Erasmus Student Network

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Erasmus Student Network
logo Logo from ESN
Seat Brussels , Belgium
founding October 16, 1989
Official language English
president PortugalPortugal João Pinto
Vice President SerbiaSerbia Tijana Stojanović
Treasurer ( treasurer ) BelgiumBelgium Tim Bastiaens
Communication manager PolandPoland Kacper Olczyk
Web Projects Administrator NetherlandsNetherlands Jeroen van Lent

Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is a non-commercial international student organization. She looks after exchange students who are usually placed by the Erasmus program and makes it easier for them to integrate on site. As the organization grows, there is also more emphasis on the concerns and improvement of student exchanges in general.

ESN is currently (March 2017) from 528 sections at universities in 40 countries of Europe (with the euro Europe -oriented definition).

history

In 1987 the European Community adopted an international mobility plan for the tertiary level . The Erasmus program founded in this context has become one of the best-known organizations that enable students to complete part of their studies abroad. On the occasion of a meeting to evaluate the course of the program two years later in Belgium , the idea arose to found a network that would support the exchange students in dealing with everyday problems in their host country. The Erasmus Student Network was created according to the motto “Students help students”. As a result, ESN sections were set up at various European universities; the first in Utrecht in 1989. Since 1990 the organization has been a registered association in Copenhagen . ESN experienced strong growth in the last decade (2000: 95 sections, 2010: 338 sections), which is also strongly influenced by new computer technologies such as Skype and Facebook . In 2005 an office was set up in Brussels . ESN receives financial support from the European Commission , but is independent of the Erasmus program.

activity

ESN is organized on three levels. The most important level is the local one, which maintains contact with the students. The international umbrella organization coordinates the work between the individual states and sections. More and more national structures are being formed to ensure cooperation between the sections of a country.

organization

Local level

The local level is the most important at ESN. This is where the members are most active, where results and activities are directly visible. The former exchange students mainly come into contact with the local sections of ESN; You will remember this even after your stay abroad has ended. The main task of the local ESN sections is to support and integrate the exchange students in everyday life. They coordinate and organize social and cultural activities and excursions and bring the exchange students closer to their home country. The individual sections are often organized as a working group or association and work together with the international offices.

National level

In some countries - including Germany, Austria and Switzerland - there are national boards that coordinate work at the national level. They also act as a mediator between the local and international levels and organize activities at the national level.

Currently (as of March 2018) there are 34 sections in Germany , 16 in Austria, 15 in Switzerland and 1 in Liechtenstein. Italy (54 sections), Poland (41 sections), Turkey (38 sections), France (36 sections) and Spain (36 sections) are the countries with the fifth most sections.

International level

The international, d. H. Europe-wide level supports the sections in their tasks and promotes cooperation between the individual sections. It also organizes international events and ensures coordination between all of its members. ESN International represents the organization at national and international events that concern student mobility and is the point of contact in negotiations with the European Commission and other institutions concerned.

Projects

ESN Survey

The ESN Survey is an annual survey among current and former exchange students across Europe on a respective focus topic. With this survey, ESN would like to inquire about the wishes, needs and problems of exchange students in order to develop possible solutions. In 2009 the topic of the survey was: "Information on Exchange" with the aim of finding out which sources of information exchange students use, what quality they are and what information is missing. More than 36,000 students have taken part in this survey in the past few years. This makes it ESN's most successful project, the results of which have even been passed on to the European Commission.

SocialErasmus

The Social Erasmus project was launched at the 10th anniversary of the Erasmus program in Poland and has been an international ESN project since 2010. Under the motto "Reach higher! Go further! Go social!" international students should be integrated into local social projects of the ESN sections during their stay abroad. The Social Erasmus project follows the tradition of ESN's vision: "Enrichment of society through international students". Popular actions within the project are for example:

  • visiting schools by international students who tell the students about their country or who organize specialist lessons together with the teacher
  • Support of ecological projects such as the planting of fallow land
  • cleaning dirty natural surfaces
  • Donate blood
  • Donate money raised in various ways to charity (for example, running flea markets)
  • visiting children's hospitals or orphanages and engaging with and entertaining children there
  • Bringing of presents by "international Santa Clauses" in orphanages

ExchangeAbility

The ExchangeAbility project aims to improve the mobility of students with disabilities by integrating them into ESN work.

According to data from the European Commission, only around 140 students with disabilities took part in the Erasmus program in 2006/2007. Even if this number has increased compared to previous years, it is still significantly low. Many of them are unable or only partially able to stay abroad due to their disability.

For this reason, ESN would like to integrate them into local work with this project in order to give them the opportunity to make international contacts and get to know other cultures and languages ​​on site. At the same time, ESN, in cooperation with Youth Agora, is planning to make the ESN website usable for blind and visually impaired students.

membership

ESN is represented with different status in the following institutions:


International events

Idea and structure

The most important event of ESN is the Annual General Meeting (AGM). It is the designated annual general meeting to which delegates from all Sections, the National Boards and the International Board are invited. At this meeting the most important resolutions are made and passed, changes to the statutes are decided and the new International Board is elected. It usually takes place in spring.

At the CND, representatives of the individual countries, the so-called National Representatives (NRs), as well as other people such as presidents of the national level etc. meet. The CND was necessary and introduced because the network had grown so far that not all decisions were made on the AGM could become.

Furthermore, due to the growth, the Regional Platforms was introduced. This is where the representatives of individual parts of European countries meet. The designations and the participating states change more frequently due to the necessary reorganizations. Like the CND, the Regional Platforms traditionally take place in autumn.

The CM (Cultural Medley) was a social event, the main aim here is to make new contacts and strengthen old connections. CM meetings took place from 1999 to 2012.

In addition, due to the size of the network, a number of other meetings have now been introduced, such as alumni meetings or special committees that deal with various tasks.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ esn.org official homepage