In this European election year, the assembly of European students aimed to have an even greater impact on the democratic debate. The 240 students from 36 European university alliances (including the EPICUR alliance) hope that future Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will take up the proposals of young citizens and students from across Europe.
Driven by European university alliances, the event is entirely designed and implemented by a steering committee composed of students and academic and non-academic staff from various higher education institutions.
The objectives of this event were:
- To express the opinions of students at the European Student Assembly from different countries, backgrounds, fields, and levels of study, all recruited for their commitment and motivation;
- To promote student participation within the assembly while enhancing collaboration among them and increasing the impact and sustainability of the initiative;
- To promote deliberative processes as a means of rejuvenating European democracy and bridging the gap between citizens and decision-makers;
- To encourage students to engage in European politics at the local, national, and European levels and to increase their participation in democratic processes.
Since late January, the 11 panels comprising nearly 260 students have been working on predefined themes but have had the freedom to define priorities and proposals in consultation with the experts they wished to engage.
As the recommendations were presented, discussed, and amended during the event, students experienced a genuine democratic exercise by voting on each recommendation. Now voted upon, these recommendations will be disseminated to European decision-makers (MEPs, European Commissioners, Directorates-General of the European Commission) and will also serve to fuel citizen debates.
