European Students' Union

European Students' Union
Institution see member list
Location Rue de l'Industrie 10, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Established 1982
Members 44 (38 Countries)
Affiliations European Youth Forum
Executive Committee see executive committee
Website http://www.esu-online.org/

The European Students' Union (ESU) is the umbrella organisation of 44 national unions of students from 38 countries, representing over 15 million students. The aim of ESU is to represent and promote the educational, social, economic and cultural interests of students at a European level towards all relevant bodies and in particular those of the European Union, Council of Europe and UNESCO. ESU is representing the voice of the students in Europe by being a consultative member to the Bologna Process. ESU is also a full member of the European Youth Forum (YFJ), the ESU nominee for 2006 was elected as YFJ president.

History

On 17 October 1982, seven National Unions of Students (NUSes) from The United Kingdom, Sweden, Iceland, France, Denmark, Norway and Austria gathered in Stockholm to create WESIB, the Western European Students Information Bureau. In February 1990, WESIB dropped the "W" to become the European Student Information Bureau following the political upheaval in Europe at the time. In 1992 the name was changed into the National Unions of Students in Europe (ESIB). This reflected the recognition of the changing mission of ESIB from just an information sharing organisation to political organisation that represented the views of students to European institutions. In May 2007 the name changed to European Students' Union (ESU).

Over the years the office of ESU has moved around Europe and was first hosted by the member NUSes. Following the establishment of WESIB in Stockholm the office was based in the SFS Office in Sweden from 1982 until 1985, funded by a grant by the Swedish Government. By 1985 the grant was running low and so NUS UK offered to host WESIB in their London headquarters. In 1988 the office moved to the ÖH offices in Vienna and remained there until 2000, when it was decided that for reasons of being near the European institutions the office should move to Brussels and was hosted by VVS.

Structures

The highest structure of ESU is the Board Meeting, bringing together representatives from all the National Unions of Students it represents. The Board Meeting sets the policy direction of the organisation, and elects members to the Executive Committee to run the organisation.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee (EC) is elected for a one-year term at the annual Board Meeting by representatives of the member organisations, with each country (not organisation) given two votes. The President and Vice-Presidents together make up the Presidency of ESU, and are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organisation along with the seven General Members of the EC. [1]

Title Name Country
Presidency President Lea Meister   Switzerland
Vice Presidents Liva Vikmane  Latvia
Blazhe Todorovski  Macedonia
General Members Beth Button  United Kingdom
Frederik Bach  Denmark
Chiara Patricolo  Italy
Gramoz Shpendi  Finland
Aleksandar Šušnjar  Croatia
Adam Gajek  Poland
Milana Jankovic  Serbia

