At the core of our work with Erasmus+ are our partners across Europe. We have partners in Germany, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and France who we make projects with. These projects are supporting research into youth work, sport and community development along with creating the next community leaders in Scotland! Today we hear from our European partners on the value of Erasmus+ and their opinion on Brexit.

We work with local partners across Glasgow to support them to participate in Erasmus+ and send their young people on life changing exchanges. We also work with local partners to support youth workers to exchange best practice and bring their learning back to Glasgow communities. Our Everything Erasmus+ campaign today focuses on the impact of Erasmus+ on partners collaborating to benefit young people and communities in Scotland from supporting to tackle sectarianism to supporting community rehabilitation for youth offenders.

Youth Academy- Germany and University of Cologne social science department

“It is a human instinct to look at oneself as the centre of the world. We all have this wish to have an identity of a country or a group. But in the last years /decades I feel there is a stronger wish to put oneself above any others. UK has a long history and tradition of expanding their culture and ideas over the world, in good ways, but also in former centuries in challenging ways for the so called “beneficiaries”. It was called “colonisation”. Nowadays, maybe people have the same critical point of view about “globalization”. I’m an Educator and I’m wondering about the relationship of Education and National Identity. In the post-modern age do UK want to go back to a nation role, which we had 100 years ago? Do we all have enough time and passion to reflect about thoughts of solidarity and inclusion in post-modern societies? In order to achieve these goals we should, of course, not accept the principles of the market economy of the EU. But how you want to do it by yourself as one Nation? Do you seek to go above the others? Like the motto: UK first?”

Coordinadora Infantil de Vallecas – Madrid

Coordinadora and Achieve More Scotland we have worked together for the last four years creating a strategic partnership for the benefit of our young people through the Erasmus + youth program. We have developed activities and fostered a joint work spaces to develop skills, competencies with our young people with fewer opportunities with the support of Erasmus +.We have found a partner- Achieve More Scotland- in whom we can trust each other to promote opportunities for young people at social risk. We have spent a lot of time creating this Alliance.  In any case, with or without Brexit, Coordinadora will continue to work for our young people, offering them opportunities abroad. We will have to look for new partners, this will take time, but the young Spaniards will continue to have opportunities in Europe but will Glasgow young people who we have enjoyed hosting and seeing the change, will  then what they have opportunities with Brexit?