What does it mean?
AEGEE stands for Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de l’Europe. It is also sometimes referred to as the European Students’ Forum
The main steps
AEGEE was founded in 1985 in Paris, It has lobbied for the initiation of ERASMUS programme in 1987 in Paris, AEGEE is the biggest interdisciplinary students’ association in Europe!
The structure and the people
Today AEGEE has approximately 15.000 members in currently 224 local groups spread all over Europe in 43 countries. AEGEE’s main pillars are Active Citizenship, Peace and Stability, Higher Education and Cultural Exchange. AEGEE does not have a national level in its structure. Our members work at local level, directly implementing AEGEE aims in a way that serves best the needs of their local community, and at European level, which gives the great common frame and direction for all local activities and provides a platform for international cooperation on cross border initiatives.
Active Citizenship: Recognising the need to be well informed about the issues which shape our future and to contribute to the development of democratic attitude, AEGEE has always kept the pace with the hottest topics on the European agenda. For example, AEGEE was one of the frontrunners in expressing its view on education and mobility during the hearing on Youth Policy of the European Commission in February 2001. AEGEE members are also environmentally aware citizens: in 2008/09 they worked on the flagship project Sustaining our Future. In 2008 AEGEE started YOUrope needs YOU! project, teaching young Europeans how to be multipliers of active citizenship in high schools all over the continent. In 2009, AEGEE run Y Vote 2009, the biggest campaign by and for young people for European Parliament elections.
Cultural Exchange: The most successful AEGEE project, lasting almost as long as the organisation itself, is the Summer University (SU) project. SUs are organised by most local branches of the network and give life to the cultural exchange in AEGEE. Apart from the SUs many other cultural projects and activities take place all over Europe. Among them one can mention: Find Europe (2003-2007), Euro-Islam and Performing Arts Summer School - both initiated in 2004. Also, every year AEGEE locals engage in a great number of exchanges among each other.
Higher Education: Education started in 1987 when AEGEE began supporting the Socrates Programme of the EU. Believing that mobility was one of the most important tools to develop higher education in Europe, many AEGEE members participate in such schemes, thereby building the foundations of a future European society. AEGEE contributed to the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education (Paris, 1998 and 2009). AEGEE worked with ESU and ESN on the Socrates on the Move project and got involved in the Bologna Process implementation. In 2007 AEGEE worked on the flagship project Education Unlimited, which focused on higher education. In 2008 AEGEE published the Non-Formal Education Book, which enjoyed very good feedback within European institutions and other organisations.
Peace and Stability: Spreading knowledge on democracy, tolerance and open-mindedness, AEGEE has always had quite an important role when it comes to Peace and Stability. AEGEE projects which focused upon achieving this particular goal include the Peace Academy in 1999, as well as Education for Democracy. The latter project aims to allow an exchange of students from conflict-ridden areas into EU countries to study and develop an objective viewpoint on the issues that they face in their everyday lives. In the years 2002-2004 the Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue project took place. In the year 2005 the Year Plan Topic was Stability through conflict understanding, with the main project Tolerance – Acceptance – Peace.
The beliefs & activities
AEGEE aims to promote European co-operation and integration among young people, especially those in the student world. AEGEE is a secular, non-profit, financially and ideologically independent organisation. AEGEE is not linked to any political party, but it carries out pro-European projects with an aim - European integration - that have direct influence on European policies. AEGEE has six Focus Areas: three Thematical and three Organisational. AEGEE members organise and participate in a wide range of activities such as conferences, seminars, exchanges, training courses, case study trips and street actions, as well as various other types of meetings and the well known Summer Universities. AEGEE members from local level can get directly involved in the European Working Groups, Project Teams and Commissions.
There are three statutory meetings per year
The European Boards’ Meeting (EBM)
The EBM (200-400 participants) involves AEGEE Antennae in the projects and activities of the European Bodies of AEGEE, providing a platform for interaction. At the EBM the Action Agenda for the whole year is prepared. The activities contained in the AA, which must relate to at least one of the Focus Areas, are discussed and finally voted upon in the plenary session.
The Agora
A Spring Agora and an Autumn Agora. The Agora is the General Assembly of the association, gathering 600-1000 students for four days. The Agenda of the Agora is composed of:
Plenary Sessions
Prytania (meetings in which proposals for changes to the statutes are discussed)
Workshops
Other Sessions (e.g. Progress Meetings)
Each Antenna is obliged to send its delegates to at least two of these meetings per year!
Comité Directeur
The Comité Directeur or European board of directors is the executive body of AEGEE-Europe. It directs and represents the association and co-ordinates its work. It runs its daily duties and manages the internal and external affairs of AEGEE-Europe. The head office, where the elected members move to for one year, is located in Brussels (Belgium), Rue Nestor de Tière 15. The Comité Directeur consists of up to seven members elected by the AEGEE locals at the Spring Agora for a period of one year, who start their terms only on 1st of September, after a transition month with the old board.
Commissions
Members of the Commissions are elected by the Agora. Their aim is to supervise the accomplishment of the rules which direct the functioning of AEGEE.
Audit Commission: They check the accounting of AEGEE-Europe and AEGEE locals (in special cases) and presents their findings to each Agora.
Juridical Commission: It verifies the conformity of the statutes of each AEGEE local with the guidelines defined by AEGEE-Europe and integrates the modifications of the statutes adopted by the Agora
Member Commission: It investigates in cases that require legitimate action caused by problems between AEGEE-bodies (but not individual people) and provides advice when necessary. As a result of an investigation upon a case, MemCom can suggest sanctions (including deletion), to be ratified by the Agora.
Network Commission: It is responsible for the contact with the network, working in co-operation with the Network Director. They are the ones that will pay locals a visit or communicate with them if they need support. NetCom takes measures to help threatened locals and supports new ones, while motivating Antennae to fulfil Antennae Criteria. Each NetCommie organises a Network Meeting (NWM), which aims at gathering (cooperation), training (learning experience) and solving (locals’ problems). They are the perfect opportunity to discuss common activities and share experience.
Working Groups
Working Groups consist of AEGEE members cooporating across borders on a project. There are many themes - from international politics, to European cultures and human rights. AEGEE Working Groups offer platforms for discussion and creating initiatives. Currently, there are 11 Working Groups in AEGEE: Academy, Culture Working Group, Education Working Group, Human Rights Working Group, International Politcs Working Group, BoBiGoSa, Dance Working Group, Environmental Working Group, Information Technology Working Group, Public Relations Working Group, Visa Freedom Working Group.
To join a Working Group, go to http://www.aegee.org/wg . Choose the Working Group you wish to join and fill out the application form. The application will be sent to the board of the Working Group. When your application has been accepted, you will recieve an e-mail and you will automatically be subscribed to the mailing list of the Working Group.