Marie-Claire Boyle has won second prize in the Erasmus Student Film category of the "Your Story" British Council and Ecorys Lifelong Learning Programme and Youth in Action Competition 2011

Hundreds of people from across the UK took part in the competition and shared their fascinating stories, through the media of word, photography or film. 

Marie-Claire was selected as an Erasmus Student Film winner and was keen to share her experiences of how the Erasmus programme has helped to broaden her horizons.

 

Commenting on her year abroad she said: 'Erasmus was honestly the best experience I have had to date, not only did I improve greatly in my French skills, and gain a much broader perspective on my course, I also had the chance to immerse myself in a culture so vastly and excitingly different from my own, and meet some fantastic new friends from all over the world. I grew in confidence and self-assurance more in the 10 months I lived in Lyon than in the 19 years preceding it. I highly recommend the program to anyone; take the opportunity while you can - you wont regret it!'

 

 

Simon Williams, Head of EU Programmes at the British Council hosted the event and commented, “Both the Lifelong Learning Programme and Youth in Action programme provide fantastic opportunities for organisations, staff and learners involved in education and training to work together, learn from each others' expertise, and widen their experience of other cultures and languages. This competition gives us all the chance to have a glimpse of the life-changing experiences that they enjoy. Their words, films and photographs provide an insight into the benefits of the programme and its impact on the lives of those who take part. We hope their stories will encourage many others to take part.”

Funded by the European Commission, the Lifelong Learning Programme supports a wide range of education and training activities across Europe and provides opportunities for all stages of lifelong learning. The Youth in Action programme, also funded by the European Commission, offers a range of international activities for young people aged 18 -30 and is managed in the UK by the British Council. In the UK,  thousands of projects and individuals are funded each year.

The Lifelong Learning Programme is made up of several programmes, each aimed at a specific target group: Comenius and eTwinning for schools; Erasmus for Higher Education; Leonardo for Vocational Education and Training; Grundtvig for Adult Education (non vocational) and Transversal for Learning professionals. The UK National Agencies for the Lifelong Learning Programme are the British Council and Ecorys

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First published: 6 December 2011