NEWS November09

LETTERThis is the OBESSU Newsletter that is going out every month to all member organisations and partners of OBESSU. The Newsletter is an informing collecting of news and especially events you can participate in from partner and contact organisations.

TABLE OF CONTENTS1939 – 2009 70th Anniversary of the International Day of Students

UNSS marks the International Day of Students

SIF: 17th of November in Iceland

ASuBiH celebrates the International Day of Students

CONTACT OBESSU:Jonathan FAVEREAUPolicy & Communications Officer

17/11 in DenmarkSwitzerland: USO and VSS work together on 17Novv

Norway: SSUN celebrates its 50th Anniversary on the 17th November

ISSU: 17 November actions in Ireland

UDS: Demonstrations all over the country for 17/11

Green Paper on Promoting the Learning Mobility of Young People

Bulgaria: “The time is ours- youth and the changes’’

Slovakia 1939-2009 the International Day of Students

Mass Student Protests in Denmark

Training Course for International Officers 2009

Extraordinary GA 2009OBESSU Welcomes New Members!

Alina Böling appointed at the Monitoring Committee

OBESSU works with YFJ on the Green Paper on Learning Mobility

Upcoming Events: 17th of November, International Students’ Day!

HIGHLIGHTS ON1939 – 2009 70th Anniversary of the

International Day of Students Call for Action on the 17th November adopted by the Extraordinary General Assembly of OBESSU 11/10/2009It's said that history repeats itself. As a matter of fact, when we think of the history of student movement, the thesis of this statement might just not be too far from the truth. We claim that there is student activism to be found behind every historical process pushing society in a new direction. On the 17th of November 1939, thousands of Czechoslovak students in protests against the Nazi occupation were sent to concentration camps and executed. But already before, students across the world have come together in demand for democracy, peace and justice. Read More

LAST MINUTEEuropean Parliament VP and EU Commissioner at OBESSU – ESU Conference on 17 NovvThe 17th of November Conference, to be held in Brussels from the on November 16 – 18 will gather together a number of very high level speakers. On top of several student leaders from today and from the past including former leader of the International Union of Students G. Berlinguer and guests from the regional platforms of Africa, Asia and South America, the event will bring together scholars, researchers and policy makers. From the side of policy makers at European level, ESU and OBESSU have the pleasure to announce that Vice-President of the European Parliament Stavros Lambrinidis and EU Commissioner for Education, Training & Culture Maroš Šefčovič will address the conference during the official commemoration of the International Day of Students on November 17th.

MEMBERS NEWSUNSS marks the International Day of StudentsThis year, one of the biggest events of UNSS will be the marking of 17 th

November, International day of students. On the occasion of 17th

November UNSS will coordinate simultaneous activities in over 100 schools in 50 towns all over the country. The activities will be organized in the framework of the campaign “Prava na Sunce!” (Light on the rights). Read more

SIF: 17th of November in Iceland To celebrate the 17th of November in Iceland, all classes in school that are members of SIF will be cancelled from 10:00-11:00 and all the students will be gatherd in school halls. They will have prepared a fun presentation about SIF and the 17th of November. To make the day more dramatic, all the event will be video taped and the students will all stand up to show that they are ready to know there rights and fight for them !

ASuBiH celebrates the International Day of StudentsOn November 17th the Association of Secondary School Students in Bosnia and Herzegovina will prepare panels including all rights and obligations of secondary school students and send them to every secondary school in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These panels will be advertisedby ASuBiH so that the International Day of Students is properly acknowledge for the first time ever in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

17/11 in Denmark

LH, EEO and DGS have planned a set of activities to celebrate the International Day of Students in Denmark. DGS has choosen to mark the IDS on their activity conference where there will be an international lounge with the presence of OBESSU and a student activist from Colombia.  The theme of the workshops will be International tendencies in the School students movement. LH will published a themed article including the historical perspective of the youth movement and the 17/11 in a newspaper they have agreeements with. Finally, EEO will publish several Press releases towards national press in Denmark.

Switzerland: USO and VSS work together on 17NovvTo celebrate the International day of students, USO will work together with VSS, the swiss student organisation. Both organisations printed the common OBESSU-ESU poster, customised with their own logos. While the front side is mainly similar to the original, the back shows some information about the 17th november, the « Light on the Rights » campaign, USO and VSS. There will be several press releases, first asking reporters to write about the international students day in general, later with specific informations about the actions. On the 17th itself both swiss organisations will organise flash mobs in different locations in Berne. At least three people disguised as Light on the Rights light bulbs will be distributing flyers to pedestrians. In Bern, the SUB, (Student Union of the University of Berne) will organise (with support from VSS-UNES-USU) a screening of student movement documentary movies, a panel-discussion and a party afterwards.

Norway: SSUN celebrates its 50th Anniversary on the 17th November17th of November the School Student Union of Norway (SSUN) celebrates its 50th anniversary. The occation will highlight the history and significance of the movement of school students in Norway over the past 50 years. At the party we will have greetings from the president of SSUN, the Norwegian Minister of Education, Kristin Halvorsen and others. There will also be a presentation of the history, and a short dialogue between central personalities from the organisation and Norwegian educational politic’s history and developement. 

