Erasmus Days: 6 days to make Europe shine!

Throughout the year, the event has set itself as a must-attend. And today, the 7th Erasmus Days are held, according to the organisers, in a broader format focusing on the generic theme of “6 days to make Europe shine”. The Erasmus Days 2023 aim at celebrating “the cultural diversity of Europe” and “make Europe shine”, according to the words of the French ministry of higher education. This year, no less than 8,879 actions are scheduled everywhere in the world and are accessible with a search engine and an interactive map.

Cultural diversity and learning opportunities

Celebrating cultural diversity and make Europe shine is mostly sharing how the European continent allows to be open to the world. So the idea is to showcase to participants the many opportunities of training available in Europe, including through the Erasmus+ programme.

This now well-known programme allows to “discover new cultures, improve the language and intercultural skills, develop employability and comply with the European values of tolerance, respect and diversity”. Every year, says the French ministry of higher education, the Erasmus+ programme provides students with an opportunity to study in a partner institution, training or complete an internship in a foreign country, not only to enrich its knowledge or develop skills, but also to improve job prospects. And during this European Year of Skills, it is critical, says the dedicated website, to acknowledge “the importance of European cultural diversity and celebrate the opportunities of learning it offers”.

Sharing skills and experiences

The European Year of Skills, which started on 9 may 2023 and will last a year, indeed offers “an excellent opportunity to bridge the gap of skills in the European Union and improve the European strategy on this matter”. The aims is to help young people “acquire the skills necessary to access quality jobs, while showcasing the national actions aiming at supporting companies, and SMEs in particular”. In addition, says the dedicated website, this initiative will promote more activities and events in relation with skill throughout Europe.

As part of this objective, a call for personal stories about skills was launched to value projects and personal experiences in relation with skills. So, as the French ministry of higher education indicates, people “who have already experienced a mobility scheme are also invited to share their experience on social medias”. To do so, two options: with the hashtag #Erasmusdays and the challenge Tell me… Without telling me, to guess the destination of your Erasmus destination, but also which skills were developed during an Erasmus+ stay or what was the citizen value acquired, in a short video on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook. These stories will serve as “inspiration for other encouraging them to have a positive impact or participate in a significant change” concludes the website dedicated to the event.

Erasmus+ Key Figures

According to the Erasmus+ Agency supervising for France this type of European mobilities, key figures show the importance of this programme:

• since the UK has left the EU, 33 countries participate in the Erasmus+ programme: the 27 Member States of the EU, and Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey;
• about 200 countries in the world with the status of partner country may participate in certain actions of Erasmus+, in addition to the 33 countries of the programme;
• since 1987, date of creation of the programme, 12.5 million people have benefitted from it;
• 136,000 French students have benefitted in 2022 from subsidised Erasmus+ mobility schemes;
• 1.5 million French students participated in a mobility scheme abroad as part of Erasmus+ throughout the last 30 years;
• France is the 1st country in the European Union in terms of outward student mobility;
• 8 people out of 10 declare, after their mobility trip in Erasmus+, to have greatly improved their transversal skills, meaning their useful know-how or know-be in a high number of occupations.