ESAA Newsletter - ESAA Projects 2019 (Round I) ESAA is an alliance that brings together the Erasmus Mundus Students and Alumni Association (EMA), Erasmus Student Network (ESN), garagErasmus (gE) and OCEANS Network. The alliance offers a dynamic platform for networking, professional development and intercultural learning while promoting European Higher Education and worldwide cooperation. Find more on our webpage and on our social media. First call for ESAA Projects: We are happy to announce that we have launched a pilot programme in which ESAA supports projects around the globe. The ESAA Projects scheme aims at encouraging collaboration across ESAA Member Organisations and advance ESAA’s mission. Applicants had to present a project that is based along one of the following clusters: •    Cluster 1: Strengthening Higher Education Quality •    Cluster 2: Spreading Erasmus+ and Widening Participation •    Cluster 3: Increasing Social Inclusion, Empowerment, and Participation •    Cluster 4: Capacity Building Facts & Figures: •    over 60 applications •    33 accepted projects •    60% Programme Country and 40% Project Country projects supported •    Division of cluster support              o Cluster 1: 9.3%              o Cluster 2: 35.4%              o Cluster 3: 13.2%              o Cluster 4: 42.2% This first round of applications lets projects be implemented by 31 May 2019. A second round for the remaining budget is underway and a further round for the second half of the year is planned later in the year.   Overview of accepted projects: We have prepared a short overview of all projects that were accepted below and have grouped them based on their project implementation location. Please check out the different projects below. If you come upon one you find especially interesting and would like to connect/collaborate with the project, feel free to contact the project manager. European based ESAA projects BELGIUM – Build an impactful audience in the digital era; a capacity building training on User Experience and User Interface design To boost our joint outreach, we believe it is extremely important that local initiatives have the hard skills and knowledge to promote their projects through engaging visuals and user-friendly websites. In order to build such capacity, this project aims to organise a capacity building training event in the field of User Experience and User Interface design. During this 2-day training, all 4 ESAA member organisations have the chance to learn from professionals in the field and understand how to improve the user-friendliness of their online presence. For this project we will cooperate with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and organize an open call for external trainers. The official training event will take place during the time frame of 1st May until 15th May. Project Manager contact: Dimitris Kritsotakis - it-chair@esn.org GREECE – The role of student associations in improving the Quality of Erasmus+ program in Higher Education This project is a one-day academic conference, which will be held in March 2019 in Athens with the participation of Erasmus Student Network Greece (ESN Greece), the Erasmus Mundus Association of Greece (EMA), the Ministry of Education, the National Agency of Erasmus + and representatives of Greek Higher Education Institutions. The aim of this conference is to bring students and university staff together to explore ways of cooperation in order to improve the quality of the Erasmus + program in Greece and to foster the Internationalization of Higher Education. The conference will provide an opportunity to highlight the role of students and the importance of including them in decision-making. It is noteworthy that this conference is a student initiative that is organized entirely by the students themselves. The official event will take place in March 2019. Project Manager contact: Konstantinos Giannidis - president@esngreece.gr BELGIUM – Erasmus Vote Power: active citizens for an active Europe! The gE4Brussels in cooperation with the European Parliament, garagErasmus Foundation, the Union of European Federalists and ParagonEurope will organize a training event for 27 Erasmus Ambassadors. It was identified that many students are not well informed on how they can vote for the European Parliament and what the deadlines are. This project aims at motivating the Erasmus generation to go vote for the EE19 by explaining –country by country- the procedure they need to follow. These 27 Erasmus Ambassadors should be trained to promote, raising awareness and give guidance on the EE19 and disseminate necessary information. This event already took place on 8 February, if you are interested in the outcome feel free to contact the project manager. Project Manager contact: Valentina Presa - valentina.presa@garagerasmus.org  PORTUGAL – Social Weekend: Rebuild a Home This project aims at gathering the Erasmus community in a social awareness activity by rebuilding the home of a family in poverty. The ESN Lisboa in cooperation with the “Just a Change” foundation will provide international students in Lisboa the opportunity of spending one weekend together rebuilding homes. The objective of this project is to empower neglected communities, advocate social inclusion within the Erasmus community, raise awareness for people in poverty regarding living space and in general to use the Erasmus community to implement this initiative in other parts of Europe. The weekend of