29 May 2026 On 29 May 2026

Amplifying School Students’ Voices in Europe and Beyond – May 2026

Despite the sunny afternoons and the growing temptation of summer just around the corner, the OBESSU team has had little time to slow down. On the contrary, the office has been buzzing with energy, turning ideas into action and keeping momentum high across its work.

OBESSU at the European Youth Week 2026: At the start of the month, the European Commission hosted the European Youth Week 2026, an event organised every second year to celebrate and promote youth engagement, participation and active citizenship in Europe and beyond. This year’s theme is “Solidarity and Fairness”. OBESSU was present at the Kick-Off Event on April 24th: Board member Lauren, former Boardie Albert, and PoT member Viktor attended the event and were able to meet with Glenn Micallef, Commissioner for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sport.

“Voices of Millions” Campaign Launch event: Civil Society Europe brought together, on May 5, EU institutional stakeholders and civil society actors to showcase and launch their campaign, Voices of Millions. The campaign will raise awareness about the representative power of civil society organisations, showcasing its relevance and added value when it comes to policy making, agenda setting, and implementation and monitoring of policies, as well as responding to societal needs.

Event “Invest in children’s mental health across all their environments”: As part of the European Mental Health Week, the EU Alliance for Investing in Children provided a space to reflect on the importance of protecting and promoting children’s mental health across the different environments that shape their daily lives. The discussion was closely connected with the implementation of the European Child Guarantee and highlighted the need for child-centered approaches that ensure every child can grow up in a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment.

EU Literacy Coalition Co-Creation Workshop: The EU Commission brought together various stakeholders in Warsaw (Poland) for a two-day workshop with the goal of setting the foundation of the EU Literacy Coalition, one of the actions established in the Action Plan on Basic Skills. During the event, stakeholders shared experience and knowledge from their respective working fields, identified what needs to change within education systems, and outlined how the Coalition’s members will work together. The discussions will converge in the EU Literacy Coalition Memorandum.

JTP Working Groups Meeting: As many of the Actions of the Just Transition Platform are coming to a close and being finalised ahead of the summer, the platform organised a meeting in Narva (Estonia), on May 7 and 8, to gather final feedback and validation on the outcomes of the Working Groups from all participants and to plan joint dissemination activities in the months to come.

EMPASY Transnational Workshop: In the context of the EMPASY project, SOLIDAR organised, on May 11, a Transnational Workshop on Emotional Literacy and Youth Participation methodologies and practices. The event gathered youth workers, youth leaders and stakeholders for youth participation to share with them the knowledge and resources developed by all project partners and to gain their reflections on the upcoming transnational campaign for emotional literacy and youth participation.

EDEH Webinar “Disinformation guidelines”: On May 12, the European Digital Education Hub (EDEH) held a webinar to present the recently updated Guidelines for teachers to foster digital literacy and tackle disinformation, which were elaborated by a squad within the Hub, and discuss how they can actually be applied in the classroom by educators.

SIRIUS 3.0 Policy Conference “Multilingual Education in Europe: Rethinking Language Policies for Migrant Students”: On May 19, the SIRIUS Network organised a conference to present the key findings from the SIRIUS Watch 2026 comparative policy report on comprehensive language support. The event brought these findings into dialogue with leading research and practitioner expertise, with the aim of strengthening the evidence base for policy reform and spotlighting the role of multilingualism as a resource, not a barrier, in migrant education.

GEAR UP! Networking Event Budapest: Global Citizenship, Gender Equality and Local Action: Organised in the context of the GEAR UP! project, OBESSU and other partners from the Alliance on GCE like SOLIDAR+ along civil society organisations, local authorities, and international partners gathered in Budapest on May 19-21. Along with the 1st in person meeting of the Alliance, OBESSU also engaged in the conference of the GEAR UP! exploring the future of Global Citizenship Education and gender equality in Europe through discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities. The event was a great opportunity to strengthen connections and partnerships between actors with common goals.

Safeguarding Freedom 2026 event: On May 19, OBESSU attended the CoE webinar titled “Safeguarding Freedom of Expression in the Age of Generative AI – A Council of Europe Guidance Note”. The online meeting illustrated the central findings, policy orientation and actionable guidance established in the Guidance Note, which offers a comprehensive roadmap for ensuring that Generative AI serves to enable, rather than impair, the exercise of freedom of expression. Participants were allowed to familiarise themselves with this extensive document.

EAC R2P Webinar “Determinants of STEM Participation and Effective Interventions”: For their first webinar of 2026, ENESET decided to address the issue of participation in STEM, analysing its determinants and barriers. During the online meeting, speakers discussed a broad evidence review from both policy and practice, in an effort to connect research and policy and produce more meaningful and effective strategies.

Community Talk on the Citizens Energy Package: On May 28, the EU Climate Pact held a Community Talk on the Citizens Energy Package, an initiative designed to lower household energy bills and tackle energy poverty. Speakers from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy presented the new package and explored how it supports citizens through the clean energy transition

Updates from the European Institution

Mark your calendar

3^rd June, Save the Children Youth Sweden, Event “Queer Rights are Children’s Rights!”
3^rd June, European Youth Forum, Webinar “The power of Erasmus+”
3-4^th June, British Council, Event “New Partnership with UK in Erasmus+”
4^th June, ESN, EduCafé on Student Mental Health
4-5^th June, EAfA, EAfA Community of Regions and Cities’ High‑Level event (Rome, Italy)
9^th June, YEU, Online Coffee with Kim van Sparrentak
10^th June, European Youth Forum, Webinar “EU budget to real life: jobs, education & you”
11^th June, European Commission, Implementation Dialogue on Supporting the Teaching Profession
11-12^th June, DG EAC, EU Youth Stakeholders Group meeting
12^th June, CSE, Annual General Assembly
17^th June, SIRIUS Network, Sirius General Assembly 2026
17^th June, ESN, Final conference of the DACEM project (Digitising Academic Catalogues for Enhanced Mobility)
17^th June, European Youth Forum, Webinar “Funding the future: how the EU pays for its priorities”
17-18^th June, EDEH, In-person workshop “EU EdTech for Sovereign Education Futures”
20-21^st June, OBESSU General Assembly
23^rd June, EDRi, Webinar “Fight for Us, Not for Them: A Public Interest Vision for EU Tech Policy”
26^th June, Climate for All, Event “Building Green Competences for a Resilient Europe”
26-27^th June, European Commission, ACVT Meeting
29-30^th June, CEDEFOP, Conference “The Skills Nexus Between Productivity and Job Quality: Strengthening Foundations for a Competitive Europe”
29-30^th June, LLLP, High-Level Policy Debate and General Assembly 2026