Global Student Forum
We work to connect, inspire and empower students globally through solidarity, democracy, representation and the practice of radical change.
Who we are
The Global Student Forum is the umbrella organisation of the world’s major representative student federations and the only independent, democratic and representative student governance structure dedicated to promoting the rights and perspectives of student organisations and movements on the global level.
Who we represent
The Global Student Forum was founded by the All-Africa Students Union (AASU), Commonwealth Students’ Association (CSA), European Students’ Union (ESU), Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU), Organización Continental Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Estudiantes (OCLAE) and other national student organisations and movements. Through its membership it currently represents 183 student unions from 118 countries.
Why are we here?
The Global Student Forum is a platform for students and their movements to build networks and facilitate active solidarity through digital campaigns and on the ground action.
Through cooperation, analysis and strategy it serves as a coordinator for targeted political action and advocacy efforts facilitated for and by students.
What activities does the GSF facilitate?
We provide training and capacity building opportunities to our membership where they lack institutional resources, are weak or nascent. We furthermore organise training sessions and exchanges through which we can learn from each other and strengthen our work.
The overarching objective is to establish a culture that ensures the sustainable transfer of knowledge and preservation of organisational memory within the student movement, to bridge the gaps caused by a high turnover of activists and leaders.
Learn more about our upcoming events here.
What are the political priorities of the organisation?
Our cooperation is based on a set of shared principles and values that guide the way we work and define the overall political direction. In 2021, 2022 and 2023 we will focus on mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on our constituency while working on democracy, human rights and solidarity issues as well as equality, education for all, gender-,racial- and environmental justice.
How does the governance structure of the GSF look like?
The political leadership of the GSF lies in the hands of the Steering Committee. It consists of 7 elected student representatives from the members organisations and movements working from all parts of the world.
The Steering Committee is supported by a secretariat based in Brussels, Belgium.
How can I contact the GSF with a solidarity request?
We aim to amplify the struggles of student organisations and movements around the world, whether campaigns against rising costs for education, violence in and outside of our educational institutions or other forms of human rights infringements.
Submit your solidarity request by contacting the Steering Committee via email under: steering.committee@globalstudentforum.org
How can my organisation apply for membership?
The membership of the Global Student Forum is open for student-led organisations of all kind and aims to encompass the diversity of unions and movements from all part of the world.
Learn more about the membership criteria and application process here!
Latest news
International Day of Democracy
On the International Day of Democracy, the Global Student Forum (GSF) calls attention to the critical need for democratic governance around the world. Global student organisations and movements continue to struggle for transparency, accountability and the democratic...
Statement on International Literacy Day 2021
The Global Student Forum (GSF) joins the global community to commemorate the 2021 International Day of Literacy which has a particular significance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The GSF acknowledges the significance of this day because literacy is key to making our world more workable, peaceable, and economically safe.
GSF Partnership with UNRISD and IFSW for 2022 Global Summit on a New Eco-Social World
The Global Student Forum (GSF) is an official partner in the global people's summit Co-building a New Eco-Social World: Leaving No One Behind, 29 June - 2 July 2022. This summit is hosted by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and the...
The GSF was elected as Organising Partner of the Education and Academia Stakeholder Group
The Education and Academia Stakeholder Group (EASG) brings together human rights-based education civil society organisations as well as academia organisations and networks that work on the right to education, which self-organise to engage with the monitoring and review of the Sustainable Development Goals
Zoe Ranganathan elected into the GSF Steering Committee
The Steering Committee wholeheartedly congratulates Zoe Ranganathan, current president of the National Union of Student in Australia, to her election into the Steering Committee.
Ester Simon elected as Board Member in the Global Campaign for Education
The Global Student Forum is delighted to announce the election of Ester Simon, former president of the National Union of Student in Namibia and an outstanding Youth Leader in multiple pan-African initiatives into the Board of the Global Campaign for Education.
Global Student Forum
Policies and Statements
The Steering Committee ongoingly issues statements and policy papers as well as ad-hoc reactions to developments within formal and informal international decision making spaces.
Press Releases
Policy Papers
Statements
Resolutions
Mission and Values
Our cooperation is guided by a shared set of values. They direct our actions and define the mission and vision of the organisation.
Events
We ongoingly host conferences, seminars and congresses. Join our next event!
Membership
We currently represent 183 student organisations and movements from 118 countries.
Team
Our team is as diverse as our membership and works from all parts of the world.
About GSF
Join our global community!
We are united by the beliefs that democratic, representative and independent student movements are essential and that they should be able to operate without repression. We are fighting for free, public, accountable education that guarantees equal opportunity for everyone without discrimination.
We campaign against segregation and defend the rights of the marginalised. We are against war as a means of resolving conflict and are using solidarity as a way to build peace; and we stand for the human rights of the displaced, migrants and people forced to live under occupation.
As ecologists, we are fighting the destruction of the planet and working towards a safe and dignified life for our species in the future. As feminists, we are fighting for political, economic, personal, and social equality. We stand together because we recognise the interconnectedness of our struggles.
Featured Publications
Bologna with Students Eyes 2020
Bologna with Student Eyes is the European Students Unions reality-check of what has been agreed upon by national governments within the Bologna Process and what the actual situation is for students.
CFS graduate student mental health toolkit
The National Graduate Caucus (NGC) of the Canadian Federation of Students engaged in a one-year research project to develop a graduate student mental health toolkit. This toolkit aims to equip graduate students’ communities to evaluate and improve the state of graduate students’ mental health and wellbeing at post-secondary institutions in Canada.
A Fair Share for Children: Preventing the loss of a generation to COVID-19
With the input of the 100 Million youth activists, Laureates and Leaders for Children published an emergency report to prevent a child rights disaster occurring as a result of the global pandemic.
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