rebuilding a home will take place at the end of March or the beginning of April. Project Manager contact: Ivo Rosario - localrepresentative@esnlisboa.org BELGIUM – Business and Finance Conference In cooperation with the Microsoft office in Brussels, the European Institute for Industrial Leadership and the European Commission, this project aims at developing transversal skills and building capacities of young people regarding financial management and fundraising. The key goals of this project are to promote soft skills, knowledge through non-formal education, job opportunities, inside knowledge of HR/recruitment procedures and success stories of people turning their volunteering activities or traineeships into full-time employment. These key goals will be promoted during a training event which are organized by company representatives and by trainers of the ESN’s internal training program. The conference will take place on the 8th March till 10th March or on 15th March till 17th March 2019. Project Manager contact: Mathias Castelain - mathiascastelain5@gmail.com  SPAIN – Evento Nacional Barcino 2019 Barcino 2019, taking place in Barcelona, is the second National Event of the academic year regarding the ESN Spain. It includes more than 1,250 Erasmus students and volunteers from all over the ESN sections in Spain. During this event, students from all over the world will come to the Catalan city to participate in an intercultural weekend. It will promote mobility and they will discover the heritage of the Catalan culture by visiting the main monuments and tasting their traditional Catalonian food. In order to realize this project, the organizing committee and team will cooperate with the four universities that have an ESN section in Barcelona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya), the Barcelona local government, Ludàlia, an association that organises activities for people with intellectual disabilities, ARPUBA and Verse. The activities which are planned during this project range from an orientation race, taking part in the parade to commemorate the International Women’s Day, city tours and a Calçotada with a Castellers show. The overall goal of this Project and the planned events is to promote equality and intercultural understanding as well as the heritage of the Catalan culture. Through this event the Erasmus Student Network’s values will become visible: diversity, tolerance and equality. The event itself will be from the 8th March till 10th March. Project Manager contact: Rubén Melgarejo Ibáñez - barcino@esnbarcelona.org  FINLAND – ESN Finland’s Social Inclusion Coordinators’ Meeting The project’s aim is to promote and raise awareness of social inclusion (SI) and to enhance the commitment of Finnish local sections to the SI causes, legitimize the position of local social inclusion coordinator and disseminate practical implications of SI. Partners for this project are the Åbo Akademi University and possibly City of Vaasa, NGOs such as the Finnish Red Cross and ESN’s national partners such as Timetravels. The following activities should implement the above discussed objectives: Erasmus in Schools, human library, social inclusion workshop, social program and dinner in the dark. During these events mobility opportunities will be promoted at schools, SI-experts will pass on their knowledge, external trainer-led workshops will be held and team-building activities will take place. Project Manager contact: Toni Tamminen -  president@esnfinland.eu POLAND – Katowice Internationals World Cup: Together is Better The project aims at organizing a sport event that would include 16 to 20 different nationalities of players living in Silesia. There are many foreigners living alone in Katowice which have struggles finding connections and common passions. During the first edition of the event in May 2018, we had 160 participants from 16 countries and 4 continents. All players are people living in Silesia, who wish to integrate and be part of the local community. The event will be a way to promote multicultural integration and promote diversity, increasing awareness among the locals about the co-existence with citizens coming from different countries partially having to live under difficult circumstances. For this project we would cooperate with different entities such as Fundacja Futprints, Muzułmańska Fundacja Pomocy, Nahda Foundation, Bona Fides, Jan Olbrycht (Member of EU Parliament, representing Silesia region) and different supporting companies. The idea is to organize as many sessions as possible by inviting the participants to share the reasons why they changed or had to change country. In May 2019 the final world Cup will take place for an entire weekend (2 days) including 200-250 participants. Project Manager contact: Marco Cillepi - marco.cillepi@gmail.com   CROATIA – Mobility - Step by Step Mobility - Step by Step by ESN Croatia is a four-month project which includes both informing the wider audience and educating the volunteers. The non-formal education workshops in various cities across Croatia aim at educating the local youth on mobility possibilities and various soft-skills through peer-to-peer learning. The project will address equal knowledge and possibilities regarding the youth from different cities in Croatia. On the other hand, volunteers will go through a process during the workshop which will enable them, not only to carry out workshops in this project, but also to secure sustainability and implement workshops even after the project ends. Furthermore, this project aims at strengthening the cooperation between various member organisations as a basis for knowledge and skills development.  