Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange offers professional development for Youth Organisations to learn how to develop small-scale, project-based Virtual Exchanges in youth exchanges and training courses. 

A.C.S.E.S.O (Asociación Cultural Social y Educativa Segundas Oportunidades) a Youth Organisation working internationally with young people through non formal education, media skills and volunteering opportunities, has integrated a Virtual Exchange component in all of its projects.

Becoming a Virtual Exchange Facilitator helped Daniel Dixon, Executive Manager of A.C.S.E.S.O, understand the advantages of Virtual Exchange for Youth Organisations: “I went on to do the Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange Facilitation training and became a qualified cross-cultural dialogue facilitator. I would recommend other youth workers to do this to appreciate the benefits of Virtual Exchange.”

“When I discovered the Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange programme, I realised that at A.C.S.E.S.O we were already promoting cross-cultural exchanges online, but without the support of trained facilitators and no funding. I was interested in the idea of facilitated dialogue but didn’t really know what it meant or how it could enhance the scope of what we were trying to do.”

Daniel insists Virtual Exchange should not be a replacement for actual mobilities, but rather should complement them and be used for pre-departure training, offering an opportunity to discuss aspects of interculturality, identity, stereotyping, as well as providing a space for post-mobility reflection. 

“Our youth build lasting partnerships using Virtual Exchange as a stepping stone. We want to reach beyond our local community and across Europe and the Southern Mediterranean region. We’re using Virtual Exchange to prepare our next Uganda cohort and I believe this pre-departure Virtual Exchange aspect is an essential way of learning how to explore the challenges, potential culture shock and finding coping techniques. It’s proven to be a beneficial model which we are replicating through all our international mobility projects.”

“I would advise youth workers to think about doing the dialogue facilitation training as a first step to understanding how VE can be integrated into existing projects. Especially with Erasmus Volunteering. This can be a lonely experience for some young people, and having an online community at their fingertips to reach out to and exchange ideas and information is invaluable to getting the most out of the experience.” Also, the training for youth organisations to develop their own Transnational Exchange Projects is a must in order to give youth workers the skills needed to integrate Virtual Exchange into their projects or develop a new project.”