The work for students’ interests is never ending, which is why I am delighted to have the opportunity to apply for the ESU Executive Committee for the coming year. It was at the end of 2022 during the 83rd ESU Board Meeting in Prague that I realised that I still have more to give to the student movement and that my journey within ESU does not have to end just because my mandate in SAMOK had come to an end. A decision that has taken a while to make, but which I now stand behind 100%.

Working for students’ interests in Europe is a whole new chapter I am eager to open, and I look forward to all the old and new acquaintances I will be working with in the coming year. It will be a rewarding year, with the European Parliament elections around the corner, but also with all the crises that are still raging in Europe. A lot has happened in Europe in the last year, and even though our media no longer report on them, the crises are far from over. Therefore, students still need a strong organisation behind them, an organisation that can truly be their voice, for better or worse, and ensure that we as students have the right to a future of our own making.

I know that I will gain incredible experience in the coming year, but I also know that with all the experience I have gained in Finland, both in my own local student union as well as in SAMOK, I will have a lot to give back to the organisation. I want to be able to represent all students, not only in Arcada or in Finland, but all over Europe. We all have the right to study in a safe, mobile and understanding world, where we all have the same rights and the right to truly be ourselves.

I am often asked how I find the time and energy to do everything. And I usually answer that I don’t, I don’t have time and energy for everything I would like to do, but I choose to put my energy into what I consider important. And therefore my journey as a student representative is not yet complete, because I know that I still have much more to give to the student movement.

Author: Ida Flemmich, SAMOK candidate for the European Students’ Union (ESU) Executive Committee. Read more about the candidacy here.