Sofia Koranti, creator of the program Erasmus – which enabled millions of young people to study in other European countries – died in Rome at the age of 91, as Italian media reported yesterday Saturday.
In the family’s statement, the Italian academic is described as a woman with “inexhaustible energy, intellectual and emotional generosity”.
Coranti, professor of Educational Sciences at Roma Tre University, was known by the nickname “mother of Erasmus».
He had received a recognized American Fulbright Scholarshipwhich led her to Columbia University in New Yorkwhere he acquired Master’s degree in Law. But when she returned home, her American degree was not recognized by the Italian education system. He was inspired and proposed a student exchange program, which was finally launched in 1987 in the European Union.
Since then approx 16 million students have participated in the program, according to the Erasmus website. The programme, managed by the EU, promotes close cooperation between universities and higher education institutions across Europe.
The Rome-born academic had conducted inquiries about the right to education on behalf of the UN Human Rights Commission, The Hague Academy of International Law and the London School of Economics (LSE).
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani underlined that Sofia Coranti “inspired millions of young people who traveled, studied and embraced different cultures.”
“Millions of students owe her a part of their lives,” wrote French President Emmanuel Macron in a post on Platform X, paying tribute to “Mother Erasmus, whose vision continues to build our Europe”.
Source :Skai
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