The Jean Monnet Program is an European initiative to encourage teaching, research and reflecting on European integration in higher education institutions.
It is named after Jean Monnet, a Frenchman considered by many as one of the fathers of Europe. It is one of the 4 major pillars of the Erasmus+ program. The foundation alone recieves 1% of the annual budget, i.e. 14 million euros in 2021.
A more international strategy
Unlike the rest of the Erasmus+ program, the Jean Monnet collects additional funds to increase the participation of higher education institutions from outside the European Union.
The program sets up actions for higher education. The goal is to promote Europe as a whole, with a particular emphasis on the European dimension, both internally and globally. Their objective is also to promote citizenship, active European values and to address the role of the European Union in the global world.
The Jean Monnet Project also strives to serve as a vector of public diplomacy for third countries, promoting EU values and reinforcing the visibility of what the European Union stands for and what it intends to achieve.
A program for students and teachers alike
Learning about the objectives and inner working of the European Union is an important part of promoting active citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination.
There is a general lack of knowledge about the European Union and much misinformation, which in turn increases people’s disenchantment with the Union and its policies.
The Jean Monnet program therefore provides training for teachers and trainers willing to be involved in opportunities abroad for their own professional development. The training focuses on several types of skills: developing an inclusive classroom atmosphere using information and communication tools, and teaching in multilingual and multicultural classrooms.
Higher education institutions or teacher training institutes and agencies will organize activities within this framework to enable school and vocational education teachers to develop new skills, to teach and commit to address European issues. The goal is to empower them through a better understanding of the EU and how it works.
Its history
The initiative was launched in 1990 and it was not until 2001 that it opened up to higher education institutions around the world. In 2007, the program became part of the EU’s LLP in regarding education. In 2014, Jean Monnet became a member of the Erasmus+ program and additional funds were set aside to increase the participation of higher education institutions from outside the European Union within the framework of EU’s partnership tool.
Finally, if you want more information, we invite you to visit the erasmus+ website.