#ErasmusDays 2025: Embracing integration, diversity and European values
Make Europe shine: From 13 to 18 October the EU's flagship programme will be in the spotlight for the ninth time. 10,000 events take place in 53 countries every year. More than 200 of these take place in Austria. This year’s focus is on the six European values.
Schools, higher education institutions, youth organisations, sports institutions and other educational establishments will showcase Erasmus+ projects, experiences and successes over these six days. Information afternoons, presentations, exhibitions and flash mobs are planned: the events are as diverse as Erasmus+ and the ESC themselves and highlight the added value of Erasmus+ and the ESC.
In Austria the #ErasmusDays will kick off on 2 October at the compulsory secondary school Singrienergasse in Vienna's 12th district. Patrick Lobis, head of the Representation of the European Commission in Austria, will open the #ErasmusDays2025 together with the OeAD’s managing director Jakob Calice and school’s headmistress Mihaela Savanovic. ‘More than 16 million people have participated in the exchange programme Erasmus+ so far. I am delighted that the compulsory secondary school Singrienergasse is part of this success story. Erasmus+ makes the advantages of a united Europe tangible. The programme allows both further education and valuable personal experiences and therefore appeals to both the head and the heart,’ says Patrick Lobis, head of the Representation of the European Commission in Austria. The headmistress Mihaela Savanovic adds: ‘Erasmus+ was a particularly valuable experience for our pupils: they experienced cultural diversity as an opportunity to make new friends, break down prejudices and realise that their background is no obstacle to their dreams.’ The secondary school Singrienergasse received the European Innovative Teaching Award (EITA) in 2025.
Jakob Calice, managing director of Austria's education agency OeAD, which is responsible for implementing Erasmus+ and the ESC in Austria, emphasises: ‘Erasmus+ not only promotes education but also instils enthusiasm for values such as democracy, freedom and equality in the participants. At a time when fundamental values such as democracy and human dignity are at risk around the world Erasmus+ gives people the opportunity to actively participate in shaping a peaceful Europe and to meet across borders on an equal footing.’
‘Live our values, inspire our future’
Within the framework of the #ErasmusDaysChallenge pupils explore the six European values: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and human rights including minority rights.
Further highlights:
The winners of the ‘My Story’ competition will be presented on the OeAD's social media channels and offer an inspiring insight into the diversity of Erasmus+ experiences. Moreover, the next DiscoverEU application round will take place in the autumn, giving 18-year-olds the opportunity to discover Europe in a sustainable and free manner by train.
Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps
Erasmus+ facilitates stays abroad, promotes and supports European and global cooperation and gives international impetus to the Austrian educational and youth policy. Erasmus+ offers mobility and cooperation opportunities in higher education, vocational education, training and further education, school education (including early childhood care and education), adult education, youth work and sports – within Europe and, in some cases, worldwide. The European Solidarity Corps supports local initiatives of young adults (solidarity projects) and voluntary work in charitable projects and organisations abroad. The OeAD, Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation, is responsible for the implementation of Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps as the national agency.
In the current programme generation 2021 to 2027 of Erasmus+ and the ESC, both of which funded by the European Commission, Europe invests € 28.4 billion in Europe-wide and international exchanges. A further € 1 billion is available for the European Solidarity Corps. Austria is expected to receive € 683 million for Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps from European Union funds between 2021 and 2027. According to forecasts 331,000 people from Austria from all areas of education, youth and sports are expected to gain experience abroad during the current programme period.
To the images in the APA photo gallery: apa-fotoservice.at/galerie/39486
