Report of the Chairmanship Team for the 1st Ordinary
Meeting of the Federal Representation on 18.03.2022
Posted 07.03.2022
ÖH Emergency Aid Package & Solidarity with Ukraine
Due to the armed conflicts in Ukraine, numerous students are unfortunately also confronted with existential problems. The ÖH stands in solidarity with all those who are losing their freedom, security and livelihood and cannot help that this war is being waged. For this reason, the chair team has worked very intensively with the BMBWF from the very beginning.
and the local student unions in order to be able to provide the broadest possible emergency aid. A very big problem for the affected students is the sudden
blocked access to Ukrainian and Russian accounts and the sudden loss of income. In order to counteract the financial emergencies, the ÖH is setting up an emergency aid package in the amount of € 500,000, with which students can receive a one-time grant of up to € 1000 per person. In cooperation with Erste Bank, it was possible to set up emergency accounts for affected
Students to be established. In addition to this, various study and foreign law topics are in progress. In addition, in the department for foreign students, the
The number of Russian consultants was increased and an additional Ukrainian consultant was appointed.
Start of semester
In February, various internal ÖH meetings took place to evaluate the ÖH work of the winter semester and to plan the upcoming summer semester. The closed meeting of the chairmanship team took place on 09.02. took place in the ÖH office with external moderation. The main topics discussed were internal team communication, division of labor, and the status of coalition projects. Some of the coalition projects are to be completed in the summer semester, including: the student survey, the Corona Hardship Fund III, the Ukraine Emergency Aid Package, the ÖH Logo Competition and the new ÖH-CI and the campaign focus on the StudFG amendment.
Pandemic development at the high schools In the course of the semester change, the chair team has intensified its networking with the rector conferences and the BMBWF in order to advocate, in accordance with the resolution, that the summer semester should allow for more face-to-face teaching. Appointments were made with RÖPH, ÖPUK, UNIKO, FHK and the stv. Head of Cabinet of HBM Polaschek. In addition, the upcoming start of the semester was also addressed in public relations. In fact, most of the teaching in the summer semester is scheduled in attendance, so the outreach has been able to make an impact, at least for the time being. To ensure that this remains the case, the chair team is calling on the government and universities to ensure that the vaccination & PCR testing infrastructure continues to be provided free of charge.
Student Survey
At the beginning of February, one of the largest coalition projects of this executive period was launched: the ÖH student survey. Under the motto “the ÖH is you!” the ÖH inquires into the following topics
Social Security, Climate Protection, Cafeterias, Corona Teaching and ÖH Work the current needs and opinions of all students. For this purpose, the Institute for Empirical
Social Research (IFES) designed a questionnaire in German and English and sent it to all students by mail. As a further incentive, the student survey offers the opportunity to win up to € 1100 in ÖBB vouchers. The survey and sweepstakes will run until 11:59 p.m. on 3/15-22. A separate service mailbox has been set up for technical inconsistencies. The results of the student survey are to be evaluated jointly with IFES after the survey closes and presented to the public in the spring.
Cue for Ahmed Samir
Santawy Ahmed Samir Santawy is an Egyptian student at Central European University who is unlawfully imprisoned in Egypt for his feminist research activities. At
14.02.22 a summit meeting between the European and African Union took place, where also the Austrian President was present. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg was present. For this purpose, the Austrian Students’ Union (ÖH), in cooperation with some universities and local student unions, has addressed a letter to the Foreign Minister with the request to start talks with the Egyptian President. Unfortunately, the ÖH has not received any feedback. In addition, the chairmanship team has again asked for an appointment in the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. President’s Office inquired and received a rejection. 21.02.22. was the first day of the retrial, for which there was also in Vienna a
vigil, where the presidential team gave a speech. The ÖH continues to demand the immediate release of Ahmed Samir Santawy and is attempting to cooperate with Austrian authorities to secure his release. Contact government officials and diplomats to support the student.
Concept for online BV meetings
Despite improvements in the pandemic situation in Austria, the statutes of the ÖH Bundesvertretung still contain some gaps and open questions regarding the possible holding of a digital BV meeting. For this reason, the chairmanship team, together with representatives of the public relations department, has started regular exchange rounds with all list spokespersons.
in order to plan a legally secure concept for an online BV meeting that is easy to implement for all parties involved. Two dates have already
have taken place, and the third is in the planning stage.
BMF Date, 16.02.2022
On 16.02.2022 the chair team had a presentation appointment at the Ministry of Finance with the speaker Lissa-Katharina Heinrich. Discussed in particular was the urgent need for the
Amendment of the study support system. For this purpose, the resolved list of demands of the 2nd o. BV meeting in the winter semester 21/22 was presented. The speaker was very open to our suggestions
and thanked for the appointment. We have not yet received any further feedback on our claims.
