Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de l'Europe
AEGEE is one of the biggest interdisciplinary student associations in Europe; it is represented by 15 000 students, active in 235 academic cities, in 40 countries all around Europe and beyond. AEGEE is a secular, non-profit organization, not linked to any political party. All projects and activities are based on the voluntary work of its members.
The aims of AEGEE are:
- to promote a unified Europe without prejudices
- to strive for creating an open and tolerant society of today and tomorrow
- to foster democracy, human rights, tolerance, cross-boarder co-operation, mobility and European dimension in education
Main fields of action:
Activities:
- Projects: Many of AEGEE's activities are organised into extended projects dealing with a single topic of special interest selected by the whole association. Most projects represent a mix of different activity types, and are carefully designed to maximise the combined impact of the activities. Recent examples include "Education for Democracy" (2001-2005), "Youth & Globalisation" (2003), EU & Europe (2004), "EuroIslam" (2005) and "Tolerance-Acceptance-Peace" (2005).
- Summer Universities – unique international summer courses, successfully carried out by AEGEE already for 17 years! Every year, in around 100 places all over Europe, multicultural groups of 20-50 young people, enjoy together the wonders of cultural variety. They can focus on: art, history, languages, nature or sports.
- Action Days -at the same time, all over Europe AEGEE locals carry out various activities, which deal with one topic and together provide a greater visibility and impact than the events could individually, e.g.: Socrates Action Day, European Day of Languages or Dance Action Day
- Conferences - on a wide variety of topics, usually relating to one of the Main Fields of Action (see above) and often linked to other activities on the same topic. Conferences aim to inform participants about the topic and, where possible, encourage the development of new ideas.
- Case Study Trips - research trips usually intended to develop general and specific knowledge, ideas and contacts for future projects in a chosen region of special interest.
- Training courses – AEGEE offers to its members a highly developed training system with about 8 international courses (different types of "European Schools") and many local training courses per year. Training courses are a tool of knowledge transfer within the organization, help members to develop their personal skills and complement formal education with practical knowledge and skills.
Structure – no national level:
In order to really promote international co-operation and avoid creating any physical or mental borders AEGEE does not recognize any national level or national administration in its unique organizational structure, which is based on:
- Local level – where people from the 260 autonomic AEGEE locals directly implement AEGEE aims in a way that serves best the needs of their local community
- European level – which gives the great common frame and direction for all local activities and provides a platform for international co-operation in multicultural teams
Members from the local level can directly get involved in the European Working Groups, Project Teams and Commissions.
Last but not least, AEGEE is made of highly motivated young people, who work for what they believe in. In return they get personal satisfaction from having a positive influence on the world around them, and gather experience which enriches their whole life. The dream of Europe without borders has inspired and continues to inspire generations of students from the Caucasus to the Atlantic.
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