#MindOurEducation: Students draw attention to Mental Health issues

On 17 November 2018, recognised all around the world as the International Students’ Day, the European Students’ Union (ESU) launched together with the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU) the campaign #MindOurEducation.

This year, the campaign focused on the Mental Health of students under the title “Mind Our Education”. One of ESU’s strategic political priorities for the period 2018-2020 is to advocate for a better specific support for students with health issues including mental health.

Our demands, together with OBESSU, were focused on all students to be guaranteed a healthy environment in order to fully access education. The call has been signed by 52 organisations from all over the world, with messages of support still being received days after the call was closed.

Adam Gajek, Vice president of ESU, talked about the importance of remembering the struggle of the students’ body and the issues students face in Europe regarding mental health:

https://www.facebook.com/Europeanstudents/videos/569179160189566/

Also, Katrina Koppel, Vice President of the European Students´Union (ESU) expressed support to the campaign:

https://www.facebook.com/Europeanstudents/videos/543380626088036/

The campaign obtained good engagement through  social media channels (Facebook and Twitter), where users shared the campaign and manifested support:

Background

The International Students’ Day held on 17 November, commemorates the anniversary of the tragic event in  1939, when eight students and a professor were murdered in a crackdown on students protests by the invading Nazi regime. Thousand other protestors were sent to concentration camps.ESU feels the need to remember the students’ rights and a fairer education for all, one more time, in a crucial day for all the European student movement.