WHAT IS AIESEC?
We are passionately driven by one cause, peace and fulfillment of humankind's potential
AIESEC was established in 1948 after World War II, where seven youth across seven countries had a dream of building cross-cultural understanding across nations. They hoped to change the world, one person and one internship at a time.
By 1977, AIESEC was present in 50 countries across six continents! To this date, over 40,000 young people around the world had participated in a leadership development experience.
In 2010, AIESEC crosses 10,000 experiences delivered in one year alone for the first time. By now, over 230,000 experiences have been provided, all facilitated by youth for youth.
In 2015, AIESEC’s youth leaders from 126 countries and territories in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth gathered at the United Nations Headquarters to promote and drive youth participation in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The relevance and contribution of AIESEC is clearer than ever.
In sum, AIESEC is a global network of people that simply believe
that youth leadership is not an option, but our responsibility.
AIESEC in the United States was founded in 1956 by a group of students at Colombia University, the first non-European national committee! Since then, AIESEC in the United States has expanded across the country. AIESEC is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization, and we operate as a nonprofit.
We have 28 local branches spanning across the country. Each of our local branches is hosted at a university with college students volunteering for our cause. Each local branch is managed by their own Local Committee President and Executive Board. Visit aiesecus.org/join to join our organization!
Year over year we send youth abroad and bring youth here for various cross-cultural leadership experiences. Our exchange participants participate in volunteer and internship opportunities designed to either make an impact towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals or increase youth employability.
