Students are about to take centre stage at the 2009 World Conference on Higher Education organised by UNESCO in Paris from 5-8 July.  For only the second time, political leaders, academics and higher education stakeholders will join together with student representatives from across the globe to discuss and debate the future of higher education, and place it firmly on an international level.

ESU is one of only 13 official partners in the event, and has played a considerable role in shaping the conference through a series of preparatory meetings. Particular emphasis has been placed on facilitating an unprecedented level of cooperation among the different regional student platforms, creating a unified front for all the world's students as never before.  This is reflected in the Global Student Statement agreed by student groups in January, and which provides the basis of the student input into the World Conference.

You can find the Global Student Statement in English, French and Spanish here

The conference will be attended by a high profile range of participants including the wife of the US Vice-President, the Vice-President of the World Bank, various Heads of State from across the world, as well as senior officials from the UN and European Union.  ESU's chairperson, Ligia Deca, will be taking part on a prestigious stakeholders panel on the first day, reflecting the prominence given to ESU and students' views at the event.

More details about the World Conference will follow shortly.

Following recent developments in the aftermath of the Iranian presidential elections on June 12, ESU is deeply concerned about the situation for students in the country.

As active members of Iran’s opposition movement, reports indicate that students are bearing the brunt of government attempts to silence the mounting protests that continue in Teheran and other Iranian cities.

With peaceful protest as a fundamental human right, ESU strongly condemns the reported wave of attacks on student dormitories in several cities and the general clampdown on universities in an attempt to suppress opposition to the disputed election results.

’Students are a force for democracy and social progress. It is the responsibility of authorities to prevent violence against those who exercise their democratic right to freedom of expression,’ says ESU chairperson Ligia Deca.

ESU calls for the right of free speech and peaceful protest to be uphold by both government and civil society in Iran and hopes for a peaceful resolution to the current conflict.

’Silencing peaceful protest with threats and violence is unacceptable in any modern society. If Iran wants to have any credibility as a democratic state, it must listen to students’ concerns and not try to suppress them,’ adds Ms Deca.