ESN’s mission is to represent international students, but it can be done in many ways. The variety of activities can be divided into six ESN Causes: culture, education & youth, environmental sustainability, health & well-being, skills & employability, and social inclusion.

Culture

Experiencing the way of life in diverse and unknown cultures is a strong motivator for young people to move abroad in order to participate in mobility programs. One of ESN’s values is unity in diversity, diversity in unity and our members work hard to provide opportunities for cultural understanding to both international and local members of their community, as well as open an intercultural dialogue between them.

Education & Youth

As a key volunteer student organization in international higher education in Europe, our members provide information about mobility programs and motivate students to study abroad. This way, we ensure the maintenance in popularity of mobility programs among upcoming generations, as well as create future volunteers and active citizens.

Environmental sustainability

ESN stands for active citizenship, which includes actively partaking in finding solutions for current problems. Environmental sustainability is one of the major struggles of today’s society and, when it comes to this field, our members try to raise awareness about the issue and lead by example.

Health & Well-being

Moving abroad is a big turnaround which includes changing our everyday habits. Apart from figuring out their dietary needs, international students also spend quite a lot of time setting up their new life which can be a source of some physical and emotional distress. Knowing this, local sections can organize sports-related events and promote healthy eating habits.

Skills & Employability

On top of recognizing mobility programs as a powerful tool for personal and professional growth, ESN also provides opportunities for self-development by organizing workshops and training events where volunteers can gain and develop their skills. Afterward, they use those newly acquired skills to advance their local community, as well as create additional learning opportunities for international and exchange students.

Social Inclusion

ESN believes in implementing volunteer experiences as a natural part of the mobility experience and aims to contribute to the social integration of students through volunteering activities under the SocialErasmus project. By organizing these activities, our members enable international students to contribute to the local community, therefore feel integrated with its daily functioning. Fostering social engagement creates inclusive societies.

 

More information about ESN causes can be found in the following article.