Have you ever wondered how it is to study at a school in Turkey or in Spain or in Finland? How would your life look if you lived in Iceland, in Cyprus or in Portugal?

What better way to know than put ourselves through a different experience?

 

The European Union provides a wide range of projects and programs, allowing them to fully enjoy European citizenship

 

One of the most important of these is the Erasmus+ Lifelong Learning Program.

 

Starting from compulsory schooling, passing through university and after graduation and work, the European citizen has the opportunity to make an experience abroad.

 

An experience that is a lot more than just a stay!

 

Erasmus is the part of the Erasmus + program that every year offers thousands of university students the opportunity to carry out a period of study in any country of the European Union and in some neighbouring countries that do not belong there.

 

The experience of studying abroad, however, becomes a life experience: that experience that uproots existence and that compels to see the world through brand-new eyes.

 

In 2013, Erasmus Student Network (ESN) started one of its most ambitious projects: Erasmus in Schools. The project aims to put Erasmus students in touch with Italian high school students, in order to:

  • highlight the benefits of carrying out part of the studies abroad;
  • prevent xenophobia;
  • contribute to the development of intercultural skills;
  • spread the idea of a type of innovative learning based on getting in touch with different cultures
  • make young people aware of European diversity as a treasure to be exploited.

During the project implementation, carried out by all the local sections, ESN Italy has the opportunity to collaborate with the Erasmus + National Agency/ INDIRE.

With Erasmus in Schools, international students who are studying in Italy, have the possibility to organize lectures, conferences and meetings in schools, in order to share their culture and traditions and transmit to  young people still in high school the values of citizenship, European Union, mobility, intercultural learning and internationalization.
For young Italians it is like being in another country, through stories of everyday life, language and testimonies of international students.

In 2016 ESN Italy decides to propose to its local Sections a new and innovative edition of Erasmus in Schools, Discovery Europe, born from the idea of extending this project to primary schools and junior high schools.

The task of informing and raising awareness on themes concerning the European Union will be entrusted to young trainers, the ESN volunteers.

The fact that the meetings are held by ESNers, or young university students, represents an added value to the project, as they will be able to stimulate greater interest in the children and young people.

The meetings held in schools will be articulated in different ways according to the referred class. The aim of the lessons will be to make students aware of their role as European citizens through a deepening of the history of European integration and of the structure, tasks and functions performed by the Community institutions.

All this will be enhanced by the presence of international students who will interact with children and young people thus allowing the learning of a new language.

Experts in the field of human resources management have declared that international experiences are an added value to their curriculum vitae, as they help to develop intercultural competences that are highly sought-after today both by European companies and by the public sector. To ensure that young people can seize the opportunities provided by the European Union and give greater guarantees to their future, ESN commits itself to start a constructive dialogue with them.

Have you ever dreamed of traveling the world? Your journey begins today. Start from Erasmus in Schools!

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust