We are committed to sharing accurate, timely, and relevant information about our work, our governance, our finances, and the impacts of our initiatives. We strive to make this information accessible to all, thereby empowering our stakeholders and ensuring that they can hold us accountable.
Objectives
GSF has the following objectives:
- To promote the views of students on the educational system as a whole on a global level.
- To promote students' social, economic, political, and cultural interests on a global level and the human rights of students which have a direct or indirect effect on education and the status and welfare of students in society.
- To promote equal opportunities for all students regardless of criteria such as their political beliefs, religion, ethnic or cultural origin, gender, sexual orientation, social standing, disability.
- To promote equal access to all sectors and at all levels of education.
- To promote global cooperation and facilitate information exchange with students and student organisations.
- To promote cooperation with other organised groups in education and student life matters.
- To assist and support students' unions worldwide in their work to protect student interests.
Our Governance Structure
GSF has a multi-level democratic governance structure, called The Representational Model of The Student Movement. This framework spans the local to the international level. It is through this structure that GSF ensures the legitimate representation of our diverse constituency and maintains the accountability of our political leadership.
Understand our Representational Model by visiting its dedicate page.
Drawing its mandate from the Representational Model, the political leadership of GSF is the Steering Committee. These seven representatives comes from the Regional Student Unions, the Non-affiliated National Unions, and the Student organisation constituency. The Steering Committee meets twelve times a year at official Steering Comiteee Meetings to discuss and make decisions about the direction of the organisation. The Steering Committee selects the head of the secretariat of the organisations, the Executive Director. This person is responsible for the day to day implementation of the decisions of the Steering Committee. The members of the Steering Committee each has a portfolio of activities they oversee between the Steering Committee Meeetings.
Once a year, the Steering Committee convene at the official Global Student Forum General Assembly, with the purpose of approving the annual budget and make changes to the statutes of the organisation.
Rules and Regulations
The foundational document of the Global Student Forum is the Statutes. They define the framework for the activities and mechanisms of the organisation.
Download the current Statutes:
The Steering Committee has adopted a number of regulatory documents that define different areas of the organisation's function. In the hierarchy of regulations, the Statutes define the overall framework, while the Rules of Procedure define and stipulates its implementation, and the system for all subsequent regulatory documents.
Download the current Rules of Procedure:
Current regulatory documents under the Rules of Procedure:
All safeguarding and financial documents are excluded from this list. They function at the same level as the other regulatory documents under the Rules of Procedure. Information about safeguarding and financial documents can be found in the subsequent sections of this page.
Safeguarding
Our safeguarding work seeks to make GSF a safe and inclusive environment free from discrimination, harassment, and any form of misconduct for all people who work for, volunteer for, or participate in the organization's activities. We have outlined clear and transparent reporting mechanisms that ensure fair resolution to any report of misconduct.
Within safeguarding, the Steering Committee has adopted GSF's official Code of Conduct and its three appendixes. The dedicated safeguarding page contains these and other safeguarding tools.
Financial Transparency
Our funding comes from a variety of sources, including membership dues, private donations, grants from foundations, and partnerships with like-minded organizations. We are committed to diversifying our funding sources to ensure our long-term sustainability and independence.
Funding overview
The distribution of the Global Student Forum's total income for the financial year 2022-2023 shows foundations accounting for 29%, while 71 % can be contributed to funding from civil society organisations.
Financial Robustness Strategy
In April 2024, the Steering Committee adopted a five-year Financial Robustness Strategy to help the organisation navigate the transition from being hosted by Education International and the end of a large grant from the Open Society Foundations.
Key points of the Financial Robustness Strategy
- Diversifying Funding Sources
- Fostering Global Collaboration
- Professionalization of Operations
- Establishing Financial Partnerships
- Securing Donations and Multi-year Funding
- Sustainable Administration/Core Funding
- Member Organization Contributions
Download the full strategy
Anti-Corruption Policy
We have developed an Anti-Corruption Policy that seeks to clarify the rules and procedures for potential conflicts of interest and anti-corruption. This regulatory document is a supplement to the Code of Conduct.
Download the Anti-Corruption Policy
Donations and In-Kind Contributions Policy
To ensure best practices when we receive donations and in-kind contributions, we have developed a policy that sets guidelines for accepting and recording monetary donations and in-kind contributions
Download the Donations and In-Kind Contributions Policy
EU Transparency
The Global Student Forum is registered in the official EU Transparency Registry. This registration allows us to formally engage in lobbying activities, ensuring that the voices of students are heard loud and clear by key EU institutions and policymakers. It grants us access to EU institutions, enabling us to participate in meetings, consultations, and hearings directly relevant to global education and youth policies.
Commitment to Data Protection and GDPR
We prioritize the privacy and security of our members, partners, and online visitors. In alignment with our values of transparency and accountability, we are committed to upholding the highest standards of data protection in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the cornerstone of privacy and data protection in the European Union, where the headquarters of GSF is located.
What is GDPR?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulatory framework designed to give EU citizens more control over their personal data. It sets out principles for data management and the rights of individuals, aiming to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe and protect all EU citizens' data privacy. GDPR came into effect on May 25, 2018, and applies to all organizations operating within the EU and those outside the EU that offer goods or services to or monitor the behaviour of EU data subjects.
Read about how we process and protect people's data on our dedicated Privacy page.