Documents

OBESSU about the Conference on the Future of Europe

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.

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.

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

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.

#SOTEU2021 OBESSU's reaction to the State of the Union address on 15 September 2021.

OBESSU's reaction to the current situation in Afghanistan.

Joint Statement by OBESSU, ESU, LLLP, YFJ and EDF on the EU’s new long-term budget for 2021-27, coupled with Next Generation EU is the single largest investment in the history of the European Union.

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.

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.

We, the undersigned organizations, jointly call on the governments of European Union (EU) Member States to immediately commit to the emergency relocation of unaccompanied children from the Greek islands to other European countries, giving precedence to existing family links and the best interests of the child. Action is all the more urgent in light of the escalating violence on Lesbosi and as increased arrivals to the islands could lead to further deterioration of the dangerous conditions in the camps.

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.

European Commission President-Elect Ursula Von der Leyen unveiled the new Commissioners’ portfolios in today’s press conference. We are sad to see that education and lifelong learning are not accorded their rightful place and visibility in this proposed Commission and are mentioned only as part of the wider ‘Innovation and Youth’, which erases in a blind hit also culture, sports and research.

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.

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.

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 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has recently published its 2019 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report which focuses on Migration, displacement and education. OBESSU welcomes the analysis on how education can build bridges and not walls, as well as the call of the report for more international solidarity. We regret to see almost no space for the learners’ perspective.

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 30th May 2018, the European Commission published the “Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing ‘Erasmus’”, which represents the basis for the Erasmus+ successor after 2020. OBESSU, jointly with EFIL and EEE-YFU, which have carried out the campaign “More Pupil Mobility” over the past two years, welcome this initiative as an important step towards more pupil mobility in the future Erasmus+ Programme.

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.

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