ISSU: 17 November actions in IrelandThis year to mark the 17th of November, ISSU is putting together a 24 page student rights themed issue of its newsletter. The newsletter will feature articles about the Declaration of School Students Rights, the "Light on the Rights" campaign, the 17th of November as well as articles from noted Irish public figures and organisations involved in the promotion of human and children's rights. The newsletter will be sent as part of a mailing to the 734 second-level schools in Ireland as well as to all the other organisations in the Irish education and youth sectors Some school Student Councils will also be holding small local events to mark the 17th of November such as inviting in a guest speaker or giving a talk to other students about the Declaration. ISSU and OBESSU hope that these will help to create awareness of the Declaration and the importance of student rights among students at grass roots level and across the education and youth sectors in Ireland!

UDS: Demonstrations all over the country for 17/11In Italy UDS and Link are organising a big student strike with demonstrations in about 50 cities around Italy. A call for actions was issued to both school students and university students. Moreover, there will be

concerts, cultural events, movies in the schools and alternative pedagogical methods with teachers will be experimented. The claims for a national law on the right to education, an extraordinary investment for school buildings new pedagogical methods will be put forward. The crucial point is the contrast to the huge cutbacks on the educational system (more than 8 billion euros in 3 years) and the demand for a rise of public investment in education. This day will mark the first big demonstration of student from schools and universities organised from our new network "Link" that includes UdS and university student unions.

Bulgaria: “The time is ours- youth and the changes’’The Municipal Youth Council of Pernik and “Youth” Association of Pernik, which is part of the National Youth Consulting Body are organizing a public lecture and discussion “The time is ours- youth and the changes” dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism in Bulgaria and the upcoming International Day of Students – 17th November. ! Read more

Slovakia 1939-2009 the International Day of StudentsSUS is going to send and official letter about 17nov to every school in slovakia and the student organisation’s members are going to read it and explain to other students why that day is celebrated as a students day. A concert and public reading of the Declaration of School Student Rights has also been scheduled.

Mass Student Protests in DenmarkOn the 6th of October, 30 000 students gathered in the cities of Copenhagen, Aarhus, Viborg, Odense, Sønderborg and Aalborg, to protest against budget cuts in Danish school. Furthermore 60 schools were occupied by the students at least one day before the demonstration. The name of the campaign and the initiative organizing the protests is called Out of the crisis – into the future and consists of all the students organizations of Denmark and the young trade-union movement. Read more

OBESSU NEWSTraining Course for International Officers 2009Between the 7th and the 11th of October, OBESSU held its Training Course for International Officers: "European policies on Youth and Education: how can we affect the decision-making processes?"  in Brussels, Belgium. Thanks to the financial support of the Council of Europe and the Europe for Citizens programme of the European Commission and to the very active and productive participation of over 50 attendees all over Europe, the project was a great success. Read more

Extraordinary GA 2009On the 11th of October, OBESSU held an extraordinary General Assembly. The GA had been summoned because of a vacant position in the Monitoring Committee of OBESSU. Alina Böling from FSS was therefore elected to the Monitoring Committee (see below). Moreover, Member organisations took the opportunity of this extraordinary GA to adopt a set of positions. Three new Member Organisations were granted Membership (see below), and OBESSU adopted a call for actions for the 17th of November (see Highlights) as well as a Policy Paper on E-Democracy. Read the minutes of the GA

OBESSU Welcomes New Members!During its Extraordinary General Assembly, held in Brussels the 11th of october, OBESSU had the pleasure to formally welcome three new member organisations into the family. The three inductees, Asocijacija srednjoškolaca u Bosni i Hercegovini (ASuBiH) from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Samband Íslenskra Framhaldsskólanema (SIF) from Iceland and Sveriges elevråd (SVEA) from Sweden Read more

Alina Böling appointed at the Monitoring CommitteeDuring its Extraordinary General Assembly, held in Brussels the 11th of october, the Member Organisations of OBESSU had to elect a Monitoring Committee Member. Alina Böling, from the Swedish-speaking student organisation of Finland FSS was elected to work in the MC together with Filip Lakic from UNSS. Alina replaces Luca Froelicher from USO, whom we wish to thank wholeheartedly for his two years and a half of mandate in the monitoring committee.

PARTNERS NEWSOBESSU works with YFJ on the Green Paper on Learning MobilityThe Green Paper on Promoting the Learning Mobility of Young People is being put forward with a view to raising a wide number of issues linked to the learning mobility of young Europeans in all disciplines and contexts.The European Commission is calling upon all stakeholders, from governments to individuals, to support its efforts to make youth mobility the rule rather than the exception. Read More

UPCOMING EVENTS International Day of Students, 17th November, WORLDWIDE 5th European School Student Convention, 17-20 December, Vienna Council of Members, December 2009, Vienna

OBESSURue de la Sablonnière 201 000 Brussels - BelgiumPhone:+32 264 72 390

Fax: +32 264 72 394E-mail:obessu@obessu.org

Dear Members,We would like to share more information about your work in the newsletter. Therefore we need your help and support! Please send us articles on some activities, campaigns or events you would like to see published in OBESSU newsletter, or send your newsletters (if available in English) regularly to the following address: obessu@obessu.orgTo facilitate the inclusion of your articles please note the Deadline for Contribution is fixed on the 27th of the

month.Moreover keep us up-to-date with the activities you undertake! Having a strong communication between OBESSU and its members but also between its members themselves should give the best possible synergies we need to be active Europe-wide.Furthermore please inform us about the dates of your GA and give us the possibility to be in contact with the new board members! We hope you enjoyed reading. Furthermore we would like to call attention to our homepage. All the member organisations please check your contact data under “obessu.org/about/members” and do not hesitate to come in contact. We are also open for your proposals to actions that can be interesting for other members.Best regards,OBESSU