Description
“A life-changing experience” might be an accurate way to define the Erasmus+ programme. Over the past three decades, the EU’s flagship programme has allowed over 10 million people to benefit from cross-border exchanges in Europe and beyond. Now, Erasmus+ is undergoing changes of its own caused by a larger budget, a messy Brexit and a ravaging pandemic that has stalled mobility flows all over the world. ESN President Kostis Giannidis joins Victor, Harpa and Alex to discuss the challenges and opportunities lying ahead of an Erasmus+ programme that promises to be more inclusive, more digital and a lot greener.
Guest
Our guest, Kostis Giannidis (link, twitter), is the president of the Erasmus Student Network (website, twitter).
Links
Erasmus+
- Erasmus+: over €28 billion to support mobility and learning for all, across the European Union and beyond (European Commission)
- Europe needs a bigger, more inclusive Erasmus programme (European Data Journalism Network)
- Quietly sprouting: A European identity (The New York Times)
- Standard Eurobarometer Spring 2019: Public opinion in the European Union (European Commission)
- The Erasmus acronym: according to the European Commission; according to the European Council
Turing Scheme
Iceland
Contact
We would be happy if you leave us a comment on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or contact us via email (untangled@podworld.org) or check out our website.
Thanks for this nice session! It was cool to listen to your perspective on the Erasmus + Programme. We from Erasmus by Train e.V. are, of course, rather focused on sustainable travel and from our perspective the new programme falls short in reducing the CO2 impact of the programme. We have a full statement about that published on our website.
Against this background, we find it a bit sad that Kostis’ claim that sustainable travel will be compensated was not challenged, especially regarding the problematic role of ESN in making erasmus travel very unsustainable. The possible 50€ top op will not compensate the price difference between cheap flights and sustainable means of transport. It would have been nice to discuss with Kostis how ESN’s deal with Rhyanair fits to the new horizontal priority of sustainability of the Erasmus + Programme.
However, thank you so much for doing this amazing podcast.
Best,
Jonathan
Dear Jonathan,
Thank you for listening to our podcast and for the much appreciated feedback! We fully agree that while the new programme is more sustainable then it’s predecessors the Commission should continue to work with stakeholders to find ways reduce the carbon footprint as much as possible. Keep up the good work!
Best regards,
EU Untangled