Erasmus+ is the EU programme supporting education, training, youth, and sport across Europe. In this blog, the author reflects on her family’s experience with the Erasmus+ exchange and explores ways to improve equal opportunities for young people to participate and gain international experiences.
Our family had the pleasure of participating in the EU-funded Erasmus+ programme this year. A 14-year-old boy Lauri from Germany stayed at our home for a week in September. Our son Onni already knew Lauri, because Onni was visiting Lauri´s home last spring as part of the same exchange program. This exchange between the comprehensive schools of Orimattila and Heide turned out to be a great experience for the young people and their families.
During the programme, the pupils got to know each other’s cultures and school systems by conducting projects together. During the actual exchange week, the German pupils participated in lessons in the Finnish school. The week also included several excursions, such as visits to museums in Lahti and Tampere. The German students also had a chance to learn about the Finnish nature through a swamp walk and an overnight stay in a camp centre by the lake. At the camp centre, the young people got a possibility to swim in the lake, experiment Finnish sauna and spend time as a group by playing games and dancing. The exchange families also had some spare time to spend with their own guests – our family ended up bowling and going to the movies.
A week spent together showed me how the exchange between two schools offers young people opportunities for international encounters, a chance to practice a foreign language and to gain exciting experiences. As a mother, it was valuable for me to get to know Lauri and through him also his family. I also found out an interesting detail: Lauri is named after the singer of the Finnish band, The Rasmus. The internationality takes interesting forms!
Even though the cultural differences between Germany and Finland are not very big, young people found out differences regarding, for example, school life. The pupils in Finland are calling teachers familiarly by their first names, while German pupils refer to their surnames adding Mr., Mrs. or Miss. Free lunch during the school day is something that is not available in schools in Germany and the German pupils regarded this as a great service here in Finland. Despite of some differences, there are even more unifying factors between young people and their lives.
The former principal of Orimattila´s comprehensive school said to me last spring, that every year when school is gathering young people to participate Erasmus+ programme, many of the participants say that they have never been abroad or on the plane before. It is great that the Erasmus+ program also may support families with the practicalities of the exchange, such as purchasing of a passport and a suitcase, if they cannot afford it. In this way, money does not become an obstacle for the participation.
However, there are other obstacles for young people’s participation. The Finnish National Youth Council Allianssi organizes a yearly event, where professionals working with young people get together in order to discuss current issues in the youth field. Last year, when I participated in this event, I heard that the Erasmus+ programme in Finland reaches girls better than boys. This was also an issue in this exchange between Orimattila and Heide. Last spring, my son Onni was the only boy participating in the programme from his school.
As adults, whether we were parents, teachers or other professionals working with young people, we need to pay more attention to the question of what is preventing boys from participating in the international exchange programs. When we manage to find out the blocking factors, it is also possible to start removing these obstacles. Is there something that could be done differently for example when marketing the programme and when recruiting young people to participate in it? We must strive to ensure that as many young people as possible may enjoy all the great possibilities offered, regardless of gender or other background factors.
Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Erasmus+ programme is part of international education in comprehensive school. In addition to schools, Erasmus+ exchanges are implemented by, for example, many youth organizations. The general objective of the programme is to support, through lifelong learning, the educational, professional and personal development of people in education, training, youth and sport, in Europe and beyond thereby contributing to sustainable growth, quality jobs and social cohesion, to driving innovation, and to strengthening European identity and active citizenship.
The blog was written by Development Coordinator Kati Honkanen.