Confédération Internationale des Étudiants

The CIE was founded at the Strasbourg Congress of the Union nationale des étudiants de France (National Union of Students of France) in 1919, with representatives from 17 countries in attendance. It was initially established as "Confédération Interalliée des Étudiants - CIE" (English: Interallied Student Confederation) and was made up of the national students' union of seven countries: Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, and Spain. The confederation was renamed to Confédération Internationale des Étudiants (International Confederation of Students) at its 1921 congress held in Prague. By the end of the 1923 congress in The Hague, ten more nations had joined the confederation as full members: Denmark, England, Finland, Italy, The Netherlands, Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia), Norway, Scotland^{[note 1]}, Sweden, and Switzerland. They were by three free members (without voting rights): Greece, Ukraine, and the United States. At its peak in 1934, the confederation is made up of 26 full members, 1 associate member, and 10 free members.^[2]

The confederation was the organiser of the World University Games between 1924 and 1947.^[3] It also advocated on issues such as international recognition of university degrees, knowledge exchange, and student travel.^[4] Some of their initiatives included the creation of International Student ID cards as well as student travel companies.^[5]

The confederation was, however, not interested in "discussing religious and political questions",^[6] such as mutual aids, gender inequality, as well as the representation of students from colonised nations.^[4][7] This reluctance to be political led to criticisms from some members of the confederation. For example, in 1937, the CIE's refusal to condemn antisemitic attacks in Romania led to England's National Union of Students withdrawing from the confederation as a member.^[8]

The activities of the confederation were heavily affected due to the start of the Second World War in 1939. Its headquarter in Brussels were destroyed by German troops in 1940, leading to the organisation becoming completely inactive. It was officially dissolved by 1946.^[2]