International Union of Students
Encyclopedia
| Office | Prague Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million... , Czech Republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest.... |
| Founded in | 1946 |
| Members | 155 student organizations (approximately 25 million students) |
| Working Languages | English, French, Spanish |
| Address | P.O. Box 58 17 November Street 110 01 Prague 01 Czech Republic |
The International Union of Students (IUS) is a worldwide nonpartisan association of university student organizations.
The IUS is the umbrella organization for 155 such student organizations across 112 countries and territories representing approximately 25 million students.
Aim and work areas
The aims of the IUS are spelled out in the 1946 preamble to the organization's Constitution http://www.stud.uni-hannover.de/gruppen/ius/constitution/index.html:The purpose of the International Union of Students, which is founded upon the representative student organizations of different countries, shall be to defend the rights and interests of students to promote improvement in their welfare and standard of education and to prepare them for their tasks as democratic citizens.
According to the IUS's entry in the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Non-Governmental Organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
list, the priority work areas of the IUS are: "Exchange of information, defence of students' status, peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
, environment, development, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
".
Activities
The IUS currently works through:- Issuing Student Statements
- Circular News Letters and Calls for Action to members
- Celebration of the International Students' DayInternational Students' DayInternational Students' Day is an international observance of student community, held annually on November 17.Taking the day differently than its original meaning, a number of universities mark it, sometimes on a day other than November 17, for a nonpolitical celebration of the multiculturalism of...
on November 17 - Organizing Student Conferences
Logo symbolism
The logo and flag of the IUS is a burning torch and an open book set against the red and blue outline of a stylized globe. It symbolizes youth's persistent quest for knowledge.Early history 1946 - 1956
The International Union of Students was founded in Prague on August 27, 1946. Student organizations from 62 countries participated in its founding envisioning a more inclusive successor to the short lived 1941-1944 International Council of Students (also known as the International Students' Council) which was set up on the initiative of the British National Union of Students to maintain open lines of communication with student organizations in allied countries during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
From its earliest inception, the IUS was marked by a fundamental schism:
"The spirit of [post-war] co-operation and the desire to prevent a resurgence of fascism in Europe brought together otherwise divergent groups. The main divisions, evident even at the founding congress, were between the Communist student organizations, which gained control of the executive bodies of the IUS from the beginning, and the student unions from western EuropeWestern EuropeWestern Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
, many of which were primarily interested in preserving the idea of a non-political international agency which would provide concrete services to the students of various countries"
In response to the increasingly partisan Communist course of the IUS and the broad powers of its Secretariat and Executive Committee to initiate new policy programmes on behalf of the members, several non-Communist members withdrew their membership in the following years.
Consequently, 21 such break-away national students organizations met in Stockholm in 1950 to form the International Student Conference (ISC) as a nonpartisan rival organization to the pro-Communist IUS. Notable among these founders was the United States National Student Association
National Student Association
The United States National Student Association, a confederation of American college and university student governments, was founded in 1947 at a conference at the University of Wisconsin. It established its first headquarters in Madison, not far from the U. of Wisconsin campus...
(USNSA or NSA) though "Anglo-Saxons, Scandinavians and Dutch wielded the greatest influence [in the ISC]".
At the time of the formation of the ISC, the dominant view in later analyses is that the IUS had become Communist controlled to such a degree that it is often referred to as a Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Communist front organization
Front organization
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations...
with the IUS and ISC aligned along the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
fronts toward the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
respectively.
A dissenting view that the IUS was strongly influenced by socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
but not de facto controlled by Soviet Communist interests, has also been expressed, however, by Trotskyist Lawrence Brammer:
"It is significant that several former IUS officers later became outspoken liberals in Czechoslovakia and in the French and Italian Communist Parties. The outward pro-Soviet orientation of the IUS often obscured real differences within the organization"
IUS activities in this period included Student Games held by the IUS Sports Council. The first such games were held in Paris in 1946 and were subsequently integrated into the World Youth Festivals (also known as World Festival of Youth and Students
World Festival of Youth and Students
The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event, organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth , a left-wing youth organization, jointly with the International Union of Students since 1947....
) which the IUS co-sponsored with the equally Communist oriented World Federation of Democratic Youth
World Federation of Democratic Youth
The World Federation of Democratic Youth is a progressive youth organization, recognized by the United Nations as an international youth non-governmental organization. WFDY describes itself as an "anti-imperialist, left-wing" organisation...
(WFDY).
Such festivals brought up to 30,000 youth and students together for a social, cultural and sporting event (see World Federation of Democratic Youth
World Federation of Democratic Youth
The World Federation of Democratic Youth is a progressive youth organization, recognized by the United Nations as an international youth non-governmental organization. WFDY describes itself as an "anti-imperialist, left-wing" organisation...
).
IUS from 1956 - 1969
From 1956 onwards, the IUS and ISC competed to attract student unions non-aligned in the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
sense. Focus was on Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and recruitment of member unions from here resulted in a broader political base for the IUS.