AMPEU (Agencija za mobilnost i programe EU) - Croatian National Agency, Representatives of the European Commission in Croatia, Student Union of the Polytechnic in Požega will support and help us as our partners. The following activities are planned in order to reach the proect’s goal of informing, educating and promoting: kick-off meeting (2nd February, online), level-up meeting (1st-3rd March, Zagreb), wrap-up meeting (3rd May, Rijeka), EYA – ESN Youth Academy (end of February – beginning of May, Osijek, Požega, Zagreb, Rijeka, Zadar, Split), What was the + in your Erasmus+? (February – May, Croatia), Mobility for Everyone (March, Zagreb), Final video (May 2019, online). Project Manager contact: Matea Kladaric - president@esn.hr  SPAIN – Gender and Equality Training Event This event is being organized by all the sections of Erasmus Student Network (ESN) in Madrid, with the support of ESN Spain. The main aim is to train our volunteers in two important topics: gender and equality. This event offers the participants a wider vision of reality and their will of expanding their knowledge in important subjects such as inclusion and global participation. A three-day training event will take place on 15-17th February in Madrid and it will focus on training and raising awareness among volunteers in order to contribute to society. For this project we will also cooperate with the Complutense University of Madrid, Cruz Roja Española, Spanish Youth Council (CJE) and the Spanish National Eramus+ Agency (SEPIE). This event already took place in February, if you are interested in the outcome feel free to contact the project manager. Project Manager contact: Carlos Gutiérrez - carlos.gutierrez@esnucm.org UNITED KINGDOM – Brexit and the Erasmus+ programme This project entails both Erasmus Student Network UK and Ireland representatives (16-20 approximately) discussing the effects of Brexit on the Erasmus+ programme in these countries. Furthermore, the relations post-Brexit with Ireland sharing a land border with the UK. The project expects to produce measurements to put in place in order to encourage participation through the Erasmus+ programme post-Brexit, focusing on thematic areas such as education, employment, culture and society. For this project we will cooperate with our partners Europeers and the National Agencies of UK and of Ireland. During a two-day meeting the main focus will be to break down the thematic areas concerning Brexit and discussing how to move forward. In addition, two main strategy documents and some supporting documents will be created. These will promote and encourage mobility through the Erasmus+ programme and mobility programmes, pre- and post- Brexit in the UK and Ireland, by the measurements focusing on thematic areas such as education, employment, culture and society. These events already took place in February, if you are interested in the outcome feel free to contact the project manager. Project Manager contact: Sofia Tyrla - sofiatyrla@gmail.com   POLAND - Discover Europe Discover Europe is one of the biggest Pan-European student photo contests with over 15 years long tradition. It’s aim is to promote mobility and travelling among young people through photography. The contest is divided into three categories - each one describing different faces of the world and showing new perspectives of everyday life. Supporting young artists and stimulating intercultural dialogue between Polish and international students have always been one of the most important premises of the contest. At the central stage, three best photographs in each category are chosen from the top 10% of the entries and they are recognised at the awards ceremony. Participants can upload their photographs from 1st of March till 31st of March. Afterwards the online voting will happen and the eliminations for the jury meeting. Around 100 pictures in all categories will be presented to the jury by the middle of April and they will choose the best ones. The 30 awarded participants will be invited for the official closing of the project which will happen on the 11th of May in Warsaw. Project Manager contact: Damian Piróg - vice@esn.pl CZECH REPUBLIC - Social Inclusion MeetUp by ESN CZ Social Inclusion MeetUp is a networking project organised by Erasmus Student Network Czech Republic (ESN CZ) in cooperation with The European Federation of Psychology Students’ Associations (EFPSA). The main aim of the project is to evaluate the ongoing implementation of the Erasmus in Schools and Erasmus Adaptation projects and to plan its implementation for the rest of the year 2019. The MeetUp will accommodate numerous institutional stakeholders and members of ESN CZ and EFPSA participating in the implementation of the Erasmus in Schools and Erasmus Adaptation projects at the local level (18 universities in 11 towns in the Czech Republic). This project is a unique opportunity to bring together members of student organisations, representatives of institutional stakeholders and local and exchange students who will share relevant knowledge and experience in terms of social inclusion. The official MeetUp will take place 3rd - 5th May 2019. Project Manager contact: Tereza Kadlecová - president@esncz.org POLAND - National Training National Training is a project organised by ESN