Member organisations

Country English Name Local Name ESU Abbrev.[nb 1]
 Armenia Armenian National Students’ Association ANSA
 Austria Austrian Students' Association Österreichische Hochschülerinnen ÖH
 Belarus Belarusian Students’ Association Задзіночанне Беларускіх Студэнтаў BSA
 Belgium Federation of French-speaking Students Fédération Des Etudiants Francophones FEF
Flemish Union of Students Vlaamse Vereniging van Studenten VVS
 Bosnia and Herzegovina Students' Union Republic of Srpska Unija studenata Republike Srpske USRS
 Bulgaria National Assembly of Student’s Councils in the Republic of Bulgaria Nacionalno Predstavitelstvo na Studentskite Saveti v Republika Balgaria NASC
Union of Bulgarian Students UBS
 Croatia Croatian Students' Council Hrvatski Studentski Zbor CSC
 Cyprus Pancyprian Federation of Student Unions Pagkypria Omospondia Foititikon Enoseon POFEN
 Czech Republic Student Chamber of the Council of Higher Education Institutions Studentská komora Rady vysokých škol SKRVS
 Denmark Union of Danish Students Danske Studerendes Fællesråd DSF
 Estonia Federation of Estonian Student Unions Eesti Üliõpilaskondade Liit EUL
 Finland National Union of University Students in Finland Suomen Ylioppilaskuntien Liitto SYL
Union of Students in Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences Suomen opiskelijakuntien liitto SAMOK
 France National Federation of Student’s Associations Fédération des Associations Générales d'Étudiants FAGE
National Union of Students of France Union Nationale des Étudiants de France UNEF
 Germany Free Association of Student Bodies Freier Zusammenschluss von StudentInnenschaften FZS
 Hungary National Union of Students in Hungary Hallgatói Önkormányzatok Országos Konferenciája HÖOK
 Iceland National Union of Students in Iceland Landssamtök Íslenskra Stúdenta LÍS
 Ireland Union of Students in Ireland Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn USI
 Israel National Union of Israeli Students התאחדות הסטודנטים בישראל
تحاد الطلاب في إسرائيل
NUIS
 Italy Union of University Students Unione degli Universitari UdU
 Latvia Student Union of Latvia Latvijas Studentu apvienība LSA
 Lithuania Lithuanian National Union of Students Lietuvos Studentu Sajunga LSS
 Luxembourg National Union of Students in Luxembourg Union Nationale des Etudiant(e)s du Luxembourg UNEL
 Macedonia National Union of Students of Macedonia NSUM
 Malta University Students' Council Kunsill Studenti Universitarji KSU
 Montenegro Student Parliament of the University of Montenegro Studentski Parlament Univerziteta Crne Gore SPUM
 Netherlands Dutch National Students Association Interstedelijk Studenten Overleg ISO
Dutch Student Union Landelijke Studentenvakbond LSVb
 Norway Norwegian Student Association Norsk studentorganisasjon NSO
 Poland Students' Parliament of Poland Parlament Studentów Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej PSRP
 Portugal Academic Forum for Information and External Representation Fórum Académico para Informação e Representação Externa FAIRe
 Romania National Alliance of Student Organizations in Romania Alianta Nationala a Organizatiilor Studentesti din Romania ANOSR
 Serbia Students Conference of Serbian Universities Studentska konferencija univerzitetâ Srbije SKONUS
Student Union of Serbia Studentska Unija Srbije SUS
 Slovakia Student Council for Higher Education Študetská Rada Vysokých Škôl SRVS
 Slovenia Slovene Student Union Studenska Organizacija Slovenije SSU
 Spain Coordinator of Student Representatives of Public Universities Coordinadora de Representantes de Estudiantes de Universidades Públicas CREUP
 Sweden Swedish National Union of Students Sveriges Förenade Studentkårer SFS
  Switzerland VSS-UNES-USU Verband Schweizer Studierendenschaften
Union des Etudiant-e-s de Suisse
Unione Svizzera degli Universitari
VSS-UNES-USU
 Ukraine Ukrainian Association of Student Self-government Українська асоціація студентського самоврядування UASS
 United Kingdom National Union of Students NUS-UK

Candidate members

Candidate members are NUSes that have submitted an application of membership to ESU, but have not yet been granted member status by the Board Meeting. Candidate members retain their status for one year and are subject to a "study visit" by ESU to ensure they meet membership criteria. As of September 2016, the candidate members are:[2]

Country English Name Local Name ESU Abbrev.[nb 1]
 Belarus Brotherhood of Student Self-government Organizers Братства организаторов студенческого самоуправления BOSS
 Moldova Student Alliance of Moldova Alianta studentilor din Moldova ASM

Associate organisations

Associate members of ESU are pan-European and international student organisations that have similar goals to ESU. The criteria for associate membership require the organisation to be democratic and student-run, have either students or NUSes as members, and represent students from at least 8 countries that are parties to the European Cultural Convention. Associate organizations can attend and speak at all ESU meetings, but cannot vote at Board Meetings.[3]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Abbreviation given in ESU's member list, may differ from the associations' local or official abbreviations

References

  1. "Elected representatives". Structures. European Students' Union. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  2. "Candidate members". Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  3. "Associate members". About us. European Students' Union. Retrieved 26 April 2016.

See also

External links

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