EUPeace at FOREU4ALL Workshop: Strengthening Belonging and Inclusion Across European Universities

A Shared Commitment to European Values

From the opening session, the workshop highlighted the importance of fostering a strong sense of belonging as a cornerstone of the European University Initiative. The keynote panel emphasised that belonging is built through shared values, collaboration, and meaningful engagement—principles that resonate strongly across all alliances.

A key message emerging throughout the event was the importance of collaboration across alliances. As Birgit Strotmann noted:

“The workshop confirmed that collaboration is one of the European University Initiative’s greatest assets: participants learned as much from each other as from the experts on stage.”

Inspiring Exchanges Across Workshops

The programme offered a rich set of interactive workshops addressing key topics such as strengthening belonging through values and relationships, increasing awareness of alliances, improving mobility opportunities, and recognising contributions within university communities.

Conversations around mobility highlighted innovative ways to make opportunities more inclusive and accessible, ensuring that all students feel encouraged and supported to participate. Sessions on belonging reinforced how everyday interactions, shared experiences, and inclusive environments can make a real difference in students’ and staff’s engagement.

Across all sessions, participants shared solutions, inspiration, and practical approaches, reinforcing a strong sense of common purpose among alliances.

Safe Spaces and Inclusion as Foundations of Belonging

As part of the poster session, Petr Šimon and Katharina Völsch, representing the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Board (EDIB), presented their work on the “Safer Spaces Survey.” Their contribution emphasised that inclusion and safety are prerequisites for building a genuine sense of belonging within higher education.

Petr Šimon reflected on the broader mission of EDIB:

“Never give up to make campuses and society safer.”

He also highlighted the importance of European collaboration:

“It is always nice to meet enthusiastic and inspiring people from Europe to make our society, universities and campuses a better place to live.”

Strengthening Student Voice and Engagement

A dedicated roundtable on “Hearing the Students’ Voice” brought attention to the importance of student participation in shaping alliances. Discussions highlighted that students value meaningful engagement, recognition of their contributions, and strong support networks throughout their university experience.

The session reinforced the need for alliances to move beyond top-down communication and actively involve students in co-creation processes, ensuring that initiatives are relevant, inclusive, and accessible.

“It was inspiring to see the wide range of activities led by students and the active role they play across the alliance. The discussions also highlighted the many channels available to strengthen student participation, ensuring their voices are heard and fostering a greater sense of belonging within the alliance,”  Carolina noted.

Shared Learning for a Stronger European University Community

Across sessions and discussions, one message stood out clearly: cooperation, not competition, is key. Alliances are navigating similar challenges and can benefit greatly from exchanging practices and learning from one another.

As Katharina Völsch summarised:

“Everyone has the same problems – we can learn from other alliances how to handle everyday questions and challenges.”

The workshop ultimately reinforced the importance of building inclusive environments, strengthening engagement across all university communities, and translating European values into concrete actions that make a difference on campuses.

For EUPeace, participation in FOREU4ALL represents a strong step forward in contributing to a more connected, inclusive, and engaged European Higher Education landscape.