• Source: International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences

The International Association of students in Agricultural and related Sciences (IAAS) is an international non-profit and non-governmental student society headquartered in Leuven, Belgium. It was founded in 1957 in Tunisia by 8 countries. At the moment it is one of the world's biggest student organizations and one of the leading agricultural student associations. IAAS gathers students studying, majoring or researching in agriculture and related areas like environmental sciences, forestry, food science, landscape architecture etc. Its committees are spread in universities in over 55 countries worldwide.




Activities


The principal aim of IAAS is to promote the exchange of knowledge, information, and ideas among students, and to improve the mutual understanding between countries and cultures. To do this it organizes activities like seminars, working camps, international meetings, exchange weeks, an international exchange program, small-scale development projects.
Every year in July, a member country organizes the Annual Congress, which consists of sessions of the General Assembly and a seminar. During the General Assembly, all decisions affecting the association are discussed during working groups and subsequently voted upon. Furthermore, the participants take the chance of having such an international group to discuss in forums about (agricultural) hot topics together with their fellow students from all over the world. The seminar usually deals with a specific (agricultural) topic and includes excursions, visits, lectures, social activities, and a tour of an area in the organizing country.




Leadership


The main element of IAAS is the National Committees (NC) and Local Committees (LC), groups, and associations of students in universities all over the world working for the association. They organize and run activities like Seminars, Working Camps, Village Concept Projects.
The General Assembly (GA) is the supreme governing authority of the association. It gathers once a year during the Annual Congress and consists of delegates from all the member countries, which are appointed by the National Committees (a). Decisions are taken by voting, with each member country having one vote.




= Major positions

=
President
The task of the President is to represent the Association to its external partners and to ensure that the whole EB functions properly.

Vice President of Finance
The VP of Finances takes care of the finances, grant application and bookkeeping.

Vice President of Communication
The VP of Communication keeps in contact with the members and takes care of communication matters within the association.

Vice President of External Relations
VP of Finances and VP of External Relations work closely together.

Vice President of Exchange
The VP of Exchange is responsible for the coordination of the IAAS Exchange Program. Since 2006 the Exchange Quality Board helps with the task of improving this important activity.




Membership


There are currently members of IAAS in the following countries per regions:
Africa:
1-Benin
2-Cameroon
3-DRC
4-Gambia
5-Ghana
6-Malawi
7-Mali
8-Niger
9-Nigeria
10-Senegal
11-Togo
12-Uganda
America:
13-Argentina
14-Brazil
15-Chile
16-Colombia
17-Costa Rica
18-Ecuador
19-Guatemala
20-Mexico
21-Panama
22-Paraguay
23-Peru
24-USA
Asia Pacific:
25-Afghanistan
26-Bangladesh
27-India
28-Indonesia
29-Japan
30-Nepal
31-South Korea
32-Sri Lanka
33-Taiwan
34-Austria
35-Azerbaijan
36-Belgium
37-Croatia
38-France
39-Germany
40-Greece
41-Hungary
42-Italy
43-Montenegro
44-Netherlands
45-Portugal
46-Serbia
47-Slovenia
48-Spain
49-Sweden
50-Switzerland
51-Turkey
52-UK
Middle East and North Africa:
53-Iran
54-Iraq
55-Morocco
56-Tunisia




Partner organizations






= Professional partners

=
Interfaculty Committee Agraria (ICA), Partner
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Liaison Status
UNESCO, Consultative Status
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Operational Status




= Student organization partners

=
In the frame of the Informal Forum of International Student Organisations (IFISO), IAAS cooperates with other student organizations in the field of project development, fundraising, and strategic planning.




