Mobility of individuals in the field of youth

Erasmus+ KA1

 

The Call for Proposals - EAC/A04/2014 – Key Action 1 “Mobility of individuals in the field of youth” has been published by the European Commission, Directorate Education and Training.

 

The purpose of the current “Mobility of individuals in the field of youth” call is to improve the level of key competences and skills of young people, including those with fewer opportunities, as well as to promote participation in democratic life in Europe and the labour market, active citizenship, intercultural dialogue, social inclusion and solidarity, in particular through increased learning mobility opportunities for young people, those active in youth work or youth organisations and youth leaders, and through strengthened links between the youth field and the labour market.

 

The “Mobility of individuals in the field of youth” call aims to promote transnational mobility activities targeting learners (students, trainees, apprentices, young people and volunteers),and staff (professors, teachers, trainers, youth workers, and people working in organisations active in the education, training and youth fields). This action also contributes to cooperation between the EU and eligible Partner Countries and reflects the EU external action objectives, priorities and principles:

- enhance the attractiveness of higher education in Europe and support European higher education institutions in competing on the higher education market worldwide;

- support the priorities identified in the Communications “Increasing the impact of EU Development Policy: an Agenda for Change”18 and “European Higher Education in the World”;

- support the internationalisation, attractiveness quality, equity of access and modernisation of higher education institutions outside Europe in view of promoting the development of Partner Countries;

- promote the development and external policy objectives and principles including national ownership, social cohesion, equity, proper geographical balance and diversity. Special attention will be given to the least developed countries as well as to disadvantaged students from poor socio-economic backgrounds and to students will special needs.

- promote non-formal learning and cooperation in the field of youth with Partner Countries.

 

The specific objectives pursued by the current “Mobility of individuals in the field of youth” call are to:

- support learners in the acquisition of competences (knowledge, skills and attitudes) with a view to improving their personal development and employability in the European labour market and beyond;

- support the professional development of those who work in education, training and youth with a view to innovating and improving the quality of teaching, training and youth work across Europe;

- enhance notably the participants' foreign languages competence;

- raise participants' awareness and understanding of other cultures and countries, offering them the opportunity to build networks of international contacts, to actively participate in society and develop a sense of European citizenship and identity;

- increase the capacities, attractiveness and international dimension of organisations active in the education, training and youth fields so that they are able to offer activities and programmes that better respond to the needs of individuals, within and outside Europe;

- reinforce synergies and transitions between formal, non-formal education, vocational training, employment and entrepreneurship;

- ensure a better recognition of competences gained through the learning periods abroad.

 

The current “Mobility of individuals in the field of youth” call foresees the promotion of different types of mobility. A mobility project will consist of the following stages:

- Preparation (including practical arrangements, selection of participants, set up of agreements with partners and participants, linguistic/intercultural/task-related preparation of participants before departure);

- Implementation of the mobility activities;

- Follow-up (including the evaluation of the activities, the formal recognition - where applicable - of the learning outcomes of participants during the activity, as well as the dissemination and use of the project's outcomes).

 

With the “Mobility of individuals in the field of youth” call, the Erasmus + Programme introduces some important innovations and improvements compared to many actions of mobility supported under past European programmes:

- the reinforcement of  the support offered to the participants of mobility activities in improving their foreign language competences before and during their stay abroad. A European online linguistic support service was gradually introduced by the European Commission starting from the year 2014;

- the offering of space for developing mobility activities that involve partner organisations with different backgrounds and active in different fields or socio-economic sectors;

- the possibility to organise mobility activities within a broader strategic framework and in the medium term. Through a single grant application, covering a period of up to two years, the coordinator of a mobility project will be able to organise several mobility activities, allowing many individuals to go abroad to different countries. As a consequence, under Erasmus+ the applicant organisations will be able to conceive their project in line with the needs of participants, but also according to their internal plans for internationalisation, capacity building and modernisation

 

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of the action in the field of Youth is estimated at EUR 171 700 000. The duration of the project is 16 or 24 months. The applicant must choose the duration at application stage, based on the scale of the project and on the type of activities planned over time.

 

The deadline for submitting proposals in the framework of the current “Mobility of individuals in the field of youth” call is 4 February 2015.

 

Further information on the current call for tenders is available on the European Commission’s web site at: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/calls/index_en.htm