“Enriching lives, opening minds”
Last summer I moved to France, and there I spent a few months as an au pair to learn the language and experience “la vie en rose” in Paris. I did not know anyone, so I found myself spending quite a lot of time hanging out on my own, trying to engage in activities to meet new people and make new friends. It was then, when I realised how much of a struggle that can be for someone to go abroad on your own, in a county where you don’t know the language nor the culture. I often hear people telling me how much courage it takes to do it, and I totally agree. Most of the times we give up embarking on a solo adventure because we are scared of the unknown and it is totally compressible.
During mon séjour parisien (my stay in Paris) I found out about a project that can help people step out of their comfort zone and enjoy the journey feeling safer. It is called the Erasmus Plus Project and the particularity of this experience is that it is free to participate. It is not a joke: I remember when I was scrolling my Instagram feed, I came across a reel that was something like “you want to travel for free and meet people for other countries, making new friends, learn new skills?” My first impression was “well, as usual there is someone on social media who is trying to scam people promising a big deal for a very little effort, how is it possible to do all this for free?”
The reel was so appealing, and so I decided to research it to be sure about what I was putting myself in.
Turns out that Erasmus Plus Projects are incredible opportunities from the European Union to support education, training, youth and sports in Europe.
Erasmus Plus offers Youth Exchange projects which are open to people from 18 to 30 years old (if you apply as the group leader for your national team, you don’t have any age restrictions). Training Course projects are open for all ages, but in most cases, it is required to have a background either professional or academic to get in the course, as the activities are more addressed to a specific field.
The topic of the project can be various, from music to sport, from art to outdoor activities, programmes about mental health, sustainability, entrepreneurship, digital, technology and science field. It is addressed to different figures: youth workers, people working in education, NGO and volunteering, student, and unemployed people as well. It is impossible to not find a project that doesn’t suit your interest!
Erasmus Plus is funded by the European Union, which means that food and accommodation during the total duration of the project is already paid. You just need to purchase your ticket to reach the venue where the project happens, but once it’s finished and you have taken part in all the activities (before, during and after the programme), you can get a refund within a few months from the end date.
Erasmus Plus is not only about the 8-10 days of traveling for free in Europe and meeting people from other countries, but it is a program which is organised in a pre-arrival preparation to do, then there is the program itself, and once you are going back, it is required to do a follow up of the project, called dissemination. The aim of the Erasmus Plus project is to bring out in your community what you have learned and experienced, to show other people this incredible opportunity offered by the European Commission and the benefit you can get from it. There are plenty of options to do the dissemination of your project, you can organise local workshop, doing social media post, also writing about the Erasmus plus project on your university’s student newspaper!
Further information about where to find Erasmus+ opportunity, visit the official website of the European Commission: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/
And sign in on the Erasmus+ app: https://erasmusapp.eu/
I can also recommend following Instagram pages and Facebook groups or join telegram channel to get daily updates about upcoming project, but mind that are not official sources of the European Comission.
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