Darkness is falling on the small city covered by snow. Everything is stock- still and quiet like the beginning of the world, it’s like a fairy-tale. But silence doesn’t last much, the spirit of Christmas is in the air, groups of children are singing Christmas carols. Everything is full of joy, but somewhere in the city a little boy is sad. He wants to go to sing Christmas carols with the other children but his parents and grand-parents told him that he is too young, they said to him,   ’-Maybe  next year, when you  start  school and you are taller.’ But this is not the only reason for him to be sad, he has another one: a few days ago his grand-father disappeared just like he disappears every year at Christmas. He loves his grand-father very much and he doesn’t understand why he always goes away at Christmas. Besides, now he has to go to bed and wait for Santa Claus.

Suddenly in the middle of the night, the little boy wakes up because he hears some strange noises in the backyard. He isn’t scared at all, though it could be a thief or even a dragon, but he gets surprised, in a shaft of moonlight he sees a sledge full of red sacks and six reindeers’ harness. ’It’s Santa Claus’ sledge’, he thinks. Slowly the boy opens his room door and he hears a noise in the living room where the Christmas tree is. When he is going to open the door he sees through the door glass the figure of Santa, and he decides to hide between the coat stand clothes. Astonishment! Santa looks like his grand-father! The little boy recognizes his gentle eyes, his moustache and his beard. He doesn’t understand how Santa can look like his grand-father. He puts on his coat and his boots and he goes out to see and ask Santa where his grand-father is. When Santa sees the little boy trembling in the snow he asks him ‘-Andy what are you doing here? You should be asleep; you know you can’t see Santa Claus when he brings your Christmas present.’

Suddenly he understands that his grand-father is Santa Claus and that’s why he disappears every year at Christmas. He feels his heart full of happiness’ – My grand-father is Santa Claus! –My grand-father is Santa Claus! ‘and he jumps in Santa`s arms.

Santa, confused, hugs him.

-Grand-dad, why didn’t you tell me?

-Because no child can see me! answered Santa with a big smile. If a child sees me, the next year I can’t be Santa anymore.

-Grand-dad, are you saying that next year we won’t have Santa anymore? said Andy worried.

-Yes we`ll have one, but it`s going to be another grand-father.

Andy thought ‘What a pity my grand- father won´t be Santa any more’, but then he remembers that his grand-father will be at home for the next Christmas and he is happy again.

-Grand-dad I have an idea, I would like to go with you and help you to deliver all the presents.

Santa grants the boy`s wish and they start flying in the sledge and delivering the presents all over the world. The little boy is delighted seeing how his grand-father makes all the children in the world happy.

After some time he starts to feel his eyelids heavy and he falls in a deep sleep.

When he wakes up in the morning he hears his grand-father´s voice,’-Wake up you sleepy boy aren´t you curious to see your Christmas present?’

Andy doesn’t understand how and when he got home last night, but he hugs his grand-father and he whispers in his ear,’ –You know? I’m so sorry that you won`t be Santa any more because I could help you again with the presents.’

-What Santa? What presents and sledge?

-Don’t you remember? Last night I discovered that you are Santa Claus and I helped you to deliver all the presents all over the world?-

I think you had a very nice dream Andy.

What happened to my grand-father, he doesn’t remember anything?

However, he has something to tell him,’-You know, delivering presents with you, Santa,  was the most beautiful present I have ever had.

The old man smiles and whispers to him too,’ – That is going to be our little secret, don’t you think so?’

The ERASMUS programme was launched in June 1987 and in 2007 celebrated its 20th anniversary. It is arguably one of the best-known Community actions and encourages student and teacher mobility through decentralised actions implemented by National Agencies and promotes though centralised actions the transnational cooperation among Higher Education Institutions across Europe managed by the Executive Agency.

The Erasmus centralised actions under the Call 2010 are composed of three sub-actions, which are Multilateral Projects, Networks and Accompanying Measures.