Poland Association. It aims at strengthening the national level of the organisation. The main goal is to tighten the cooperation bonds between the National Board and the National Coordinators and improve their skills, to consequently enhance the further development of ESN Poland Association. The agenda focuses on project management and leadership topics that will be covered by external trainers. These events already took place in February, if you are interested in the outcome feel free to contact the project manager. Project Manager contact: Radosław Łyko - radeklyko10@gmail.com GREECE - Mobility is a lifestyle: Study, work, travel abroad During the Annual General Meeting Thessaloniki 2019 of ESN which is hosted by ESN Greece, a big mobility fair will take place. More than 1000 international students, from all over Europe, will present their country and university to local students, providing them with information about their universities and academic opportunities. Our Partners will promote the Erasmus+ programme and raise awareness about the opportunities and benefits of mobility programmes. All local students of Thessaloniki, which is the largest University City in Greece with more than 125 thousand students, will be invited. They will have the chance to come, get informed, participate and interact with the international community. Meanwhile, during the fair, some parallel sessions will take place, giving the chance to participants to learn more about Erasmus+ International, develop their skills in CV writing and understand the importance of actively participating in the upcoming European Parliament Elections. The above-mentioned event will take place on 21 April 2019. Project Manager contact: Antonis Platis - agm@esngreece.gr FRANCE - ARTrees learning village There is a critical need for training and support programmes to help graduate students and postdoctoral researchers prepare for a wide possibility of career paths. Future young international researchers are invited to present their scientific work during the annual international conference on agroforestry (www.agroforestry2019.cirad.fr) in Montpellier. How can these young talents make the best from their participation to this conference? By attending our learning village to reflect and take action for their career development. ARTrees learning village: One week of collective research work on the field, seconded by a mentoring program, with results to be presented to a non-expert audience. Building up a community. Reinforcing soft skills/employability. Discovering a genuine structure from the socio-economic tissue to broaden participants' career reflections. The event will take place from 13-19 May 2019. Project Manager contact: Miriam Perez Diaz - perezd.myriam@gmail.com BELGIUM – GlobErasmus GlobErasmus is a two-day training organized by EMA and ESN focused on the topic of Global Citizenship. The training will be open to all ESAA Member Organizations. Firstly, it aims to educate the ESAA Member Organisations about Global Citizenship and consequently, Global Competencies developed through the different Organisations. Secondly, it will empower the participants to identify global competencies they already have as Erasmus alumni and volunteers and reinforce them through workshops and training sessions with external partners. Finally, the participants will create an action plan for their organisations to work together and create synergies for the development of the Global Competence among their members. The main outcome of the project will be a toolkit for ESAA organisations (and other NGOs as well) consisting of best practices and recommendations for nurturing global citizenship and reinforcing the development of global competence. The training is planned to take place from 9-11 May 2019. Project Manager contact: Joana Ribau Lente - citizenship-education@esn.org GREECE - #GetInvolved at The Crete Trip 2019! The Crete Trip is the National Event of Erasmus Student Network Greece. Organized every year since 2012, it has become the biggest Erasmus encounter in Greece and one of the most popular ESN events in Europe. Each year, more than 800 Erasmus students and ESN volunteers, 75+ nationalities from 40+ countries all over the world, meet on the biggest island of Greece, Crete. This year, the goal is to visit the island for the 7th time and follow ESN’s mission, which is “the enrichment of society through international students”. The participants will be made aware of the environmental pollution and will have access to useful information on how to reduce it.  They will be given the opportunity to participate in the biggest simultaneous beach clean that has ever happened in Crete. More young people will get informed about Erasmus+, even in remote areas where it’s not known. The event will take place from 9-12 May 2019.   