ESN the netherlands
written by
Idriss Maghiouzi
»» Date of first section established in the country: 1989 »» Date of inclusion in ESN International: 1989 »» Creation of National Board: 2005 »» Number of sections 2015: 15
ESN the Netherlands was established on the 8th of February 1991 in Enschede. Before that year already several sections were founded (ESN Utrecht, Groningen, Leiden and Maastricht), but after a few years there was a need for a coordinating body by means of a National Board.
ESN the Netherlands has also grown in the few years it has existed. Currently there are 15 sections that belong to ESN the Netherlands. Here are the histories of these ESN sections. Of course, we begin with ESN Utrecht, because that’s where it all started!
ESN the Netherlands is a legal organisation; an association, which means that the ESN sections are members of ESN the Netherlands. Each section pays a membership fee to ESN the Netherlands. The association is legally based in Enschede, the Netherlands. Its goals are (quoting from the statutes):
ESN Utrecht On 16 October 1989 ESN Utrecht was founded by Desiree Majoor. Soon, other cities in Europe followed her example, so it was time for the next step. Therefore, she founded ESN International, of which she was President in the initial period. Desiree’s work for ESN Utrecht and ESN International was very much appreciated by the European Union; therefore she received the Erasmus Award. ESN Utrecht has always been active at an international level. The International Administration has been in Utrecht from the beginning until 2000. Additionally, in 1992 Utrecht organised the AGM. ESN Utrecht has grown into a big and professional foundation, which takes care of approximately 1400 students a year.
Promoting the interests of students studying at Dutch institutions for higher education who are a guest at the institution for higher education within the scope of an exchange. Promoting the interest of students who are sent abroad by a Dutch institution of higher education.
The Netherlands /ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdərˌlɑnt]
All that is directly or indirectly connected to or that could be to the benefit of that which is mentioned in section a, all in the broadest sense of the word.
The association forms the coordinating organisation of both the ESN sections as well as the associate members in The Netherlands who all pursue the above mentioned aims. Even though the goals of ESN the Netherlands have stayed the same, ESN the Netherlands has evolved: In 1999 the President’s meeting was held for the first time. Next to the National Platforms, ESN the Netherlands also meets three times a year with the local representatives of the Dutch sections during the Council of Local Representatives. In 2001, the method for choosing the new board changed. Instead of changing before the AGM, the Netherlands chose to change on the last National Platform of the academic year. This meant that the Dutch board of the year 2000 had to stay an extra half-year. In order to guarantee the continuity and to make the transition easier, the system of staggered board has been introduced in the academic year 2014-2015. The National Representative and Secretary start their mandate on the first day after the AGM, they get elected during the second National Platform. The other four positions of of the board change in the third and last National Platform of the year.
90 | HB 2014
ESN Twente (Enschede) The Foundation Erasmus Student Network Twente emerged as Student Mobility in Twente (SMIT) in June of 1991 from an advisory board of several internationally-oriented student organizations belonging to the University of Twente. It took 8 months of preparations and negotiations before Foundation SMIT was founded on 11 June 1991. The initiative of founding SMIT was taken by a number of internationally oriented student organisations, of which especially AEGEE-Enschede played an important role. After having been one of ESN’s Associate Members from the year of SMIT’s foundation, SMIT was given full ESN membership in the academic year 2000/2001. ESN Groningen ESN Groningen has only operated under this name for a couple of years. At first, Wings was founded in 1988. In the beginning it was a committee of AEGEE, and later on it became independent. It is not known when Wings became a member of ESN. Wings changed its name from Wings to Wings-ESN in 2001. Later on, they changed their name to ESN Groningen. Nowadays ESN Groningen takes care of approximately 3000 international students! ISN Leiden Stichting Erasmus Student-Network Leiden was founded