Activities in this period included among others regional student seminars, donation of duplication machines and cameras to help affiliates, the establishment of student Health Centres in India, international student conferences as well as the publication in German, Russian and Czech of the World Student News journal of the IUS, the Democratic Education journal of the IUS, and topical pamphlets concerning education. More spectacularly, the IUS continued to co-sponsor World Youth Festivals with the World Federation of Democratic Youth
World Federation of Democratic Youth
The World Federation of Democratic Youth is a progressive youth organization, recognized by the United Nations as an international youth non-governmental organization. WFDY describes itself as an "anti-imperialist, left-wing" organisation...
(WFDY).
It was well-known from the outset that the IUS was funded by Soviet and Czech government contributions:
"The cost of international meetings, large-scale publications, and the other activities in which they engage, are beyond the financial resources of university students"
However, the IUS's inability to win leadership in left-wing student movements in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
despite its many activities caused the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to re-evaluate its support.
The major challenge for the IUS in this period turned out to be its preoccupation with an ideological agenda rather than a focus on actual student concerns and affairs. As a consequence of this stance, the organization became detached from its student base and was circumvented by grassroots movements in, e.g. the planning of international anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
demonstrations in relation to the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The major achievements of the IUS in this period were therefore firstly helping create national student unions in developing countries and secondly aiding student union members with information and idea exchange.
The dissolution of the IUS's rival organization the International Student Conference (ISC) owing to lack of funds became a reality in 1969. The demise of the ISC were hastened by the 1967 revelation that the CIA had indirectly funded the ISC and recruited student representatives from the United States National Student Association
National Student Association
The United States National Student Association, a confederation of American college and university student governments, was founded in 1947 at a conference at the University of Wisconsin. It established its first headquarters in Madison, not far from the U. of Wisconsin campus...
(USNSA) to actively oppose Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in the IUS. This undermined both the financial and student political support of the ISC leaving, once again, the IUS as the only world wide student organization.
IUS from 1970 - present
This period in IUS history is marked by the chairmanship of the same chairman from 1977 to 1986 under whom a flurry of international IUS activity took place in 1979.The most significant event of the period for the IUS, however, was the turmoil the organization encountered after the 1989 - 1991 fall of Communism (see also World Federation of Democratic Youth
World Federation of Democratic Youth
The World Federation of Democratic Youth is a progressive youth organization, recognized by the United Nations as an international youth non-governmental organization. WFDY describes itself as an "anti-imperialist, left-wing" organisation...
) during which the IUS lost most of its funding. Additionally, in August 1991, the Czechoslovak Minister of the Interior decided to expel the IUS and other Communist front organizations from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. The reasons given for the expulsion were close ties with the old Communist regime and abuse of tax privileges granted during the old Communist regime.
Despite the hardships of caused by the national liberation struggles of the 1990s, the organization elected a new leadership at its 1992 Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
Congress and initiated structural changes of its Constitution to renew itself and evolve beyond its Communist past:
"At the 16th Congress of the International Union of Students (IUS), which took place in January 1992 in Larnaca, CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, the organisation underwent major changes, including the development of a new constitution. These initiatives were adopted to establish the basis for a more democraticDemocracyDemocracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
, representative, and independent international student organisation"
The new leadership and its successors continued to make press appearances in, e.g., relation to International Students' Day
International Students' Day
International Students' Day is an international observance of student community, held annually on November 17.Taking the day differently than its original meaning, a number of universities mark it, sometimes on a day other than November 17, for a nonpolitical celebration of the multiculturalism of...
celebration in Dublin in 1994 and the 1998 UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Conference on Higher Education.
In August 2003, the International Union of Students marked a comeback by calling for a worldwide day of protest against the inclusion of Higher Education in the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services
General Agreement on Trade in Services
The General Agreement on Trade in Services is a treaty of the World Trade Organization that entered into force in January 1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations...
.
The IUS is still, however, struggling with its expulsion from its Prague headquarters as of October 2006:
"Most cold war institutions shriveled in the 1990s, along with their superpower backing. The big communist front outfits that fought propaganda wars, awash with cash and stuffed with spies, have fizzled away in a mixture of apathy and swindles. This week's court-enforced auction of a hulking concrete pile in the heart of Prague belonging to one of them, the International Union of Students, was halted amid squabbles among its dozens of creditors"
See also
- International Student Conference
- Student movement
- World Federation of Democratic YouthWorld Federation of Democratic YouthThe World Federation of Democratic Youth is a progressive youth organization, recognized by the United Nations as an international youth non-governmental organization. WFDY describes itself as an "anti-imperialist, left-wing" organisation...
Further reading
- Cornell, Richard (1965): Youth And Communism: An Historical Analysis of International Communist Youth Movements; Walker & Co.: New York
- Clews, John (1952): Students Unite: The International Union of Students and Its Work; foreword by S. Spender, Congress for Cultural Freedom; British Society for Cultural Freedom: Paris (ASIN: B0000CIEJO)
- Maanen, Gert Van (1966): The International Student Movement. History and Background; International Documentation and Information Centre: The Hague
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