Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

‘Erasmus Plus’ App… a Future Investment | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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European Union flags flutter outside the EU
Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 14, 2017.
REUTERS/Francois Lenoir REUTERS


Brussels- The European Parliament celebrated the 30h anniversary of the Erasmus student exchange program that has provided scholarships to nine million students across Europe, stated the European Commission.

Following the launch of Erasmus Plus app for smartphones, President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “Each euro we invest in Erasmus is an investment in the future, the future of a young person and of our European ideals.”

I cannot imagine anything more worthy of our investment than these leaders of tomorrow. As we celebrate the nine millionth person to take part, let’s make sure we are nine times more ambitious with the future of the Erasmus+ program.”

The “Erasmus Plus” application has been developed for smartphones, and designed to facilitate the work of students, professional trainees, and students seeking to partake in the young exchanges.

Tibor Navracsics, commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, said: “30 years of mobility and cooperation have given Europe an open-minded and entrepreneurial generation of nine million people who are today shaping the future of our society. By putting Erasmus+ at their fingertips, the new App will bring Europe closer to young people all over the world.”

The commission said Erasmus will help more than four million people to study, train and volunteer abroad till 2020.

The Erasmus+ Mobile App represents an important improvement, and will make the program more inclusive and accessible to all.

The Commission’s statement stressed the Union’s strong commitment on building the future of Erasmus+ beyond 2020 together with the Erasmus+ generation to ensure that it reaches out to a wider range of young people.

The Erasmus+ Mobile App will allow participants to easily track their progress in different administrative steps before, during and after their stay abroad. It will also enable them to share and vote for their preferred tips to help others integrate into any local community.

Juncker, and European Parliament President Antonio Tajani are leading the 30th anniversary celebrations for the Erasmus program at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The event was attended by Erasmus-member organization, NGOs, along with 33 youths from the participating countries: all 28 EU Member States plus Turkey, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein
Erasmus program was launched in 1987 with the participation of 11 countries and 3,200 students.

In 2014, the Erasmus+ Program was created, integrating all the initiatives in the fields of education, training, youth and sport, in a single EU framework. More than two million people have found benefit from an Erasmus+ experience in less than three years.

In January, the European Commission mentioned that a record of 678,000 European citizens benefited from Erasmus program for exchange in 2015. The program which enables Europeans to study, train, work, and volunteer abroad is considered among the most successful initiatives launched by the union.

In 2015, France, Germany, and Spain had the biggest share of participants in the program, while Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom were the top countries who received them.