Posts in category: News

Our most recent tool, CLUE- InCLUsive Erasmus+ tool, is featured in the of SALTO News! It is designed for schools in the fields of School Education (SCH) and Vocational Education and Training (VET) seeking to strengthen their inclusive pedagogical practices through Erasmus+ projects.

Other highlights in this month’s edition include:

• two SALTO centres organizing meetings with their contact points—SALTO Euromed and SALTO Participation and Information
• SALTO European Solidarity Corps publishing a new episode of the Solidarity Talk podcast.

Additionally, we invite you to explore a variety of open calls, tools and publications!

SALTO News is the official newsletter for the SALTO community—a network of 11 resource centres dedicated to promoting and enhancing the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes. Here you can browse previous editions!

To stay informed about the most recent developments and never miss an update, be sure to subscribe to SALTO News today!

On 6 December 2024, the 6th Meeting of Inclusion and Diversity (ID) Officers was held online, bringing together over 25 ID Officers from National Agencies (NAs) across Europe. The event was organised by SALTO Inclusion and Diversity in Education and Training (SALTO ID ET), with the aim of fostering collaboration and sharing best practices to enhance National Agencies’ ID strategies.

After an introduction and a warm welcome from Lidija Živković, the new Head of SALTO ID ET, the meeting began with a lecture on monitoring and evaluating National Agencies’ ID strategies. The lecture was delivered by Adriana Popescu, an expert in strategic planning and supporting National Agencies in developing and updating their ID Strategies. The presentation was followed by parallel working groups, where participants shared their experiences and best practices on various topics related to ID Strategies.

In the second part of the meeting, SALTO ID ET presented their work throughout 2024. Additionally, Minke Poppema from the Dutch National Agency of Erasmus+ introduced international webinars on inclusive internationalisation for school education and invited colleagues from other NAs to join as partners.

The meeting was officially closed by the facilitator, Petar Dukić, who thanked everyone for their participation and encouraged them to join the next meeting, set to take place in the spring.

In this latest issue, you can find a publication that SALTO ID ET has adapted in collaboration with the Czech National Agency, focusing on the inclusion of participants with fewer opportunities in international educational projects. What sets these guidelines apart from other documents is that they present short scenarios based on real-life examples, illustrating how various financial mechanisms can be used to support these groups of participants. 

This edition also explores the connection between solidarity and the EU’s strategic priorities for 2024-2029, and offers insight into the green transition within the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes. In addition, there are many other exciting online events scheduled for the coming period! 

SALTO News serves as the official newsletter for the SALTO community, a network consisting of 11 resource centres dedicated to promoting and enhancing the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes. 

To stay informed about the most recent developments and ensure you never miss an update, be sure to subscribe to SALTO News!

The IDEM (Inclusion, Diversity & Equity in Mobility) Erasmus+ project aims to enable student mobility in line with the recommendations of the Erasmus Charter, the European Commission’s priorities, and the goal of achieving 50% mobility for European university alliances.

To boost inclusion efforts of higher education institutions across Europe, SALTO ID ET partnered with the Dutch National Agency of Erasmus+, to further enhance and promote the Erasmus+ Inclusion Scan tool. The tool enables higher education institutions to complete a self-assessment and reflect on the situation concerning inclusion at the institutional level.

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) invites you to two key initiatives: Flag Parade & Enriching Communities through Engaged Mobilities Conference.

The Future is Erasmus: Celebrating Unity in Diversity – Flag Parade

Starting the year with the negotiations for the new Erasmus+ Programme on the horizon, ESN organises a Flag Parade, bringing together the voices of citizens to the future of education and learning mobility.

Registration for the parade is open! It will take place on 30th of September, from 4 pm to 6 pm CET.

Enriching Communities through Engaged Mobilities Conference

Organised on the 1st of October, this conference is closely aligned to drive social change through enhanced student participation in civic engagement, which corresponds with the fourth priority of Erasmus+: Participation in democratic life, common values and civic engagement.

Discover more about the conference and live agenda and don’t miss the opportunity to register!

The conference will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on the 1st of October, from 10 am to 5 pm.

Read more about the Enriching Communities through the Engaged Mobilities project!

The 5th Meeting of Inclusion and Diversity Officers, held online on September 10, 2024, and organized by SALTO Inclusion and Diversity in Education and Training (SALTO ID ET), brought together more than 35 Inclusion and Diversity Officers from National Agencies across Europe, as well as representatives from the European Commission.  

