September has been a busy month for Brian, our Student Board member. Read his remarks on the two events he attended at the Una Europa partner universities: Magna Charta Univeritarium Anniversary in Bologna and Una Europa community meeting in Edinburgh.
Magna Charta Univeritarium Anniversary, Bologna
The Magna Charta Universitatum Anniversary took place in Bologna from the 15th to the 17th of September. The Una Europa Student Board was invited by University of Bologna to provide a student’s point of view at the meetings of the Observatory of Magna Charta Universitatum. Magna Charta Universitatum is a declaration and affirmation of the fundamental principles upon which the mission of universities should be based, originally signed in 1988 to mark the 1000th anniversary of University of Bologna.
The theme of the anniversary this year was Universities engaging with Society in Turbulent Times. There was particular emphasis on the ongoing war in Ukraine and the freedom of students and academics which find themselves under oppressive regimes. The meetings consisted of roundtable discussions on different themes, with input from students up to University Rectors. On the final day, an updated version of the declaration, Magna Charta Univeritarium 2020, was signed by attending Rectors and university representatives.
The Una Europa student board took the opportunity to meet on the sidelines of this conference to discuss the direction of the board in relation to the upcoming structure changes of Una Europa, as well as to prepare for the student congress. We also were lucky enough to have a look around the beautiful campus of UniBo which is ingrained in the city of Bologna itself, and to sample the fantastic food on offer there.
Una Europa Meetings at University of Edinburgh
Next from the 26th to 29th of September, a Una Europa community of over 250 came together in Edinburgh to discuss the achievements of the past three years of the alliance, and use this to direct the activities of the alliance going forward. The highlight of the meeting was the Una Europa Kaleidoscope, which contained entertaining presentations on the Summer School, Live my Life scheme, Seed funding and Una Challenge. The Student Board met in Edinburgh on theme to discuss the performance of the board up to now and strategies for the future. Once again it was great to experience another alliance member’s university life and meet with peers.
The highlight of the meetings was a Ceili (Scottish dinner and dance) held in the National Museum of Scotland. We were treated to delicious Scottish cuisine, and then we were taught to dance to Scottish music in the traditional way. It was a great way to spend an evening and those who were dancing sweated quite a lot!
