Living the European idea: Curtain up for Europe and Erasmus+
The popular Erasmus programme will be brought before the curtain all over Europe from 9 to 14 October 2023. In Austria schools, kindergartens, higher education institutions, youth and sports institutions in all federal provinces will show what Erasmus+ has to offer – with exhibitions, podcasts, posters, presentations, flash mobs and online activities. The OeAD is the national agency for the implementation of Erasmus+ and promotes the #ErasmusDays2023 in Austria.
To start with, the managing director of Austria’s education agency OeAD, Jakob Calice, visited the GRg 16 Maroltingergasse in Vienna on 3 October 2023. Headmistress Elisabeth Gutenberg presented her Erasmus+ and eTwinning projects together with teachers and pupils. Ernst Gesslbauer, director of the Erasmus+ programme in Austria at the OeAD, and the responsible head of Erasmus+ School Education, Ursula Panuschka, were able to convince themselves of the impact of Erasmus+.
Jakob Calice, the OeAD’s managing director and former Erasmus student, emphasises: "Learning from each other and becoming curious: Erasmus+ shaped more than one generation of Europeans. More than 13 million people discovered Europe and the world through the EU programme. They made friends, learned, taught, worked and gained impulses for their future. In Austria we know many personalities in the education and science scene, in politics and business who still think enthusiastically of their stays abroad. They live the European idea in their work."
"Extracurricular learning places are a fixture of our school tradition," says the GRg 16 Maroltingergasse’s headmistress, Elisabeth Gutenberg. "Erasmus+ and eTwinning connect us with Europe and beyond. Friendships are formed, ideas are exchanged and knowledge is shared."
Students have visited their former schools since the school year 2010/2011 and talked to the pupils about their time abroad. This "Erasmus Back to School" programme has enabled more than 18,000 young people to get first-hand and in-depth information during more than 630 school visits so far.
Challenge #ErasmusAktiv – for sustainability and environmental protection
Climate change and its consequences do not stop at national borders. Sustainability and environmental protection are therefore issues for the future that also play a central part in the EU programme Erasmus+. Each and every one of us can make a contribution. Within the framework of the #ErasmusDays2023 individuals and groups can show what contribution they make to environmental and climate protection – and win.
Martin Polaschek, federal minister for education, science and research, emphasises on the occasion of the ErasmusDays: "Erasmus+ is more than a programme. It is a clear commitment to the European Union and to European cooperation. Through stays abroad young people have the opportunity to experience Europe and learn from other cultures. They will benefit from this throughout their lives. Moreover, it is precisely such experiences of transnational education and cultural exchange that contribute to further strengthening our European identity.
About Erasmus+
Erasmus+ enables stays abroad, promotes European and global cooperation and gives international impetus to the Austrian education and youth policy. Erasmus+ offers mobility and cooperation opportunities in higher education, vocational education and training and further education, school education (including early childhood care and early childhood education), adult education, youth work and sports – within Europe and in some cases also worldwide.
In the current programme generation 2021 to 2027 of Erasmus+ Europe invests 28.4 thousand million euros in Europe-wide and international exchange. Austria will receive around 666 million euros for Erasmus+ and the ESC from European Union funds between 2021 and 2027. 331,000 people from Austria from all educational sectors, youth and sport are expected to gain experience abroad in the current programme period.
To the photos in the APA photo gallery: https://www.apa-fotoservice.at/galerie/34458