Staying Sane: What is Mental Health and How to Nourish it through Erasmus+? 

After a warm welcome by Josip Luša, who introduced Lidija Živković as the new head of the SALTO ID ET, the meeting began with a lecture on mental health and the role of educational institutions in promoting it, given by Petar Dukić, an integrative body-oriented psychotherapist and the facilitator of the event.  

The presentation was followed by a good practice example: a Czech Erasmus+ project titled Complete Study Abroad Experience – International Mental Health Program, introduced by a member of one of the project partners, Dr. Gediminas Blaževičius from the Department of Applied Mechanics at the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.  

Education and Mental Health Go Hand-in-Hand 

In the second part of the meeting, the attendees were divided into three parallel working groups, tasked with discussing how educational institutions can work on supporting and promoting mental health with different stakeholders: national agencies, teachers and parents. After a lively discussion, which prompted an exchange of good practices but also raised some very important questions, the groups reported their conclusions and shared ideas on how SALTO ID ET could help them in their future work with applicants and beneficiaries regarding this topic.  

The event wrapped up with a dreaming circle session, led by  facilitator, who encouraged participants to let their imaginations run free when it comes to visions of an inclusive society.   

Our most recent publication, Research on the needs of beneficiaries on the topic of inclusion and diversity in the Erasmus+ programme, is part of the September edition of Salto News.

In this edition, you can also find out how to include one of the horizontal priorities, participation in democratic life, in your projects and why it is important; get familiar with ethical guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence and data in teaching and learning for educators; explore topics of new season of ID Talks and register. Besides that, there are many open calls and new publications.

SALTO News serves as the official newsletter for the SALTO community, a network consisting of 11 resource centres dedicated to promoting and enhancing the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programs.

To stay informed about the most recent developments and ensure you never miss an update, be sure to subscribe to SALTO News!

Considering EU survey findings that most Higher Education students are excluded from the Erasmus programme due to financial reasons, the Erasmus for All Project aims to address the low participation rates by proposing a more applicable scholarship scheme. The project’s goals are to reduce economic disparities within the EU and promote fairness, inclusion, and equity in mobility grants.

Its objectives are to:

• Keep the topics of inclusion and equity in the policy agenda;
• Build a shared understanding among key stakeholders on the desired trajectory/evolution of the Erasmus+ grant system;
• Engage with policy and decision makers on resource allocation strategies that address the needs of the political goal of widening participation in mobility;
• Provide relevant and in-depth input for the mid-term review of the new Erasmus+ programme.

The implementation of Erasmus for All will encompass the organisation of a series of activities, events and publications. Firstly, the team will conduct a mapping of other scholarship funding models to benchmark for the more advantageous examples of grant schemes. This activity will be complemented by a desk research and multiplier event. Second round of activities will be led by working group in charge of designing a more inclusive grant scheme and publishing a document that gathers the methodologies used in developing this proposal. Thirdly, the organisation of a small-scale impact study will set a pilot-experiment with a sample of real Erasmus participants with similar financial conditions (economically disadvantaged). Lastly, partners will prepare a Policy Paper with recommendations based on the conclusions of all the previous activities. The partner institutions will address policy makers in a final conference „The future of Erasmus is for all!“.

Erasmus for all partnership consists of several partners (Sapienza- University of Rome, University Paris-Saclay, University of Pécs, Trinity College Dublin, European University Foundation, European Students’ Union) and two associate partners (SGroup – Universities in Europe, German Academic Exchange service), with University of Porto holding the coordinating role.

In July edition, we encouraged you once again to follow, like, and share our new social media channels: Facebook and LinkedIn. We’ll share the latest news, tools, and publications from our SALTO centre, as well as updates from other SALTOs, the European Commission, Erasmus+, and more.

You can also learn more about the ID Forum 2024, the European Solidarity Corps Staff Meeting, and the Erasmus+ TCA Seminar “Key Enablers of a Transforming Digital Education Ecosystem,” which will take place in September 2024. Additionally, the July edition brings plenty of new publications and open calls.

SALTO News serves as the official newsletter for the SALTO community, a network consisting of 11 resource centres dedicated to promoting and enhancing the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programs.

To stay informed about the most recent developments and ensure you never miss an update, be sure to subscribe to SALTO News!