Erasmus+ celebrates its 35th anniversary
In 2022, the Erasmus+ programme is celebrating its 35th anniversary, a fitting opening to the European Year of Youth. This anniversary celebration coincides with the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Since 1987, 12 million European citizens have availed of Erasmus+. In addition to people in higher education, the programme also accommodates a range of other profiles. Each year, 100,000 French students do an Erasmus+ exchange.
Erasmus+, 35 years of European exchanges
1987: Creation of the Erasmus programme
When first launched, Erasmus only involved 11 countries, and was for students and professors in higher education.
In its first year, it attracted 3,000 European students, including 900 from France.
1989: Creation of the Youth programme
1995: 1995 – Creation of the Leonardo da Vinci programme for vocational education and training and Comenius programme for school-level education
2000: Creation of the Grundtvig programme for European cooperation and exchanges in adult education and lifelong learning.
2009: 2 million European students from 31 countries participated in the programme
2014: Launch of Erasmus+
European exchange and mobility programmes for education, training, youth and sport came together under Erasmus+, with a budget of €16 billion for 2014-2020 to make Erasmus+ more accessible to all.
2017: 9 million mobility experiences in the thirty years of the European programmes’ existence.
The #ErasmusDays were celebrated for the first time in mid-October and gradually adopted throughout the EU and the entire world, wherever Erasmus+ projects took place
2021: The new Erasmus+ programme for 2021-2027 was launched with a budget of €28 billion, an increase of +80% compared to 2014-2020.
As a result of Brexit, the United Kingdom left the Erasmus+ programme.
2022: Towards an Erasmus+ for all
The Erasmus programme celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2022, a fitting opening to the European Year of Youth and coinciding with the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Ceremony marking 35 years of Erasmus+
The ceremony of the 35th anniversary of Erasmus+ takes place on 20 January 2022 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Maison de la Radio et de la Musique in Paris and will be broadcast live on the Agence Erasmus+ France / Éducation Formation YouTube channel.
Its aim is to raise public awareness of the opportunities Europe offers in terms of youth mobility and volunteering, to promote at both national and European level concrete and ambitious actions to reinforce them, and to propose avenues for the future.
A video message by French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The first part will be centred around speeches by alumni of the Erasmus+ programme across France, illustrating the multiple people and opportunities that have developed thanks to the programme over the last 35 years. At the venue, the alumni will engage in discussion with the French ministers involved in implementing Erasmus+ and with European Commissioner Nicolas Schmit.
During the second part, young participants at the Erasmus+ Citizens’ Forum will present Minister of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, with their proposals for “the right to learning mobility in Europe for all”. The 35 proposals from the Erasmus+ Citizens’ Forum will be issued to participants.