How can the professional and social contribution of university students foster material, social, and intellectual prosperity that is accessible to everyone on the planet? How can university studies not only increase students’ knowledge in a particular field, but also increase their motivation to act as protagonists of social progress? These are some of the questions that Unity Foundation aims to explore in its interventions with university students.

In other words, our long-term goal is to facilitate spaces of exchange in which students can explore the nature of the principles that underlie the theories and approaches at the heart of their field and analyze whether and how these principles can be made more consistent with sustainable development. To this end, Unity Foundation aims to provide a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to university students and share experiences that give them a solid foundation of knowledge and a perspective for concrete action.

In 2022, thanks to one of our volunteers studying at the University of Luxembourg and her involvement in the CCSA (Conscious and Cultural Student Association) club, as well as the interest of the Indian Student Association of Luxembourg (ISAL), we were able to organize a first screening of the short film Mercy’s Blessing and to start a discussion with 8 students about the role of altruism, privilege and the application of justice in professional and personal settings. Because of their diverse fields and levels of study, the discussion was very rich and generated a desire to continue the exchange by thinking more concretely about ways to translate new awareness into action. A Whatsapp group was created and another meeting allowed part of the group to meet again. The goal now is to find ways to continue the series of workshops with the students, in the face of the many concerns they already have, among them their exams, their financial stability and their social integration.

Students gather to share their understandings of the terms “sacrifice”, “privilege” and “choice”.

Our second meeting with university students was at the Students in Action Day, organized by the university for the beginning of the school year in September. University is a wonderful time of life for learning, meeting new people, and charting your personal and professional path. The objective of our presence at this day, together with other NGOs and associations from Luxembourg, was to present to the students the projects, activities and events organized by Luxembourg associations engaged in sustainable development, and to propose to them the different opportunities that exist for them to connect to their local community, to use their knowledge in practical contexts oriented towards sustainability, and to get acquainted with the professional opportunities in the world of NGOs.

Fair of the Luxembourg non-profit organizations on the occasion of the Students in Action Day of the University of Luxembourg.

We were able to meet and exchange with about 50 students and discuss how their choices of studies and professional orientation can contribute to the objectives of sustainable development.

Students share their thoughts about their encounters with NGOs.

We would like to thank the CCSA and ISAL clubs and Mrs Veerle Waterplas for her precious collaboration as the person in charge of the service of studies and student life of the University of Luxembourg!

What’s next? On October 14th, we will participate in an interactive workshop on community building in Luxembourg, aiming to exchange on how community capacity building activities contribute to social transformation. The workshop is co-organized by the University of Luxembourg and the Office of Public Affairs (OPA) of the Baha’i community in Luxembourg. We hope to learn from the experience of the participants and come away enriched with new understandings and perspectives for action!