1985-89: The beginning

The name EGEE is related to the Aegean Sea where democracy was created 2,000 years ago. Due to a name collision with a French company, the name (of EGEE) was changed to AEGEE in 1988.

The network quickly expanded, and included locals from the EFTA countries

1990-95: Embracing the East

After the fall of the Berlin Wall AEGEE opened its doors to students in Central-, and Eastern Europe. The East-West Working Group and the Comité Directeur of 1990 – known as the Quo Vadis Group – promoted the new direction. The extention to the East has never stopped in the association, today the eastest AEGEE antenna is Ufa, located on the western slopes of the Ural Mountains.

1996-99: Proffessionalism and new projects

In 1996 the organisation became big and serious enough to move its Headquarters from a small office in Delft to Brussels. Since then the Comité Directeur lives and works together in the “capital of the European Union”, taking advantage of the closeness of the European Institutions.

The biggest projects of the time were the “Find Your Way” project in 1996, directing towards leaders of youth NGO’s, and the “Europe and Euro” project in 1997, raising awareness of the new European currency, five years before its introduction.

2000-05: Supporting the EU enlargement and democratization in the East

In the first years of the millennium the AEGEE network grew rapidly. The 260 local branches organized 135 conferences and seminars and 99 summer universities in 2004. AEGEE successfully offered its 15 years of experience in bridging East and West in the environment of the EU enlargement in 2004. Projects, like “Europe’s identity, “Education for Democracy”, and “Hotspot” had marked these years. AEGEE took initiatives to strengthen democracy and reconciliation in war-struck Balkans, Ukraine and Cyprus.