This news just came is from Croatia:

As you may know there were massive protests for free public education in Croatia during the "Reclaim your education - Global Week of Action" in April 2009.

After the occupation of faculties across the country for more than a month, protests calmed down during the holidays.

But groups are preparing to continue the struggle with a new wave of protest in October.

Furthermore activists across Europe are invited to join a Student Symposium currently prepared by people at the Sociology students' Club in Zagreb.

This is the official invitation (You will find the application form attached to this entry!):

Sociology students' club Discrepancy hosts a student symposium

STUDENT PROTESTS OF 2009: METHODS, CONTEXT AND IMPLICATIONS

Croatian social and political realities have greatly been marked by the students' protests in 2009 mostly due to the use of an innovative means of political action.
The context and the goals of the occupation of twenty faculties throughout the country, the form and broadness of the student movement, as well as some novel aspects of its organization, make these topics quite worthwhile in regards of research and exploration. Therefore, we have decided to organize a student symposium in order to discuss what, how and why happened, as well as to weigh the potential implications for the future of higher education, general trends of commercialization of education and the dynamics of civil society in Croatia. We would like to emphasize the interdisciplinary and international dimension of this symposium and invite any interested parties or individuals to contribute to the creating of a more detailed picture of students' protests and the struggle against the commercialization of education.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

- faculty occupations and other means of protest

- plenum and other methods of organizing and decision-making

- the commercialization of education and the public sector

- protests' impact on the public and politics

- education policies in the EU

- media representation and controlling the media

- protests' results and consequences

- student movement and the civil society

The topic selection is open to other aspects of student protests as well, both in Croatia and worldwide, including those in 2009 and earlier: the implications of neoliberal market capitalism in education, the bologna context of Croatian education system, the organizational and political aspects of plenum decision-making, plenum workgroups and plenum mechanics, plenum as opposed to typical hierarchical structures, the present and future perspective of free education in the EU and worldwide, the political impact of forming the student body as a political subject, the relation between the student protests and civil society etc.

The symposium will be held at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th November, 2009.

The deadline for submitting abstracts (up to 250 words) is September 1st.

Presentation-ready papers are due on October 1st.

[UPDATE: the organizers decided to move the deadline for the submission of abstracts to Oct.1st. Presentation-ready papers are due on Oct.15th.
The newest invitation can be downloaded here [.doc].]

Abstracts and papers are to be sent in Croatian or English to this address: simpozij.kssd[at]gmail.com

The official language of the symposium is English, with the possible exception of giving the presentation in Croatian.

Participation in the symposium is free (no fee). The participants will have accommodation and food provided for them with a partial refund for travel expenses for up to two presenters per paper.

The application form can be found in the attachment.
(alternatively you can also download it here [old version])

Please forward this call for papers to any and all potential presenters and participants.

For any additional info please contact: simpozij.kssd[at]gmail.com

We're looking forward to your papers and participation!