History



IAAS was established in a decade in which nations all over the world were still recovering from the harsh devastation and suffering resulting from the Second World War. However, young people strongly fostered hope for progress, peace and stability. Students in the field of agriculture decided to come together and create a new international student platform by establishing IAAS more than half a century ago 1957 in Tunis, the same year when the Treaty of Rome has been signed to establish the European Community.
In this decade, students from all disciplines started to acknowledge their role as agents of change in society and decided to come together to share values. They realized that only by sharing diversity, they could really cooperate to build a better world, a world in peace, harmony, and freedom. Thus AIESEC, IAESTE, IFMSA, IVSA and IAAS have been established in less than one decade.




= The early beginning

=
1954 The International Union of Students and the Romania Union sent invitations to students in agriculture all over the world for a meeting in Bucharest. It is the first attempt known of international cooperation between students in agriculture.
1956 In Paris an international week of study on agriculture took place. Students decided that UGET, the Tunis student union, would organize an international seminar on agriculture in summer 1957. The same year an international seminar for agricultural students was held in Norway.




= Year of establishment

=
1957 was the real beginning of the IAAS, which was then called AIEA (Association Internationale des Etudiants en Agriculture) and had French as the working language.
Independent from the decisions made during the international meeting in Paris, the Students council from the Netherlands (NSR) also planned to organize an international seminar on agriculture from 22 till 29 June 1957. Around December 1956, NSR (Netherlands) and UGET (Tunis) got to know about each other's plans and this caused a conflict. UGET did not like the idea of having two international seminars so close to each other. However, several careful and diplomatic dialogues per mail, and a meeting in Leiden (the Netherlands) on 15–16 March 1957, resulted in cooperation and a tight friendship between Tahar Belkhodja (president of UGET) and R. van den Berg (president of NSR). The NSR decided to cancel its congress in Wageningen in favor of the one in Tunis and to cooperate intensively with UGET. It seems to be just an anecdote, but there are reasons to believe that this cooperation between The Netherlands and Tunisia was crucial for the continuity of IAAS in the first years. When the Dutch canceled their seminar, they asked all participants to come to the seminar in Tunis instead. This seminar turned out to be the founding World Congress of IAAS and Germany, Finland, The Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia and of course Tunisia were the participating countries. A few other countries attended the congress as observers. Mr. Tahar Belkhodge (Tunisia) was elected as President and Mr. Fehr (France) was elected as Secretary General.
Also, the Dutch students were well prepared to organize a seminar in the Netherlands in 1958, which became the second world congress of IAAS.




= Chronology of the annual World Congresses

=
1957 First International Congress in Tunis (Tunisia), foundation of IAAS (then AIEA) by Germany, Finland, The Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia and Tunisia
1958 2nd Congress in Wageningen (The Netherlands), First to mention the exchange program.
New members: Belgium, Denmark, France and Sweden
Special event: The exchange did exist in two parts: The exchange weeks and training that were organized by IAESTE.

1959 3rd Congress in Vollebek (Norway)
1960 4th Congress in Rehovot (Israel); Topic: Intensive Agriculture
New member country: Israel

1961 5th Congress in Bern (Switzerland)
New member countries: Austria, Great Britain, Nigeria, Portugal

1962 6th Congress in Uppsala (Sweden); Topic: Agriculture and Cooperation
New member country: Yugoslavia
Special event: Executive committee of the association formed by the president, vice president and secretary general, working in headquarters in Leuven (Belgium), also Control Committee formed by four members and national representatives elected

1963 7th Congress in Brussels (Belgium); Topic: Belgian Agriculture
New member countries: Italy and Spain
Special event: the first issue of the JOINT, an IAAS Magazine edited by the Secretary General and a board; few issues every year

1964 8th Congress in Italy; didn't take place due to difficulties in the Italian Student Union
1965 9th Congress in Leeds (England)
1966 10th Congress in Vienna (Austria); Topic: Austrian Agriculture
1967 11th Congress in Rehovot (Israel); Topic: Agriculture in Israel
1968 12th Congress in Helsinki (Finland); Topic: Farming and Forestry in cooperation in Finland
New member country: Ireland

