SFS International Committee The Committee participated in the European Students' Union (ESU) Board Meeting from 1-8 May. ESU is the European umbrella organization that brings together the national student union associations. The Board Meeting (BM) is its highest decision-making body, equivalent to the general council, which is held once per semester.
The hosting of the BM rotates between ESU member organizations. This time it was the turn of the Georgian student organization GSOA to host in Tbilisi, Georgia. Georgia has had 20 percent of its territory occupied by Russia since 2008. 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 chair Linn Svärd also participated in the preparatory work.
During the BM, issues concerning all parts of ESU's operations were debated and decided: Business plan, budget, policies and resolutions. The members also elected a new presidium and board for the 23/24 financial year.
Horia Onita, ANOSR (Romania) was elected as ESU President. Iris Kimizoglu, fsz (Germany) and Tanguy Guibert, FAGE (France) were elected as Vice-Presidents.
The following were elected to the board of directors 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, the Nordic Chairman's Meeting (NOM). It should be noted, however, that elected representatives of ESU are expected to represent the organization as a whole, and not their former national organizations.
SFS got several of our demands 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. In it, we emphasized, among other things, the importance of excluding those countries that do not strictly follow the Bologna Process.
An important issue for SFS is and usually is the creation of a sustainable working environment for ESU. This issue was much debated at the Ministry of Labour and SFS submitted several motions on this to the business plan. Unfortunately, many did not pass. However, SFS will continue to push for ESU to be a socially sustainable and accessible organization where its elected representatives can work under good conditions.
SFS also got through a resolution on political interference at Swedish universities. The resolution means that ESU is protesting against the decision by the Swedish government to shorten the terms of office for members of university boards. The resolution was voted through unanimously.
In addition to the decisions, the more informal and social parts of BM are also important. There we forge ties with other national student organizations and increase knowledge and understanding of the situation of students in the member organizations' countries.
If you have any questions about the committee's work, please contact Linn Svärd or [email protected].