The AIESEC History

The idea behind AIESEC started in the 1930s, when representatives from schools across Europe exchanged information about various programs and schools that specialized in business and economics. Students were carrying out internships in other countries, but mostly on their own initiative. It all came to a standstill with the onslaught of World War II. In 1944, though, the neutral Scandinavian countries were still exchanging. AIESEC was officially founded in 1948. At the time, the mission was “to expand the understanding of a nation by expanding the understanding of the individuals, changing the world one person at a time.” In 1949, 89 students participated in the so-called "Stockholm Congress", the first of many exchange programs.

In the late 1950s, AIESEC/Europe reached out to the United States and established contact with Yale University and Columbia Business School to see if either or both would help establish AIESEC in the United States. The result was that they sent three students on an exploratory mission in February 1959. Upon their return home, these three students set up AIESEC chapters at both Yale and Columbia. The following year, AIESEC/US was expanded to six more colleges and exchanged more than thirty traineeships. The first permanent headquarters for AIESEC were established in Geneva, Switzerland in 1960. AIESEC also expanded to Ghana and Nigeria and later Cameroon so opening the way for further expansion in Africa and expansion to other continents.

Soon, AIESEC became popular. By the end of 1960, 2467 exchanges were reported, and 4232 by the end of 1970. A landmark in AIESEC history was the “International Theme Programme” that officially established all international, regional, and local seminars on specific topics, which in time grew to be a guideline for future AIESEC generations.

AIESEC Today

AIESEC identifies itself as "the international platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential." It annually offers 9,000 leadership positions and delivers over 530 conferences for the memberships of over 64,000 students. AIESEC also runs an international exchange program that enables over 16,000 students and recent graduates the opportunity to live and experience being an intern in another country.

2008 marked the 60th anniversary of AIESEC's founding. Celebrations occurred in Londen, Tokyo, Budapest, Brussels, Brazil, Stockholm and the United States. To maintain its relevance in the face of changing international relations, AIESEC expands the organization to new countries periodically, a process which is outlined in the organization's global compendium.