© European Union
Announcement of the DiscoverEU results
Última atualização quinta-feira, 06/01/2022
Today, 6 January 2022, all participants will receive the results of their application to the October round 2021.
The European Commission is glad to announce that 333,728 young people applied for a travel pass under the “DiscoverEU is back” round that took place in October 2021. This shows a great eagerness of the young generation to embark on a DiscoverEU journey across Europe. Following a selection based on a multiple-choice quiz, 60,950 participants aged 18-20 will receive a travel pass. Successful applicants will travel alone or in a group of up to five people between March 2022 and February 2023 (subject to possible health restrictions due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic). To support the Green Deal, participants will travel mainly by rail, with some exceptions to allow those living on islands or in remote areas to take part. A live Q&A will take place in the #DiscoverEU Official Facebook Group on 17 January 2022, where the participants will ask questions related to their future trip.
This application round was open to young Europeans born between 1 July 2001 and 31 December 2003. Exceptionally, 19 and 20 year-olds could also apply after their rounds were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, said: the announcement of the results for DiscoverEU is a good way to start 2022 European Year of Youth. We want this year to be a celebration of all young people and we will multiply opportunities for them throughout the year, for example by increasing the number of tickets for DiscoverEU in the next round that will take place in spring 2022.
Since DiscoverEU is now part of the Erasmus+ programme, more opportunities will be available to the young participants such as pre-departure information training or Meet-ups throughout Europe.
Background
The Commission launched DiscoverEU in June 2018, following a proposal from the European Parliament. It has been formally integrated into the new Erasmus+ programme 2021-2027.
DiscoverEU connects thousands of young people, building a community across Europe. Participants who had never met before linked up on social media, exchanged tips or offered local insights, formed groups to travel from city to city or stayed at each other's places.
Since June 2018, nearly 685,000 candidates applied for more than 130,000 travel passes available: 66% of candidates travelled for the first time by train out of their country of residence. For many, it was also the first time they travelled without parents or accompanying adults and the majority indicated that they had become more independent. The DiscoverEU experience has given them a better understanding of other cultures and of European history. It has also improved their foreign language skills. Two-thirds said that they would not have been able to finance their travel pass without DiscoverEU.
Since 2018, former and prospective DiscoverEU travellers now form a diverse and engaged community that meets on- and offline to share their experiences.
Participants are invited to become DiscoverEU Ambassadors to champion the initiative. They are also encouraged to contact fellow travellers on the official DiscoverEU group online to share experiences and exchange tips, particularly on cultural experiences, or on how to travel digitally and sustainably.
To apply, eligible candidates need to complete a multiple-choice quiz on general knowledge about the European Union and other EU initiatives targeting young people. An additional question invites applicants to make an estimate of how many people apply in this round. The closer the estimate is to the correct answer, the more points the applicant gets. This will enable the Commission to rank the applicants. The Commission will offer travel passes to applicants following their ranking, until the available tickets run out.