Partners
The International Network for Educational Exchange (INEX) is constantly expanding and including new outstanding partners of various fields. Below please find a selection of partners contributing to INEX programs:
AFA / UNYSA
In times when solutions to political and economic as well as social and ecological problems can no longer be solved within the national frameworks, when integration and globalization are leading paradigms, young people are expected to be dynamic and open-minded. The United Nations Youth and Student Association of Austria and Academic Forum for Foreign Affairs was set up in 1991 to face these challenges. The organization is a founding member of the World Federation of United Nations Associations – Youth (WFUNA-YOUTH) and INEX partner since 2007.
AIESEC
The world’s largest student organisation, spanning over 800 universities and 100 countries, dedicated to building international understanding and cooperation by providing young people with the tools and opportunities to become globally-minded, responsible leaders and connecting them to organizations worldwide. Founded in 1948 by students determined that the world would never go to war again, their vision was an organization that would work towards peace and the fulfilment of Humankind’s potential by creating rich learning environments where its members naturally pick up new values and a broader, more mature knowledge of different cultures and opinions. AIESEC and INEX joined forces in 2007 and are working together to create learning opportunities for future leaders.
Association for the Conservation and Protection of the Esquinas Rainforest in Costa Rica
Conservation, climate protection, research, ecotourism and regional development united in one single project – this is what the Association and its initiative Rainforest of the Austrians stands for. Founded by Professor Michael Schnitzler in 1991, and partly funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation, the organization has not only been able to protect large stretches of one of the last tropical forests in Central America that still reaches all the way to the Pacific coast but has also set up the La Gamba Biological Research Station in 1993, realized the Esquinas Rainforest Lodge ecotourism project with job opportunities for unemployed locals and far-reaching local development opportunities, and has implemented and financed projects in La Gamba with the goal of bettering the living standard of the people. INEX is proud to support this initiative with its INEX Rainforest Initiative.
Earth Charter Initiative
The Earth Charter is the product of a decade long worldwide, cross-cultural, civil society dialogue on common goals and shared values, offering an inclusive understanding of sustainable development. It provides an excellent example of an inclusive vision of the fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful world. Its principles build upon international, environmental conservation, and sustainable development law and the various UN meetings that took place in the 1990s. It endeavours to consolidate and extend a number international law principles reflecting the emerging consensus in global civil society. It was endorsed by the 2003 UNESCO General Conference as an important ethical framework for sustainable development and a valuable teaching tool. INEX works closely with ECI’s Center for Ecuation for Sustainable Development. Its Executive Director Mirian Vilela is member of the INEX Advisory Board. Furthermore, INEX is the Earth Charter Affiliate for Austria.
Ecosocial Forum Europe
Based on the widely accepted social market economy, an Ecosocial Market Economy takes corrective action where the market forces do not lead to sustainable results. It aims at an equitable balance between economy, social issues and ecology. In this sense, the Ecosocial Market Economy is rooted not only in a comprehensively conceived EU Lisbon Strategy, but also in the EU draft constitution and in the EU strategy for sustainable development – and therefore forms an alternative to market fundamentalism. The Ecosocial Forum Europe is a non-party platform aiming at disseminating the concept of such principles and establishing them in a political design. Its network consists of establishments in Sweden, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Poland. Among others its board comprises of Franz Fischler (former European Union’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries) and Josef Riegler (Vice Chancellor of Austria). INEX, the Forum and its student initiative (the Ecosocial Students Forum) work together to educate the next generation’s leaders.
Global Marshall Plan
First devised by former American Vice-President Al Gore in his bestselling book “Earth in the Balance” the Global Marshall Plan is aiming at improved and binding frameworks for the global economy to create balance between economy, environment, society and culture. To achieve this the Global Marshall Plan combines a functional and coherent global governance structure with appropriate reforms and intelligent interlinking of UN, WTO, IMF, World Bank and ILO and UNEP standards with the raising of an additional 100 billion US$ a year in order to co-finance development. The Global Marshall Plan aims at a better design of globalization and of world economic processes in terms of a worldwide Ecosocial Market Economy, which meets the expectation of sustainability of economic as well as social and ecological policies. This involves an improved global structural framework including sustainable development, elimination of poverty, environmental protection and equity.
