Young people are the carrier of European values - today and tomorrow. Erasmus+ provides an important basis for the evolvement of our common aims. Erasmusx10 opens the opportunity to increase European experiences among all young people from different backgrounds and strengthen the mutual living together in Europe. With Erasmusx10 we can expect far more participation of young people in our societies than is already existing. Solidarity among and between generations may increase. Erasmusx10 will improve the involvement of NGOs and their volunteers in youth work and related areas. Financial means are not a solution by their own, but it will support the raise of the quantity and the quality of youth mobility. Information, counselling and guidance will be enhanced and the reach out to groups of young people who can participate in European activities will be better and their number will increase. Erasmusx10 is an indispensable step forward to deepen European awareness.
Erasmus is much more than one of the greatest successes of the European Union: it is a life-changing experience that every young person should be able to enjoy. If we want to be serious about the transformation of the European project, let’s make it real for all and multiply by 10 its funding! Everybody wins!
Erasmus+ is the most successful flagship programme of the European Union which has built bridges between the EU Member States, education institutions and learners, changing the lives of millions of citizens. Nevertheless, the programme remains severely underfunded given the huge demand and this limits its potential to build a better future for Europe. We thus call for bigger, better and more inclusive programme which not only benefits individual learners of all ages and backgrounds but also strengthens cooperation and peer learning in the education sector.
Erasmus is one of the Union’s greatest success story. Not just in terms of employability and academic development, but also because it has helped to create a generation of proud, open minded and resilient Europeans. We need now to build on this success to widen access and ensure that more young people can benefit from this opportunity, in particular people in vocational training, vulnerable young people, people outside of formal education, migrants and people with disabilities. For this to be successful we need political will and money. I therefore support the “Erasmus x10” campaign calling for the increasing of the budget of the programme by 10 times in the next financial period.
Empowering young people through mobility and active citizenship contributes to the development of an open and truly European society. More resources on Erasmus + means greater outreach for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of young people as well as improved quality of the projects. That is why I firmly stand for the “Erasmusx10” campaign.”
Every euro that we invest in Erasmus+ is an investment in the future — in the future of a young person and of our European idea. I cannot imagine anything more worthy of our investment than these leaders of tomorrow. As we celebrate the 9 millionth person to take part, let’s make sure we are 9 times more ambitious with the future of the Erasmus+ programme.
Erasmusx10
For a more inclusive and accessible Erasmus+ Programme
To widen its access for a truly lifelong learning programme
To strengthen its social dimension for better inclusion
To empower citizens through education
To boost competitiveness and employment
To develop quality mobility experience and projects
To foster effective management and evaluation
To support peer learning, capacity building and exchange
To increase cross-sector and multilevel cooperation
To put forward education as a driver for the Sustainable Development Goals
To make education and lifelong learning systems truly international
The Campaign
The Erasmus+ Coalition gathers over 40 European-wide networks and civil society organisations representing the major beneficiaries of Erasmus+ programme at all levels. The idea of the “Erasmusx10” campaign emerged when European political leaders started advocating for a significant uplift of the programme’s budget. The President of the European Commission Juncker himself, during the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of Erasmus+ in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, called for a 9-time increase. Juncker declarations follow the political will of a consistent increase of the Erasmus+ budget expressed by several heads of State and government of some Member States such as Belgium, France, Italy. Furthermore, during the Rome Summit on the 60th anniversary of the treaty, EU leaders stressed out the importance of EU biggest achievement in changing the lives of 9 million Europeans through Erasmus+. This clear support and acknowledgement of the programme’s benefit to citizens and Europe at large justifies the need for better financial support to make the programme more accessible and increase its quality. The purpose of the campaign is to mainstream such individual and collective mobilisation, and to raise civil society voices from all parts of Europe to advocate for a more accessible and inclusive Programme.
If the suggested increase seems ambitious at first glance, the Coalition recalls that the current budget allocated for Education, Youth and Sports in the EU remains a tiny percentage of the overall EU budget (1.4%). Only 4 million people, i.e. 0.8% of European citizens, are expected to benefit from the programme in the 2014-2020 period. Such an increase of budget would show an important move towards the establishment of a Social Europe and European identity, thus better meeting EU citizens’ high expectations in terms of tangible benefits generated by EU policies and funding. Education is a key driver to socio-economic progress, to the fulfillment of EU2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Without prejudice to Member States’ sovereignty on their education systems, such cooperation in the last 30 years has contributed to further exchange of good practices and peer learning opportunities for all stakeholders.
The Coalition considers the 30th anniversary of the programme, and the revision of the next Multiannual Financial Framework, to be the ideal moment to discuss the future of the “flagship programme” of the European Union. The discussion about the successor of Erasmus+ is the best opportunity to show political commitment to improve the outreach of the programme in the post-2020 financial framework and meet higher expectations in terms of impact and outcomes. Thus the campaign aims at supporting the design of the Erasmus+ successor programme that should cover learning in all contexts – whether formal, non-formal or informal – and at all levels (from local to European).
During the first phase of the campaign, the Coalition will collect additional statements from key stakeholders and institutions, organisations and individuals in the EU, and will bring them up in the light of a wider range of partners through social media and event communications. In the meanwhile, the Coalition will build evidence on the positive changes that more funding would have on the quality, access, and inclusiveness of the activities for the beneficiaries of the programme. The campaign will be launched in September 2017.
Milestones
State of the Union Speech
13-Sep-17
European Parliament Plenary - Future of Erasmus+ CULT resolution
13-Sep-17
LLLWeek - Future of Erasmus+ debate
21-Nov-17
Erasmus+ 30 Anniversary Closing conference
Dec-17
Coordinators
Supporters
