The SFS international committee Komit participated at the end of November in European Student Union's 85th board meeting (BM), this time in the Estonian capital Tallinn. BM is ESU's equivalent council and is held once per semester. In the autumn, half of the operating year has passed for the organization. From SFS, the delegation consisted of Emma Svensson and Andreé Lindahl. Together with political secretary Amanda Beckman, the work was prepared for the meeting.
During a BM, decisions are made on everything related to ESU; both political and organizational issues. The only difference between a BM in the fall and a BM in the spring is that the business plan is only raised at the spring meeting because this is at the end of the business year.
Group picture of representatives from the national student organizations in Europe
An important dimension of a BM is also to network and discuss with representatives from all European student organisations. The first days consisted of seminars where we got an insight into the Estonian education system and what it is like to study in Estonia. Estonian ministers and representatives from the Estonian Ministry of Education attended. In addition, our international colleagues from Belarusian and Ukrainian student organizations attended panel discussions on how engagement in the student movement under extraordinary conditions. The Belarusian student organization BSA told about their situation where their work and activism is seen as a threat to the Belarusian state, and it Ukrainian student organization UAS talked about being active in a crisis-stricken country and how it affects higher education in general. The situation of students in exile as a result of war or political persecution was also highlighted.
During the BM, four main documents concerning artificial intelligence, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), Social Dimension (SD) and Gender-based Violence in the Academy (GBV) were discussed. SFS had several requests, most of which were approved. An important claim for SFS was about students' additional costs, which in the case of business-based education (VFU) should not be paid for by the individual student. Together with the Nordic-Baltic cooperation within ESU, which includes SFS, the Nordic Chairs' Meeting (NOM), we received approval for proposals regarding the organization's budget.
A continuing important and prioritized issue for SFS is the working environment in ESU. SFS took up the discussion of this under the strategy for Equity, diversity and inclusivity where it was debated and discussed a lot. The motion was about the possibility of prioritizing political focus issues in order to create a better working environment for the elected officials and to focus on selected political focus issues for better impact. Unfortunately, the motion fell by the wayside. SFS will continue to push the issue for ESU to be a sustainable and accessible organization where committed and elected representatives can work under good conditions, which also produce good results.
A major success for the SFS delegation was that ESU unanimously adopted the resolution that SFS submitted to condemn the Swedish government's attack on the student movement in the form of the cuts in funding announced in this year's autumn budget. This means that ESU unanimously joins SFS in the criticism of the Swedish government's upcoming reduction in funding for the student movement. The resolution can be read here.
In addition to formal debates and decisions, a BM is filled with informal and social elements. During these, we bond and get closer to other national student organisations. Through these ties, we increase knowledge and understanding of the situation of students across Europe.