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30TH SEP 2008
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 On October 17th, ESU will celebrate 25 years on the front line of student politics. Established as WESIB in 1982 by a small group of students wanting to make a difference, ESU has grown in size and stature, today representing over 11 million students across Europe through its’ 47 members in 36 countries.
ESU is the student voice on the European stage, is an important stakeholder in EU processes regarding higher education, and, after 25 years, continues to fight for the educational, social and economic rights of
all European students.
“Students, as a positive and progressive force for our societies, will continue to built tolerance and understanding within tomorrow’s Europe. I dream that in another twenty five years, we can see that some of our dreams will be realities”. Koen Geven, ESU Chairperson 2007
How did WESIB become ESU?
In 1982, ESU was WESIB – the Western European Students’ Information Bureau, aiming to coordinate the flow of information between the members and from European and international bodies such as the Council of Europe, the European Communities and UNESCO.
In 1990, The “W” was dropped and led to a surge in the organisations’ membership. In 1991, in response to the growing influence of the European Communities on the higher education scene, the National Unions of Students decided to change the aims of ESIB, and to give it policy making powers and change the name to The National Unions of Students In Europe (though keeping ESIB as the well-known abbreviation).
In May 2007, it was decided that ESIB should change its’ name to ESU (The European Students’ Union) in order for the name to better reflect the mission of the organisation.
ESU Structures
ESU comprises of an executive committee, a Bologna Process committee, a committee on the Commodification of Education and a Gender Equality committee.
Furthermore, there is a commission of Internal Audit which manages the financial in goings and outgoings and a number of working groups (mobility, equality, statutory, public relations…). The members of these committees are elected at the bi-annual general assemblies and give their time voluntarily to the European Student Movement.
A secretariat based in Brussels ensures the smooth running of all operations. Together, they ensure that the European student voice is represented on the highest level.
Students Rights Charter Last year, ESU re-launched a discussion on what student rights are and what they should be. This led to the adoption of a European Students Rights Charter in May 2007, a document describing student rights and which is set to become a cornerstone for all developments of the European higher education area.
ESU has spent the last quarter of a century fighting for student rights. We strongly believe that education is a basic human right and on the 17th of October we will be proudly celebrating our existence and achievements in Lisbon, on the occasion of our 14th European Student Convention, attended by around 150 student representatives from across Europe.
Related Links
Student News
University News
College News
Provided by The Student Zone (United Kingdom) |
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