Socrates Action Week 1997 Results
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Socrates Action Day 1997 Results “Evidemment, la Communauté ne peut imposer des règles aux universités en raison de leur autonomie et du nouveau principe de subsidiarité inclus dans le Traité sur l’Union Européenne à propos de l’éducation. Mais elle peut, de toute façon, être at- tentive afin que dans la réalisation de la dimension Européenne, les étudiants deviennent des acteurs principaux“ Domenico Lenarduzzi Director General of DG XXII : Education, Training and Youth Contents Socrates Action Day Index 4 Foreword 5 Flashback 7 The duty of AEGEE... 7 Association des Etats Généraux Introduction 9 des Etudiants de l'Europe Background 11 AEGEE - Europe European Results 13 PO Box 72 I. Financial Overview 13 B-1040 Bruxelles Ett. -1 II. Students Mobility 13 Belgium III. Courses recognition 14 IV. Teachers' Mobility 15 tel. +32-2-736 6466 V. Financial support for Universities 16 fax +32-2-736 7354 VI. Miscomunication... 16 e-mail [email protected] VII. Academic Follow Up of Erasmus http://www.aegee.org Students 17 Imprint VIII. Language Courses 17 © AEGEE - Europe, 1997 Socrates and Turkey 18 All Rights Reserved Resolution on Students' Mobility 18 Editor: Hélène Berard Conclusions 20 Sergio Caredda Proposals 21 Follow-up 22 Printing:Dekonick S.A., Brussels Appendix 1 23 Circulation: 1000 copies Appendix 2 24 Appendix 3 25 Credits: Logos and title of project ©AEGEE,Europe, 1997 Participating locals 26 All textes are copyrighted ©AEGEE,Europe, 1997 Brussels, November 1997 With the Contribution of European Commission oreword Education plays a major role in today's Europe. Prob- lems like unemployment, sustainable development , em- ployability which are on the agenda of the Union and of all governments can only be solved through a serious educational policy. Since these problems start to get glo- bal, the solution itself has to be the result of a global thinking. There is one solution, and AEGEE has always promoted this idea, since its very beginning: Students Mobility, intended as physical, as well as intellectual mobility. Students attach a great importance to the opportunity offered to them to make the experience of studying abroad. Such an experience means to know and get in- volved in a different educational system, to get in touch with other culture, way of thinking, to make of a for- eign language a familiar one. But it means as well to receive a more Europes aware education, since students feel themselves part of another country educational sys- tem because of the fact they are European. Physical mobility can, then, be the easier way to give birth and grow up a European citizenship feeling. Some of the difficulties encountered until now in the implementation of the physical mobility programmes can be overcome by a wide introduction of the intellec- tual mobility concept. If we want to achieve a European dimension of educa- tion, we have to try to involve as many students as pos- sible each one of us has to receive the chance to know By Sergio Caredda, history, economics, law and social questions of the other President of AEGEE- European countries. Every one of us should be able to Europe communicate in a language other than his/her own one, should experience other system of teaching and learn- ing. Even students who can not afford to leave and study in other countries have the right to receive this kind of open European education. And, in the same way, it should be possible also to reach the part of the students who dont feel like going abroad, assuring that they will be ready tomorrow to live as European citizens. These are the aims of intellectual mobility. Which are the means? European studies curricula, languages train- ing, teachers education, the common uses of techno- logical means... The challenge today is to make a common effort to have these new tools studied and implemented in the widest way as possible; and this is a challenge in which we are all involved students, professors, universities, countries and European institutions. The Socrates Action Day AEGEE organised by AEGEE this year, goes into this direction. When in 1987 AEGEE took the responsability of con- vincing the European governments about the necessity of Erasmus this was done as a request coming directly from the students. Ten years later, before the launch of the Socrates II pro- gramme, we want to take part again in the discussion for our future. An evaluation which take into accounts the positions of students jointly with those of Rectors, Professors, Erasmus Experts of Universities, is of utmost impor- tance for the continuation of the project. That was the main reason for us to organise this Socra- tes Action Day. Our wish for the future is a serious, European-minded education-policy across Europe, able to add value to the human dimension of Europe and to reach every young-European. Reaching