Erasmus has become a distinctive part of EU's youth identity and it is one of the programmes that defines success in European terms. I stand for multiplication of success and inclusive opportunities for young people and therefore support the initiative. Increased resources and attention to Erasmus will not only respond to the high demands for participation in the programme, it will strengthen cohesion within our societies and will make education a driving force for civic participation and job mobility within the EU
MEP Eva Maydell, President of EMI
Erasmus+ strengthens and encourages the idea of inclusion and accessibility for many young Europeans - including the power to open doors of opportunities in the European Deaf community!
Jana Havlová, President of EUDY
Erasmus+ is a unique programme to create meaningful interactions between young Europeans. A truly open and active European citizenship needs at least 10 times more of these meaningful interactions
Valentin Dupouey-Sterdyniak, Secretary general of JEF
Erasmus+ is one of the great successes of Europe. It allows the most vulnerable and excluded young people to have an international that they would not have otherwise. Don Bosco organizations in the field of youth work, in T-VET Centres and Schools have benefited from Erasmus in very diverse forms, always in projects that helped us to promote active and honest citizens among young people from many European countries.
Fabio Attard, President of Don Bosco International
Erasmus brings together people from different background, both educationally and culturally. It is a chance to learn from each other, grow together and make each other better persons.
Črtomir Fleisinger, President of the European Pharmaceutical Students' Association
The Erasmus student exchange program has connected millions of young people from every corner of the world and it is through this kind of exchange that we really develop a sense of a Global Community
Scott Darby, President of OCEANS Network
Erasmus+ has the power to open doors, broaden horizons and change lives. It has certainly changed mine. Erasmus+ offers a wealth of opportunities for European youth, but how many young people have heard about it or have benefited from it? Not enough. In order to achieve our vision of Europe - one that is inclusive, promotes social cohesion and generates active and empowered citizens - we must make a greater investment in youth. Erasmus+ is the tool that can nurture the next generation of active citizens and young decision-makers - this is why we all need #Erasmusx10.
Carly Walker-Dawson, Secretary General of IFM-SEI
Erasmus+ has proved to be a key tool that has increased participation and engagement of young people across Europe. Social cohesion and active citizenship are for us a crucial instrument to achieve peace and justice in our societies, and they cannot be achieved without programmes such as Erasmus+. However, so much more can be done: therefore, we are strongly behind the need for increased funding and wider participation, so that all young people in Europe can have equal access to this amazing opportunity. Providing those opportunities and competences to young people is a must in the actual social, economic and political context in Europe: let’s have 10 times more of them!
Juan Simoes Iglesias, Secretary General of YMCA Europe
47% of Europeans are not properly digitally skilled, yet in the near future 90% of jobs will require some level of digital skills. Europe needs better digitally educated people at all levels. We need more digitalization in schools, in the SMEs, in our universities, in our society as a whole. We need to work toward digitalization as a means for social inclusion, for marginalized people - or at risk of being marginalized - and to avoid afurther reasons of social exclusion: the lack of digital skills. To fulfil these objectives we need more digital educated people, teachers, entrepreneurs, educators, children, youth, seniors and so on. We are facing an enormous challenge and I have no better claim than ask for more resources for the Erasmus+ Programme. The EU must invest more in education and give a chance to experiment and disseminate innovative educational, teaching, learning and digital skills models. Erasmus can turn this into reality, and this is why I endorse the campaign Erasmusx10.
Gianluca Coppola, President of DLearn
Erasmus+ is the engine of innovation in education in Europe. It gives to a few, a one-of-a-kind learning experience. The European Union should massively invest in education and culture, as means to foster democracy, tolerance, transparency, civic involvement, giving to more than just a few the chance to learn from other cultures
Stéphane Simonin, President of FEDEC
The Erasmus + programme offers a unique opportunity for young adults to acquire international experience and necessary skills in a changing world of work. More than ever, it is crucial to be able to take new perspectives – in the job and as a citizen. Managers are the first to share knowledge and best practices with their employees. Extending the programme to managers who decide upon employee’s mobility and trainings, in a “train the trainer approach” could therefore, alongside mentoring programmes, have leveraging effects for circulating new ideas and skills - necessary for a more inclusive and sustainable future. Lifelong learning has to be mainstreamed and extended to all categories of occupations.
