Documents

OBESSU condemns the actions of local authorities in Mantes-la-Jolien in France. A video recording of the incident has spread across the internet showing school student being detained by police in riot gear, with comments from the individual shooting the video mocking the students.

The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU) stands in solidarity with the on-going demonstrations, protests and grassroots movements developed in response to the continuously increasing threats to environmental protection.

In the framework of the "Inclusive Schools" project we are looking for an external evaluator to make sure that we run a quality project and who will allow us to monitor and assess the impact of the activities. 

This publication was produced by the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU) with the support of the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe. It does not necessarily reflect the official position of the Council of Europe.

OBESSU's reaction to the current situation in Afghanistan.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic represented, for many EU countries, the biggest disruption to educational continuity since the Second World War. School closures impacted over 17 million students. National governments set their priorities: reducing the number of deaths, managing borders, alleviating the pressure on strained public healthcare systems, protecting the economy. Yet a consensus is building that this crisis is and will disproportionately affect young people, if only for the sole fact that they are going to live the longest through its consequences. This report seeks to amplify school students’ voices bridging the last two academic years disrupted by the pandemic. It focuses on the instruction they received, its contents and modalities, students’ overall well-being, and their views on the actions to take in order to “build back better”.

The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU), the platform of 34 School Student Unions all over Europe, expresses its deep concerns towards the Russian military aggression taking place in Ukraine. Over the past months, we have seen an escalation of military activity on the Ukrainian border, which has led to a state of political and social turmoil for the citizens of Ukraine. This turmoil strongly affects all aspects of Ukrainian society, including the educational system and the lives of school students. Due to these military escalations, thousands of families have been displaced and separated, which will have devastating effects on the lives of young people all over Ukraine.

The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU) draws attention to the situation of Ukrainian refugee school students, who, as they leave their home country, lack constant and coherent access to education.

OBESSU recommendations for the Pathways to School Success initiative

Memorandum approved by the OBESSU Board in occasion of the Council of Ministers of Education - 5th of April 2022, Luxemburg

In May of 2022, the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions, together with the Global Student Forum, organised a week-long Study Session at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg with the support of the Council of Europe. Around 30 participants, student representatives, and activists from all across the world took part in discussions on decolonising school curricula as a way to build more inclusive, less oppressive societies.

International Mobility programmes such as Erasmus+ have been, since their conception, a way to foster European integration and to equip young European citizens with a set of skills and competences to deploy both in their personal development and in the labour market. Yet, the impact of Covid-19 raised questions about the programme’s accessibility and internal diversity. This research report aims to fill a specific gap in the analyses of the main international institutions, by providing descriptive data relating to the International Mobility of secondary and VET students in Europe.

Welcome to our International Mobility Passport! A passport with no stamps, you might wonder? Yes, but we still hope you want to keep it in your pocket! The idea of the International Mobility Passport is to give you an opportunity to discover what are the different opportunities available to you to discover Europe with your own eyes

Empowering youth and amplifying their voices is fundamental to rejuvenating our democracies and driving higher voter turnout. Active youth participation is pivotal in shaping the legitimacy and future of our democratic institutions. As we stand at a critical juncture, it is imperative to recognise the significance of youth engagement. The demands and measures outlined, represent OBESSU’s manifesto to the incoming European Parliament taking place between the 6th and 9th of June 2024.

OBESSU welcomes the efforts of the European Commission to establish a European Education Area by 2025 but is concerned about the lack of funds that are dedicated to this purpose and that will undermine the realisation of such an ambitious endeavour.

On 22nd May 2018, the European Commission released the new package of initiatives as part of the ambitious work towards a European Educational Area, which includes the “Proposal for a Council Recommendation on the Automatic Mutual Recognition of Diplomas and learning periods abroad”. OBESSU, jointly with EFIL and EEE-YFU, which have carried out the campaign #RecogniseStudyAbroad over the past two years, welcomes this initiative as an important step towards removal of barriers to learning mobility, also for school students. Therefore, we are very glad to see that the calls and stands from the campaign are well-reflected in the Commission’s Proposal.

The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions shares concerns on the State of the European Union speech delivered by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on 12th of September 2018. We want to stress that the history of the European Union and its values will be lost if Member States do not start to invest again in education.

On 26th November the EU Council has adopted the Council recommendation on the Automatic Mutual Recognition of Diplomas and learning periods abroad. Our organisations, which have carried out the campaign #RecogniseStudyAbroad over the past two years, welcome this initiative as an important step towards removal of barriers to learning mobility, also for school students.

he Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU) deeply regrets the lack of commitment of the European Union to invest in education. Yesterday morning, the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, delivered the State of the Union Speech at the European Parliament. Two years ago, when President Juncker gave the same speech, we raised our voices to express our concerns: education and the key role that it can play to improve the social dimension of the EU, which at the time was not considered a priority. Two years later, despite having a new College of Commissioners and despite the unprecedented health crisis that we face, which has confirmed us that we must review and increase the funds allocated to our education and training systems, the European Commission’s vision of education remains sadly the same.

Is Pisa ready to assess global competence? On the 22nd of October 2020, the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) released its Volume VI: “Are Students Ready to Thrive in an Interconnected World?” presenting the results of the PISA 2018 survey on global competence. As the platform representing school students in Europe, OBESSU has been advocating for an increased focus on qualitative assessment methods. Once again, we call for cautious as PISA global competence assessment results rely on a narrow quantitative evaluation of few indicators which can by no means provide a comprehensive approach of global competence and school student’s performance in this field.

