AIESEC HISTORY
In the early years of the
Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales*
(AIESEC), activities regarding exchange consisted of traineeships, study tours and the exchange of
information on studies. Efforts by the association for better organization could also be witnessed
after the congress in Copenhagen (1952) addressing uniform procedures and employment contracts for
exchange.
* Note: Nowadays, the french
acronym AIESEC is no longer used by the organization, since in the history AIESEC expanded to other
backgrounds different to Economic and Commercial Sciences. Please use AIESEC simply as is.
Development of exchange was
progressing well with an annual growth of 22% but there was a mounting concern for the quality of
exchanges and thus the AIESEC Summer School Training Programmes (SSTP) were introduced in 1966. In
1967, work began on a program dubbed Student Traineeship Exchange System (STRES) for an effective
and fair approach to facilitate flow and standardization of information. Exchange numbers have
already reached the 4500 mark and matching that large group of students to the diverse array of
traineeships was stretching the capacity of AIESEC.
A shift of focus to member
education and talent development to prepare AIESEC members for a future in the business environment
occured in the 1970's. Alignment of the global association as a whole led to the emergence of
International Theme Programmes (ITP). Henceforth, these became a formal part of AIESEC. Pioneers to
this new initiative were the programs; “Management Education in the 80's” (1976-1978) and “
International Trade” (1978-1980). Under the ‘umbrella' of the international theme, projects were
run independently in a local, national and regional level in recognition of the rapidly changing
world.
In the attempt to meet the
challenges of tomorrow head on and become a change agent, AIESEC Global Seminar Series (AGSS) was
initiated in 1988. AGSS then turned into a World Theme Conference (WTC) event. This series of
seminars was conducted with the objective of educating youth and gathering their opinions on issues
related to sustainable development, such that they would be able to have an impact on society
through their combined voice, and later in life as leaders. At the end of this the 80s, AGSS and
ITP merged to become the Global Theme Programme (GTP). GTP had a similar aim to AGSS, but with a
more proactive approach, an example of a GTP theme being “ Entrepreneurship and Corporate
Responsibility: New Opportunities for Global Development”.
Advancements in Information
technology in the 1990's saw the ongoing development of communication and exchange tools. The
emergence of the AIESEC Global Information Systems (AGIS) embraced new internet technology to
connect operations across the globe. Internet was used to send data, and continuous matching was
able to take place, (previously matching was done at specified times).
The introduction of Issue-Based
Experiences Experiences (IBXPs) began as a way to ensure that young people who have identified a
passion for a particular issue have the chance to live an experience that not only enables them to
gain general leadership skills, but also expertise on a particular issue. AIESEC Learning Networks
(LNs) are part of IBXPs, consisting of: Finance, Education, HIV/ AIDS, Corporate Responsibility,
and Entrepreneurship. AIESEC members get the chance to lead teams and go on international
internships, while organizations benefit from access to AIESEC's membership base.
In the 2000's, the organisation
saw a steady increase in exchange performance with over 5000 students sent on internship in 2008.
The introduction of development internships, as a distinct pool of exchanges, added to the
diversity of experiences offered. The 60th anniversary celebrations of 2008 saw AIESEC celebrating
the history and achievements of 60 years of activating youth leadership in over 100 countries and
territories.
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