Project Manager contact: Elisavet Rozaki - socialerasmus@esngreece.gr BELGIUM - Strategic project 2019 - SPARK Erasmus Mundus programme has helped broaden a lot of aspects of internationalisation strategies, spread cooperation in regions outside Europe, led to specific language policies and served as a recruitment strategy. It has triggered bilateral cooperation, joint PhDs, publications, research and joint Erasmus+ projects. The Erasmus Mundus Association is a connection between Europe and the rest of the world through Erasmus Mundus fellows and thus is a crucial partner in enhancing above mentioned efforts. The strategic project SPARK - Sustainable Partnerships through combined Actions, Resources and Knowledge, is focused on fostering close collaboration between ESAA MOs (ESN, garagErasmus, OCEANS) and EMA through development and implementation of common projects while also empowering EMA to contribute to the objectives of international HE and soft diplomacy set by the EC bringing in the international dimension. Project Manager contact: Lucia Loposova – lucia.loposova@esaa-eu.org EUROPE - Laissez-Passer of the Erasmus Generation The Laissez-Passer of the Erasmus generation is the passport of European talents and its main aim is to support and put in the spotlight the most innovative ideas and initiatives proposed by the Erasmus Generation. garagErasmus Foundation firmly believes that this Generation deserves more opportunities and, to highlight its brilliant ideas and to get funds for new initiatives. The Laissez-Passer will help to support and promote the most brilliant ideas that will be presented by any member of the Erasmus Generation. Between 1st of February and 30th of April 2019 brilliant talents of the Erasmus generation will be able to present their ideas to the rest of the community registered to the platform (Erasmus alumni, companies, universities and civil society organisations). It will be up to each proponent to convince the rest of the community of the value of the proposed project. The community will then vote all available projects and the six most voted ones will access the final phase of the contest, when a jury will select the winner of the Laissez-Passer during the final event with live presentations. Building on its successful first edition in 2017-18, this second edition aims at increasing the number of interactions between Erasmus talents, civil society and like-minded people as well as giving to another brilliant Erasmus idea the chance to become reality It also aims at providing direct support to the promotion of the best 6 ideas coming from the Erasmus Generation (i.e. the winner plus the other 5 finalists), especially with the private sector, that might be interested in supporting them financially. Project Manager contact: Francesco Guerzoni – francesco.guerzoni@esaa-eu.org ARMENIA – ‘’Edu VanHub” Media Literacy Workshops for Inclusion of Socially Disadvantaged Youth in Armenia The “Edu VanHub” is a project that promotes the role of media literacy for the inclusion and empowerment of socially disadvantaged youth. The mobile Edu VanHub will provide media literacy workshops for young adults in poor Armenian villages and develop a documentary film and an online platform. In cooperation with “Future in our hands”, “Media initiatives centre”, “national Erasmus+ Office in Armenia”, “Erasmus+ Youth Center in Armenia, “European Leadership and Debate Academy”, “Gyumri ‘Youth Initiative Centre’ of the Shirak region”, “We youth NGO of the Lori region”, “Media Partner PARA TV” inclusion, empowerment and participation of marginalized people will be fostered. In April the workshop and field trips will take place which will continue in May 2019. Project Manager contact: Gevorg Harutyunyan - gevgevam@gmail.com WESTERN BALKAN, EASTERN PARTNERSHIP, RUSSIAN FEDERATION - Capacity Building for EU Neighbourhood Countries The objective of the project is to improve the Youth and student Engagement in the Neighbouring countries around the European Union in order to encourage youth activism in order to support local youth organisations with an international and multicultural mindset to establish better roots in the local communities, as well as offer them methods and tools to build capacity in their organisations with regards to HR Management, Organisational Management and the Activity building. Focus Countries: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Kosovo, Montenegro, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Territory of Ukraine as recognised by international law, Russia The initial contact has been established to organise the event in Novi Sad, Serbia which will be the European Youth Capital in 2019. The event is planned to take place in May 2019. Project Manager contact: Wim Gabriels – wim.gabriels@esaa-eu.org ROMANIA - GoInternational 1.0 The GoInternational Project idea started once the benefits of the first Erasmus+ mobilities across Europe were noticed. The number of Romanian students that have applied for such a mobility increased in the last few years and the result foreseen was that it may change the educational system once the local students come back from their Erasmus+ mobility. GoInternational project is meant to encourage more and more students to choose this international adventure and to share information about their countries and local universities with their new Erasmus+ friends.The project’s main aim is to organize a knowledge transfer process from the students who already lived the international adventure towards the ones that may still be afraid of financial restraints, homesick, bureaucracy or various other reasons. All these doubts can be solved by offering the correct information about what the programme means, about how you can overcome every obstacle you may encounter in your mobility and some pieces of advice from the other students that lived this enriching experience. Project Manager contact: Bianca-Georgiana Stefan - president@timisoara.esn.ro Asia based ESAA projects CHINA –  EMACC Professional Development network This project will build networks with companies and universities in China and will promote