|
AEGEE stands for Association des Etats Generaux des Etudiants de l'Europe - the European Students' Forum. AEGEE takes its name from one of the birthplaces of democracy, the Aegean Sea, and the first parliament established at the dawn of the French Revolution, Les Etats Generaux. Members: 17,000 (students and young professionals from every field) Active members: 1,500 (5-7 members in each local AEGEE - CD) Finance: The European Commission, The Council of Europe, and national and local institutions, sponsors, membership fees, participation fees to different events. Structure: Every spring and every autumn, AEGEE organizes a General Assembly (Agora), during which, 9 members of the European Board of Directors in Brussels (known as the Comite Directeur - CD) are elected, members coming from at least 5 different countries. Objective: AEGEE promotes a unified Europe. It strives for cross-border co-operation, communication, and integration among students and to create an open and tolerant society. Nature: A voluntary, non-profit, financially independent, irreligious secular organization, operating without being linked to any political party. Principles: Democracy, tolerance, transparency, and efficiency. Domains: 4 pillars: Higher Education, Cultural Exchange, Active Citizenship, Peace and Stability. Area of activity: 256 university cities in 40 European countries. Methods: It is European by not using a national level. It solely relies on local groups, called antennae. This structure tries to erase the existence of mental borders between students coming from all over Europe.
Means: European projects, Case Studies, Summer Universities, Training Events, conferences, seminaries, reports, books, meetings with personalities, internet, press releases. Official Acknowledgment: AEGEE enjoys support from European Commission. It has also consultative status at the Council of Europe and the UN. AEGEE is member of the European Youth Forum and co-operates with UNESCO. Relations with the press: Most of the AEGEE events are mentioned in the local, national and European press. Patrons:
Josep Maria Bricall
Kenneth J.R. Edwards
Bronislaw Geremek
Arpad Goncz
Mikhail Gorbachev
Vaclav Havel
Gyorgy Konrad
Catherine Lalumiere
Jacques Santer
Rita Sussmuth
Wolfgang Thierse
Daniel Tarschys
|
