How and when constituting an ESN section in Italy? Who to contact? Here you will find some suggestions and examples on how to make the first steps!

STEP 1. Team

At first it is necessary to find a group of people who are ready to embark in this new adventure, enthusiast and interested in the mission of ESN.

You can involve your friends and students who already took part in international moblity programs.

You can ask for the help of the International Relations Office of your University, which holds a list of the italian students coming back from exchange programs and whoch can help you contacting them.

STEP 2. Contact with the University.

The work of an ESN sections is the easier the better the relations with the University are.

A good start may be the planification of a weekly meeting with the international students, in order to understand better their interests and needs.

the goal is to favor the integration of the foreign students and to improve the quality of their stay in Italy.

The international relations office can help you getting in contact with the foreign students and, through the establishment of a fruitful relation, it may help you obtaining fundings for you activities and obtaining your own space inside the university to turn into your "office".

STEP 3 The principles of ESN.

In order to become part of ESN it is fundamental to share the national and international statutory principles, to be equipped with a statute conforming to saif principles and to have as primary and continuous activity that of welcoming and favouring the inteegration of exchange students, also through the cooperation with higher education institutions and in particular with the "home" university.

Before facing theprocess to become part of ESN, an aspiring section has to be aware that:

  • it will be invited to work for ESN on a national and international level and it will anyway be obliged to do so to the extend that the AGM decides;
  • it will always be identified as an "ESN section" during all its activities and official communications and it will have to respect the Corporate Visual Identity;
  • "Only one ESN section can be founded for each athenaeum (except for detached homes)";
  • the participation to univeristy organizations/unions is allowed, with prior consent from the National Board, provided that these operate according to ESN's principles and goals.

For further informations visit these websites:

STEP 4. Becoming an official ESN section

When you'll start organizing the activities more regulartly, it would be a good idea to give more formality to your team, registering legally.

This will imply different advantages, making the process to obtain university funds more manageable and forging official relations easier.

Once you have consolidated the structure and the organization you can ask to join ESN.

How to?

Contact the Vicepresident of ESN Italy (vicepresidente@esn.it).

Make sure that your organization matches our admission criteria, fill the form that you can find on ESN International's website and send it to the Vicepresident along with the constitutional act and the statute of the organization.

Once the conformity of the Constitutive act and of the Statute of the organization to the Statutes of ESN Italy and ESN International will be verified, following a trial period of the aspiring section, the General Assembly will vote on the admission.

How can an ESN section assist the international students?

ESN may be of great help in order to make the stay and the university experience of the international students more accessible and enjoyable.

For example, it may be useful to translate the informations regarding the study plan, publishing and informational guide on the university/city, or to agenda the different cultural activities that may interest to the students.

The ESN section can provide its support and help to italian students who are about to leave for their exchange period abroad (outgoing), for example helping them getting in touch with former erasmus students, who can provide them with helpful informations before departure.

Trips, international parties and cultural activities will be equally important.

The other ESN sections, having more experience, may help you organizing the activities.

 

Here is what the Implementing Regulation provides regarding the admission.

3 Constitution of an Ordinary Section

For each atheneum or equivalent institution of higher education, even within the same city, only one Ordinary Section can be constituted.

For atheneums or equivalent institutions of higher education structured with linked venues in different cities, the constitution of one Ordinary Section for each venue is allowed.

4 Access to the ammission process.

The ammission process is reserved for groups or student organizations, even if devoid of the requirements presented in the article 16 of the Regulation.

5 Ammission process

The group or organization that intends to become part of ESN Italy has to submit a written notice to the Vicepresident of ESN Italy. From this moment on the group or organization is defined as "Aspiring Section".

Within thirty days of receipt of the notice, the Vicepresident has to respond indicating to the Aspiring Section the formalities to be carried out for the admission procedure and send the corresponding application form, a copy of ESN Italy's statute and one of the present regulation.

Within ninty days from the communication of the Vice President the aspiring section has to send:

  1. its statute,
  2. its constitutive Act,
  3. the Application form fully compiled,
  4. the schedule of the planned and performed activities,
  5. the support letter of the atheneum.

The submission of the request leads to the acceptance of the Statute of ESN Italy and of the implementing regulation by the aspiring section, and of every other regulation approved by the general assembly, and of the Statute of ESN AISBL and the principles that it establishes.

If the aspiring section doesn't send these documents within the deadline, the Vicepresident declares the admission request not admissible.

