25th Erasmus Anniversary & ESN Estonia

On the 30th of October our National Agency Archimedes organized a conference in Tartu to celebrate the 25th birthday of Erasmus. People from many different Erasmus related fields from Tartu and Tallinn were present there – Archimedes, Erasmus coordinators, former Erasmus students, Estonian Ministry of Education and Research and many others. Fifteen persons were also representing ESN. It was a beautiful way to celebrate the dignified 25th.

The day started early with a bus ride from Tallinn to Tartu where a tasty breakfast table was served. The official part started with the warm welcoming words from the host Eero Loonurm (ESN Tallinn member) and the chairman of the board of Archimedes. There were nice presentations about Erasmus program in general and about the development in Estonia, interesting positive figures were shown, previous Erasmus students shared their experiences (one of the women from her experience proposed that the bag weight restrictions would not apply for Erasmus students when they are going back home :D) and the ideas about the future of Erasmus in Estonia were introduced.

All the presentations were followed by interesting discussions. In the afternoon we were divided into 4 groups for workshops (1 of them being held by 2 ESNers and 1 of them with 1 ESNer about the reputation of Erasmus students and international internships).

After the conclusion of the workshop and the day there were Erasmus students giving a live concert. There were many fascinating performers, interesting topics and good organization! Overall a wonderful day together with a lot of people who love Erasmus program as we ESNers do!

Katre Trei
National Representative of ESN Estonia