AIESEC

'AIESEC', (pronounced as one word; originally an acronym for ''Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales'') is an international non-profit organisation run by students and recent graduates of institutions of higher education. It describes itself as "The international platform for young people to discover and develop their potential so as to have a positive impact on society". Its international office is currently in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The AIESEC network as of April 2007 includes 23,000 students in 100 countries at over 1100 universities across the globe.'AIESEC in Numbers' Retrieved 11 April 2007.

Contents

History

AIESEC Today

Footnotes

References

History

After World War II, in 1946, students from 9 universities in six countries met in Liège, Belgium, with the intention of fostering a new form of international cooperation. They created the ''Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques'' (AIESE). Its aim was to establish relations between students all over the world, in order to build peace between the countries and to fight against racial discriminations providing to its members wide traineeships and exchange opportunities.
Jaroslav Zich, a Czech, was elected its first president. The new association was first headquartered in Prague, Czechoslovakia but had to leave the country within a year in order to stay politically neutral after the communists gained power. Its headquarters moved to Brussels, Belgium and in the late 1990s moved to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where they remain today.
In 1949 a second congress was held in Stockholm. Seven countries attended it: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, The Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The representatives signed the association's foundation document. The name was changed slightly to ''Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales''.
The name ''Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales'' was supplanted by the acronym AIESEC, because many of its members were not Commerce or Economics students.

AIESEC Today

AIESEC is the world's largest student-run organisation^[1][2]. It describes itself as being "global, non-political, independent, not-for-profit". It comprises students and recent graduates of institutions of higher education interested in leadership, management and global issues. The organization's values forbid unfair discrimination, and its aim is to work towards the organisational vision of 'peace and the fulfilment of humankind's potential'.
Each country (or sometimes group of countries, or territories within a country) with an AIESEC presence has its own national "Member Committee" (MC), which coordinates activities for that area. Members also belong to a Local Committee (LC) for each university or city.

Footnotes

1. 'TCS: Chasing growth with care', IndiaTimes InfoTech, retrieved 18 April 2007
2. 'Entrepreneurship opportunities at Entrepreneurship Expo 2007', The Star Online, retrieved 18 April 2007

References

★ AIESEC International

★ AIESEC Global Communities Platform