The Union of Danish Upper Secondary School Students

The Union of Danish Upper Secondary School Students (Danske Gymnasieelevers Sammenslutning) is a national, non-partisan political organisation that represents students and pupils in all political cases that encompass the Danish secondary schools.

HISTORY

DGS was founded on the 26th of April 1965, as a part of the major student movements that were organising in Denmark during the 1960s. The purpose of the organisation was, at first, to support both the existing student councils, and the creation of new student councils at the Danish upper secondary school schools. DGS also came to represent the students on matters that all upper secondary school students on both a national and regional level, and we made it possible for the students to have a network where they could discuss their experiences, both in terms of their problems and in terms of their solutions.

By now, the organisation is getting old, which means we have survived both ups and downs. Especially the criticism of DGS’ project of solidarity, Operation Dagsværk, alongside with a counteracting government and other opposing youth organisations challenged DGS during the first three decades of the organisation’s existence.

However, this was the first hesitant beginning of a flourishing organisation. In 2005, DGS merged with GLO, an organisation founded as an alternative to DGS, and the internal party-political agendas became progressively smaller. At the same time, the membership numbers were increasing and the variety of students represented was expanded to include other educational institutions (HF and IB, while formerly only STX).

Membership and structure

DGS represents around 85.000 Danish upper secondary school students. This includes STX-schools, HF-schools, and IB-schools in Denmark. Membership in our organisation is built on student councils, as they’re the representatives of the student bodies at each school. The closest thing to the student councils are the ten regional boards. Every school belongs to a region based on the geographical location and distance to the main seat of the board, which is typically in the largest city in the region. Every regional board has a set number of representatives, or “regional secretaries” on the national board, which is based on the number of students they have at their member schools. There are 18 regional secretaries in total divided between the regions. On the national board, there are also two seats reserved for representatives from HF-schools, as well as 8 seats that all students at our schools can run for at our General Assembly.

Our General Assembly takes place every year between February and April, and is the highest authority in our organisation. At the General Assembly, we hold an election for the Presidency and the two Vice-Presidencies. Our current President is Asger Kjær Sørensen, and our two Vice-Presidents are Daniel Smith Kjergaard and William Heide.

OUR POLITICS

CONTACT INFORMATION

Danske Gymnasieelevers Sammenslutning

E-mail: kontakt@dgsnet.dk

Address: Danske Gymnasieelevers Sammenslutning

Vibevej 31, 3. sal, 2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark

Joachim Stærk Ekstrand Federspiel

President

E-mail: Joachim@dgsnet.dk

Phone: +45 50 77 48 01

Josefine Johanna Renneberg Piontkowitz

International Officer

E-mail: Josefine@dgsnet.dk