65 years, 17 stops, and a whole lot of student engagement

After two weeks on our anniversary tour, we are left with one clear impression: student solidarity is alive and thriving.

August is over, and students are back in the lecture hall. They have settled into their timetables, picked up their reading lists, stressed about course requirements, and paid their solidarity contribution through the semester fee. Like students have been doing for the last 65 years.

Over the past few weeks, we have traveled across Norway on our anniversary tour, visiting 17 campuses. We have met hundreds of students and eaten a lot of cake. Much has changed since SAIH was established in the 1960s. Lectures and reading lists have gone digital, and student life looks very different than it once did. But one thing has remained the same: student solidarity.

Student solidarity is alive and well

It is easy to wonder what student engagement looks like today. After 17 stops, our impression is clear: it is alive and well. We met students who are concerned about the state of academic freedom around the world. They want to understand the challenges fellow students and academics face and are looking for ways to show their support.

Several students approached our stand before we even had the chance to introduce ourselves: “I know who you are.” Others told us that they always pay the “SAIH tenners,” or wanted to talk about countries they have a personal connection to and the situation facing students and academics there.

“I remember paying the tenners in 1988”

One of the most memorable aspects of this journey has been hearing how personal the SAIH contribution is for so many people. Some students proudly told us that they always pay the tenners, while others came by simply to thank us for the work we do. When we replied, “No, thank YOU,” their faces lit up.

We also met former students who are now professors. One of them smiled and said, “I remember paying the tenners in 1988.” For some, the scheme has been part of student life for decades.

A community built over 65 years

These encounters reminded us that this is not just SAIH’s story. It is a community that stretches across generations. For 65 years, students have chosen to stand in solidarity with students and academics around the world.

It is also students who keep this scheme alive, semester after semester. Meeting so many engaged students and SAIH activists over the past two weeks has been one of the highlights of the journey.

150 000 students contribute every year

A lot has changed over the past 65 years, but the SAIH contribution remains and continues to grow. Today, around 150,000 students choose to donate between NOK 20 and NOK 60 to SAIH through their semester fee. Together, they contribute more than NOK 11 million to the fight for higher education and academic freedom around the world.

When tens of thousands of students choose to contribute, semester after semester, small donations make a big difference.

To all the students who have paid the tenner, organized, shown up, and stood in solidarity with students and academics around the world: thank you.

You have helped write SAIH’s history. And you are helping write the next chapters.