During a sunny week in mid-August, the presidium left Stockholm to make its first member visits. Premises, commitment and labour market connections were on the agenda when the presidium visited Lund, Copenhagen and Malmö in turn.
Reflections from a trip south
Lund and PUFF
The first stop was Lund to present SFS and national advocacy work on Lund University Student Union (LUS) Introduction days PUFF – Presidium training for the future. After a session where we talked about one of the best things we know – student influence – we had the opportunity to get to know representatives from the Lunda unions that rule the roost in the city. There was sun, dumplings and good conversation when union activists from both SFS unions and future(?) SFS unions gathered on the roof of the AF-borgen.
Copenhagen and DSF
On Friday morning we crossed the Öresund Bridge for our first international visit. This time we were to meet our sister organization Danish Student Council (DSF). For Hampus it meant a fond reunion with international colleagues from his years in the SFS Committee. We first discussed how the higher education sector and the student movement work in Denmark. It was exciting to compare how our movements work together. We also talked about the increased connection to the business community that emerged during the 2010s and how this has affected higher education. An important reflection we take away from this is that Danish companies are now clamoring for people with language skills after language education was deprioritized by the Danish state. What would happen if the same thing happened in Sweden?
Visit to the Malmö Student Union
After lunch we travelled back across the bridge to Malmö to meet one of our members in Malmö. Here we had a chance to hear more about what is important to our members locally. In addition to the kick-off being just around the corner, we heard about the high premises costs that affect the union and its associations, the housing shortage in the city and how the Student Union Malmö is thinking about the declining engagement in civil society.
These issues are of course not unique to student life in Malmö and something that we will certainly be talking about more in the student movement in the coming years. How do you create engagement and how do you attract activity when students have dozens if not hundreds of other choices?
Very satisfied after two intense days, we got on the train home to Stockholm. Tired but already looking forward to the next trip!