Historic UN climate change conference kicks off in Copenhagen

 Copenhagen (Denmark), 7 December 2009 - The United Nations Climate Change Conference kicked off today in Copenhagen with a strong sense of confidence that countries can seal a comprehensive, ambitious and effective international climate change deal in Demark and with an unprecedented sense of urgency to act on climate change.The highly anticipated conference marks an historic turning point on how the world confronts climate change, an issue with profound implications for the health and prosperity of all people.

The two-week meeting, the fifteenth Conference of the 193 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the fifth meeting of the 189 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, is the culmination of a process set in motion in Bali, where Parties to the UNFCCC agreed to conclude negotiations on a new global deal in Denmark in 2009.

As the conference kicked off, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report with Lord Nicholas Stern showing that the gap between countries’ strongest proposed cuts and what is needed may be only a few billion tonnes of greenhouse gases.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner arrived in Copenhagen on 5 December with the CO2-free Climate Express , a train from Brussels that brought together more than 400 activists, environmentalists and business leaders to discuss the challenges ahead to tackle climate change.

Other passengers on the train included James Leape, Director General of WWF and Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, Director General of the International Union of Railways. The Climate Express was welcomed upon arrival in Copenhagen by the new Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Lykke Friis, Søren Eriksen, CEO of the Danish Railways (DSB), and Kim Carstensen, Leader of WWF International’s Global Climate Initiative.

Upon arrival in Copenhagen, Mr Steiner opened the UNEP Climate Maze, a giant labyrinth in the city centre made up of hundreds of cloth banners stamped and signed by Seal the Deal! campaign supporters. The accompanying photo exhibition, Hard Rain, is a stark exploration of the state of our planet and its people at this critical time.

The urgency to act in Copenhagen was underscored by Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who told the conference that global emissions would need to peak by 2015 for the world to stay below a two degrees Celsius temperature rise. “The costs of responding to climate change will become progressively higher as time goes on, therefore we must take action now,” he said.

“We have reached the deadline and there is no going back”, said newly elected COP President and Danish COP 15 Minister Connie Hedegaard. “Copenhagen will be the city of the three C’s: ‘Cooperation’, Commitment’ and ‘Consensus’. Now is the time to capture the moment and conclude a truly ambitious global deal. This is our chance. If we miss this opportunity, we will not get a better one,” she said.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said there was unprecedented political momentum for a deal.

“World leaders are calling for an agreement that offers serious emission limitation goals and that captures the provision of significant financial and technological support to developing countries,” he said. “At the same time, Copenhagen will only be a success if it delivers significant and immediate action that begins the day the conference ends.”

According to the UN’s top climate change official, negotiators must focus on solid and practical proposals that will unleash prompt action on mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology, reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries and capacity-building.

Yvo de Boer spoke of three layers of action that governments must agree to by the end of the conference: fast and effective implementation of immediate action on climate change; ambitious commitments to cut and limit emissions, including start-up funding and a long-term funding commitment; and a long-term shared vision on a low-emissions future for all.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an aggregate emission reduction by industrialised countries of between minus 25% and 40% over 1990 levels would be required by 2020 in order to stave off the worst effects of climate change, with global emissions falling by at least 50% by 2050. Even under this scenario, there would be an only a 50% chance of avoiding the most catastrophic consequences.

“Industrialised countries meeting under the Kyoto Protocol need to raise the level of ambition of developed countries with regard to individual targets and the need to make rapid progress on the tools and rules that developed countries can use to reach their targets, such as carbon market mechanisms, land use and land use change and new gases,” said Yvo de Boer.

The UNFCCC working groups starting Monday will have six days to conclude negotiations before the Ministerial High Level Segment starts 16 December.

Ministers will then in turn have two days to take any unresolved issues forward before the more than 100 world leaders arrive the evening of 17 December. This means a total of eight negotiating days to prepare a workable package that consists of both immediate and long-term components which leaders can endorse on 18 December.

More than 15,000 participants, including government delegates from 193 Parties to the UNFCCC and representatives from business and industry, environmental organizations and research institutions, are attending the two-week gathering.