The Students' Union

The Students' Union, known in Italian as Unione degli Studenti (UdS), is an Italian student association focused primarily on the organization and representation of secondary-school students. It presents itself as an anti-fascist and left-wing movement and operates through student participation, collective organizing, and advocacy on education and wider social issues. Unlike a commercial brand, UdS is a membership-based civic and political organization rather than a producer of consumer goods. The association was established in 1994 through the merger of several student organizations and movements. These groups had emerged in the period following the dissolution of the Federazione Giovanile Comunista Italiana, the youth organization associated with the former Italian Communist Party. Its origins therefore lie in the reorganization of left-wing youth and student activism during a period of major change in Italy's political landscape. UdS has historically worked within broader networks of organized labor and student representation. Before 2007, it maintained cooperation with the Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL), Italy's largest trade-union confederation, and consequently had connections with the Unione degli Universitari (UDU), a prominent university student organization. The end of these relationships was followed by an internal division. A portion of former UdS members left and helped establish Rete degli Studenti. In 2008, that organization later joined with two other secondary-school student associations to create Rete degli Studenti Medi, which subsequently developed ties with CGIL and UDU. UdS is part of the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU), a European platform that facilitates cooperation among national school-student unions. This affiliation places the organization within a wider European student-movement environment while its direct activity remains centered on Italy. Its work is best understood as representational and campaign-oriented: it seeks to give school students a collective voice and to encourage participation in debates about education, student rights, and society. Publicly available reference material identifies Federica Corcione as the national coordinator following the organization's XVI Congress, held on August 1, 2026. Because leadership and internal structures can change through congresses and elections, this information should be treated as time-specific. The available material does not establish a commercial parent, owner, headquarters, revenue model, or listed status. The organization is therefore classified here as an active Italian student association rather than a corporate or product brand.

Unione degli Studenti, translated as The Students' Union and commonly abbreviated UdS, is an Italian association of school students with an anti-fascist and left-wing orientation. It belongs to the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions, or OBESSU, a European cooperation platform for national school-student unions. The organization was founded in 1994 through the merger of several student organizations and movements. Those constituent groups had formed after the dissolution of the Federazione Giovanile Comunista Italiana, the youth wing of the Italian Communist Party. UdS thus emerged from the effort to rebuild a national framework for student activism after the end of the earlier political structure. Its identity combined school-based representation with a broader commitment to left-wing and anti-fascist civic engagement. During the period before 2007, UdS cooperated with CGIL, Italy's largest trade-union confederation, and maintained a relationship with UDU, one of the country's principal university student unions. These links connected school-student organizing with wider labor and university movements. The relationship with CGIL later ended, and the change contributed to a division within UdS. Some former members left the organization and founded Rete degli Studenti. In 2008, Rete degli Studenti merged with two other high-school student associations to establish Rete degli Studenti Medi. That successor organization subsequently formed a pact with CGIL and UDU, creating a distinct organizational path from UdS. UdS continued to be identified as a national student association operating in Italy and participating in European school-student cooperation through OBESSU. Its role is not commercial: it organizes students, articulates their interests, and provides a platform for advocacy and participation. The available reference material does not provide a complete chronology of its campaigns, congresses, officeholders, membership, or organizational finances. The organization's XVI Congress took place on August 1, 2026, according to the supplied reference material. Following that congress, Federica Corcione was identified as the national coordinator. Since this date is later than many standard historical references, leadership details should be revisited against a current organizational source before being treated as permanent.

• 2026

  XVI Congress and new national coordinator

  [1]Unione degli Studentien.wikipedia.org

  The XVI Congress was reported as taking place on August 1, 2026, after which Federica Corcione was identified as national coordinator.

• 2008

  Formation of Rete degli Studenti Medi

  [1]Unione degli Studentien.wikipedia.org

  Rete degli Studenti joined two other high-school student associations to create Rete degli Studenti Medi, which later developed ties with CGIL and UDU.

• 2007

  End of cooperation with CGIL and resulting split

  [1]Unione degli Studentien.wikipedia.org

  Cooperation between UdS and CGIL ended around this period, and the change was followed by an internal division and the departure of members who later established Rete degli Studenti.

• 1994

  Foundation through organizational merger

  [1]Unione degli Studentien.wikipedia.org

  Unione degli Studenti was formed by merging several student organizations and movements that had developed after the dissolution of the Federazione Giovanile Comunista Italiana.

A left-wing, anti-fascist Italian organization for school-student representation, collective action, and civic participation.

• 2007

  Separation from CGIL-linked cooperationStrategy

  Background

  UdS had previously cooperated with CGIL and, through that relationship, with UDU. The supplied reference material states that these relationships ended before an internal division in the organization.

  Action taken

  The organization moved away from its prior cooperation framework, while some former members departed and founded Rete degli Studenti.

  Aftermath

  The split contributed to a differentiated landscape of Italian school-student organizations; Rete degli Studenti later became part of the 2008 formation of Rete degli Studenti Medi.

  Source

• 2026

  Federica Corcione identified as national coordinator after the XVI Congress[1]Unione degli Studentien.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change

  Reference material states that Federica Corcione became national coordinator following the organization's XVI Congress on August 1, 2026.

1. 1Unione degli Studentien.wikipedia.org