How ‘a board’ became ‘The Board’ in three days
Great news from Brussels: the new Board kicked off their mandate with the handover Board meeting, which took place in Brussels, 11-13 September. It has been a month since the last General Assembly in Amsterdam when we have been elected, and we have to admit – as newbies – that becoming Board members is not the most evident thing on our planet. Dozens of emails every day from dozens of people you don’t know (yet). It has been a big challenge for us. But now, all of this is history, the clouds disappeared and the five of us are ready and excited to get started – woohoow!
In two days, we made a lot of progress as a team as well as individuals. We discussed the build-up process for the new Workplan (2018-2020), political representations, membership candidacies, upcoming events, projects and much more. Thanks to Nora from the Pool of Trainers, who facilitated a session during the meeting, now we have a clearer idea about our responsibilities and expectations. Together we laid the foundation for a stronger team with a joint vision on how OBESSU should develop.
The meeting took place in Brussels, because it was also a great opportunity to meet some of our partners that are based in the capital of Europe and to establish a good cooperation with the whole OBESSU Secretariat. We had a very fruitful meeting with representatives of the European Students’ Union – ESU, bringing on board the university students’ perspective on matters that OBESSU is working on, and evaluated several possibilities for future cooperation. We also had an interesting discussion with the Secretary General of the European Youth Forum Allan Päll, who presented the network (which OBESSU is member of) and the challenges that young people are facing nowadays. Moreover, we got to know the Lifelong Learning Platform, its main goals and upcoming events. We are very looking forward to keep working with them, making sure school students’ voice is heard and taken into consideration within these international networks.
Parallel to the Board Meeting, the new Monitoring Committee had their first meeting in Brussels. It was the chance for us to meet them, as well to discuss how we should cooperate in the coming years. On the last day, we worked on being your “dream team” with some very nice team building activities. Ela, OBESSU Secretary General, surprised us with a Belgian classic: kayaking down the Lesse river in the Ardennes, in the South of Belgium. We can personally assure you, the word dream in “dream team” cannot be more appropriate!
The Board wishes to thank you all for your confidence. We hope we will meet your expectations and make this year a great success. With a big bucket of excitement and a nice cooperation with all of you, we are sure that together we will do an amazing job!
To get in contact with us, please feel free to write to board@obessu.org.
Please find also all our email addresses and portfolios on the website and check out the video we have made to introduce ourselves!
Ferre, Larissa, Lasse, Laufey & Rūta
The Board of OBESSU