1969 13th Congress in Zurich (Switzerland); Topic: Special Problems in Swiss Agriculture
Special Event: first time a Responsible Meeting held at half term in Wageningen

1970 14th Congress in Denmark; Topic: Pollution Problems
1971 15th Congress in Stuttgart and Kiel (Germany); Topic: Higher Education in Agriculture
1972 16th Congress Oxford (Great Britain); Topic: The changing role of Agriculture in the developed countries
New members: Hungary and Poland

1973 17th Congress in Ghent (Belgium); Theme: Social aspects of Agriculture
New country: India

1974 18th Congress in Uppsala (Sweden); Topic: Underemployment - The Challenge for Rural development
1975 19th Congress in Langnau (Switzerland); Topic: Langnau in the Emmental Switzerland
1976 20th Congress in Rehovot (Israel); Topic: Agriculture in the Desert
Special event: Development fund created to assist member with fewer opportunities to attend our meetings, originally with support of the FAO

1977 21st Congress in Norway; Topic: Agriculture and Pollution
New member: Uganda

1978 22nd Congress in Helsinki (Finland); Topic: The Changing role of Rural Population
New member: Sudan

1979 23rd Congress in Nairobi (Kenya); Topic: The Role of Agricultural Institutes in adapting education for Rural Development
New members: Kenya and Togo

1980 24th Congress in Galicia (Spain); Topic: The Agrarian Extension and Training in Rural Development
New member countries: Liberia

1981 25th Congress in Warsaw (Poland); Theme: Agriculture and Food Production Today and Tomorrow
New member country: Zambia

1982 26th Congress in Copenhagen (Denmark); Topic: Farming as a way of living
1983 27th Congress in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg; Topic: Intensifying Agriculture meets National and International Responsibilities
1984 28th Congress in Wageningen (The Netherlands); Topic: Wageningen, an International Centre of Agricultural Research and Education
New members: Ghana and Tanzania

1985 29th Congress in Austria and Switzerland; Topic: The agriculture in two Alpine countries and their International Relations
New member country: Egypt

1986 Congress in Egypt; was cancelled by Egypt
1987 30th Congress in Lille (France); Topic: French Agriculture
Special event: First time to mention the formation of permanent working groups

1988 31st Congress in Perugia (Italy); Topic: Mediterranean Agriculture: Marginal Areas, Typical Production and its Transformation
New member: Benin

1989 32nd Congress in Nairobi (Kenya); Topic: Agriculture, Underproduction and its Future Prospects in Developing Countries
New Member: Thailand

1990 33rd Congress in Gödöllő, Hungary; Topic: Cooperatives have the Future
Special event: WOCAs created as Working Camps aiming at linking the theoretical aspect of our academic education with more practical experience

1991* 34th Congress in Thailand; Topic: South-Asian Agricultural System: its problems and future prospects
New member: Indonesia (Candidate Member).
Special event: first WOCAs took place in Hungary and Portugal

1992 35th Congress in Belgium. Seminar in Belgium and The Netherlands.
New member: Indonesia (Full member)

1993 36th Congress in Brazil
1994 37th Congress in Slovenia and Switzerland; Topic: Challenges of Marginal Areas
New members: Guatemala, Armenia, Latvia, Croatia, Sri Lanka

1995 38th Congress in Denmark; Topic: Cooperatives in Agriculture-The Danish Way
New Members: Angola and Sierra Leone (Candidate Members)

1996 39th Congress in Indonesia; Topic: Tropical Agriculture in the Global Market
1997 40th Congress in Croatia; Topic: Food Security
New Members: Uruguay, Benin, United States, Ukraine, Belarus (Candidate members), Bulgaria, Paraguay, Yugoslavia (Full Members)

1998 41st Congress in Togo; Topic: Cash Crops and Agricultural dynamics
New Members: Zimbabwe, Senegal (Candidate members), Benin, Liberia, Mexico, Zambia (full members)

