The participation of university students in local governments’ decision-making processes

In accordance with the revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life, some municipalities have chosen to establish offices aimed at protecting the interests, needs and living conditions of university students within the city community. From a structural point of view, these offices have a collegiate form. They are mostly composed of university students, which are elected by vote by the students enrolled in the universities in the territory of the municipality. From a functional point of view, all these offices carry out an advisory activity to local authorities, while some of them have the power to propose resolutionsin local city councils. This article aims at describing some of these “student offices” – the Consulta degli studenti universitari of Pisa, of Trento and of Bari; the Conseil de la vie étudiante of Grand Nancy and of Metz; the Aix conseil étudiants of Aix-en-Provence – identifying, in a comparative perspective, the structural and functional elements they have in common. Moreover, this article will highlight the effects that some of these offices have brought in terms of integration between university students and local communities. Finally, this article will argue for the need of the establishment of similar offices in the “student cities” and for the extensionof the power of such offices.