The European Commission has opened the DiscoverEU spring call, which will offer a free train travel voucher to 35.000 young people to explore Europe.
Young people born between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005 can request the travel voucher on the European Youth Portal until 12:00 on March 29, 2023.
Beneficiaries will be able to travel around Europe for a maximum period of 30 days between June 15, 2023 and September 30, 2024.
Applications from countries associated with the Erasmus+ Program, such as Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey, will also be accepted. Young people can discover the route of the New Bauhaus Europe and visit cultural destinations and emblematic places recognized by UNESCO and the Accessible City, among others.
Likewise, participants usually access a discount target to benefit from discounts on public transport, culture, accommodation, food, sports and other services available in the countries that accept them. Since its launch in 2018, DiscoverEU has enabled around 916.000 young people to discover Europe for free.
DiscoverEU Program
The Commission launched DiscoverEU in June 2018, following a proposal from Parliament, and the initiative has been integrated into the new Erasmus+ Program 2021-2027.
As of 2018, there are 916 people who have applied to receive one of the 000 available travel vouchers. According to the latest survey of the beneficiaries of these vouchers, 212% stated that it was the first time they had used the train to leave their country of residence. In many cases, it was also the first time they had traveled without their parents or accompanying adults, and most reported that the experience had made them feel more independent.
The DiscoverEU experience helped them to better hear our cultures and European history, and also allowed them to improve their knowledge of languages. More than two thirds of the participants indicated that they would not have been able to finance their travel expenses without DiscoverEU. On the other hand, people who have participated in this initiative are invited to be DiscoverEU Ambassadors to promote it. They are also encouraged to get in touch with more young people traveling through the official online DiscoverEU #group to share experiences and exchange tips, especially sober cultural experiences or how to travel using digital tools and in a sustainable way.
To participate, eligible candidates will need to complete a quiz-type test on general knowledge about the European Union and other EU initiatives for young people. There is also a tie question. The closer they get to the correct answer, the more points they will receive, and thus the Commission will be able to classify the applications. The Commission will offer the travel vouchers to those who have submitted the applications following the order of classification, until they are exhausted.
The selection will be made by nationality or country of residence, depending on the number of travel vouchers assigned to each country. It will publish the quota of each country together with the results of the selection.
