Ipen receives The Student Peace Prize in Trondheim, Norway
Members of Ipen during the Student Peace Prize Ceremony in Norway as part of the International Students Festival in Trondheim. Photo: SAIH Norway.
On Sunday, March 16, the Iniciativa Puentes por los Estudiantes de Nicaragua (Ipen) received the Student Peace Prize in a ceremony in Trondheim, Norway. This recognition is awarded by the International Students Festival (ISFiT), the Norwegian Students' Union (NSO), and the Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund (SAIH), on behalf of all Norwegian students.
After receiving the award, Ipen expressed words of gratitude to the student communities of both Nicaragua and Norway.
Speech delivered by Ipen on March 16, 2025:
Student Peace Prize Ceremony
Good evening dear students, friends and special guests.
It is an honor to be here with you tonight.
We would like to start by expressing our gratitude to ISFiT, the National Union of Students in Norway (NSO), and the Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund (SAIH) for awarding the Student Peace Prize to Ipen this year.
Seven years ago, when we, the students, decided to join the civil rebellion demanding freedom, justice, and democracy in Nicaragua, we never imagined the immense challenges we would face in the years that followed: persecution, the destruction of our life projects, and exile. However, the solidarity we have received since then is invaluable.
Being students and receiving this recognition on behalf of all students in Norway sends a powerful message: Students are the light and hope when those who use power to dominate try to plunge the world into darkness.
Students in Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba, Peru, Chile, Guatemala, Colombia, Norway, and all over the world are using their power to promote peace, human rights, and democracy.
Thank you for dreaming of a free Nicaragua as much as we do.
The independent student movement was the vital force in the social outbreak in April 2018. The repression of the Sandinista autocracy over the civil society was brutal. At least 355 citizens were killed, of which 45 were students; more than 2,000 people have been political prisoners; at least 450 denationalized; more than 3,000 NGO were arbitrarily closed; at least 150 students were expelled from public universities; more than 30 privates universities were arbitrarily confiscated (before there were over 50), affecting an approximate population of 40,000 students (an amount close to the student population in Trondheim). This multidimensional crisis has caused an exodus of 10% of the country's total population (estimated at 6.8 million people).
Currently, Nicaraguan universities are under total control by a family-State; these are indoctrination centers, reproducing ruling party propaganda and deliberately shaping low quality education. In fact, the philosophy degree has been removed from the higher education system. The Nicaraguan students in exile are facing several barriers to access higher education and to integrating fully into host communities, such as: lack of information, economic, migration and bureaucratic barriers. We need more educational cooperation and international solidarity.
Students are the birds of hope, the tigers of struggle and the chrysalides of change. We don’t want oppressive utopias anymore; our practical ideal is to design free universities with free students in a free society. We don’t believe in the power of guns and violence; we strongly believe, as a philosophy of action, in the power of education and knowledge as key factors for the democratic transition, prosperity and human development. ¡Long life students! ¡Qué vivan los estudiantes!
Despite the deprivation of their academic rights and the challenges of forced displacement in a context of repression, Nicaraguan students have continued to fight for the recognition of their rights.
From Ipen we stand in solidarity with the experiences of Nicaraguan students and work with the commitment to restore hope in the continuity of their higher education. We understand the socioeconomic difficulties they face and the importance of strengthening democratic values. We believe in the transformative power of education to build a fairer future and contribute to social development. Listening to their voices not only dignifies their life experiences but also is a step towards the restoration of their rights.
We build bridges because being a student with critical thinking and commitment in a country like Nicaragua should not mean losing your life, facing political imprisonment, being expelled from university, having your academic record erased, being forced to migrate, or seeing your life projects destroyed.
Tonight we receive this award with pride and joy, as an honour that we dedicate to the Nicaraguan student population who have been key in the resistance against authoritarianism in our country and who have courageously assumed the personal and social commitment to be actors of change who envision a free, prosperous and democratic Nicaragua.
We emphatically convey this award to the students killed in the context of the protests in Nicaragua by the repressive forces of the state and the Sandinista dictatorship, as well as to their families and loved ones; we also dedicate it to those who, for raising their voices and fighting for justice, freedom, democracy, education and academic freedom, were unjustly imprisoned, expelled from their universities and forced into exile.
Youth, students... Nicaragua, this award is yours.
Many thanks to all the people and organisations that have supported Ipen's mission, as well as those who have expressed their solidarity with our country and Nicaraguans forced into exile.
We are living complex times worldwide; today more than ever, solidarity, unity and the promotion of values of freedom, brotherhood and human rights, must be strongly manifested against authoritarianism, warmongering and hatred. We encourage you to use your power for the good of all.
Thank you very much.
