Pioneering virtual exchange: building bridges between youth in the digital era

“Building bridges between youth in the digital era: Pioneering Virtual Exchange” is an opportunity to discuss the values of digital and virtual learning in an interactive and unique format. Young people, policy-makers and education stakeholders will engage in an offline and online dialogue exploring the potential of technology-enabled intercultural learning.

Since its launch in 2018, Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange is breaking new ground in demonstrating modern technologies’ power to bridge divides and build intercultural understanding, offering online people-to-people educational programmes moderated by trained facilitators.

How can young people make use of their global connectivity to collaboratively address concerns and challenges? What could be the unique contribution of tools like Virtual Exchange for empowering youth to be agents of change? A combination of youth voices, policy reflections, and testimonies from Virtual Exchange alumni, facilitators and practitioners will pave the way for a rich discussion among the participants.

The event, supported by the Anna Lindh Foundation, is organised by the consortium implementing Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange, a flagship European Commission initiative bringing together youth across Europe and the Southern Mediterranean region in meaningful online intercultural exchanges. “Funky Fridays” are Friends of Europe’s project in cooperation with Townhall Europe and other partners, to stimulate fresh thinking on the ideas of citizenship, leadership and Europe in a collaborative setting.

The event is also an opportunity to provide a concrete example of the use of Virtual Exchange as a powerful tool to expand the reach of existing pedagogical resources and in particular its potential impact on the dissemination of the Anna Lindh Education Handbook on Intercultural Citizenship Education in the Euro-Mediterranean Region as a basis for the organisation of joint education activities.

Find out more about the event’s programme.

The dialogue “Building bridges between youth in the digital era: Pioneering Virtual Exchange” is organised in the framework of the Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange initiative with the support of the Anna Lindh Foundation and in partnership with Friends of Europe.

About Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange
Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange is a groundbreaking initiative by the European Commission that aims to expand the reach and scope of the Erasmus+ Programme through Virtual Exchanges, which are technology-enabled people-to-people dialogues sustained over a period of time. The initiative is providing innovative ways for young people to engage in intercultural learning. Working with Youth Organisations and Universities, the project is open to any young person aged 18-30 residing in Europe and the Southern Mediterranean. Since the pilot was launched in 2018, more than 18,000 participants were engaged from 44 European and Southern Mediterranean countries. More information at https://europa.eu/youth/erasmusvirtual.

The Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange initiative is established by the European Commission under the European Union budget. It is implemented by a consortium composed of Search for Common Ground, Anna Lindh Foundation, UNIMED, Sharing Perspectives Foundation, Soliya, UNICollaboration, Kiron Open Higher Education, and Migration Matters.