The idea of the Order of the Smile was established in 1968 by the Polish magazine Kurier Polski, inspired by Wanda Chotomska.

In 1979 (announced by the UNESCO as the International Year of the Child) the Secretary-General of the United Nations Kurt Waldheim officially recognized the Order.

In 2003 an International Chapter of the Order of the Smile session took place outside the Warsaw headquarters in Świdnica, where the Child Friendship Center was being erected.

[2][3] Although most of the 59 members of the Chapter are of Polish descent, it includes representatives from other countries such as Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia, Sudan, Tunisia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

At the forefront of the International Chapter of the Order of Smile stands the Chancellor, Marek Michalak, who remains in this position since 19 January 2007.