Deadline: December 31, 2017
The Commonwealth Students’ Association is now accepting applications for the 7 positions in its Steering Committee. The committee members will take office from February, 2018, at the end of the 20th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (20CCEM).
The Commonwealth Students Association (CSA) unifies and represents the needs and aspirations of national student councils and other student organisations in the Commonwealth. It was launched in 2012 at the 18th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (18CCEM) in Mauritius, where student leaders gathered to make recommendations on the current issues in education and strengthen their role in the Commonwealth education sector.
The main aims of the CSA are ‘to promote unity among student organisations in Commonwealth countries; to protect the rights of Commonwealth students and to contribute actively to the development of student movements; and to create an environment for student unions and student movements to build their respective and collective capacities, to freely express and advocate’.
Open Positions
- Chairperson
- Vice Chairperson (Democracy and Participation)
- Vice Chairperson (Advocacy and Partnerships)
- Africa & Europe Regional Representative
- Asia Regional Representative
- Caribbean & The Americas Regional Representative
- Pacific Regional Representative
Eligibility
The Candidate must:
- have attained the age of 18 years at nomination, and may not attain the age of 30 years during the entire term of office (2018-2020)
- be a current student leader or one whose term has lapsed a year before this announcement for call for nominations.
- demonstrate experience in student advocacy.
- be a national of a Commonwealth country.
- commit to upholding Commonwealth Values (See the Commonwealth Charter and the CSA Constitution for more details.)
Specific Qualifications
Chairperson:
- A national of an Asian Commonwealth Member state, though not necessarily a current resident.
- A member of the executive of a national student body (where none exists, the President of a University Student Body.)
- Nominated by the student body that he/she has served/is serving.
- All genders are encouraged to apply.
Vice-Chairperson (Democracy and Participation):
- A national of a Commonwealth Member state from any other region (except Asia), though not necessarily a current resident.
- A member of the executive of a national student body (where none exists, the President of a University Student Body.)
- Nominated by the student body he/she has served/is serving
- Only female candidates are eligible to apply.
Vice Chairperson (Advocacy and Partnerships):
- A national of a Commonwealth Member State from any other region (except Asia) though not necessarily a resident
- A member of the executive of a national student body. (where none exists, the President of a University Student Body.)
- Nominated by the student body that he/she has served/is serving.
- Only male candidates are eligible to apply.
Africa Regional Representative
- A national of an African Region Commonwealth member state, resident in the Region.
- A member of the executive of a national student body. (where none exists, the President of a University Student Body.)
- Nominated by the student body that he/she has served /is serving.
Asia Regional Representative
- A national of an Asia Region Commonwealth member state, resident in the Region.
- A member of the executive of a national student body. (where none exists the President of a University Student Body)
- Nominated by the student body that he/she has served/is serving
Caribbean & Canada Regional Representative
- A national of a Caribbean & Canada Region Commonwealth member state, resident in the Region.
- A member of the executive of a national student body. (where none exists, the President of a University Student Body.)
- Nominated by the student body that he/she has served /is serving.
Pacific Regional Representative
- A national of a Pacific Regional Commonwealth member state, resident in the region.
- A member of the executive of a national student body (where none exists the President of a University Student Body.)
- Nominated by the Student body that he/she has served/is serving
Application
- A signed and dated application letter expressing interest in a position, showing how the candidate has met the requirements (age, gender, nationality, residency, student leadership experience)
- An official nominating letter (with organizational letterhead and signed by an authorizing officer) by the student body one has served or is serving indicating their student status and capacities.
NB: A nominating agency can only nominate one candidate per position. Date of receipt will be taken into account where two nominations are received from the same agency. - A letter of attestation to be on headed paper, signed and stamped by Government Ministry/Department/Member of Parliament/ to verify and confirm information provided by the nominee
- A two page details about the applicant’s interest and suitability for the office.
- A copy of their passport’s biodata page4
- Applicants should be available and able to self-fund their attendance at the 20th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (20CCEM) to be held from 19 – 23 February 2018 in Fiji.
Applicants are required to send their applications to [email protected].
- The application’s heading should clearly state the position one is applying for, region and gender (e.g. CSA Vice-Chairperson, Democracy and Participation, Pacific, Male.)
- Kindly note that the deadline for nomination should have been received by 31 December, 2017. All applications are to be sent via email (only to the specified account above.)
- The outcomes of the process will be made known on 19th February, 2018.
For more information, visit Commonwealth Students’ Association on Facebook.
