Mattis Noël has been a member of the ACEL committee for three years, most recently serving as one of its three vice-presidents. He now takes over the presidency from Gianni Di Paoli, who led the organisation for a year and chose not to stand for re-election.
ACEL’s committee is made up of 18 elected members and represents more than 18 student unions from 10 different countries. On Friday, two additional unions joined the association, one from Ireland and one from Lille. While smaller unions are increasingly withdrawing, often replaced by groups of friends who establish informal student circles, the overall trend remains positive, according to former president Gianni Di Paoli.
In an interview, Di Paoli looked back in particular on the pension reform file, which had kept ACEL busy for a considerable period. According to him, although ACEL was included in political discussions, its concerns were not always truly taken on board. “As a result, politicians lacked the courage to implement a far-reaching reform that could actually offer young people a long-term perspective”, Di Paoli said. He nevertheless welcomed the decision to continue counting years spent studying towards pension entitlement.
For some time, ACEL has been critical of the current location of the student fair on the University of Luxembourg campus in Esch-sur-Alzette’s Belval district, arguing that the site is not suitable for welcoming school pupils. Last week, discussions were held with the Ministry of Higher Education about the future of the event.
“At the moment, three possible locations are being considered: the European Convention Centre, Luxexpo and the Coque”, revealed the new ACEL president.
In addition, the concept of the student fair is set to be overhauled. In future, it is intended to cover four main areas: orientation, higher education, the working world, and vocational training. As the event is no longer aimed solely at students, it is also expected to be rebranded as the Future Fair, welcoming all pupils.
