Erasmus 20: Lá dár saol é

 

The 20th Anniversary of the Erasmus programme was marked at a Reception in Farmleigh House, hosted by the Higher Education Authority, on 24 April 2007.

Speaking at the Reception, the President, Mary McAleese, warmly endorsed the contribution that this programme had made to the promotion of mutual understanding in Europe.  In total, almost one million students have participated in Erasmus programmes, more than 20,000 from Ireland.  Two of those students were chosen as representative of the wider group to speak about their experiences: Ciaran Deely from Wexford, a graduate of the University of Limerick, and Bridín Nic Aogáin, a graduate of St Patrick’s College.   Bridín, who is now a primary teacher, spent a Semester in Charles University in Prague.   Recalling her experience, she said:  “The highs included teaching Irish dancing to a Czech clogging class, learning snippets of Czech, Spanish and Flemish (at the same time), visiting Czech schools, interacting with pupils and being treated like a celebrity;  teaching other Erasmus students the skills of hurling and organising mini-hurling matches, learning to ski in Pec Pod Snezkou, hiking up mountains in Cesky Raj and travelling to neighbouring countries with strangers that ended up being friends.  I won’t say too much about the famous Czech beers, Pilsner Urquell, Staropramen, but it’s fair to say that we did enjoy a few!”

In 1987, the EU embarked on a mission to bring the rich learning tradition of Europe to its citizens.  In establishing the Erasums programme for student mobility, the EU was making a statement that education was central to the European ideal not only in terms of equipping its citizens with the knowledge and skills for the future but also in allowing learners to share in the experience and fellowship of joint-study across all the disciplines.

From an initial cohort of 3,244 pioneers in 1987 including 112 from Ireland, the programme now annually attracts over 150,000 students.  In all, since the programme began, over 1.5 million students have spent study periods abroad in eligible member states including some 24,000 from Ireland.  The programme grew over the years to incorporate a number of other activities including teacher/lecturer mobility and is arguably among the EU’s best known activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: Wednesday April 25 2007