Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges

What is a Youth Exchange?

A ‘Youth Exchange is a type of Erasmus+ Mobility project. Youth organisations can send young people to another country to learn and develop their personal and professional skills.  Activities are intended to have a positive impact on the young people and organisations involved, the communities where they take place, the youth field itself and the European economic and societal sectors at large. Read the Youth Mobility section of the Erasmus+ Programme Guide for a comprehensive overview of Youth mobility objectives.

Who Can Take Part in a Youth Exchange?

Any Youth organisation in Ireland, an informal group of young people, or an organisation active in the Youth field can apply to Léargas for funding.  Contact our Youth officers in the Programme Support and Development team if you have any questions about who can take part.

What Happens on a Youth Exchange?

Youth Exchanges are meetings of groups of young people from at least two different countries. They gather for a short period to jointly implement a non-formal learning programme on a topic of their interest, seeking inspiration from the European Youth Goals. Activities might include workshops, exercises, debates, role-plays, simulations, and outdoor activities. As well as activities, the learning period includes a preparation phase and evaluation and follow-up after the exchange. Youth Exchanges are open to all young people, with a special focus on those with fewer opportunities. They aim to:

• Foster intercultural dialogue and learning and feeling of being European
• Develop skills and attitudes of young people
• Strengthen European values and break down prejudices and stereotypes
• Raise awareness about socially relevant topics and encourage engagement in society and active participation.

What is the Funding for a Youth Exchange? 

Erasmus+ funding is available to contribute to costs in distinct categories. These categories are the same for both short-term and accredited projects. The information here gives you an idea of the funding categories available, but you must check the Erasmus+ Programme Guide for full details.

Organisational Support – for preparing and managing all phases of the project

Travel – for return travel costs from participants’ home to venue of the activity

Individual Support – ‘subsistence’ costs for participants (for example, food and accommodation)

Inclusion Support – additional funding to enable people with fewer opportunities to take part

Preparatory Visits – covering travel and subsistence while taking part in a preparatory visit to establish the Youth Exchange

Exceptional Costs – such as costs for providing a financial guarantee, if the National Agency asks for it; or expensive travel costs (for example, when a participant is travelling to or from a very remote place).

There is no set amount of funding for a Youth Exchange. It is decided by the type of activities you apply for, and the amount of funding available. As a guideline, in 2020 projects received funding from varying from €9,000 to €63,000. See Guide to Your Funding for budget allocations in 2021.

How Does an Organisation Get Involved?

There are three ways:

• Apply for a one-off project or a limited number of activities lasting three to 24 months
• Become an accredited organisation with an ‘Erasmus Plan’, and apply for a series of projects over several years
• Join a project as a partner organisation.

A Youth Exchange project is carried out by at least two organisations; a sending and receiving organisation. One of the organisations takes the role of coordinator and applies for the whole project on behalf of the partnership.

What Do We Need In Our Application?

All projects have four stages. You will need to outline these clearly in your application:

• Planning – Define the needs, objectives and desired outcomes
• Preparation – Establish the practicalities
• Implementation – Carry out the activities
• Follow-up – Evaluation and feedback.

You will need to read the Youth Mobility section of the Erasmus+ Programme Guide for further details on these four stages.

How Does an Organisation Find Courses and Partners?

Young people, youth workers and youth organisations should take advantage of the community-building platforms on the European Youth Portal. Eurodesk is also a great source of information for identifying mobility opportunities. Visit our Programme Results section to see which organisations have previously taken part.

What Are the Next Steps? 

Once the project is planned, the organisation or group of young people can submit an online application before the deadline. The application requires a lot of detail and organisations should allocate at least six weeks to plan and write it.

Léargas evaluate applications using strict Erasmus+ criteria. We contact applicants with our decision three months after the deadline. If your project is funded, the organisation receives a large proportion of the funding at the start of the project. The organisation then carries out the project and submits a Final Report on its progress. The remainder of the funding is paid when this Final Report is approved.

Read our section on Applying For Erasmus+ Mobility for more detail on the application process.