this goal means reaching a unified Europe, not only at economical or political level, but in the mind of every citizen. Yours Europeanly, Sergio Caredda President AEGEE-Europe lash-back The duty of AEGEE-EUROPE: Being at the core of every debate concerning European Higher Education The strong links between European higher education and AEGEE-EUROPE are of course coming first of all from the very nature of AEGEE as a European student move- ment. As such AEGEE will keep a lasting credibility with the rest of society if it is of the major voice expressing truly European opinions on issues related with European higher education policies or programmes. European students have to advocate positions on existing policies or asking for new policies in the field of higher education as it is a role that nobody else can play. But beyond its very nature, this link is deeply rooted in both the history of AEGEE-EUROPE and the history of the European higher education programmes. In a much stronger sense that for any other European student or- ganisation. AEGEE-EUROPE played a big role in promoting the ERASMUS programmes all through European universi- ties at a time when mostly scepticism was reigning in rector’s and professor’s offices and played a decisive role in getting it adopted. Thanks to an intense and very suc- cessful lobbying operation in 1986/87 towards big news- papers in most EC countries (promoting ERASMUS as the programme expected by the European students) and series of meetings with heads of states or government (W.MARTENS in Belgium, R. LUBBERS in The Neth- erlands and finally F. MITTERRAND in France), Intervention by Frank AEGEE-EUROPE helped keeping ERASMUS on the Biancheri, Honorary agenda of the Council of Ministers despite two refusals President and Founder coming from France, Germany and UK. And finally, af- of AEGEE-Europe. ter this crucial lunch to which President MITTERRAND invited the 20 Board members of AEGEE-EUROPE and where he got convinced that a top level intervention was required to move ERASMUS out of a bleak prospect, ERASMUS was adopted three weeks later. Immediately after, when AEGEE tried to change the way students were treated in ERASMUS (like products and not like partners), AEGEE then did learn how to use crit- ics and the possibility to make them public has a power- ful force to, at least, be able to keep an independent voice. By being supported financially by the programme pro- moters, as a good promotion tool, and using the great interest generated by ERASMUS in the press, AEGEE- EUROPE benefited directly for its development from the European higher education programmes. This went on with TEMPUS when Eastern Europe came on the agenda. AEGEE-EUROPE has helped significantly the informa- tion and know-how concerning TEMPUS to get into sev- eral Eastern Europe universities as well as it benefited from TEMPUS to get funds to fasten its development in this region. To summarise, these links of AEGEE-EUROPE and European higher education policies were the strongest when AEGEE was developing its more critical positions. Supporting the objectives but questioning the methods. As a student, grass-root organisation, it would indeed be quite a surprise that on the implementation aspects AEGEE will have the same opinion as a huge adminis- tration! With SOCRATES II coming and the first results of SOC- RATES I now available, AEGEE-EUROPE is again at a cross road to define its standpoint. This series of 54 Soc- rates conferences show at least clearly that AEGEE, as it has always done, will support first an open, transparent and public debates of those policies! Introduction November 12th 1997 SOCRATES Action Day What was it ? In 54 antennae (local chapters of AEGEE Europe) all over Europe, an evaluation of the SOCRATES programme has taken place at the same time. Depending on how many people were available in each antenna to dedicate time to the preparation of the SOC- RATES Action Day, the events which took place locally were very different, but always with the common aim to discuss and evaluate the implementation of the SOCRA- TES programme and its future. Thus, the SOCRATES Action Day has been ranging from small round tables with 10 persons to conferences gath- ering 250 students, up to information spreading which got in touch with as many as 600 persons. All together, 6500 persons took part in the SOCRATES Action Day on November 12th 1997. As AEGEE is spread outside the borders of the European Union, our results will also consider the opinion of coun- tries like Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia who are now entering the SOCRATES, but more specifically of Turkey. In fact, AEGEE Europe is very concerned by the enlargement of the SOCRATES programme to Tur- key, as a tool toward a greater democratic approach to- By Hélène Berard ward education and the civil society in general in this Co-ordinator of the country.