One of our motivations at Etudes Sans Frontières International (ESFI) is to spread the idea of supporting students and higher education in conflict regions worldwide. We have chapters in Germany, Austria and Québec (Canada) who are running projects in many countries, almost exclusively through the help of student volunteers.

Now we are looking for students who want to help us find a Swedish chapter in Uppsala! Are you interested in becoming active to make a positive change in the world, but don’t know how? Or are you studying in the sector of sustainable development and want to use your knowledge for something practical? You don’t need to have any prior experience for this – just your motivation!

So who is „we“?

Mostly this is me, Lea. I am a chemistry student from Germany currently studying a Master’s programme in Uppsala. I want to establish ESF Sweden – or „Studera utan Gränser“ – because during my membership in Germany, I have come to love this organisation and it’s somewhat special approach. That is why I’m looking for people who want to join me and support students in conflict regions to contribute to sustainable and peaceful development. But „we“ is also the executive committee of Etudes Sans Frontières International (ESFI) and hundreds of people in our other chapters, who are already volunteering in ESF.

What are the chapters about?

We support higher education in conflict regions like e.g. Afghanistan and the DR Congo, mostly through scholarship programmes. One of the most important features of our projects in ESF Germany is that we support students who themselves are dedicated to helping their country. Additionally, we try to improve educational infrastructure in the regions where we are active and our scholarship holders study.

The money for this obviously has to come from somewhere, so a big part of our work is fundraising. Most of our money comes from donations, but in how to get these, we rely on the creative ideas of our members. This includes all kinds of charity events in our home cities, where we actively take part in student culture.

Every chapter can take a different approach to how they do their projects and how they fundraise, as long as it is in accordance with our main values. So if you want to be part of Studera Utan Gränser, you will also get to influence what kind of project we do and how we fundraise.

So what do I do if I am interested?

Just contact lea.hohmann@esf-international.org! You can ask any questions and I will give you more information. I am looking forward to meeting you!