EMACC. Since people in China mostly use Wechat instead of Facebook, most people don’t have access to online information regarding Erasmus Mundus. This project is about building a web/wechat account which will provide access and expand networks and job opportunities, as well as promote Erasmus Mundus (EMA). With the help of Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Commerciales D’Angers and the IUCN China, people will be able to collect information and share experiences. The platform will be built by the 25th 2018, wechat account registration will take place until the 1st January 2019 and the information and post of Emers collecting until May 2019. Project Manager contact: Jie Xiang - jiexiang0611@gmail.com SINGAPORE - Strengthening Internationalisation at Home in Southeast Asia through Student Organisations This project consists in the organisation of a conference and training event bringing together experts in international student mobility and ‘Internationalisation at Home’ (IaH) from ESAA member organisations in Europe and Asia with Higher Education Institutions (HEI) representatives and students from Southeast Asian countries. The event will take place in Singapore in May 2019 and it will consist of workshops, cooperative sessions and a panel debate. The event will allow participants to learn more about successful practices related to supporting international student mobility, to develop their skills and expand their knowledge, to debate the relevance of student support structures in Southeast Asia, and to discuss further cooperation and practical implementation of local initiatives. The event will also result in the creation of a common vision and plan to enhance IaH and support to international students in the HEIs involved through the creation or strengthening of local volunteer-based student organisations. Project Manager contact: Gaffar Rampage - gaffar.rampage@esn.org SOUTH ASIAN and ASEAN REGION - ERASMUS+ Global Partnerships:  Building Youth Coalitions for UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within South Asia and ASEAN. The world is now home to more than 1.8 billion young people. Yet often, these young people are pushed to the periphery when it comes to key policy-making areas of education, peace, sustainability and global citizenship wherein they are the key stakeholders.   ERASMUS + Global Partnerships (EGP) ​espouses the role of coalition building within youth in a North-South and South-South. In this manner, the project leverages upon the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4: Quality Education and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals) and its sub-target of ​capacity building. With an objective to achieve an effective, dynamic and sustained youth engagement for SDGs, the project is envisioned to facilitate young people in building coalitions, exchanging perspectives across disciplines and developing sustainable grassroots solutions for their communities. EGP, therefore, seeks to organize a youth-driven 2,5-day incubator session to build coalitions in achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals with a range of actors: Erasmus+ Student and Alumni Alliance (ESAA) and its members, youth organisations, higher education institutions, civic organisations and social entrepreneurs. The incubator is planned to take place from 9-10 April 2019. Project Manager contact: Neringa Tumenaite – neringa.tumenaite@oceans-network.eu PAKISTAN – Pakistan capacity building workshop at Lahore University of Management Sciences for students and ESAA alumni This project addresses the increase of knowledge regarding the Erasmus+ programme among university staff and the promotion of existing Erasmus+ programmes. EMA and OCEANS members will cooperate with the Lahore University of Management Sciences. For this project two activities are planned: a morning workshop and a networking lunch. During the morning workshop local EMA members will share their experiences with students who haven’t applied for exchange programs. The networking lunch will provide students the opportunity of meeting Alumni of the exchange programs. The official event will take place in April 2019. Project Manager contact: Melania Lotti - melania.lotti@gmail.com  Africa based ESAA projects ETHIOPIA, UGANDA and RWANDA – WE AfriHug 2019 - East Africa This project derives from the former successful project, WE AfriHug 2018, and aims at promoting Erasmus+ and widening the participation of African HEIs and CSOs. EMA and garagErasmus will work together with their partners WE AfriHug Team, University of Piraeus & University of Ioannina, Inter Alia, AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub, Afrika Youth Movement, Vijana Kwa Afrika and Trade.com on promoting Erasmus+ opportunities for African HEIs and CSOs, fostering capacity building, creating synergies between the EU and AU HEIs and CSOs and create an online platform. From 15th February till 4th April is the implementation phase during which the preparatory meetings and training seminars will take place. Project Manager contact: Konstantinos Maragos - dis.maragos@gmail.com NIGERIA and GHANA – WE AfriHug 2019 - West Africa This project derives from the former successful project, WE AfriHug 2018, and aims at promoting Erasmus+ and widening the participation of African HEIs and CSOs. EMA and garagErasmus will work together with their partners WE AfriHug Team, University of Piraeus & University of Ioannina, Inter