In the current pandemic, encounter formats such as youth encounters, seminars, trainings or expert measures for the methodical further development of European exchange work are hardly physically possible. In 2020, hopes were high that postponing the activities until the summer of 2021 would suffice. A year would be lost, but contacts could be maintained. Many organisations quickly created digital substitutes. They were supported in this until June 2020 with very flexible funding solutions from the National Agencies of the Erasmus+ YOUTH IN ACTION programme. However, in June 2020, the European Commission decided that digital substitutes would only be funded at 35% of the funding rates for Youth Exchanges and 15% of the funding rates for Professional Measures (KA2). This decision is diametrically opposed to the experience of organisations that have implemented pedagogically high-quality digital replacement measures. Because digital or hybrid usually means: more expensive than a meeting at a location.
Against this background, four organisations from Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bremen and Berlin joined forces with the AdB Arbeitskreis deutscher Bildungsstätten e.V. and launched a survey on the use and cost structure of digital substitute formats under the motto “digital100%erasmus+”. 40 supporting organisations from Germany took part and shared their experiences with digital substitute formats.
The results of the survey as well as key messages can be found here.