Loading AI tools
Student organization in Europe From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The AEGEE, or Association des États Généraux des Étudiants de l'Europe (literally: Association of States General of Students of Europe), known as European Students' Forum in English, is the largest transnational, interdisciplinary student organisation in Europe.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2007) |
Logo of AEGEE-Europe | |
 Map of the AEGEE Network | |
| Abbreviation | AEGEE-Europe |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1985 |
| Type | Network for European students |
| Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
| Location | |
Membership | 13,000 |
Official language | English (working language) |
President | Leon Vreling |
Financial Director | Eren Geçkin |
| Eliise Haljas, Daria Rzepisko, Jan Jankowski | |
| Affiliations | European Youth Forum, European Movement International, Lifelong Learning Platform, European Civic Forum, Informal Forum of International Student Organizations, Council of Europe (participatory status), United Nations |
| Staff | 10 (7 in the European board + 3 staff) |
| Website | aegee aegee |
Formerly called | EGEE |
Established in 1985, AEGEE currently has around 13,000 yearly members[1] more than 200 local groups (Antennae)[1] in university cities across Europe, including Russia, Turkey and the Caucasus, with a European board and head office in Brussels. It promotes an equal, democratic and unified Europe, open to all across national borders. Several hundred conferences, training and cultural events are organised across the network every year, and AEGEE also advocates for the needs and interests of European students.
The short name "AEGEE" evokes the Aegean Sea, one of the birthplaces of democracy, and the full name includes the first parliament established in France, the États Généraux.[2]
AEGEE played a pivotal role in the creation of the Erasmus Programme in 1987.[3]
AEGEE has a yearly elected European board, the Comité Directeur[4] with a head office in Brussels, and a number of European-level working groups.[5] There is a large network of autonomous local groups, the antennae. Active members meet twice a year in Spring and Autumn in a general assembly called Agora, hosted by a different antenna each time. Most candidates for positions at the European level are elected at the Agora, which also ratifies the establishment or deletion of antennae, working groups and projects. There is also a smaller annual European Planning Meeting (EPM), intended to develop projects and campaigns and usually held in late winter: During the EPM, AEGEE also works on developing its Strategic Plan in an Action Agenda for the whole AEGEE network.
The association has no national level, and it does not recognize the current national borders within Europe.
Antennae are supported by the Network Commission, a group of experienced members elected by the Agora to help the network grow and develop. They provide advice, training and practical help, especially with local human resources and event organisation. Each Network Commissioner has responsibility for a number of locals across several national borders, which can be reorganised at each Agora to prevent the creation of any fixed national or regional division.
Each city antenna is a separate legal person under its own local law, not under the direct control of the Comité Directeur. However, to become a part of the AEGEE network, prospective antennae must include the principles of AEGEE's statute within their own, and have them approved by the Comité Directeur and Juridical Commission. They sign a contract called Convention d'Adhésion which allows AEGEE to have an antenna wound up in case of inactivity or serious misconduct.
Membership of an antenna is generally open to anyone younger than 35 living in the local area, upon payment of a membership fee set by the local board. Many antennae concentrate their promotional activities on students at their home university, and are not very visible to outsiders.
Most AEGEE events are open to non-members, however this tends to be poorly promoted except to local students. It is quite common for all participants to be from the host city or other AEGEE antennae. Some activities, most notably the statutory Agorae and EPMs and the Summer University project, are explicitly restricted to AEGEE members who must be approved by their home antenna's board.
AEGEE was founded in France and still uses a number of French terms, but the main working language at European level is now English, which is also defined as the official language of the Agora. Most antennae use their own local language for their local activities, however local board members generally need a working knowledge of English.
Its current board consists of five people. The statutory sixth and seventh board positions remain vacant until the next board takes office.
| Position | Name | AEGEE-Local | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Leon Vreling | Eindhoven |  Netherlands |
| Financial Director | Eren Geçkin | Izmir |  Turkey |
| Network Director | Eliise Haljas | Tartu |  Estonia |
| Communications Director | Daria Rzepisko | Kraków |  Poland |
| HR Director | Jan Jankowski | Warszawa | Poland |
Agora is AEGEE's general assembly, which takes place twice a year (usually in Spring and Autumn).
AEGEE-Europe is involved in bigger platforms and works with many other international institutions and organizations, in order to bring a students perspective to each one of the processes.
AEGEE-Europe is a full member of the European Youth Forum. AEGEE has had 2 representatives in its history in the Board of Directors of European Youth Forum.
AEGEE-Europe is also full member of the European Movement International (EMI).
AEGEE-Europe is also a full member in the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP).
AEGEE-Europe was founding member and currently board members of the European Civic Forum (ECF). AEGEE-Europe has been in the board of the ECF several terms, always represented by the President of AEGEE-Europe.
