocabulary… but who have ideas, energy and a desire to cooperate.
You can take part in a short mobility scheme, set up a training project, organise a European meeting, co-construct an artistic residency, or create educational tools in collaboration with other European structures.
And sometimes it just starts with a Zoom meeting with a partner in Poland. Then a Google Doc. And then one day, you find yourself discussing participatory democracy in a cultural centre in Sarajevo. The magic happens.
The Erasmus+ programme for independent and committed media? Carrément
If you run an alternative media, a podcast, a web TV, a committed platform… Erasmus+ can clearly give your project a boost.
Imagine: a Franco-Hungarian team building a web series on social struggles in Eastern Europe. A cross-training project for budding journalists to learn how to cover the European elections. A campaign to raise awareness of misinformation in several languages, co-created with young people from five countries. And all paid for (transport, accommodation, entertainment, equipment, translation, etc.).
This is not science fiction. It’s just Erasmus+ put to good use. And it’s also a strong argument in a wider funding application: showing that you have European capacity, that you know how to work in a network, that you create impactful content.
The true political face of Erasmus+
Let’s make no mistake: the Erasmus+ programme is also a political project, in the noblest sense of the word. It promotes values. It supports equality, democracy and solidarity. It fights discrimination. It promotes youth, interculturality and inclusion.
And that sometimes upsets people. It’s no coincidence that several ultraconservative governments in Europe have tried to torpedo Erasmus+ projects deemed “too progressive”. But it does mean one thing: it works.
Erasmus+ is the anti-Zemmour in action. It’s a concrete response to Fortress Europe, to the Europe of cold technos and closed borders. It’s the place where Europe can still spark something collective.
How do I get started?
The hardest part is getting through the first stage. You can get support from organisations like the Maisons de l’Europe, the CRIJs, or even other groups that have already applied. You can also set up a simple initial project, with a single European partner.
There are training courses to help you understand the Erasmus+ programme, Facebook groups, tutorials, meetings and forums. And you don’t need to understand everything before you start. Erasmus+ is also about learning as you go.
And yes, there are forms, strange vocabulary and a bit of paperwork. But it’s worth it. Because in exchange, you gain experiences, memories, human links… and sometimes, a new direction in your life.
To sum up the Erasmus+ programme
The Erasmus+ programme is not just for other people. It’s not just for universities. It’s not just for young CSP++ people on international mobility trips. It’s for you, for us, for all those who believe that Europe should be used for something beautiful, useful and fair.
It’s a tool. A lever. A helping hand. And sometimes, the little spark that changes everything.
