Erasmus Student Network

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Erasmus Student Network AISBL

The logo of ESN
Abbreviation ESN
Motto "Students helping students"
Formation 16 October 1989
Type INGO
Legal status AISBL
Purpose/focus Educational
Headquarters Brussels, Belgium
Location Rue Hydraulique / Waterkrachtstraat, 15 B-1210 Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode / Sint-Jost-ten-Node Brussels BELGIUM
Coordinates 50°50′54″N 4°22′18″E / 50.848256°N 4.371761°E / 50.848256; 4.371761
Region served Europe (36 countries)
Membership Student organisations
Official languages English [1]
President Emanuel Alfranseder
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, 1 Director, 2 Employees, 2 Trainees
Volunteers over 420 sections (about 12,000 volunteers)
Website www.esn.org

Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is a European wide student organisation. Its goal is to support and develop student exchange. It is composed of over 12,000 members from more than 426 local sections in 36 countries in Higher Education Institutions, including universities, polytechnics, and university colleges. ESN is organised on a local, national and international level. The network is in contact with almost 150,000 internationally-minded 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.

Contents

[edit] The six principles of ESN

  • ESN works in the interest of exchange students.
  • ESN works to improve the social and practical integration of exchange students.
  • ESN represents the needs and expectations of exchange students on the local, national and international level.
  • ESN provides relevant information about academic exchange programmes and ESN resources.
  • ESN works with the reintegration of homecoming students.
  • ESN contributes to the evaluation of different exchange programmes.

[edit] History of ESN

In 1987 a plan to create an extensive mobility scheme for higher education was approved by the European Community. One part of this was the Erasmus programme - exchange programme for students in order to provide 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 a starting point for Erasmus Student Network. The problems that became obvious in the evaluation were the main tasks for the founders of ESN International to work on. Behind all this stood the idea "students helping students", which is remained the most important motto in 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 organized in Copenhagen, Denmark in October 1990 with 49 participants from almost all member states participating in the programme. ESN International became a legal association. Desiree Majoor from Utrecht, Netherlands[3] 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.

Inside the network the greeting "Pallomeri!" is widely used. What does it mean? Originally it has a funny meaning: the pool filled with small coloured balls in the shopping centres where kids can play. In ESN the meaning is: Pan- European Association Leading Local Organization Making Erasmus Richer Inside. This new meaning was originally presented and invented by Matteo Baggio during AGM IX in Graz, 1998, even if the Erasmus Student Network is currently helping all the exchange students, not only the ones involved in the Erasmus programme.

[edit] ESN's Structure today

ESN is the most important student organisation working in the interest of exchange students in Europe. ESN works on three levels - local, national and international.

[edit] Local level

ESN on local level consists of "sections" who are differently constructed depending on the section. The sections work in direct contact with the exchange students. They organize activities like introduction programmes, get-togethers and cultural events and represent the exchange students and their interests 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.

[edit] National level

On the national level the international students and their interests can be represented 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 country on international level.

[edit] International level


The International Board as the executive body of ESN International consists of five Board members (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Communication Manager and Web Project Administrator), who 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 Nataional Representative and together they form the Council of National Representatives (CNR). During the year they represent the interest of the network and build the, after the AGM, highest decision making body.
ESN has five International Committees that each work together with its respective 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).

[edit] Presidents

[edit] International Events

[edit] International

[edit] Annual General Meeting (AGM)

[edit] Cultural Medley (CM)

[edit] Regional Platforms

[edit] Central European Platform

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

[edit] 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.

[edit] Western European Platform

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

[edit] South European Platform

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

[edit] South Western European Platform

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

[edit] South Eastern European Platform)

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

[edit] Member countries

Country Amount of sections Website
Austria 17 ESN Austria
Belgium 11 ESN Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1
Bulgaria 7 ESN Bulgaria
Croatia 6
Czech Republic 13 ESN Czech Republic
Denmark 4
Estonia 5
Finland 16 ESN Finland
France 23 ESN France
Georgia 2
Germany 26 ESN Germany
Greece 13 ESN Greece
Hungary 15 ESN Hungary
Iceland 1
Ireland 3
Italy 49 ESN Italy
Latvia 1
Lithuania 10 ESN Lithuania
Luxembourg 1
Malta 1
Macedonia 3
Netherlands 14 ESN the Netherlands
Norway 8 ESN Norway
Poland 33 ESN Poland
Portugal 8 ESN Portugal
Romania 5
Serbia 1
Slovakia 11 ESN Slovakia
Slovenia 5 ESN Slovenia
Spain 33 ESN Spain
Sweden 15 ESN Sweden
Switzerland 14 ESN Switzerland
Turkey 28 ESN Turkey
United Kingdom 16 ESN UK

[edit] 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. ^ European Commission - http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/erasmus_en.htm

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Erasmus_Student_Network&oldid=552969342"