From April 10^th – 12^th 2024, twelve EC2U Alliance students from the Université de Poitiers, Università di Pavia, and Universitatea “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași participated in the 3^rd edition of European Students Assembly (#ESA24) at the European Parliament Strasbourg, France. Initiated in 2022, ESA brings more than 230 students from 40 different European University Alliances each year to present, discuss, debate, draft, and vote for the policy recommendations surrounding the issues in the European Union and beyond. These grassroot initiatives aim to increase the cooperation between higher education institutions within the European alliances and facilitate students’ use of their active voices to find solutions for different critical issues to build a better future for Europe.

This year, out of 2300 applicants, ESA#24 has successfully gathered around 251 students from 170 European universities, representing 41 European University Alliances and 59 nationalities, just 8 weeks before the upcoming 2024 European Parliament Election. These students came from a vast range of specializations, representing all levels of studies, Bachelor, Master, and PhD programs. Spanning from the topic of “European Election Year” to “Addressing Euroscepticism,” each of the 11 panels was assigned based on students’ top three preferences stated on their applications. Two coordinators guided each panel.

Before the physical assembly at the European Parliament, all selected panel members and coordinators attended the online preparation phase, where we had the opportunity to participate in online workshops with experts on the general topic of the European Union, policy writing, and also on the particular topic based on their assigned panel. This phase trained and helped us in the process of drafting our policy recommendations before we had to finalize them during assembly.

One notable thing at #ESA24 was the inter-panel debate, where we had the opportunity to get a deeper understanding and give feedback on other panels’ recommendations. Following the debate, each panel had a very short time to do final revisions on the recommendations before the voting session on the last day of assembly. Although ESA 2024 has come to an end, the dissemination phase has just started. We now have to communicate and actively engage in spreading the outcome of ESA#24 and our policy recommendation to stakeholders, including the policymakers.

#ESA24 is definitely an incredible opportunity. Not only did each of us have the chance to get a sense of how the decision-making process takes place at the European Parliament, but it also allowed us to collaborate through networking and brainstorming sessions and get inspired to keep being the agent of change for our better future in Europe and in the world.

Last but not least, please don’t forget to vote on 6 – 9 June 2024 for your new representatives at the European Parliament!

– Salsa Putri Sadzwana Sihombing, Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași, EC2U Alliance

Read the feedbacks from the students from the University of Pavia

«ESA 2024 was a great event. I worked on Panel 5 which focused on “The EU in the World” and it was a great opportunity to review EU policies with non-EU countries, identify gaps and recommend policies that would bridge the gap. As well as working on policy recommendations, it was a great opportunity to network with other students from different universities across Europe.» Veronic Njie, student of World Politics and International Relations at the University of Pavia.

«After all the online sessions, we met with our panel members at the European Parliament in Strasbourg and refined the policy recommendations for the last time with feedback from the inter-panel debates. Some of our recommendations were successfully accepted through the vote of all participants and coordinators. In addition to working on policy recommendations, it was a great opportunity to network with other students from different universities across Europe. In conclusion, ESA gives voice to the opinion of European Alliance students from different countries, backgrounds, fields and levels of study and encourages students to participate in European democratic processes.» Ismit Ara Jiniya, student of World Politics and International Relations at the University of Pavia.

«Esa24 was a great opportunity both from a personal and academic point of view. It has given me the opportunity to get in touch with the real operations that take place in the European Parliament and to make my voice heard in a concrete way. It also gave me the opportunity to meet many people who come from different backgrounds, both European and non-European. It pushed me beyond my limits and gave me a huge wealth of memories and experiences.» Giulia D’Alessandro, student of Physics at the University of Pavia.