A MOVIE TO MAKE PEOPLE DISCOVER THE WORLD OF ERASMUS

The Erasmus Generation documentary was inspired by the personal transformations we witnessed in hundreds of people who participated in Erasmus programs. Across all of their experiences, one thing was clear—Erasmus can profoundly change you. This deep impact motivated us to explore the dynamics behind these experiences. Three key reasons drove us to create this project:

1. The powerful statement by the Vice President of the European Commission: "If we want to simplify what Europe is all about, the definition would be three things: Euro, Schengen, and Erasmus. If the Euro is Europe’s wallet and Schengen is Europe’s passport, Erasmus is Europe’s soul."

2. The remarkable fact that over 1 million "Erasmus babies" have been born from relationships formed during the program.

3. The overwhelming number of participants who return home saying, “Erasmus changed my life.” While many people know Erasmus as a semester abroad for university students, the European Union offers a range of other Erasmus programs. These include shorter-term projects like Youth Exchanges and Training Courses, which don’t require university enrolment and are designed to be even more inclusive: anyone over the age of 14 with two weeks of free time can participate, and all costs are covered by the program. These lesser-known opportunities carry the same core values as the traditional Erasmus study abroad experience, which is why we chose to focus on capturing one of them for the documentary.

The Erasmus Generation isn’t the story of Roberto; it is the story of everyone who embarks on their first Erasmus experience. Through his story, we tried to convey the common values that every Erasmus experience can bring to people's lives. We like to think of him as an empty train carriage, inviting us all to sit and be carried along the path of Erasmus. We were fortunate that Roberto's story visually captured what the other participants expressed in words: a profound personal transformation that happens in the life of a young person during Erasmus.