Erasmus+ and Léargas Funding

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Wexford Youth Orchestra’s participation in the international youth orchestra festival in San Salvo, Italy was supported by the Youth in Action programme run by the EU and administered in Ireland by Léargas. Youth in Action has been now been absorbed into the Erasmus+ programme, which continues to support projects in youth mobility and activities throughout the European Union and in accession and some other partner countries.

The Young Dublin Symphonia has also taken part in exchange activities under Youth in Action and this summer hosted young players from Il Centro Sperimentale Musicale per l’Infanzia in Dublin on a return-leg of an exchange. We hope to carry their experiences with the funding process in the December issue of Newsnotes.

Léargas runs frequent training sessions for groups interested in applying and there are also a variety of subsidised opportunities for weekend training abroad that can help with building contacts in addition to learning how to access funding through the programme (these usually cost €50 including flights).

A Brief Overview of Erasmus+ for Young People
If you’re a young person, or working with young people, you will be only too well aware of the current levels of youth unemployment in Ireland, and indeed across Europe. In fact, more than 5.5 million young people are unemployed in the EU-28 area today.

The Erasmus+ Youth in Action Programme is working to tackle youth unemployment by prioritising:

  • projects which promote young people’s social inclusion and well-being by tackling the issue of youth unemployment
  • projects which encourage the participation of unemployed young participants
  • projects which look to develop skills such as entrepreneurship, digital skills and multi-lingualism among young people
  • the use of Youthpass to recognise the learning and skills development that takes place in Erasmus+ Youth in Action activities.

Mobility Activities for Young People
Youth Exchanges and European Voluntary Service (EVS) have enormous potential to support the development of skills that are transferable to the workplace including: promoting Personal Development, Awareness and Confidence; Communication skills; Project Management; and Financial Management skills. In the case of EVS, young people have the opportunity of volunteering in an employment sector that may be of interest to them and perhaps developing specific skills relevant to their desired career e.g. in Education, Health, the Arts or Youth Work.

Transnational Youth Initiatives
These are projects that are designed and implemented by young people themselves. They are aimed at developing a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship among young people. Check out this exciting ongoing Transnational Youth Initiative from a group of Irish and Italian young people. Could your young people benefit from an opportunity like this?

Strategic Partnerships
Interested in developing innovative tools or methods for supporting and working with unemployed young people? This action enables you to work with international partners over a longer period to develop innovative approaches and share good practice. You could even develop a cross-sectoral project including partners active in other areas of employment, education, training or even businesses!

Youthpass
All participants in Erasmus+ Youth in Action projects are entitled to receive a Youthpass certificate. Each young person has the opportunity to tailor their Youthpass to reflect their specific learning outcomes and the skills they have developed as a result of the project. What employer wouldn’t value this addition to a young person’s CV?

Find out more – Visit www.erasmusplus.leargas.ie – the programme guide is long and somewhat intimidating but the staff at Léargas provide training, one-to-one consultation and will help groups, on an individual basis, with filling out application forms.