About us
The Student Union of Latvia (LSA) represents the interests of all students in Latvia at national and international level. The organisation is an important partner of higher education policymakers on issues affecting students. The role of the LSA is enshrined in the Law on Higher Education. The union is a member of the European Students’ Union (ESU).
The LSA's long-standing and constant slogan is "Students matter - the right thing for students!"
(in Latvian: “Studentu lieta – taisna un cieta!”).
According to the Law on Higher Education of the Republic of Latvia, the Student Union of Latvia is established by the student self-governments of higher education institutions to represent students and express their views. The Student Union of Latvia is a union that brings together its members – student self-government.
Tasks of Student Union of Latvia
INVOLVEMENT IN POLICY-MAKING PROCESSES
LSA provides opinions on normative acts affecting the interests of students, regularly communicates with the Ministry of Education and Science, as well as other sectoral ministries, and represents the views of students at meetings of the Saeima Commissions and the Cabinet of Ministers.
DELEGATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
LSA nominates student representatives to the Council for Higher Education and other institutions following the procedure set out in regulatory enactments, e.g. the Credit Allocation Commission of the Study and Science Administration of the Ministry of Education and Science, etc.
INTERNATIONAL
REPRESENTATION
LSA is a member of the European Students’ Union and an active member of the Nordic Organisational Meeting and the Baltic Organisational Meeting.
OTHER
TASKS
Within the scope of LSA’s competencies, the union also addresses other issues related to student representation, if necessary – engages in student self-government problem-solving and advises both industry organisations and policymakers on topics of importance to students.
However, it should be noted that the day-to-day tasks of the LSA are much broader. Every student can find his or her field of activity, be it the academic dimension, the social dimension, internal capacity building, project organisation, etc.
History
The Student Union of Latvia (LSA) was founded in 1994 by some enthusiastic students. The original purpose of the union was to pursue the abolishment of compulsory military service. In 1999 LSA marched on 3 protests – for additional funding for higher education, against the implementation of tuition fee-based higher education and for maintaining student discounts in Riga’s public transport.
LSA has been recognised in section 64.2 of the Higher Education law since 1995 and represents a total of around 76,000 students. LSA represents the interests of the students, both nationally and internationally. Since 1998, LSA has been a full member of the European Students’ Union (ESU), which is the umbrella organisation of national unions of students in Europe. LSA is also a member of the NOM (Nordic Organisational Meeting) and BOM (Baltic Organisational Meeting), which both are Nordic and Baltic national student unions` cooperation networks to not only share experiences and support but also make necessary changes in higher education.
ESU - European Students Union
“The European Students’ Union (ESU) is the umbrella organisation of 44 National Unions of Students (NUS) from 40 countries. ESU aims to represent and promote the educational, social, economic and cultural interests of students at the European level towards all relevant bodies and, in particular, the European Union, Bologna Follow-Up Group, Council of Europe and UNESCO. Through its members, ESU represents almost 20 million students in Europe. It’s mission as adopted at its 61st Board Meeting: “ESU’s mission is to represent, defend and strengthen students’ educational, democratic, and political and social rights. ESU will work for sustainable, accessible and high-quality higher education in Europe.”
LSA has been a member of ESU since 1998, representing the interests, rights and future views of the development of higher education from the perspective of students in Latvia. LSA is represented by one to two delegates at every Board meeting.
Get involved: You can become a delegate for LSA to participate in the next ESU Board Meeting. For more information, contact the Head of International affairs.
BOM - Baltic Organisational Meeting
The Baltic Organisational Meeting is a network of national student unions of the Baltic countries, which meets once a year to exchange current information that affects the rights and interests of students in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
The aim of the BOM is not only to identify the position of the Baltic States on issues related to current events in higher education policies but also to exchange ideas for its improvement, to discuss common positions and visions on current events at the European level, including in the European Students Union (ESU).
The BOM discussions aim to create a resolution that would serve as a strong argumentation for discussions with policymakers at national and international levels. To get familiar with the performance of the BOM so far, we suggest looking into the previous BOM resolutions here.
Get involved: You can become a delegate for LSA to participate in the next BOM meeting. For more information, contact the Head of International Affairs
NOM - Nordic Organisational Meeting
The Nordiskt Ordförande Møte (Nordic Presidential Meeting), NOM is a consultative meeting of the National Unions of Students of the Nordic and Baltic Countries. NOM convenes twice a year for a combined seminar and meeting, which is hosted in rotation if not otherwise agreed.
NOM aims to bring together the National Unions of Students (NUS) in the Nordic and Baltic countries to gather information and discuss and promote the educational interests of students in a broad manner. This includes organisational, educational, welfare, financial and international matters.
NOM comprises the National Unions of Students of Denmark (DSF), Estonia (EÜL), Faroe Islands (MFS), Finland (SAMOK and SYL), Greenland (AVALAK), Iceland (LIS), Latvia (LSA), Lithuania (LSS), Norway (NSO) and Sweden (SFS).
Get involved: You can become a delegate for LSA to participate in the next NOM meeting. For more information, contact the Head of International Affairs.