Erasmus Student Network

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Erasmus Student Network AISBL
File:Esn logo.png
The logo of ESN
Abbreviation ESN
Motto "Students Helping Students"
Formation 16 October 1989
Type INGO
Legal status AISBL
Purpose Educational
Headquarters Brussels, Belgium
Location
  • Rue Hydraulique / Waterkrachtstraat, 15 B-1210 Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode / Sint-Jost-ten-Node Brussels BELGIUM
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Region served
 Europe (37 countries)
Membership
 Student organisations
Official language
 English [1]
President
 Safi Sabuni
Main organ
 Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Affiliations YFJ (full membership), EUCIS-LLL (full membership), EAIE (courtesy member), Council of Europe (participatory status), European Movement International (full membership)
Staff
 5 International Board Members, 4 Employees, 2 Trainees
Volunteers
 500 sections (about 13,500 volunteers)
Website www.esn.org

Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is a Europe-wide student organisation. Its goal is to support and develop student exchange. It is composed of around 13,500 members from 500 local sections in 37 countries in Higher Education Institutions, including universities, polytechnics, and university colleges. ESN is organised on the local, national and international level. The network offers its services to around 160,000 international students.[2]

ESN facilitates the social and personal integration of international students. The local ESN sections offer help, guidance and valuable information to both exchange students and students doing a full degree abroad. ESN represents the needs and views of exchange students on the local, national and international level. ESN provides relevant information about academic exchange programmes and student mobility in general.

History of ESN

In 1987, the European Community approved a plan to create an extensive mobility scheme for higher education. Part of it was the Erasmus programme - an exchange programme for students to provide students with the opportunity to spend part of their studies abroad.

In 1989 the Erasmus Bureau invited 32 former Erasmus Students for an evaluation meeting in Ghent, Belgium. This meeting was the starting point for the Erasmus Student Network. The lack of peer-to-peer support was singled out as a major issue and the driving force behind the creation of the Erasmus Student Network, named for the Dutch Renaissance humanist.[3] The idea "students helping students" remains the core principle of the work of ESN.

ESN sections were founded in various European universities and with financial support from the EC a meeting for the official founding of ESN International was organised in Copenhagen, Denmark in October 1990 with 49 participants from almost all member states that were part of the Erasmus programme. ESN International became a legal association. Desiree Majoor from Utrecht, Netherlands[4] became the first president in ESN history.

By 1994 ESN had 60 sections in 14 countries and it was growing rapidly. 10 years from then in 2004 the ESN network consisted of 170 sections in and outside Europe, from Scandinavia to Morocco. ESN has been growing with an average rate of around 12% since then. New technology has tremendously improved collaboration between sections and frequent meetings strengthen the ties between ESN members as well as serve the possibility to change ideas and work together for a better future.

In 2005, ESN established its headquarters in Brussels and legally registered as a Belgian non-profit organisation.

By 2015, the Erasmus Student Network had grown to 500 local associations in 37 countries[5] and has become the largest student organisation in Europe, with more than 13,500 volunteers across Europe.[6]

ESN's Structure today

ESN is the most important student organisation working in the interest of international students in Europe. ESN works on three levels - local, national and international. Today ESN is only active within the borders defined by the Council of Europe.

Local level

ESN on local level consists of "sections" that directly work with the international students. They organize activities like introduction programmes, get-togethers and cultural events and represent the exchange students and their needs towards academic institutions and local authorities. Together the local sections, or rather representatives from the sections form the Annual General Meeting (AGM), the highest decision making body of ESN. The AGM gathers annually to decide the future of the network.

National level

The national level represents the needs of international students towards governments and national authorities. Local sections in the same countries together form a National Platform (NP) who can elect a National Board and elects a National Representative (NR) to represent the national network on the international level.

International level

The International Board is the executive body of ESN International and consists of five Board members (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Communication Manager and Web Project Administrator). Since 2005, the members of the international board are full-time volunteers living and working in Brussels. The International Board is supported by the Secretariat composed of employed staff.
Each country elects a National Representative and all National Representatives form the Council of National Representatives (CNR). During the year they represent the interest of the network and are, after the AGM, the highest decision-making body.
ESN has five International Committees that work together with its respective international board member in charge. The Committees of ESN are - International Committee of Education (ICE), Network and Events Committee (NEC), Finance Committee (FiCo), Communication Committee (ComCom)and IT Committee (IT).

Major projects

While sections are independent to organise their activities on the local level, ESN runs several international projects that are implemented across the Network. The Social Erasmus projects aims to integrate international students into the local community via charity, environmental and education actions.[7] ExchangeAbility aims to improve the situation for students with special needs and support those students to realise a mobility period.[8] PRIME and ESNSurvey are the main research projects that enable ESN to continuously monitor issues concerning international students. ESN widely implements the Responsible Party campaign to raise students´ awareness on responsible drinking.[9]

Presidents

International events

International

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Cultural Medley (CM)

Regional Platforms

Central European Platform

The Central European Platform (CEP) consists of Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Northern European Platform

The Northern European Platform (NEP) was formerly known as NNM (Nordic Network Meeting). It consists of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Norway, and Sweden.

Western European Platform

The Western European Platform (WEP) consists of Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Southern European Platform

The Southern European Platform (SEP) was split into SWEP and SEEP during AGM 2007.

South-Western European Platform

The South-Western European Platform (SWEP) consists of France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Spain.

South-Eastern European Platform

The South-Eastern European Platform (SEEP) consists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Turkey.

Member countries

Country Amount of sections Website
Austria 17 ESN Austria
Belgium 16 ESN Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1
Bulgaria 8 ESN Bulgaria
Croatia 7 ESN Croatia
Cyprus 1 ESN Cyprus
Czech Republic 18 ESN Czech Republic
Denmark 5 ESN Denmark
Estonia 5 ESN Estonia
Finland 16 ESN Finland
France 33 ESN France
Georgia 2 ESN Georgia
Germany 28 ESN Germany
Greece 21 ESN Greece
Hungary 18 ESN Hungary
Iceland 1 ESN Iceland
Ireland 3 ESN Ireland
Italy 50 ESN Italy
Latvia 2
Lithuania 13 ESN Lithuania
Luxembourg 1 ESN Luxembourg
Malta 1 ESN Malta
Macedonia 3
Netherlands 15 ESN the Netherlands
Norway 7 ESN Norway
Poland 33 ESN Poland
Portugal 12 ESN Portugal
Romania 8 ESN Romania
Serbia 3 ESN Serbia
Slovakia 11 ESN Slovakia
Slovenia 5 ESN Slovenia
Spain 32 ESN Spain
Sweden 15 ESN Sweden
Switzerland 14 ESN Switzerland
Turkey 40 ESN Turkey
United Kingdom 22 ESN UK

Notes

  1. ↑ Statutes are both in English and French. Local languages are used by countries and local sections.
  2. ↑ Erasmus Student Network - http://www.esn.org/content/what-esn
  3. ↑ ESN website, http://esn.org/erasmus
  4. ↑ European Commission - http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/erasmus_en.htm
  5. ↑ ESN Sections - http://esn.org/sections
  6. ↑ About ESN - http://esn.org/about
  7. ↑ Erasmus Student Network - http://socialerasmus.esn.org/
  8. ↑ Erasmus Student Network - http://www.esn.org/content/exchangeability/
  9. ↑ Responsible Party - http://www.responsible-party.com/

External links

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