OBESSU crowdfunding campaign for Manual for School Students
OBESSU – Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions- has launched a crowdfunding campaign to print 250 copies of the renewed “Manual for School Students“.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”, as Nelson Mandela said, but have you ever wondered how can education itself change the world if education systems do not change? Well, OBESSU representing school students from all over Europe, believe that school student activism is the most powerful weapon to change education systems.
How to empower school students to change the education systems? In 2006 OBESSU developed a Manual for School Students, a tool which was aimed at encouraging participation of school students.
10 years after this Manual was published, and after 1 year of hard work of revising it, OBESSU calls on being part of this grand project and donate for printing 250 copies . What will you get back? The thrill of having participated in a process that is based on passion, democracy, inclusion and can really be one of the most powerful weapons to create active school students, active citizens and better societies.
The Manual, written BY and FOR school students, is a journey throughout the creation of a democratic school student organisation, imagined as a space trip in the “school student universe”. Students will jump on a space rocket and travel through communication strategies, democratic decision-making, policy influencing and mobilisation processes, as well as through networking, economic sustainability and event organising. The 4 chapters are simple and easy-to-read, adapted to every student and accompanied by examples, powerful pictures and graphics, as well as by online and printed annexes giving a very hands-on touch to the Manual.
For more information, contact Giorgio Tessadri, Communication and Membership Officer at OBESSU, giorgio@obessu.org.
Presidents of pan-European youth organisations call upon the European Council to preserve the Schengen principles
On 17 February eighteen organisations, including EFIL, sent a letter to the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, asking to keep the open borders in Europe, one of the greatest milestones of European integration.
The increased migratory pressure in recent months has led to a gradual suspension of the institutions of the Schengen Area. Most notably, we have seen temporary reintroductions of border control between Schengen countries. This is in line with the Schengen Borders Code that allows for these measures only if they are in proportion with an established serious threat to public policy or internal security and are limited in time.
In order to strengthen the common policies, common efforts of securing the external borders of the Schengen Area are demanded to preserve the fundamental principles and the public good of the European Union.
The European Council was asked to debate and adopt comprehensive solutions, grounded in fundamental rights, to manage the security issues and migration without dropping out the core principles of the European Union.
You can read the full letter here.
Kick-start meeting of the Migration and Human Rights Network of the European Youth Forum
The first meeting of the Migration and Human Rights Network of the European Youth Forum (YFJ) took place in Vienna on 20 February, and it was co-hosted by the Austrian National Youth Council (ÖJV).
The purpose of the meeting was to identify how the YFJ and its members can contribute to the matter of migration and young refugees. The key recommendations from the Resolution Protection and Integration of Young Refugees in Europe where identified and the next steps for the implementation were designed.
Attached to the meeting, ÖJV hosted a public panel with the title “Whose rights & which rights? Young refugees in Europe”. The response from EU and its members to and the role of youth organisations in the refugee crisis were the highlight topics of the discussion.
You can read the full article here.
Addressing the Refugee Crisis
In December 2015, the European Commission released a press release outlining the state of Play of the Measures to Address the Refugee Crisis. The European Agenda on Migration of May 2015 called for a “comprehensive approach to migration management”, however the measures adopted so far do not include education related policies, as noticed by the Lifelong Learning Platform, of which EFIL is an associated member.
Having already “called for an ensured access for refugees to basic public services including education” such as provided in Article 27 of Directive 2004/83/EC on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons, the Platform firmly encourages the Member-States to live up to their engagements and the European Commission to facilitate the coordination of efficient educational action plans to address the refugee crisis.
In cooperation with the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) the Labour Market Observatory (LMO) organised a public seminar on “Integrating refugees into the labour market: turning the crisis into an opportunity”, in Brussels on 22 February 2016. The event allowed to show best practices and challenges in the area, that will contribute to the “opinion SOC/532 on Integration of Refugees” (rapporteur Ms. Schweng, co-rapporteur Mr Gkofas), the work of the IMI permanent study group and the European Migration Forum.
Europe is calling for a New Narrative
Launched in April 2013, the “New Narrative for Europe initiative” included events and online discussions that lead to the declaration of “The Mind and Body of Europe” and the publication of the book “The Mind and Body of Europe: a New Narrative”.
The aim of the project is to identify a new encompassing narrative by giving a voice to the artistic, cultural, scientific and intellectual communities to articulate what Europe stands for today and tomorrow. The purpose of this is to contribute to bringing Europe closer to its citizens and reviving a “European” spirit via the arts and sciences.
The project is important to fulfill the need of restoring the confidence in Europe and laying the foundations for the shape of the future society in the the European Union.
All sectors of society and citizens from all walks of live are called to participate and engage in the debate about the common future, in order to develop a sustainable Europe. In December several projects were selected to bring this initiative to each Member states.
The relaunch of the New Narrative took place in February 2016, in Brussels.
You can learn more here.
Engaging in civic participation from the early age
Children and young people are called for participation at the CATS 2016 Conference, that will take place from 26 July to 1 August of 2016 in Caux, Switzerland, organised by 5 partners including the Universal Education Foundation-Learning4WellBeing. The event will address the issue of children’s voice and participation in the decision-making process, leading to initiatives with significant impact to shape the world’s future, by providing space to explore how children can use their voice and influence in different settings.
The organisers believe that children and young people need to become partners for change to eradicate poverty and leave no one behind by 2030, fulfilling the ambition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The long term objectives include to develop and support the community of practice, foster cross-sector partnerships, advocate to mainstream children’s participation, be recognised as an exemplar of good practice on children’s participation globally.
Watch the 2015 video!
The Bridge 47 Network
For the past years, a coalition of education and development actors have successfully advocated for the target 4.7(Global Education) to be included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Now the Bridge 47 Network is facilitating a way of implementing the Goal 4 in practice, by giving a space for mutual support and peer-learning.
The adoption of the SDGs was a big achievement and a clear commitment of the world leaders to work together for a new approach to developing our planet. Reaching these ambitious goals will be the challenge of our generation and we need a new approach to education, one that prepares all learners to act for sustainable development.
To learn more, click here.
Check the following publications:
- Youth work and non-formal learning in Europe’s education landscape
- Quality Youth Work: a common framework for the further development of youth work
- The contribution of youth work to address the challenges young people are facing, in particular the transition from education to employment
- Making Integration Work: refugees and others in need of protection
- Think Global: The Development Education Association
- Immigrant Students at School: easing the journey towards integration
- Learning for Well-being Magazine