In Europe

AEGEE was established in 1985 in Paris during a conference that aimed to fight the scepticism around the Euro and to give the European integration a positive stimulus. A number of young and idealistic people gathered and decided that Europe needed an international youth organisation. That is how AEGEE was created. 

The acronym AEGEE stands for the French name 'Association des États Généraux des Étudiants de l'Europe', which in short means: European Student Association. The name AEGEE derives from the place where democracy began 2000 years ago: the Aegean Sea. The purpose of AEGEE is to promote the integration and cooperation among young people, especially among students from the entire European continent. AEGEE strives to achieve this goal through its network.

Network
These days, AEGEE-Europe has a network of approximately 200 local associations with a total of 12,000 members in more than 40 countries throughout Europe. AEGEE-Enschede is one of the largest and strongest local associations in this network. Each year, the various locals (student associations) organise various events in the network. These activities are promoted in the entire network and people from the various countries and cultures participate in these events. A very special atmosphere is always created when so many different young people from all over Europe get together. It is an atmosphere of inquisitiveness about each other’s culture, making new friends and shared feelings about Europe and its population.

One of the greatest projects of AEGEE is the Summer Universities. These are 2-week exchange programmes in the summer holidays in which students from various countries meet with each other for intensive but amazing programmes with culture, workshops and social events. These Summer Universities are offered at very reasonable costs and are attended by many members of AEGEE.