The SFS international committee Komit participated 1-8 May at the European Students' Union (ESU) Board Meeting. ESU is the European umbrella organization that brings together the national union associations. The Board Meeting (BM) is its highest decision-making body, equivalent to the full council, which is held once per semester.
The hosting of the BM rotates between ESU's member organizations. This time it was the turn of the Georgian student organization GSOA to host in Tbilisi, Georgia. Since 2008, Georgia has had 20 percent of its surface area occupied by Russia. Combined with the geographical proximity to Ukraine, solidarity with Ukraine and Georgia was very present during our visit.
The Swedish delegation from SFS consisted of Amanda Beckman, Emma Svensson and Erik Diaz Milla. SFS chairman Linn Svärd also participated in the preparatory work.
During the BM, issues concerning all parts of ESU's operations were debated and decided: Operational plan, budget, policies and resolutions. The members also elected a new one presidium and board for the financial year 23/24.
Horia Onita, ANOSR (Romania), was elected chairman of the ESU. Iris Kimizoglu, fsz (Germany) and Tanguy Guibert, FAGE (France) were elected vice-chairmen.
The following were elected to the board of ESU:
Ana Gvritishvili, GSOA (Georgia)
Andrej Pirjevec, SOS (Slovenia)
Arno Schrooyen, FEF (Belgium)
Ida Flemmich, SAMOK (Finland)
Joanna Maruszczak, PSRP (Poland)
Tamara Ciobanu, ANOSR (Romania)
Tór Marni Weihe, MFS (Faroe Islands)
The board includes two members, Ida Flemmich and Tór Marni Weihe, who come from the Nordic-Baltic cooperation network within ESU, Nordiskt Ordförändømøte (NOM). However, it should be noted that elected representatives of the ESU are expected to represent the organization as a whole, and not their former national organizations.
SFS got several of our claims through. Several of the demands on the policy document Statement on Education for Sustainable Development were approved, including for a clearer student perspective. The demands on the Statement on the future of the Bologna Process were also approved. There, we emphasized, among other things, the importance of excluding the countries that fundamentally do not follow the Bologna process.
An important issue for SFS is and usually is the creation of a sustainable work environment for ESU. This issue was debated a lot at BM and SFS presented several motions about this to the operational plan. Unfortunately, many did not go through. However, SFS will continue to push for ESU to be a socially sustainable and accessible organization where its elected officials can work under good conditions.
SFS also got through a resolution about political interference in Swedish higher education institutions. The resolution means that ESU marks against the decision by the Swedish government on shortened mandate periods for members of university boards. The resolution was voted unanimously.
In addition to the decisions, the more informal and social parts of the BM are also important. There we tie ties with other national student organizations and increase knowledge and understanding of the situation of students in the countries of the member organizations.
If you have questions about the committee's work, you can contact Linn Svärd or [email protected].