International Student Movement

May 23-29th 2011, Worldwide

We are Everywhere!

~ auf deutsch ~

Previous overviews of activities around the world related to the struggle against the increasing privatisation of education and for free emancipatory education for all: August 2010 - March 2010 - the whole year of 2009
To inform activists and groups about your local protests and activities in connection with our struggle consider to make use of the ISM communication infrastructure (e.g. mailing list, groups/pages on facebook, etc.).

Comments, questions, suggestions or feel that something is missing? Drop a line at united.for.education@gmail.com.

May 29th

Seoul (South Korea):
Thousands of students flooded the streets of the capital to protest for tuition fees to be at least halfed. The demonstration was rather spontaneous. The police was unprepared. Nonetheless 73 activists were detained. As part of the protest a group of college students lied on the road arm-in-arm after their march towards the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea) in central Seoul.
Around 500 students reportedly participated in a candle light vigil demonstration at night, demanding the police to release the arrested students.

Source: ism-global.net

May 28th

Cairo (Egypt):
From today onwards students at the Nile University have been squatting parts of the campus (smart village) to reclaim the campus pressure authorities to open it up. The Nile University is a rather small private institution, the campus is run by a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).
Among others the university receives research orders from Google, Microsoft, GM, Intel, Alcatel-Lucent, the Qatar Foundation, Synopsys and Cadence.

Sources: youm7.com + en.wikipedia.org

May 26th

Germany:
Thousands took to the streets across the federal states Bavaria and Lower-Saxony to protest for the abolition of tuition fees. Those two states are the only ones left in Germany allowing general tution fees. Due to massive protests in the past few years various other federal governments got rid of tuition fees again. So students in Bavaria and Lower-Saxony want "their" governments to follow suit.

Source: ism-global.net

Santiago (Chile):
2,000 students clashed with police forces during protests against the privatisation of education and for proper funding of public education. Dozens were detained. For more background information: ism-global.net

May 25th

Ukraine:
Students in 17 cities across the country took to the streets against cuts, the increasing privatisation of education as well as the education policies in general. Among others the protests were called by the independent student union direct action.
They took their protest in front of the administration building of the state.
The pictures as well as the video show footages of the demonstration in the capital Kiev.

Sources: demotix.com + direct-action.org.ua + more pictures: direct-action.org.ua + more videos: youtube.com (II)

Hamburg (Germany):
Around 1,500 students gathered in the streets of Hamburg under the motto "Dancing Tuition Fees Away" (Studiengebühren wegtanzen). They are to be abolished by autumn 2012. Protesters demand that they should be abolished immediately.

May 24th

Chennai (India):
Parents protested fees at Springfield Matriculation School.

May 23-24th

Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso):
Thousands of students took to the streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital, on both days, burning tires and chanting in support of teachers who are demanding better conditions. Students also stormed the Education Ministry, destroying computers, smashing windows and burning documents. Teachers began striking last week for better living conditions.

Sources: thenation.com + nytimes.com + signalfire.org

May 23rd

Oaxaca (Mexico):
Seventy thousand teachers in the Mexican state of Oaxaca went on strike demanding better funding for their students. It began with a myarch from four different points to the city’s square, where the educators rallied and then spread out to put pressure on both government and business.
Teachers blockaded government offices and private companies, closed major intersections, and “liberated” the toll booths on the privately owned highway to Mexico City. They also attempted to shut down the airport.

Source: indypendent.org

U.S. of A.:
Sit-ins occurred at four universities this spring semester as part of the Kick Out Sodexo campaign. Sodexo is an international food service management corporation that has contracts with over 600 US universities. Sodexo represents the privatization of our schools, where labor previously done in-house is now being outsourced.
In total 56 student activists were arrested as a result of the sit-ins. The latest occupation took place on May 23rd at Ohio State University resulting in nine arrests.

Source: ism-global.net