The third European Student Assembly (ESA) was held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg from 10 to 12 April 2024. The ESA is a citizens' project that each year brings together more than 250 students from most of the European university alliances to debate topical issues, draft policy recommendations for the future of Europe and defend them to stakeholders and decision-makers.
The ESA aims to provide a collaborative experience between alliances, stimulating student engagement by teaching them about the European Union, its main challenges and by providing a platform to debate its current solutions, with the aim of activating European citizenship.
The participating students were selected following an application process launched in September 2023. More than 2300 applications were received from 170 universities in 41 alliances. The ESA Selection Committee and the European University Alliances carried out the selection jointly. The selection criteria were designed to ensure a fair, inclusive and transparent process. The selection criteria for participants focus on the students' interest in European politics, culture and society, their motivation to participate in an intercultural event, to defend their opinion and to have an impact on their community, as well as their level of excellence. The selection criteria for panel coordinators focus on the candidates' motivation and previous experience as group leaders in similar initiatives.
Johnny Abou Chranek, a student on a Professional Degree in Management and Development of Organisations, Sports and Leisure Services at University Paris Nanterre (UPN), was chosen to represent the institution and took part in the ESA along with 6 other students from the EDUC Alliance: "I had the honour of representing UPN as a member of theme 5, entitled 'EU in the World'. We worked on proposals to improve the European Union's international conduct and its preparedness to manage conflicts and promote peace".
The project lasted five months. The selected students were divided into 11 debate themes and first met online to start working on the recommendations. Each group submitted between six and eight recommendations. The project culminated in a physical meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg last April.
"This event was extremely enriching. I learned a lot about the political decision-making process within the EU and about international diplomacy. The dynamic discussions and collaboration with other students enabled me to develop new ideas and deepen my understanding of global issues".
During the meeting in Parliament, the recommendations were finalised and discussed by the students, before a vote was taken on each recommendation. This year, 79 of the 82 recommendations were adopted. These recommendations were also presented to the Members of the European Parliament for debate.
"I am deeply grateful to University Paris Nanterre and the EDUC alliance for their support. This experience has not only enabled me to represent our university, but also to make a significant contribution to wide-ranging political debates".
A policy recommendations handbook is issued to summarize all the recommendations designed and voted by the participants to the European Student Assembly – ESA 2024 for each of the 11 discussion panels. The document is available for download HERE.