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 an 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
Mahindra Seminar – Student Impact on Higher Education Globally
The Harvard University – Mahindra Seminar: “Student impact on higher education globally – perspectives from leaders of regional student union federations and the Global Student Forum” – will take place on:
Join us on Monday, the 14th of June 2021 (12:30 pm to 2:00 pm ET/ 18:30 pm to 20:00 pm CEST)
Featured Publication: The State of Student Governance in the Commonwealth
The report on "The State of Student Governance in the Commonwealth" published in 2016 takes a systematic review of the history of National Student Organisations in the commonwealth and their tendencies "to co-operate at national,...
Thank you for your participation: Student Summit on Climate Action and Biodiversity
Yesterday we had the pleasure to meet with learners and activists from every part of the planet to discuss learners’ role in the fight against climate change and the biodiversity crisis.
We wanted to start hearing from student leaders and environmental activists from different levels, to understand what’s happening on a key global topic that is so relevant for the future of Humanity.
Global Youth Caucus ahead of the HLPF 2021
The 100 Million Campaign and the Global Student Forum are holding a global youth caucus on 28th May 2021 to shape our collective demands for what should be on the agenda during the HLPF.
Through this dialogue, we hope to both directly influence the Ministerial Declaration itself, and plan other advocacy routes to to influence the outcomes of the HLPF in July and beyond.
Launch Event – End Child Labour: Youth & Student Resources
Today, 1 in 10 of the world’s children – 152 million – are still being forced to work and are denied their right to education and childhood.
That’s why we are uniting as child labour survivors, the world’s largest representative student unions, and the 100 Million campaign to invite student leaders across the world to host an event and campaign side-by-side with child labour survivor advocates to demand action.
Worldwide Student Summit on Climate Action and Biodiversity
The worldwide student summit “Environmental justice activism post-COVID-19 – Rebuilding momentum, coming back stronger!” will look into the role students and youth have played in the climate and pro-biodiversity movement of the past decade, analysing and trying to learn from best practices and strategic mistakes that were made along the way, following the overarching aim to become more resilient and strategic when facilitating climate action in a world post COVID-19.
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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