The EU initiative 'Youth on the Move' is aimed at improving education, tackling youth unemployment and encouraging study and training abroad. The European Commission is organising a five-day programme of events in Florence (Italy) from 6-10 May in order to promote this initiative.

The Youth on the Move programme is a central part of the 'Festival dell’Europa', organised by the European University Institute and local authorities in Florence in order to celebrate the Europe's day. Among the activities, the Youth on the Move tent, will provide a meeting place for young people who will be able to meet people who have already spent time studying, training or volunteering abroad with the support of EU-funded schemes such as Erasmus and Youth in Action.

The event will be held in Florence and is part of a pan-European campaign which has already seen thousands of young people getting involved in similar events in Hungary, France, Germany and Poland. Besides, Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism, Androulla Vassiliou, will take part in a debate with young people and youth experts in the context of the 2011 European Youth Week. Moreover, Mr Barroso will present awards for outstanding European Voluntary Service projects supported by the Youth in Action programme and Commissioner Vassiliou will announce the results of a new Eurobarometer survey on youth and education.

On the next the Education, Culture and Youth Council, which will be held on 19 of May, EU Ministers are set to approve a policy recommendation on removing obstacles to learning mobility. The Commission will also present an updated EU reform agenda for higher education.

Youth on the Move is one of the seven flagship initiatives in the 'Europe 2020' strategy, which seeks to boost employment and sustainable growth. It also promotes the modernisation of higher education and envisages the introduction of a European student loan facility aimed at encouraging the transnational mobility of Masters' degree students, who often attract little or no financial support.