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Students occupy schools and universities across Europe in climate protest

(The Guardian, 5 May 2023) Twenty-two institutions have been shut down as part of proposed month-long campaign.

A wave of student occupations has shut down schools and universities across Europe as part of a renewed youth protest campaign against inaction on climate breakdown. Twenty-two schools and universities across the continent have been occupied as part of a proposed month-long campaign.

In Germany, universities were occupied in Wolfenbüttel, Magdeburg, Münster, Bielefeld, Regensburg, Bremen and Berlin. In Spain, students in occupation at the Autonomous University of Barcelona organised teach-outs on climate change. In Belgium, 40 students occupied the University of Ghent. In the Czech republic, about 100 students camped outside the ministry of trade and industry. And in the UK occupations were under way at the universities of Leeds, Exeter and Falmouth.

But the most radical actions were taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, where youngsters occupied seven schools and two universities. On Thursday, occupying pupils forced one high school to remain closed for a third day, while students at the University of Lisbon’s faculty of humanities barricaded themselves in the dean’s office.

Young people also stopped traffic in the Portuguese capital with street blockades in solidarity with the occupations. The radical action comes despite harsh responses from teachers at one school who called police to evict pupils who began occupations last week.

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The Guardian, 5 May 2023: Students occupy schools and universities across Europe in climate protest