AEGEE-Europe
What is AEGEE-Europe?
You may have seen the word appear once or twice on this website. It is the European umbrella association we are part of, and it plays a quite significant part in our existence! Below you can find all basic information about all the ins and outs of the association – all the different European bodies of AEGEE, the structure of the association, as well as a bit of history. You will also learn how to become active at the European level!
AEGEE-Europe & its History
AEGEE is one of Europe’s biggest interdisciplinary student organisations, striving for a democratic, diverse and borderless Europe. As a non-governmental, politically independent, and non-profit organisation, AEGEE is open to students and young people from all faculties and disciplines. Founded in 1985 in Paris, today AEGEE has grown to a Network of 11 000 AEGEEans, present in +100 cities in 40 countries all over Europe. AEGEE-Europe implements their mission through various projects. The most successful being the Summer Universities: a very affordable, fun type of event that takes place during the summer of 1-2 weeks in most of the cities that AEGEE is present in.
The association was founded on 16 April 1985 as a result of the EGEE I conference in Paris by a group of students led by Frank Biancheri. EGEE quickly grew in its founding years and after three years it already had a presence in 72 cities. Due to a name collision with a French company, the name of EGEE was changed to AEGEE in 1988.
*Night of seven antennas (video conference), 1986
The structure
To make sure this large network keeps running smoothly, a special structure has been created over the years to make sure everything runs well. Twice a year, AEGEE organises an Agora. This is a General Members Meeting for all members of AEGEE-Europe. New plans and proposals are discussed here, and the Comité Directeur (board of AEGEE-Europe) is elected. Just like AEGEE-Barcelona, AEGEE-Europe has various committees, commissions and working groups that keep the organisation running. Examples are the Network Commission, HR-Committee, Communications Committee, Eco-Responsible Society Working Group and many more.
As a member of AEGEE, you can become a part of these European bodies. If you want to learn more on how to become active on the European level, send an email to aegee-barcelona@aegee.eu.
The Thematic Side
Every three years AEGEE-Europe drafts a Strategic Plan to give shape to their values. This plan consists of a few thematic focus areas. These can cover topics like mental health, sustainability, or equal rights. To put the thematic focus areas of the Strategic Plan into practice within the Network, each year a new Action Agenda is developed during the European Planning Meeting (EPM). In this Action Agenda, concrete goals are given for the aims of the focus areas to be worked on in the next year. These goals give directions to all kinds of bodies in AEGEE – the Working Groups working on the topics, the Comité Directeur, but also all of the locals in the network. The focus areas for 2023-2026 are Digital Culture, Eco-Responsible Society and Bridges of Dialogue.