Abstract:

This paper discusses the contribution of Erasmus+ KA2 projects to the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The research questions are:
(i) To what extent can the proposals accepted in the Erasmus+ KA2 projects promote the dissemination of the SDGs in schools and universities?
(ii) Which areas related to the SDGs were most supported by these projects during this period?
(iii) Are there some SDGs that are not reflected in the proposals analyzed?

The Erasmus+ Program is one of the most important programmes for educational mobility and cooperation programs between universities and institutions in the European Union. Since its creation in 1987, it has played a fundamental role in promoting education, training, youth and sport, providing international exchange and learning opportunities for students, teachers and organizations. The program has three main strands: Individual learning mobility (K1); Cooperation between organizations and institutions (K2); Support for policy development and cooperation (K3). The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), established by the United Nations (UN) in 2015, constitute a global agenda that aims, among other things, to eradicate poverty, protect the environment, promote international cooperation for sustainable development, and ensure sustainable production and consumption so that all people can enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030 (United Nations, 2015). These goals cover a wide range of sustainability challenges, including issues of health, education, gender equality and climate change. Education, in particular, is recognized as an essential tool for achieving these goals, providing people with the skills and knowledge needed to improve their lives and access a wide range of opportunities (UNESCO, 2017).

We conducted a search of the data available on the Erasmus Program website for all Erasmus K2 projects accepted between 2014 and 2020, using the following keywords: Climate Change; Gender Equality; Health; Education; Energy; Justice; Water sanitation; Poverty; Hunger; Ocean; Marine; Inequalities; Sustainability; Innovation; Sanitation. We found 24,838 funded projects in 17 subheadings related to Cooperation for Innovation and The Exchange of Good Practices (K2). These keywords were searched for in titles, themes and abstracts. Each of these keywords can be indicative of one or more of the SDGs. We organized the data by year, relating to the number of projects and their respective financing, trying to find lines of evolution for each keyword. The analysis was conducted in relative terms (in percentage) to the total number of projects accepted, as well as total financing, in each year. To try to have greater confidence in the results, we crossed the results obtained for different keywords, seeking clarification regarding the action of the projects to each SDG.

Our results showed that the keywords education, innovation, health, and sustainability were the ones most present in the funded projects from 2014 to 2020. They suggest that the most funded SDGs were SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure, SDG 3 (good health and well-being), and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities).

Keywords:

Erasmus programme, Sustainable Development Goals, Analysis Methodology, Promotion.