Soliya joins universities and youth organizations across Europe and Southern Mediterranean speaking up in favor of Virtual Exchange
Virtual Exchange (VE) is a unique and flexible form of online learning. What makes it unique is its focus on online structured and facilitated collaborative learning sessions that bring people together and promote intercultural dialogue. This pedagogy enables participants to develop soft skills and transversal competencies that are essential in today's job markets and multicultural societies. The European Commission is piloting this methodology through the Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange initiative, an innovative action that has demonstrated its ability to engage large numbers of youth and educators in VE activities. Since 2018, more than 24,000 young people have taken part in this project and over 250 partnerships with universities and youth organizations have been created.
As partners and stakeholders of the Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange initiative, we have experienced first-hand the benefits of taking part in Virtual Exchange activities, witnessing the impact that these experiences have on developing cross-cultural communication skills as well as critical thinking and empathy. Also, we have appreciated that in order to have a positive impact on participants, exchange activities need to have a strong pedagogic design, to take place in safe online spaces, and be supported by trained facilitators and educators.