Sometimes we are called the “Erasmus generation”, but not all young people in Europe benefit from an Erasmus exchange. Sometimes we are called the “lost generation” because of our surging unemployment rates, the uncertainty regarding our pensions and the future of our planet. But we are not doomed. Let us call ourselves the “EU generation” and let us give meaning to it ourselves. For the future is not yet written. If we are facing many question marks, only bridges between cultures will provide answers. Let us share our joy, our pain, our visions, our resentment, our ideas and our passions. Let us be the change we want to see. Let us be the crossroad of cultures that gives the EU generation a true spirit.
More than 25 years ago, the now famous European international exchange programme was born. Its name pays tribute to Erasmus, the great European humanist and cosmopolitan philosopher as well as peace activist in a Europe spoiled by never-ending conflicts. In the image of this great traveler who was one of the first thinkers to define himself as European, the program wants to emphasize what unites and brings people together. It wishes to stress the universality of the values of freedom, openness and respect for others above all national boundaries.
Some students benefit from this amazing opportunity to study abroad and meet with people from such diverse backgrounds. As a result these young adults perceive the world through new lens that go far beyond the national and linguistic boundaries and are often referred to as the “Erasmus generation”. But it is also a generation of young people to whom some made it clear that it cannot expect to live as well as its parents, one that sociologists call the “lost generation”. Yet, nothing is inevitable. The future is not written in stone. If the recent past was not a long calm river, it has clearly demonstrated the youth capacity to develop creative alternatives and innovative projects, to show its desire for solidarity and its energetic will for a better future. This generation is the result of the Erasmus values and the desire to move forward regardless of the deterministic path others would like to impose on us.
For we are the generation that can contribute to re-enchantment. We have the power to connect, build bridges and shape new platforms. We can develop original ideas and innovative visions. We can cultivate our taste for music and arts of all sorts. We are all the constituents of a colourful tapestry which, from East to West, from North to South, represent peoples with a common destiny. We shall scream our concerns but loudly sing our joy! We shall express our disillusions but outweigh them through our common aspirations! We shall exchange, simply, irreverently, and freely.
Let us invest in hope. Let us become the EU generation!