Alia, AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub, Afrika Youth Movement, Sedarvp Ghana and Trade.com on promoting Erasmus+ opportunities for African HEIs and CSOs, fostering capacity building, creating synergies between the EU and AU HEIs and CSOs and create an online platform. From 9th April till 31st May is the implementation phase during which the preparatory meetings and training seminars will take place. Project Manager contact: Konstantinos Maragos - dis.maragos@gmail.com MOROCCO – Erasmus Plus promotional caravan and capacity building in Morocco For this project a promotional caravan of Erasmus Plus will be organized and addresses capacity building of EMA members and ESN future local communities in Morocco and the goal of establishing local communities and promotion of Erasmus+ at university level. Within two weeks the caravan will visit 11 higher education institutions covering major cities of Marocco and reaching approximately 2000 university students and teachers. This project’s strength relies on their EMA and ESN experiences and partnerships with the EU delegation in Rabat as well as with Jeune Chambre Internationale, Erasmus Credits Mobility Beneficiaries and 11 higher education institutions. With the help of promotional and informational sessions about Erasmus+, ESAA, EMA, ESN, seminars and trainings, capacity building will be facilitated, participation will increase and Erasmus+ will be promoted. The promotional caravan events start in Tangier and will end in Oujda during the time frame of 20th April till 5th May. Project Manager contact: Abdeltif El Ouahrani - elouahrani@yahoo.fr  KENYA – Global Mobility & ERASMUS+: Promotion of ERASMUS+ Programmes and Fostering Cooperation in Higher Education in Under-represented Countries in Eastern Africa Eastern Africa has many countries unrepresented in the ERASMUS+ fraternity, among them Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, the Seychelles, Somalia, and South Sudan. This pilot project aims at promoting the ERASMUS+ programs, especially Erasmus Mundus and International Credit and Staff Mobility programs, in under-represented countries in Eastern Africa. It will also serve as a launching pad for increasing cooperation in the field of Higher Education between Eastern Africa and the European Union. This project will take place in Nairobi, Kenya as a two-day seminar including presentations from EU, AU, Erasmus+ trainers and international donor agencies and Q&A sessions in a plenary discussion format. The seminar will consist of two components: one will focus on sharing expertise and the other will help build capacity. The expert seminar will gather university officials, ERASMUS+ alumni and representatives from the European Union and African Union to provide capacity building and to steer improvements in Higher Education in the region and in Africa at large by promoting ERASMUS+ to countries in the Eastern African region which have little or no representation in the program, as well as make recommendations to the strategy on the intra-Africa mobility, which is currently in the beginning phase. The implementation of the seminar and writing the report will take place during the time frame of end of March until early April. Project Manager contact: Lina Mkoji - coordinator.eastern.africa@em-a.eu  Online based ESAA projects ONLINE – Formation of ME3 Alumni Network The Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters (EMJMD) in Management and Engineering of Environment and Energy (ME3) currently doesn’t have an alumni network. This makes it difficult for prospective, current, and future students to exchange information and ideas in a field where these connections would be helpful. This project aims at creating an alumni network to foster these connections through engaging activities such as webinars, professional forums and newsletters and at enhancing the ME3 experience and overall reputation of the program. This project and the prospective student-run alumni society will cooperate with partner universities of ME3 with a full-time coordinating staff (UPM, IMT Atlantique Nantes), who are committed to assisting the project team. Project Manager contact: Rajon Bhuiyan - rajonbhuiyan@gmail.com   ONLINE – From School to Business Cool: Webinar Series The purpose of this Project is to promote the stimulation of entrepreneurial skills and mindset through the appropriate exchange of ideas between the experienced and the prospective entrepreneurs. As such, it aims at providing more practical and supplementary skills in regard to the great demand of the market. Our idea is to contribute to better entrepreneurial practices through the development of an interactive webinar series. Prospective entrepreneurs would be given an opportunity to directly ask any kind of questions related to the entrepreneurship, to exchange information and to benefit from the interaction with their experienced colleagues. This project would include 2 webinars per month during which guest speakers from different countries and with different educational and professional background would share their presentation and materials to all participants and give the participants the opportunity to interact with the guest speaker. The preparation phase has already started and the webinars are planned to begin in February 2019. The plan is to finish the webinars by the end of April. Project Manager contact: Petar Kojic - petar85kojic@gmail.com

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