Key 20 - AEGEE Europe

20 years - 20 facts
Did you know that...
1 AEGEE is a non-governmental and politically independent
non-profit organisation.
2 AEGEE's main aim is to develop an open and tolerant society
by promoting co-operation, communication and integration
among young people in Europe and beyond?
3 AEGEE started in 1985 with students from nine Western
European cities and currently comprises around 17.000 members
in more than 250 local branches of 42 European countries.
Since 1985, 70,000 students have been members.
4 AEGEE members are not only students of all faculties but
also young professionals.
5 You can find former AEGEE members holding important
positions in international institutions, running their own
businesses as consultant and in the media sector.
6 AEGEE's headquarters have been situated in Brussels
since 1996, a short tram ride from the EU institutions.
7 AEGEE does not have a national level, just a local and
European level.
8 AEGEE has always been quick to take advantage of new
technology, using internet telephone software, electronic
membership and digital voting systems.
9 AEGEE has been taken part in politics at the highest
levels, promoting ideals such as openness in higher education,
peace and stability, active citizenship and cultural
exchange while staying independent of all parties.
10 AEGEE has always been a pioneer regarding its
thematic focus, dealing with issues such as European
credit transfer systems, European defence policy, the
Middle East, ecology, international job mobility,
European economy, extra-European relations,
AIDS and human rights.
11 AEGEE is not only active on the European
continent but also deals with issues such as
transatlantic co-operation.
20th Anniversary
12 AEGEE has been one of the decisive forces behind
the creation and continuity of the Erasmus programme.
Without AEGEE, 1,220,000 Erasmus students
between 1989 and 2004 might not have had the
chance to study abroad.
13 AEGEE lobbied successfully on the topcs of education,
peace and stability, while counting on the support of Europeans
such as François Mitterand and Mikhail Gorbachev.
14 AEGEE has consultative status at the UN, operational
status at UNESCO, consultative status at ECOSOC and
participatory status with the Council of Europe. AEGEE is
also a member of the European Youth Forum and has close
relations with OSCE and the World Bank.
15 AEGEE was one of the first European NGO's to expand
beyond the iron curtain.
16 AEGEE offered support to students in Bosnia, supported
democracy movements such as in Serbia and in Ukraine and set
up a grant programme for students from the Balkans.
17 AEGEE was one of the first European NGO's to accept local
branches in Turkey.
18 AEGEE organises around 250 international conferences and
other events per year. A total of more than 200,000 students took
part in an AEGEE event so far.
19 AEGEE's Summer Universities have given more than 50,000
students a unique European vacation.
20 AEGEE has made special professions for disabled people to join
all its activities and projects.
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