What Is an Erasmus+ Seminar? (2026) 💬

An Erasmus+ seminar is a structured discussion and good-practice-sharing event, a format used within Erasmus+ Youth projects and by organisations, not a separate funded programme you apply to directly. There is no "seminar" grant or Key Action in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide; a seminar is one of several activity formats that happen inside a project, or a networking event run by National Agencies and SALTO for organisations. This guide explains what people mean by an Erasmus+ seminar, the different kinds you will meet, and how you actually take part. Last updated: 2026.

Erasmus+ seminars at a glance:

A seminar is a format, not a standalone funded action.
Inside a project: a way youth workers or young people share knowledge and debate ideas.
For organisations: a SALTO or National Agency networking or contact-making event.
In policy: EU Youth Dialogue seminars that carry young people's voice to decision-makers.
Not the same as a study visit or a training course.

According to Youth Works Hub, understanding this saves a lot of confusion, because you will never find a "seminar" you apply to the way you apply to a youth exchange.

What "Seminar" Actually Means in Erasmus+ Youth

In the Erasmus+ Programme Guide, "seminar" is not a funded activity type on its own. It is a format: a structured event for building knowledge, debating, and sharing best practice. You reach a seminar in one of two ways: as an activity inside a bigger Erasmus+ project, or, if you represent an organisation, as a networking event in the training calendar. It is worth knowing the difference before you go looking for one.

The Two Different Things People Call a "Seminar"

Most confusion comes from mixing these up:

A seminar inside a project: one activity format among several (workshops, study visits, job shadowing, peer learning, training courses), chosen by the organisers to fit the project's goals.
A SALTO or National Agency seminar: organisation-facing events, part of Training and Cooperation Activities, focused on sharing good practice and networking between Erasmus+ organisations.

They serve different people and you access them differently, so be clear which one you mean.

Seminars Inside a Project: Youth Worker Mobility and Youth Participation

Two Key Action 1 formats use seminars directly:

Mobility of youth workers: "seminars and workshops" are one of the professional-development formats, supporting knowledge-building and best-practice sharing linked to the EU Youth Strategy. Other formats in the same list include study visits, job shadowing, youth worker exchanges, peer learning, and training courses. Academic study trips, tourism, festivals, and holidays are explicitly not eligible.
Youth Participation Activities: supported formats include workshops, meetings, and seminars that give young people space for information, debate, and active participation on issues that affect their daily lives. These activities can feed into the EU Youth Dialogue.

In both cases the seminar is built through non-formal learning and sits inside a funded project, not on its own.

TCA and Contact-Making Seminars: How Organisations Find Partners

The second meaning is organisation-facing. National Agencies run Training and Cooperation Activities (TCA), which the guide describes as "workshops, seminars and other types of events" focused on sharing good practice and networking among Erasmus+ stakeholders. A key example is the contact seminar, described as an efficient way for newcomers to find partners. Participants here are representatives of organisations that already take part in Erasmus+ or plan to apply, not individual young people. You find these events on the SALTO European Training Calendar.

EU Youth Dialogue Seminars: Youth Voice Into Policy

There is also a policy meaning. The EU Youth Dialogue runs in 18-month cycles in which national working groups (youth ministries, youth councils, youth organisations, youth workers, researchers, and young people) hold consultations and events, and the results are presented to decision-makers at EU level. The "dialogue seminars" in this process are the structured debate and consultation events, and they can connect to Youth Participation Activity projects.

Seminar vs Study Visit vs Training Course

These three are separate formats, and the Programme Guide and the SALTO calendar list them as distinct items, not synonyms. A study visit means going to observe youth work or youth policy on the ground in the host country; our guide to the Erasmus+ study visit covers it in full. A training course builds specific skills and competences through hands-on sessions. A seminar is a structured debate and best-practice exchange. They can appear inside the same programmes, but they are not the same thing.

Who Can Take Part, and How You Actually Get In

There is no single "apply for a seminar" button, so it depends on which seminar you mean:

As a young person or youth worker: you take part in a seminar as an activity inside a project, most often a youth worker mobility or a youth participation project. Check that you can apply and look for projects rather than for a "seminar" on its own.
As an organisation representative: you register for TCA and contact seminars through your National Agency or the SALTO European Training Calendar. Costs for these are typically covered for selected participants, and, like the rest of Erasmus+, you should never be charged a participation fee. See what Erasmus+ covers.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an "Erasmus+ seminar" grant I can apply to?

No. There is no standalone seminar action or grant in the Programme Guide. A seminar is a format inside a project or a networking event run for organisations.

Do I apply to a seminar directly?

Not as an individual. You take part in a seminar through a project (like youth worker mobility or a youth participation activity), or, if you represent an organisation, through TCA and contact seminars on the SALTO European Training Calendar.

Is a seminar the same as a study visit?

No. The guide lists them as separate formats: a study visit is on-the-ground observation, while a seminar is structured debate and best-practice sharing. See our study visit guide.

Who can join a contact seminar?

Representatives of organisations that take part in Erasmus+ or plan to apply, including newcomers looking for partners, not individual young people.

Is it funded?

Seminars happen inside funded projects or as covered TCA events, so selected participants are not expected to pay. There is no separate "seminar budget line" you apply for.

In Short 📝

An Erasmus+ seminar is a format, a structured event for debate and sharing good practice, not a standalone funded action. You meet it in three places: as an activity inside a youth worker mobility or youth participation project, as a SALTO or National Agency contact seminar for organisations, and as an EU Youth Dialogue seminar feeding youth voice into policy. It is distinct from a study visit and a training course, and you never apply to a seminar the way you apply to a youth exchange. According to Youth Works Hub, once you see it as a format, the whole thing makes sense.