Amplifying School Students’ Voices in Europe and Beyond – October 2025
Despite the falling leaves and grey skies, the OBESSU team remains full of energy, working hard to make sure that European education policies effectively reflect the students’ perspective. Here is a quick recap of what the advocacy team has been up to in the past month, along with upcoming opportunities to get involved!
What we have been up to
On 7-8 October, former OBESSU Board Member Albert Janssens joined other EAN members in Podgorica (MNE) to take part in the 2025 ETF–EAfA Annual Seminar for Partner Countries. They represented VET learners and advocated for their inclusion and recognition at a time of significant transformation within the VET sector as the current one is.
On 8-9 Oct, OBESSU Board Member Lauren Bond participated in the 3rd Working Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, organised by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and shared the students’ perspectives on the Draft Recommendations on AI literacy, further advancing the development of the Council’s Compass for AI and Education towards a more student-centered approach.
An OBESSU delegation attended the High-Level Policy Conference on the Future of Skills and the Future of Jobs in the Mediterranean Region, organised by the Union for the Mediterranean in Valletta (Malta) on the 13th of October. Together with five Member Organisations (CANAE, DOS, UNHSM, AKS, LH/DAB), Board Members Kacper Bogalecki and Elodie Bohling closed the Conference sharing our expectations about student’s participation in the development of the Mediterranean region.
Board Member Lauren was also in Montenegro, where she attended the Council of Europe’s Conference “Towards a European Space for Citizenship Education” (13-14 October). During the event, the Council of Europe presented the first draft of its Principles for Education for Democratic Citizenship (EDC) and of the Framework of Quality Assurance. Lauren shared the students’ perspective, emphasising the importance of ensuring that learners are meaningfully involved in all processes that affect them.
From 28 to 30 October, Board Member Alessandro di Miceli took part in the UNESCO-UNEVOC Global TVET Forum in Berlin. Representing VET learners, he addressed the negative narrative that too often surrounds Vocational Education and Training, and highlighted the importance of strengthening its educational dimension, particularly by integrating Global Citizenship Education.
Mark your calendar:
- European Commission’s Call for Evidence for the EU Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness (deadline: 11th November)
- 3rd meeting of the EU Youth Stakeholders Group (6th November)
- Brussels Future Talks – AI Technology in VET: Chances & Challenges for Inter-Generational Fairness (10th November)
- European Education and Skills Summit, “Education and Skills: Fuelling Europe’s Growth” (13th November)
- ERGO Network Annual Policy Conference, “Implementing the EU Roma Strategic Framework. Roma access to quality and inclusive education” (20th November)
- European Parliament’s Youth Network Event 2025 (20th November)
- Survey on poverty and social inclusion (deadline: 8th December)
Useful Resources:
- OBESSU & EAN, Position Paper on the Herning Declaration
- ELNE’s Policy Recommendations 2025: for a European Definition of Collaborative Leadership in Education
- Council of Europe, Report “Economic Crises in History Teaching”
- Generation Climate Europe, Report on Young People and Energy Poverty in the EU
