SOAS Students’ Union welcomed a group of fifteen Libyan students to talk about the challenges and issues in running and setting up new Student Unions’ in their institutions. They were over on a fact finding mission sponsored by the British Council looking at supporting Libyan students and future leaders after the fall of Gaddafi. SOAS SU Co-President Welfare & Education Arianna Tassinari talked at length about the issues British SU’s face, and how to organise and set up a Union, and there was also a contribution from NUS Vice President Society and Citizenship, Dannie Grufferty. There followed a long conversation including the new Co-President Sports & Societies Keiko Ono, and Co-President Finance & Communications, Harrison Lanigan-Coyte. This conversation touched on the issues facing Libyan universities, the transition to a new system and how to run fair elections. A number of the students also recounted their experience voting for the first time in the elections which took place in Libya last Sunday.
