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The international student organisation AIESEC has been a major partner of EBBF since 1996.
- George Starcher
"AIESEC engages over 28,000 young people in over 100 countries in a journey to become responsible citizens of the world.
EBBF has found AIESEC to be an excellent platform to reach a select audience which is eager to learn, ready to adopt values, and capable of putting them into practice.”
George Starcher, Founder and President of EBBF
- Lucy Symons
"The AIESEC EEBF relationship is based upon shared belief in the importance of values based leadership to the next generation of responsible world citizens. EBBF is a network of connected leaders and AIESEC is a network of those to follow - EBBF has been a strong supporter of AIESEC at a country level, providing speakers, mentors and the external expertise that allows the youth run network to thrive in universities across Europe.
In 2008/2009 our relationship is focused on the expansion of co-operation into key countries, capitalising on conference platforms for connection and consolidating the relationship at a country level"
Lucy Symons - Chief Communication & Networks Officer - AIESEC Int.l 2008/2009, November 2008.
- Emanuel Gavert
“The knowledge and the embodied values of the EBBF members who interact with AIESECers around the world is an invaluable contribution in helping AIESEC achieve our vision.”
Emanuel Gavert, AIESEC International 2007/2008, June 2008.
VIEW an interview with Emanuel clicking to the EBBF You Tube Channel
Read an interview to George and Emanuel at the bottom of this page
AIESEC offers students opportunities to develop leadership while having a positive impact on society.
Through AIESEC, EBBF reaches out to a large pool of highly motivated and skilled students – tomorrow’s leaders.
AIESECers value the cooperation with EBBF because EBBF members contribute their personal work-experiences as entrepreneurs, directors and CEOs to AIESEC's projects and conferences on such themes as:
CSR
Business Ethics
Values-based Leadership
Sustainable Development
Human Resource Management
Responsible Entrepreneurship
Partnership of Women and Men
History
AIESEC and EBBF met at the UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II). EBBF was greatly impressed by the AIESECers who attended the EBBF workshops.
So EBBF started advising AIESEC on conference programmes, and providing keynote speakers and workshop leaders for international and national events.
Partnerships have developed in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Macedonia, Malta, Slovakia, Spain and Ukraine resulting in impressive common projects such as a chair at the University of Bari, organizing course on business ethics and the online course on Social Entrepreneurship.
Glimpses into the future
EBBF will continue offering speakers and facilitators / workshop leaders in most of the 30 countries where its members live.
Selected AIESEC members will be invited to participate in some EBBF conferences.
AIESEC and EBBF will organize joint events and conferences
AIESEC and EBBF could meet periodically to consult on and plan joint activities.
AIESEC could invite EBBF members to serve on local and national external advisory committees
For details on the EBBF-AIESEC partnership please consult the documents in the Resources Area.
George Starcher is Founder and President of EBBF. He has initiated the partnership with AIESEC and promoted it with a high level of personal commitment.
Emanuel Gavert, a Swedish student, was member of AIESEC International, the Governing Body of AIESEC, in 2007/2008. Here are their views on the significance and future of the partnership.
The mission of EBBF is to promote its seven core values as a means to enhance the well-being and prosperity of humankind. How does the partnership with AIESEC relate to this mission?
George Starcher: For these values to have an effective and lasting impact it is necessary that they be understood, shared, and adhered to by as large an audience as possible. Our experience has shown that youth and young professionals respond very positively to these values. They are more idealistic and open to new concepts and freer to define how they relate to society. Among the youth there are associations and organizations that help their members to define their values, to put them into practice, and, in the case of AIESEC, “to build the future instead of waiting for it.”
One of your responsibilities at AI during this past year has been to manage AIESEC’s relationship with EBBF. What value does AIESEC, as a student association, see in a partnership with a value-driven organisation like EBBF?
Emanuel Gavert: When I think about the pressing issues of the world today, ethics, values and beliefs become even more important. They may well be the core long term solution to the prosperity of the world. It's no longer valid to work in isolation or to compete with each other. We must realize the value of partnerships and collaboration on all levels: national, organizational and individual, to really achieve profound and enduring change.
How do AIESEC and EBBF fit together?
George Starcher: AIESEC, the largest student-run association in the world, engages over 28,000 young people in over 100 countries in a journey to become responsible citizens of the world. During the past twelve years, EBBF has found AIESEC to be an excellent platform to reach a select audience which is eager to learn, ready to adopt values, and capable of putting them into practice.
Emanuel Gavert: AIESEC has a tradition of enabling the development of change agents, individuals who have the knowledge, network and the drive to really make a difference – this wouldn't have been possible without the evolving partnership that we have developed with EBBF. It's hard to imagine the impact that the 12 years' relationship has had on AIESEC globally.
What makes EBBF a choice partner for AIESEC?
Emanuel Gavert: The knowledge and the embodied values of the EBBF members who interact with AIESECers around the world is an invaluable contribution in helping AIESEC achieve our vision.
George Starcher: What EBBF can contribute is an articulation of its values and our disinterested efforts to help these students realize their dream by sharing our success stories with them and by showing them that it is worth trying.
Several EBBF members have contributed to AIESEC over the years, as keynote speakers, workshop leaders or advisers. What motivates these busy personalities to give time to AIESEC?
George Starcher: Many EBBF members have found this collaboration to be personally rewarding, an enriching experience, and a way to put their own values into practice.
How do you see the future of this partnership?
George Starcher: The Governing Board of EBBF considers its relationship with AIESEC to be one of its most important external activities. We would like to increase this collaboration both at the international and national levels. We are also interested in contacts with alumni of AIESEC which might contribute to reinforcing these same values which they embraced as members of AIESEC.
Emanuel Gavert: The key challenge going forward is to ensure that our partnership continues to evolve and that we manage to connect with the change agents after they leave AIESEC. I believe a natural step – for me and for our new alumni - could be a membership in EBBF because through that we can connect with value driven individuals who really believe in the beauty of this world.
