ESA23: “A Great Experience”
The 2nd edition of the European Student Assembly was held from May 31st to June 2nd in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. During the assembly, 230 students from 40 European University Alliances gathered to exchange ideas and collaborate on shaping the future of Europe.
Amongst the participants were six students from CHARM-EU: Constanze Sophie Connearn, Hazel Byrne, Diana Laborda Jou, Mehjubin Kizhisseri, Adrian González Candele, and Take Wester, who “were delighted to have represented CHARM-EU at this year's edition.”
Ten Panels, 75 Recommendations
The assembly featured a series of engaging panel discussions, workshops, and interactive sessions. Students had the chance to delve into 10 Panel topics such as sustainable farming, inclusion, digital innovation, and more. Through constructive debates and collaborative efforts, they drafted and voted 75 political recommendations aimed at addressing the challenges and opportunities facing Europe.
Examples? Various formats to get EU-citizens involved in political processes and in touch with their voted representatives; a prohibition for food retailers to destroy and discard unsold food products; ensuring mental health education in schools across the EU; or support for the European Sky Shield Initiative.
All panels and policy recommendations can be seen at the European Universities Community "#ESA23 Policy Recommendations".
The CHARM students were happy to be “involved in discussions on critical European issues and exchanged ideas with members of the European Parliament such as Anne Sander, Daniel Freund, and Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield.”
Conny, Take, Diana and Hazel respectively made recommendations on the European Farm to Fork Strategy in panel 4 and tackled mental health concerns in panel 5: “We were very glad to see all of our recommendations made by both panels 4 and 5 approved by the 230 students present at the assembly.”
“All in all, we had a great experience and are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to collaborative policymaking,” the students drew a consistently positive conclusion.
An opportunity for European University Alliances' students
CHARM-EU Secretary General, Meritxell Chaves and CHARM-EU Project Manager at the University of Montpellier, Julien Lorentz, shared 3 intense days with CHARM-EU students and other European students.
Julien was “impressed how the European Student Assembly, which started as a bottom-up approach from a few universities one year ago, became so quickly such an important event, held at the European Parliament. I was astonished by the quality of the speeches and the recommendations provided by the students.”
Students had the opportunity to experience a truly European political experience, encouraging them to get more involved in shaping the future of Europe. Julien added that the European Student Assembly was also a great opportunity for European University Alliances “to show how students are motivated to cooperate across countries and cultures to develop tomorrow’s world in a fairer and greener way. Congratulations and thank you to all participants!”
Thank you to our students and Julien Lorentz, CHARM-EU Project manager at the Université of Montpellier
This article would not have been possible without the contributions from Conny, Take, Diana, Hazel and Julien.