Initiative of Critical Students
Encyclopedia
The Initiative of Critical Students (de
: Aktion kritischer SchülerInnen, AKS) is a left-wing school students' organization in Austria
. The AKS demands a "socially equal, democratic and fear-free" school
and society
.
Chairperson of the AKS is Iris Schwarzenbacher (since June 2009). The AKS is organized in the federal organization
, nine state
organizations and local groups.
organization and advocates an "open, solidly and pacifist society", in which no one has advantages or disadvantages due to origin, gender, sexual orientation or material or religious background.
It tries to motivate students to think critically
about the world they live in, question authorities
, rules and conventions and reflect implicitnesses. The AKS sees school as a part of society which forms the next generation and thereby is a major factor in a society's development.
Representing student's interests, AKS organizes seminars, offers support and law advice for students as well as advanced education outside schools. Important parts of the work of AKS are being part in local, state-wide and federal student representation boards, supporting local chapters and working in student newspapers.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Aktion kritischer SchülerInnen, AKS) is a left-wing school students' organization in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The AKS demands a "socially equal, democratic and fear-free" school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
and society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
.
Chairperson of the AKS is Iris Schwarzenbacher (since June 2009). The AKS is organized in the federal organization
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
, nine state
States of Austria
Austria is a federal republic made up of nine states, known in German as Länder . Since Land is also the German word for a country, the term Bundesländer is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constitution of Austria uses both terms...
organizations and local groups.
Political background
The AKS sees itself as a progressiveProgressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
organization and advocates an "open, solidly and pacifist society", in which no one has advantages or disadvantages due to origin, gender, sexual orientation or material or religious background.
It tries to motivate students to think critically
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is the process or method of thinking that questions assumptions. It is a way of deciding whether a claim is true, false, or sometimes true and sometimes false, or partly true and partly false. The origins of critical thinking can be traced in Western thought to the Socratic...
about the world they live in, question authorities
Authority
The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
, rules and conventions and reflect implicitnesses. The AKS sees school as a part of society which forms the next generation and thereby is a major factor in a society's development.
Representing student's interests, AKS organizes seminars, offers support and law advice for students as well as advanced education outside schools. Important parts of the work of AKS are being part in local, state-wide and federal student representation boards, supporting local chapters and working in student newspapers.