The Student Association of Global Development Studies (Kehitystutkimuksen opiskelijat ry) organizes and moderates an activist forum with representatives from the nation-wide Students Against Cuts movement in Finland. Keho ry invites participants from campuses around Finland to discuss the occupations, their motivations and objectives, as well as the outcomes of the movement in a panel discussion at the Development Days Conference 2024.

The forum will touch upon the contemporary challenges that students in Finland and elsewhere face during a time of global interconnectedness, e.g., the growing insecurity of student livelihoods, the increasing indebtedness of students, lack of affordable student housing, the discriminatory policy gaps between international and Finnish / EU / ETA students. Our panelists are activists who have played a central part in the nation-wide mobilization of students and have first-hand experience of community-based efforts to affect change. Activists will also be given the opportunity to share their personal experiences during the occupations on different campuses. This event will offer listeners an opportunity to reflect on the role of institutions, such as universities and academia in general, in grassroots movements and the loci for solidarity that these movements present.