THREAD: We tend to think of @EUErasmusPlus in the UK as a scheme only for young middle people, & about university exchange. It is much more than this and impacted massively both myself, my mum & wife. Promoting mobility, non-formal learning, intercultural dialogue & inclusion 1.

This is partly the problem of perception. 'Rich, white middle class kids' doing the program, 'noone from the working class has heard of it'. That is corrosive. The program was/is wider than that. Providing opportunities that were otherwise literally impossible for some. 2.

@erasmusplusUK and around Europe was known as Youth in Action when I did my 6 month European Voluntary Service (EVS) in Spain (2012) and later worked as an intern @UNAExchange in 2013 they organise and coordinate many short/long term placements in Wales https://ec.europa.eu/youth/success-stories/youth-in-action_en 3.

With @UNAExchange
I helped place short-term European volunteers in Wales. Many here and elsewhere have written about their experiences with @EUErasmusPlus. Transformative for so many &, as I said, the only opportunity for many from tough backgrounds https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/ 4.

The testimonials are legion, just from my relatively short but rich experience! Youth in particular who left programs in tears of change! There are no words to describe what this WIDER program does. The mobility, working with others from different cultures. FULL inclusion. 5.

This is from my first EVS training in Spain. So many backgrounds. Genuinely these were opportunities only available through the wider mobility funded & promoted by @EUErasmusPlus. But these are not just about the placements themselves. The funding for youth workers is crucial. 6.

For me, the EVS experience (in Spain) & work at @UNAExchange were transformative. It gave me confidence, the ability to make mistakes in a work like environment & learn another language. I benefitted & have the rewards from this. Will this be available through #turingscheme? 7.

Not just for those aged 13 to 30 of course. My Mum went on a #grundtvig over 50s placement @grenzenlos in Vienna for 3 weeks. My Mum had never done anything quite like this before & it was amazing for her to do this. Funded through the #Erasmus+ program https://www.grenzenlos.or.at/interkulturelle-bildung/ 8.

My wife went on a #grundtvig training in Venice for 10 days to learn how to work with refugees. It gave her the platform to start her PhD in the Netherlands, part of the #edolad programme, a cross-country doctoral program funded by the EU's #lifelonglearning programme. 9.

ALL of this for British citizens is now under threat. The loss of @EUErasmusPlus is HUGE. Those taking about replacing it through the #turingscheme need to understand the loss is not only for universities mobility, but for those with no other way to broaden their horizons. 10.

@michelledonelan will the UK wide 'replacement' utilise the full range of @EUErasmusPlus? Not just universities, but the inclusion inherent in the +. Those of us with experience of the programme, & have worked with it, are sceptical you understand. The loss is incalculable. 11.

@Smith_SM30 who worked for 20+ years @UNAExchange I know has written about this loss. We are feeling shattered by the losing @EUErasmusPlus and what this means for Britain's future. @BorisJohnson you promised us! Where will our difficult to reach youth get any opportunities? 12.

I won't forget my own experiences through EVS, in Wales organising placements and working on @EUErasmusPlus developments in 2012-13 in Latvia in #fosteringvolunteering. It's made me who I am now in being able to lead and have confidence in my abilities. 13.

I'll never forget my Mum telling me about a young man from the Welsh valleys. He had never travelled abroad before. He broke down when describing how much the 3 weeks in Vienna at the theatre group had transformed him. We are in grave danger of losing this in Little Britain.