"International Student Movement"

Dear all,

I am writing this e-mail in order to inform you about a book-project in Turkey and ask your helps to contribute this project.

Actually we are editing a book which is aimed to make the struggles more visible and increase the solidarity on intranational and international levels. The book will have two sections; first section will be compiled of the articles that analyse the student movements theoretically. The second part will consist of the written and visual materials of different student organisations worldwide. We wish to express the demands, aims and struggle practices in detail which may create an opportunity to share different experiences. This sharing, moreover, may support the local movements in Turkey and force an integration at international scale.

I would kindly ask you to answer the questions attached to this e-mail (cover letter+questionnaire). This contribution is really valuable for us. As it is stated in the text; you can feel free to answer the questions as an individual and activists or a group/organisation. We will publish the book in Turkish at the beginning; however, we will share the English copy with you in the further steps.

The deadline for the contributions is March 31, 2011. If you have any question at all with anything, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

In solidarity,

(nidakamil@gmail.com)

Massive protests are being organized as a response to the neoliberal changes in the educational systems all over the world dominantly by the university students. Many societies are experiencing a ‘new’ student movement which is the focal point of resistance against the commodification of education, transportation, health services and eventually the elimination of working class students from the higher education domain. The rising movement seem to have demands which almost determine the inner political agenda of the transforming economies. It is obvious that the protests are not accidental or temporary since they are taking place in quite a number of countries in Europe and in the other continents simultaneously.
The very recent developments in Tunisia, where the uprising against the dictatorship is mostly organized by the ‘young educated unemployees’ who lead the whole youth, can be counted as the recent case of such youth initiatives . It is a very-well known fact that all post-crisis ‘austerity’ programs are tools of attack on the vested rights of the working class. Hence, the accelerating student movements which are in a tendency of getting integrated or already integrated to the class struggles of the territories they took place deserve a detailed analysis in such a political atmosphere.

We are editing a two-sectioned book to make the resistance more visible, make contributions and increase the solidarity within the struggle. The first section will be composed of articles which are going to analyze the nature of the student movements, the Bologna process, neoliberal transformations in the university, the meaning of university and science. The second section is going to be composed of the written and visual materials of the many different student organizations all over the world in which they express their demands, aims and the struggle practices.

We would kindly ask you to answer the questions below in order to contribute this book. You can feel free to answer them as an individual activist or a group/organisation. We also kindly request you to send us an e-mail back acknowledging receipt of this handout and interest in making a contribution to this book.

Thanking you in advance for your cooperation.

In solidarity,
Ferda Dönmez (Ankara University, Ankara/Turkey)
Nida Kamil Özbolat (Izmir Institute of Technology, Izmir/Turkey)

For further information:
E-mails: nidakamil@gmail.com & ferdadonmez@yahoo.com
Mobiles: +90 537 328 8827 and +90 535 304 5541

* Please bear in mind that we are expecting 3-5 pages text written in single space. As a character font, you can use Times New Roman, 12 points. The deadline is on March 31, 2011.

1. Could you briefly evaluate the recent and gradually-rising student/education movements in many countries in the world and/or in your country, and their characteristic features?

2. Considering the issues below, would you please give some information about the movement you are participating in?

a. How did this movement start? Why and how did you come together?

b. Which components/organised groups are in support of the movement at present? As a grass-root movement, how do you define your base/activists?

c. What should be the general demands and objectives of the student/education movement? Do you think the on-going action process is adequate to meet the objectives in question?

d. What are your current/short-term objectives and expectations?

3. What do you think about the positive and/or negative reactions of the public opinion towards the student/education movement?

4. What problems do you experience during the struggle?

a. Problems within the student/education movement itself

b. External problems (the state, university administrations, police etc.)

5. Would you please give a brief chronology of your action process and define (in conceptual and/or phenomenal sense) its distinctive (unique) characteristics?

6. The uprising student/education movements in many countries differ with each other on the issues of impression and power. Do you think that it is essential to show sensitivity and develop solidarity at the international level? If yes, what content and what tools can you suggest?

7. Do you think an inclusive slogan/motto is possible for the global student struggle? If yes, what would be your suggestion?

8. Please write your additional comments below, if any.

P.S. If your organisation already has any manifest/declaration/joint statement that covers your objectives and demands, please forward it to us, as well.