6 Technical check of the Statute of the Ambitious Section

The Statute and Legal Affairs Committee nominates among its member one person who is responsible of checking the Statute of the Ambitious Section. This responsible person send his/her written report to the Vicepresident, to the Board of ESN Italy, to the board of trustess and to the Manager of the committee before the Section acquires the status of Aspiring Section.

7 Evaluation of the documents

If the Vicepresident of ESN Italy considers the documents referred to in the article 5 of the current regulation valid and complete and also conforming to the general principles of ESN Italy he/she will award the ambitious section with the title of aspiring section and will inform through email the Board of ESN Italy, the board of trustees and through the official channels of ESN Italy the Ordinary sections.

If the Vicepresident of ESN Italy considers the documents inadequate or non-conforming to the general principles of ESN Italy he/she will reject the request motivating his/her decision and immediately informing the ambitious section. This can modify the documents conforming to the motivated decision of the Vicepresident and present again the documents after 90 days from the reception of the reject notice sent by the Vicepresident.

8 Acquisition of the status of Candidated Section

During the first instrumental General Assembly the Aspiring Section presents itselg in front of the General Assembly and from that moment on it acquires the stuatus of Candidated Section.

9 Study Trip

The Network Care Committee appoints among its members a manager who will work alongside and will support the Candidate Section for all pertaining fulfillments, who will monitor the activities and will, if there is the opportunity, set up a meeting at the headquarters of Section Candidate. The manager is required to send a written report concerning the period of observation of Section Candidate to the Vice-President, the Board , the Board of Trustees and to Ordinary Sections through the official channels of ESN Italy as preparatory material before the General Assembly referred to in the Article 11 of the present Regulation. It up to this manager to carry out checks linked to the use of corporate identity by the Candidate Section, ensuring compliance with the rules provided for by the relevant provisions of ESN AISBL.

The responsible person has the faculty of monitoring the activities of the new section until the first General Assembly following the admission.

10 Rights and duties of the Candidate section

The candidate section:

a) Can take part with its members in any activity, project of event of ESN Italy but it won't be able to exercise the right to vote in any case,

b) It can use the ESN logo and every other distinctive symbol or mark of ESN Italy, excluding the official ESN AISBL cards,

c) it can add to its name and/or logo the wording "Erasmus Student Network (or acronym) Candidate Section",

d) it can request the insertion of its members in the official and unoffical communication channels of ESN Italy.

11 Candidacy at Ordinary Section

The candidacy at ordinary section can be presented by the Candidate Section starting from the second General Assembly following the one during with it has acquired the status of Candidate Section.

Before the chosen General Assembly the Vicepresident of ESN Italy has to send, before the required deadline for the sending of the preparatory materials, a written and motivated opinion on the work of the candidate section to the Board of ESN Italy, to the board of trustees and to the ordinary sections through the official channels of ESN Italy.

Simultaneously, the voting on the candidacy of the Candidated section as an Ordinary Section is inserted on the agenda of the General Assembly.

12 Voting

The General Assembly decide by secret ballot if attributing the stuatus of Ordinary section.

TThis decision should be taken by qualified majority.

13 Outcome of the voting

With the positive outcome of the voting by the General Assembly the Candidate Section becomes an Ordinary Section and acquires all the rights and duties of an Ordinary Section.

The right to vote can be exerted starting from the opening session of the first General Assembly following the admissing one, unless the board of ESN Italy grants the extension referred to in the article 15 of the current regulation. In said case the right to vote will be exertable starting from the opening session of the General Assembly which the extension on the obtaining of the minimum requirements is referred to.

In case of negative outcome of voting, the candidate section loses its status and all the rights derived from the acquisition of said status. The group or organization whose candidacy was rejected

can acquire again the status of aspiring section once a period of 6 months since the closure of the general assembly during wich the candidacy was rejected has gone by.

14 Candidacy in absence of requirements

The candidate section that, during the voting referred to in the article 12, doesn't possess the requirements referred to in the article 16 of the current regulation, is equally admitted to the voting of the General Assembly.

In case of positive outcome, the resolution is considered suspensively conditioned to the obtaining of said requirements, before the the opening session of the first General Assembly following the resolution.

VOnce such requirements are verified, the Section can immediately exercise its right to vote since the first General Assembly fllowing the one during which its member status has been voted.

15 Permanency of the absence of the requirements

In case of failure to obtain the requirements referred to in the article 16 of the current regulation before the opening session of the first general Assembly following the voting referred to in the article 12, the application for admission of the Candidate section is rejected, unless the Candidate section can demonstrate that such failure depended on serious motivations. In this case, the Board of ESN Italy has the faculty to grant to the Candidate Section an extension until the following General Assembly. Such extension is not repeatable.