Five EUGLOH students recently travelled to Strasbourg, France, to represent the Alliance at the 2023 European Student Assembly (ESA). The goal of the ESA is to encourage student cooperation and participation in the European Union, allowing them to have their voice be heard in a democratic process. In preparation for the ESA, the students worked in remote groups on ten topics including mental health and conflict resolution, together with over 200 students from 40 University Alliances. From May 31st to June 2nd, all student representatives met in person to debate and draft policy recommendations.
Read more about Judit, Lara and Ama's experience at the ESA:
Judit and Lara, Master in Public Health, Lund University
We are Judit and Lara, studying a Master in Public Health at Lund University, and we participated in two different panels during the ESA. Lara was part of Panel #2, which focused on the French-German history of reconciliation and its potential as a model for conflict resolution and unity. She was part of the policy writing team and supported the editing and drafting of the policies. In Panel #5, Judit focused on addressing mental health challenges in Europe. After months of preparation, 8 policy proposals were voted favourably. It addressed various topics like stigmas associated with mental health, or access to mental health with a special focus on youth.
As both of us are interested in policy development in the public health field it was valuable for us to experience the policy making process in practice. For example, how to advocate proposal ideas and participate in the voting process. Additionally, it was a great opportunity to connect with students from different European Universities and Alliances.
Ama, PhD Epidemiology and Public Health, LMU
As a student at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and a EUGLOH Alliance representative, I was privileged to participate in the European Student Assembly at the European Parliament. We were students selected from 144 universities across Europe of different study areas and experiences. In addition, we were 210 participants from 28 different countries in total.
We arrived in Strasbourg in anticipation of finalizing our policies we had been working on during the previous months. The excitement included meeting faces for the first time that we had only known via Zoom. Being part of Panel 10, which focused on ‘bridging skills-gap’, we had engaged in intense literature findings and discussions prior to the event and now it was time to finalize the policies we had worked on. It is also important to note that our topic was closely tied to the 2023 European Year of Skills.
The first day encompassed a welcome address and submission of problem statements from panel leaders. My highlight of the day was the ESN TWINNING INITIATIVE that symbolized the support of Europe against the ongoing Ukrainian war. The second day was the opportunity to work on our policies, finalize and present them. On the last day of the event, we got to present, debate and vote for the policies across all panels. I was really fascinated by the electronic voting. It was quite a unique and rare opportunity that I shall keep for life.
I conclude by saying that I had no pre-knowledge of policy writing. However, with dedicated attention from all members of my panel, including policy experts that mentored us, I have gained the experience now. We recommended six policies on how to bridge and tackle the skills gap situation in Europe and it is my utmost hope that our recommended policies shall gain impact. A big thank you to the European community for creating the European Student Assembly platform.