AEGEE-Europe works closely inside the Council of Europe. Since 2013 AEGEE is back-to-back an elected to be part of the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe. AEGEE is also involved in the Conference of INGOs and works closely with the Youth Department and the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.
AEGEE-Europe has consultative status at the United Nations, working closely with UNESCO, ECOSOC, UNEP, UNFPA, UNDP and other agencies and bodies.
AEGEE-Europe works with the World Bank, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe).
AEGEE-Europe is a member of IFISO (Informal Forum of International Student Organizations).
The association was born the 16 April 1985 as a result of the EGEE 1 conference (États Généraux des Étudiants de l'Europe), when it held its first event in Paris: an assembly of students from Paris, Leiden, London, Madrid, Milan and Munich, organised by founding president Franck Biancheri in cooperation with five Grandes Écoles in Paris. It had the aim to overcome the paralysis of the European integration process at the time. Franck Biancheri led the whole process and soon all students involved wanted to turn the EGEE conference into an organisation being the platform for young Europeans. The aim of the founders was to create a space for young Europeans to discuss European matters and present their ideas to both the European and national institutions.
Three EGEE working groups were formed: Sponsoring, Traineeships and Language Study.
EGEE persuades French president François Mitterrand to support funding for the Erasmus programme, a student exchange program financed by the European Commission.[6]
The association changes its name from EGEE to AEGEE following a trademark dispute.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Agora in Salerno opens up AEGEE to local antennae outside the European Community, making it one of the first European organisations to expand beyond the old Iron Curtain.
Les Anciens d'AEGEE-Europe is founded during the EGEE VI meeting in Paris.[7]
The first European School 1 training is organized in Madrid.
Istanbul has joined the network as the first Turkish antenna.
AEGEE gets official NGO status in the Council of Europe (CoE).
AEGEE develops its first website.
Ankara and later several other Turkish antennae join the network.
More than 1000 students are actively involved in the conference series Find Your Way... explaining what students can do in the emerging civil society in Central and Eastern Europe.
AEGEE organises its first visit to Cyprus. Following this, in 2001 an antenna is created in Famagusta.
AEGEE organizes a Case Study trip to Transilvania
Foundation of the AEGEE-Academy for training and human resources at Agora-Barcelona, prompted by preparations for the European School in Gießen
"Education for Democracy", a new scholarship programme helping students from war-shattered Kosovo to study at universities abroad.
AEGEE organises several major projects focusing on peace and stability in southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean region under the Education for Democracy project.
AEGEE launches one of the biggest and most successful projects: the Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue between 2002 and 2005. With the establishment of AEGEE locals in Turkey in the 1990s, AEGEE realized the necessity of establishing a dialogue between the neighbors in conflict. Based on its own experience and the tense relations between Turkish and Greek AEGEE members in those first days, AEGEE focused its activities on peace-building between two countries as an organisation acting for peace and stability, proving at the AEGEE scale that cooperation was possible and that the dialogue between people can happen much more easily that the dialogue between the political level.
AEGEE launches Discussing Bologna Process project getting ready for the start of the harmonization of higher education in Europe and bringing a strong student perspective to it. AEGEE's first study trip to the Caucasus.[9]
AEGEE starts a dialogue with the new neighbours of the enlarged EU in its project Europe & EU, conducted by the International Politics Working Group
AEGEE celebrates its 20th anniversary in Prague and publishes a special edition of its "Key to Europe".[11]
AEGEE starts a campaign to include the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) in the Treaty of Lisbon, and conducts several Election Observation Missions as part of its Flagship Project Take Control! – ways to democracy in Europe
AEGEE organised the simulation Model European Union in the premises of the 'European Parliament in Strasbourg.
AEGEE launches Y Vote 2009 – European Youth Choice to encourage voting for young people.
AEGEE wins 1st place in the European Charlemagne Youth Prize for its project YOUrope Needs YOU!!!
AEGEE organises the UN Millennium Development Goals Conference within the framework of the project Beyond Europe Perspectives for Tomorrow's World.
AEGEE initiates the Eastern Partnership Project to give youth a voice and to strengthen civil society in the wider neighbourhood countries.
AEGEE launches its project Europe on Track, sending ambassadors by train all over Europe to gather the opinion of the European Youth on the future they want for the continent.