Co-signed by The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions and the European Apprentices Network

We are opening a call for members of the taskforce on Decolonising education. Even though this taskforce was not initially in the implementation plan, due to the incertitude around the Study Session 2021 on decolonising school curricula (Pluriverse: Peaceful societies with an oppression-free education), we are opening the call for taskforce members that will support OBESSU in discussing and raising awareness on the topic.

The proposed action SIRIUS 2.0 – Policy Network on Migrant Education (EAC/S28/2016) aims to promote cooperation between different stakeholders, supports inclusive policy development and implementation at different governance levels and facilitate the integration of children and young people with migration background in school education.

With the #EcoFighters – School students for the environment project, OBESSU set to promote a culture of environmental awareness and activism in the context of school student and apprentices organisations, through democratic participation of young people in various ways, platforms and levels.

The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions, the European Students’ Union, the All-Africa Student Union together with the Global Student Forum, and national student unions representing students from secondary and tertiary education, announces its withdrawal from the UNESCO SDG4Youth Network.

The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU), representing school students rights in Europe since 1975 advocating for participatory, inclusive and quality education, welcomes the approval of a Council Recommendation on Learning for the green transition and sustainable development that could lead to a European framework, supporting Member States in developing and implementing policies in support of environmental sustainability at all levels of education and training.

One of the most significant challenges of today’s society is fostering inclusive and quality education for all. This challenge has become more and more prominent in the last decades with cuttings in education funding and significant social issues that have arisen. For the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions - OBESSU, inclusive education sits at our organisation’s heart. We try to envisage a society and an education where one’s rights are respected equally through our efforts.

The Generation d-Liberation project is an initiative in the framework of the European Parliament DG COMM work for the Conference on the Future of Europe. It run since April 2021 until June 2022 and its main aim is to give tools to young people, and particularly school students - both in general and VET education - to be able to discuss the future of Europe and the role they want to play in it, with specific regards to the fields of: addressing climate change, the right to quality education, jobs for young people, mental health and minority rights and inclusion. This was done both through facilitated deliberations in different European countries (Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Romania, Hungary, Ireland) as well as by any young person who receives the methodology that the project will develop. All ideas were collected online and served as a basis for recommendations to members of the European Parliament who will represent the student perspective on the Conference on the Future of Europe. Partners all have a great deal of experience, either working as a student representation body or in the domain of democracy, participation and deliberation.

We all know that fixing something requires the appropriate tools to fix that problem. Want to fix a broken arm? You need a cast. Want to fix a beautiful bookshelf to the wall? You need a drill. Do you want to fix a broken education system? Well. You need this toolbox! In this toolbox you will find inspiration on how to protect and advance your rights as school students, whether you want to do it at school level, nationally or internationally. We will walk you through the concept of the Declaration of School Student Rights, how we redeveloped it with school students from all over Europe and how you can act individually and collectively to make it become a reality. Take your student collective, friends or school student unions fellow activists and get ready to go on this journey!

The Guidelines for Teachers on Online and Blended Learning are part of Innovation Station: A New Approach Towards Online and Blended Education. This project is coordinated by the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU). Innovation Station is a response to the needs and challenges experienced by educators and secondary school students across Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden onset of the pandemic forced educators and students to rapidly adapt to an online and blended learning environment. This transition was smoother for some than for others. Most schools, educators, and learners found themselves in a situation where they had to experiment and work with the tools available at the time.

The people of Australia are currently facing the effects of the worst environmental crisis in modern history. A place well known for its abundant biodiversity has been engulfed in a cycle of wildfires and as a result, human lives and animal species are in grave danger. As students and learners from all across the world we are seriously alarmed by this situation which doesn’t have a concrete solution in sight, and we want to show our solidarity to the people in Australia.

This Global Student Declaration calls for urgent action on climate justice. It seeks the eyes and ears of world leaders, decision makers and those in power to recognise the injustice of the climate crisis and take action, to deliver on climate justice. It seeks solutions to the climate crisis which acknowledge that those who are least responsible, are facing the impacts of anthropogenic climate change faster and to a far greater extent than those who have financially and politically benefited.

Today, 17th of November, is a day to remember and celebrate student organising. This year OBESSU wants to look back and thank students for their work, nonconformism and sacrifices for their rights but also the rights of each individual in their societies. This date reminds us of activism, commitment and solidarity, but also of injustice, oppression and blood.

The pressure to succeed academically and have your entire self-worth denoted by grades and numbers; the pressure to outperform your peers and be the very best, juggling the rest of your life to fit into this race; the pressure and expectation that family and personal issues should not be facilitated and understood by the formal education system. This is the situation where students find themselves in education systems all over the world. In this highly stressful environment, and with the world changing everyday, the pressure that students face often threatens their mental health, which concretely impacts on their potential to fully exercise their right to education. Towards the International Students’ Day OBESSU and ESU call on students from all over the world to unite in calling to guarantee a healthy environment for all students!

Joint Statement with the European Students' Union - ESU Lifelong Learning Platform and Civil Society Europe.

Our call for a global campaign for funding educationin the 2021 International Students’ Day

This is a toolkit to help you discuss your ideas for the future of Europe. It can be used by classes, in large groups of up to 40 people, or just by a few students who want to discuss together. We’ve tried to make it as flexible and adaptable as possible.

This is a toolkit to help you discuss your ideas for the future of Europe. It can be used by classes, in large groups of up to 40 people, or just by a few students who want to discuss together. We’ve tried to make it as flexible and adaptable as possible.

Briefing on the actions that MOs and student union can take to participate in the NRRP.

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