1999 42nd Congress in Norway and Sweden; Topic: Food and Health
New members: Belarus, Zimbabwe, Senegal (full members)

2000 43rd Congress in Mexico; Topic: The Water Issue
2001 44th Congress in Portugal; Topic: Sustainable Development
New members: Russia, Algeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka (Candidate Members)

2002 45th congress in Indonesia; Topic: Agribusiness now and then
2003 46th Congress in Belgium; Topic: Food Quality, a Challenge for North and South, in cooperation with the FAO
2004 47th Congress in Croatia and Italy; Topic: Culture, Tradition and Typical food: The Journey Through Mediterranean Agriculture, in cooperation with the FAO [1]
2005 48th Congress in Togo and Ghana; Topic: Combating Hunger in developing countries: the role of Agricultural Research
2006 49th Congress in Malaysia (organized by IAAS Denmark); Topic: Sustainable Development – Environmental Protection and Agricultural Innovation
2007 50th Congress in Germany and Switzerland; Topic: Food Quality and Food Security – the challenge is ours!
2008 51st Congress in Belarus; Topic: Rural tourism as solution for employment, local development and environment: principles to practices
2009 52nd Congress in Mexico; Topic: Biodiversity now, Food for tomorrow
2010 53rd Congress in Indonesia; Topic: "The power of local resources to support food, energy and trade:food security, renewable resources, free trade"
2011 54th Congress in Macedonia; Topic: "Food identity"
2012 55th Congress in Belgium and Germany; Topic: "Face the Future! Agriculture from a Different Point of View"
2013 56th Congress in Chile; Topic: "Producing Food for the World"
2014 57th Congress in United States; Topic: "Farming for the Future"
2015 58th Congress in The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy; Topic: "How to feed the planet?"
2016 59th Congress in Indonesia; Topic: "Plant your future"
2017 60th Congress in Mexico; Topic : "Mexico 360"
2018 61st Congress in Croatia (Zagreb, Istria and Dalmatia); Topic : "Croatia, a Tale of Land and Water"
2019 62nd Congress in Côte d'Ivoire; Topic: "Flying towards Agricultural Transformation"
2020 63rd Congress ONLINE; Topic: "Evolving in times of crisis: Stepping up our IAAS community"
2021 64th Congress Hybrid in Turkey; Topic: "From Soils to the Spoon"
2022 65th Congress in Morocco; Topic: "Water Scarcity and its Effects on Food Security"
2023 66th Congress in Mexico; Topic: "Technology transfer and sustainability in food systems"
2024 67th Congress in Bangladesh; Topic: "Youth in Action: Challenges and Smart Solutions for Resilient Agro-food System"




Former Executive Boards






= Executive Board of 2023/24

=
President: Rabi Raut
Vice President of Finance: Michele Tredeshini
Vice President of External Relations: Prem Prakash Budhathoki
Vice President of Communication: Anggela Artica
Vice President of Exchange: Yassirys Sánchez




= Executive Board of 2022/23

=
President: Thomas Westhoff
Vice President of Finance: Marta Ciampechini
Vice President of External Relations: Aya Mounier
Vice President of Communication: Florence Oberlin
Vice President of Exchange: Sarai Vega Cuevas




= Executive Board of 2021/22

=
President: Septian Yosafat
Vice President of Finance: Abdullah Al Maruf
Vice President of External Relations: Thomas Westhoff
Vice President of Communication: Eurike Junisha
Vice President of Exchange: Andrea Calderon




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Institut Pertanian Bogor
• Mohammad Ali
• Daftar pemenang Hadiah Ig Nobel
• Daftar karya tentang Perusahaan Hindia Timur Belanda
• International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences
• International Students Association
• Student society
• Lincoln University (New Zealand)
• International Forestry Students' Association
• IAAS
• Agricultural education
• Florida A&M University
• Brawijaya University
• North Carolina A&T State University