AEGEE organizes its two first election observation missions to Bosnia and Hercegovina and Moldova.[19]
Between 8-12 March 2018, AEGEE Yerevan hosted the "European Planning Meeting" (EPM). EPM Yerevan 2018 was the largest European youth event ever organized in Armenia. It was also the first time that an AEGEE meeting was held in the South Caucasus.[20] Topics included cooperation between Armenia and the EU, EU relations with Eastern Partnership members, visa free travel within the Schengen Area, and youth participation in the Erasmus Programme.[21] The slogan for EPM Yerevan 2018 was Borderless Europe.
| Name | Antenna | Nationality | Period in office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franck Biancheri | Paris |  France |
April 1985 – April 1988 |
| Vieri Bracco | Milan |  Italy |
April 1988 – November 1988 |
| Frédéric Pélard | Toulouse | France |
November 1988 – November 1989 |
| Adolfo Dominguez | Madrid |  Spain |
November 1989 – May 1990 |
| Achim Boers | Delft | Netherlands |
May 1990 – November 1990 |
| Georg von der Gablentz | Berlin |  Germany |
November 1990 – April 1992 |
| Jeroen Hoogerwerf | Amsterdam | Netherlands |
April 1992 – April 1993 |
| Pavel Miladinovic | Prague |  Czech Republic |
April 1993 – November 1993 |
| Zsuzsa Kigyós | Budapest |  Hungary |
November 1993 – April 1994 |
| Dorian Selz | Geneve |  Switzerland |
April 1994 – November 1994 |
| Christina Thorsson | Lund |  Sweden |
November 1994 – April 1995 |
| Egens van Iterson Scholten | Enschede | Netherlands |
April 1995 – November 1995 |
| Christoph Strohm | Cologne | Germany |
November 1995 – April 1996 |
| Jordi Capdevila | Barcelona | Spain |
April 1996 – November 1996 |
| Gerhard Kress | Mainz | Germany |
November 1996 – April 1997 |
| Peter Ginser | Karlsruhe | Germany |
April 1997 – November 1997 |
| Sergio Caredda | Gorizia | Italy |
November 1997 – April 1998 |
| Hélène Berard | Aix-en-Provence | France |
April 1998 – October 1998 |
| Stefan Seidel | Augsburg | Germany |
October 1998 – April 1999 |
| László Fésüs | Szeged | Hungary |
April 1999 – November 1999 |
| Faní Zarifopoúlou | Athens |  Greece |
November 1999 – May 2000 |
| Oana Mailatescu | Cluj-Napoca |  Romania |
May 2000 – November 2000 |
| Karina Häuslmeier | Passau | Germany |
November 2000 – November 2001 |
| Pedro Panizo | Valladolid | Spain |
November 2001 – May 2002 |
| Tomek Helbin | Warsaw | Poland |
May 2002 – November 2002 |
| Mark de Beer | Enschede | Netherlands |
November 2002 – May 2003 |
| Diana Filip | Cluj-Napoca | Romania |
May 2003 – October 2003 |
| Adrian Pintilie | Bucharest | Romania |
October 2003 – April 2004 |
| Nicola Rega | Torino | Italy |
April 2004 – November 2004 |
| Silvia Baita | Cagliari | Italy |
November 2004 – May 2005 |
| Burcu Becermen | Ankara | Turkey |
May 2005 – November 2005 |
| Leon Bakraceski | Skopje |  North Macedonia |
November 2005 – May 2006 |
| Alistair De Gaetano | Valletta |  Malta |
May 2006 – November 2006 |
| Theijs van Welij | Utrecht | Netherlands |
November 2006 – December 2007 |
| Laure Onidi | Cologne | Germany |
December 2007 – September 2008 |
| Dragan Stojanovski | Niš |  Serbia |
September 2008 – August 2009 |
| Agata Patecka | Poznań | Poland |
September 2009 – August 2010 |
| Manos Valasis | Piraeus | Greece |
September 2010 – August 2011 |
| Alfredo Sellitti | Salerno | Italy |
September 2011 – May 2012 |
| Marko Grdosic | Zagreb |  Croatia |
May 2012 – August 2012 |
| Luis Alvarado Martínez | Las Palmas | Spain |
September 2012 – July 2014 |
| Paul L. Smits | Enschede | Netherlands |
August 2014 – July 2015 |
| Aleksandra Kluczka | Kraków | Poland |
August 2015 – July 2016 |
| Réka Salamon | Debrecen | Hungary |
August 2016 – July 2017 |
| Loes Rutten | Utrecht | Netherlands |
August 2017 – July 2018 |
| Spyros Papadatos | Ioannina | Greece |
August 2018 – May 2019 |
| Evrim Emiroglu | Eskişehir | Turkey |
May 2019 – July 2019 |
| Daniël Amesz | Leiden | Netherlands |
August 2019 – July 2020 |
| Diederik de Wit | Eindhoven | Netherlands |
August 2020 – July 2021 |
| Teddy van Amelsvoort | Eindhoven | Netherlands |
August 2021 – July 2022 |
| Filip Brunclik | Praha | Czech Republic |
August 2022 – May 2023 |
| Augustin Viot | Le Mans | France |
May 2023 – July 2023 |
| Kirsten Broekema | Groningen | Netherlands |
August 2023 – July 2024 |
| Leon Vreling | Eindhoven | Netherlands |
August 2024 – Present |
AEGEE consists out of two types of bodies: antennae and contacts.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