Ludger Ramme, President of CEC European Managers.
By bringing people out of the comfort zone, Erasmus has positive, transformational effect on EU citizens’ life. Yet by targeting university students Erasmus has benefited the few not the many. Time has comes to turn Erasmus into a force for social mobility and societal empowerment. By mixing Europeans, Erasmus carries the potential to build a new transnational society that value diversity over fear. That’s what Europe should be about.
Alberto Alemanno, founder, The Good Lobby and Jean Monnet Professor of EU Law, HEC Paris
Erasmus+ should promote internationalisation of schools through pupil's exchange, fostering competence-based curricula which foster 21st century skills and enable cooperation among school education systems from different countries. Teachers should also access mobility experiences and enhance their intercultural competence. Non-for-profit organisations expert in mobility and intercultural learning have a important role to play in this process.
Ekaterina Bagdasarova, Chair of the European Federation of Intercultural Learning
Erasmus should not be a privilege for a few, but a right for all. For it is by creating the opportunities to experience the EU and learn about different countries, cultures and languages that we can keep Bringing Europeans Together: and this is what Erasmus is all about. Because Europe cannot just be taught. It must be lived. That is why we support #Erasmusx10 initiative, and call for the increase of its budget by 10 times!
Cláudio Teixeira, President of Bringing Europeans Together Association e.V. (BETA Europe)
Education is one of the best ways to spread the need to defend human rights and to foster the development of a sense of civic responsibility among Europeans
Denis Stokkink, President of POUR LA SOLIDARITÉ European think & do tank
In 30 years, more than 3 million Europeans had the chance to study and travel abroad. In 30 years, we built a generation of Europeans. Now, I want for us to go even further. It is essential that this programme covers all sectors, all types of experiences and studies.
Emmanuel Macron, President of France - Mon objectif pour 2022 / Facebook
Erasmus is a great opportunity to empower young people and to support the importance of intercultural learning. However, we believe there is a need to make Erasmus even more accessible and inclusive. We need to ensure that every young person, regardless of their background, is able to use Erasmus and benefit from it. That’s why we’re supporting the #Erasmusx10 campaign!
OBESSU Board Members
Erasmus+ should become more accessible, also for school-age individuals. We call for more investments in pupil mobility, and for greater involvement of non-for-profit organisations in it. Intercultural learning and sense of European belonging should start at a very young age!
Sara Brandt, Vice-Chair of EEE-YFU’s Board
We want the «plus» in the Erasmus+ strengthened – it has to be a true lifelong learning programme! EAEA supports an inclusive and comprehensive programme, where learning has no age.
Gina Ebner, Secretary General of the European Association for the Education of Adults
The Erasmus programme is still not inclusive enough. The people that can benefit the most from it cannot unfortunately participate. More funding and specialised campaigns are needed to include young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
João Pinto, President of the Erasmus Student Network
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 further increase European experiences among all young people from different backgrounds, to facilitate far more participation of young people in our societies, and to increase solidarity among and between generations. Erasmusx10 could also improve the involvement of NGOs and their volunteers in youth work and related areas. Information, counselling and guidance could be enhanced and their number increased. Erasmusx10 is an indispensable step forward to deepen European awareness.
Reinhard Schwalbach, President of Eurodesk
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!
Luis Alvarado Martinez, President of the European Youth Forum
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.
David Lopez, President of the Lifelong Learning Platform
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.
Julie Ward, MEP
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.”
Brando Benifei, MEP
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.
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission - Strasbourg, 13 July 2017, Discours à l'occasion du trentième anniversaire du programme Erasmus
"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."
Jean-Claude Juncker