School Students’ Europe 2024

The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU) is the platform for cooperation between the national school student unions active in general secondary and secondary vocational education in Europe. It was founded in 1975 and brings together Member, Candidate and Affiliate Organisations from all over Europe. All Member Organisations are independent, national, representative and democratic school student organisations.

For the upcoming 5 years, school students have a clear vision on what they would like to see happen!

 

  1. Education is a Human Right

 

Education systems all over the world often place a high financial burden on students and their families, building barriers to full access to education. However, education is a fundamental human right, thus should be effortlessly accessible to school students of all backgrounds.

 

Therefore, OBESSU demands:

  • All education to be completely free of charge for the student, with no costs for materials and other necessities.
  • City planning attentive to using school buildings as open spaces.
  • A student income to be granted to everyone who holds the status of a school student.
  • Scholarships available for any school student in the country with special skills and visions, who wish to attend specialised schools or conduct a project.

 

2. Education Must Be A Top Priority

 

Education empowers people and provides them with equal opportunities. Investing in Education has also the greatest returns to support economic, social and cultural development. Lastly, Education is the foundation of society and belongs to everyone, therefore it has to be publicly funded to remain academically independent.

 

Therefore, OBESSU demands:

  • On all levels (regional, national & European), the recognition of Education as the top priority for long-term investments.
  • Allocation of at least 5% of the budget to Educational investments.
  • Decreasing the educational institutions’ dependency on private companies and covering their spendings with public assignations. 
  • Educational investments to be disconnected from economical eclipses and crises.

 

3. Vote at 16

 

Participation in democratic processes is of utmost importance for our society and the right to vote and to be elected are key elements of citizenship. In a time of growing frustration with political institutions and Euroscepticism, entrusting youth to take a decision in all matters that will affect them in the present day and in the future is a crucial step we need to take in order to give ownership of society to citizens. Looking at the data we realise the need of instilling the responsibility to vote and participate at this younger age while people are still in the education system. This means global citizenship education must also start from primary level to ensure young people not only understand the political system, but also have developed active citizenship competencies by the time they first vote.

 

Therefore, OBESSU demands:

• The members of the European Parliament to work with their national party members to explore extending the voting rights to citizens from the ages of 16.

• The European Institutions to further stimulate a stronger role of Citizenship Education in national secondary education curricula, keeping a global and holistic perspective on common values.

 

The On Our Watch project brings together Civil Society Organisations working on all kind of topics. As representatives of and in direct contact with citizens, organisations have a strong role to play in holding the European Parliament accountable to the public. By joining forces in the context of the #EUelections2019 (23-26 May), On Our Watch offers a comprehensive overview of the key issues that European citizens care about.

Want to join? Get in touch! Contact: christian.skriverik[@]europeanmovemnt.eu  | Address: Place du Luxembourg 2, B-1050, Brussels | Phone: +32 2 508 30 83