Established in 1985, AEGEE currently has around 13,000 yearly members[1] more than 200 local groups (Antennae)[1] in university cities across Europe, including Russia, Turkey and the Caucasus, with a European board and head office in Brussels.
Several hundred conferences, training and cultural events are organised across the network every year, and AEGEE also advocates for the needs and interests of European students.
The short name "AEGEE" evokes the Aegean Sea, one of the birthplaces of democracy, and the full name includes the first parliament established in France, the États Généraux.
[3] AEGEE has a yearly elected European board, the Comité Directeur[4] with a head office in Brussels, and a number of European-level working groups.
Active members meet twice a year in Spring and Autumn in a general assembly called Agora, hosted by a different antenna each time.
Most candidates for positions at the European level are elected at the Agora, which also ratifies the establishment or deletion of antennae, working groups and projects.
Some activities, most notably the statutory Agorae and EPMs and the Summer University project, are explicitly restricted to AEGEE members who must be approved by their home antenna's board.
AEGEE-Europe is involved in bigger platforms and works with many other international institutions and organizations, in order to bring a students perspective to each one of the processes.
AEGEE-Europe has consultative status at the United Nations, working closely with UNESCO, ECOSOC, UNEP, UNFPA, UNDP and other agencies and bodies.
AEGEE-Europe works with the World Bank, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe).
Franck Biancheri led the whole process and soon all students involved wanted to turn the EGEE conference into an organisation being the platform for young Europeans.
EGEE persuades French president François Mitterrand to support funding for the Erasmus programme, a student exchange program financed by the European Commission.
AEGEE launches Discussing Bologna Process project getting ready for the start of the harmonization of higher education in Europe and bringing a strong student perspective to it.
[11] AEGEE starts a campaign to include the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) in the Treaty of Lisbon, and conducts several Election Observation Missions as part of its Flagship Project Take Control!
AEGEE organises the UN Millennium Development Goals Conference within the framework of the project Beyond Europe Perspectives for Tomorrow's World.
AEGEE initiates the Eastern Partnership Project to give youth a voice and to strengthen civil society in the wider neighbourhood countries.