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AegeeAEGEE, (French: Association des Etats Gnraux des Etudiants de l’Europe), the European Students' Forum, is one of Europe's largest interdisciplinary student organisations. It takes its name from the Aegean sea, one of the birthplaces of democracy, and from the first parliament established at the dawn of the French Revolution, the "Etats Gnraux." Description The association was established in 1985, and now has about 17 000 members in 260 university cities in 42 countries throughout Europe. AEGEE promotes a unified Europe, cross-border co-operation, communication and integration in the academic environment. It is not linked to any political party, and has no national structures, operating only on the local and European levels. History The association was born in 1985 at the first EGEE event: an assembly in Paris of students from Paris, Leiden, London, Madrid, Milan and Munich, organised by its founder, Franck Biancheri. In 1987 AEGEE-Europe obtained an important result, by successfully persuading Franois Mitterrand to support funding for the Erasmus programme, a student exchange program financed by the European Commission. In 1988 the association changed the name from EGEE to AEGEE. In 1989 AEGEE was one of the first European organisations to expand beyond the old Iron Curtain into Eastern Europe. In 1995 the head office of the organisation moved to Brussels, and Ankara and all other cities in Turkey was accepted into the network. In 1998 AEGEE organised its first visit to Cyprus; AEGEE-Magusa (Famagusta) joined the association in 2001. In 2001 and 2002 AEGEE organised several major projects focusing on peace and stability in South East Europe and in the Mediterranean region. 2003 saw AEGEE's first study trip to the Caucasus. AEGEE-Europe organised the first international student conference in the buffer zone on Cyprus. Activities AEGEE organises a wide range of projects, most of which relate to one of four main fields of action: Active Citizenship, Higher Education, Peace & Stability, and Cultural Exchange. Active Citizenship AEGEE is an independent non-party political organisation, working closely with governments, institutions and other NGOs to realise its goals for Europe. AEGEE aims to provide a political voice for its members at every level, organising conferences on a range of topics and using the results to lobby European institutions. Higher Education AEGEE represents students who care about the European dimension of higher education. As well as encouraging student mobility, AEGEE supports language learning, promotes international cooperation in the academic world, and campaigns for the further development of European education programmes. Peace and Stability By encouraging democratic ideals, tolerance and mutual understanding between young adults from communities in conflict, AEGEE contributes to conflict resolution in the Balkans, the Caucasus, on Cyprus, and in Greece and Turkey. AEGEE also organises conferences and seminars on international political issues. Cultural Exchange Building respect and appreciation between people of different cultures is core to all of AEGEE's work. AEGEE sees this field of action as the core of European integration, believing that integration can never be a top-down process, but must be based on friendship among the peoples of Europe. AEGEE groups organise a substantial number of cultural exchange events every year. External links
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