Hanken University
Hanken is a leading, internationally accredited university in the field of economics and business administration. The relation of international students is higher than in any other Finnish business university. Hanken’s research operations are of an internationally high standard and it maintains close and intensive links with the business world. Hanken was the first Finnish business school whose quality assurance system was audited. For a university with clear international ambitions, it is natural to be among the first and best within a quality work that all universities within the European Union are to goHeadquarters Campus, through during the next few years. Hanken’s European accreditation, EQUIS, in combination with an approved quality system makes the university even stronger. Hanken has worked with INEX since 2006 and has since then been sending Master level students to INEX programs in Costa Rica. Valuing INEX programs in Central America Hanken was also the first University to sponsor participation in the ISU Costa Rica program and issue full scholarships to its students.
INCAE Business School
Founded in 1964 as an initiative of the Central American business community and governments, with support from President John F. Kennedy and direct advice from Harvard University Business School, INCAE is recognized as a leading business school in Latin America, according to various independent rankings. For four years in a row it has been selected as the best business school, according to América Economía magazine, and for the second time it came up tenth in the global ranking of international business schools developed by the Wall Street Journal magazine. INCAE is voluntarily accredited by the main three global academic quality evaluators:SACS, AACSB and EQUIS. Some 95% of INCAE faculty members hold doctoral degrees, with 75% of them graduated from Ivy League institutions (41% with Harvard PhD’s) and the rest coming from worldwide prestigious universities, particularly the best European universities. Apart from hosting many other internationally renowned institutions INCAE also hosts the Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development (CLACDS). INEX has joined forces with INCAE in 2008 for its INEX Young Leaders Program at INCAE.
oik0s International
oikos is an international student organization for sustainable economics and management and a leading reference point for the promotion of sustainability change agents. Headquartered at the University of St.Gallen in Switzerland oikos International is the umbrella organization of currently more than 20 oikos Local Chapters in Africa, Asia and Europe. Its activities consist of networking, education and research. Among others oikos organizes lectures, conferences, simulation games, seminars, as well as practice-oriented learning projects. These activities are conducted within the framework of a constructive and open-minded dialogue and reflect local realities. They enable students to network with representatives from academia, business, NGOs, politics and media. While most of these activities are organized on a local level and may vary from year to year, oikos pursues several international key projects on an ongoing basis to empower students as change agents and drive institutional change.
TckTckTck
TckTckTck is an unprecedented global alliance, representing hundreds of millions of people from all walks of life. It is made up of leading international, national and local organizations addressing environment, development, poverty, human rights, health and humanitarian issues. It represents faith-based groups, youth groups, trade unions and individuals all calling for a fair, ambitious and binding climate change agreement in December 2009 in Copenhagen. TckTckTck is a project of the Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA), a bold, new initiative involving a growing number of national and global organizations in support of a single goal: to mobilize civil society and to galvanize public opinion in support of transformational change and rapid action to save the planet from dangerous levels of climate change. INEX has become part of the tcktcktck movement in order to reach a deal at the UN Climage Change conference in Copenhagen and set concrete actions against climate change.
Universidad Latinoamericana de Ciencia y Tecnología (ULACIT)
The Latin American University of Science and Technology, ULACIT, is a private non-profit institution, with its campus in downtown San José, Costa Rica. It is dedicated to the cultivation of liberally educated professionals and embodies its founding principles in the diversity of the college community and its commitment to the common good, intellectual openness, and international character. ULACIT has been the academic host of the INEX Summer University in Costa Rica since 2005 and has so far welcomed INEX students for eight programs. The University has been a dedicated partner in teaching European and US students in the area of international business, Spanish language for beginners and professional use. Academic courses in the area of sustainability, business and the environment, and the interrelations with emerging economies in Latin America as strategic topics of our times have become the main focus since 2007. With valued practical experience of its professors and in-depths knowledge about the Central American markets our partnership with ULACIT offers participants a well valued basis for an unparalleled experience in Costa Rica.
University for Peace (U PEACE)
Headquartered in Costa Rica, the United Nations-mandated University for Peace was established in December 1980 as a Treaty Organization by the UN General Assembly. Efforts to establish the University for Peace began at the United Nations under the leadership of the President of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Carazo. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, is the Honorary President of the University for Peace. The Council has defined an innovative programme of education, training and research for peace, focused on key issues, including conflict-prevention, human security, human rights, environmental security and post-conflict rehabilitation. In addition to the activities at the Costa Rica Headquarters Campus, UPEACE works with an increasing number of partners in various parts of the world to ensure that the UPEACE mission is extended to reach as many individuals and institutions as possible. INEX is one of these partners, with Rolain Borel (Head of the Department of Environment, Peace and Security and Acting Rector) as member of the INEX Advisory Board.
World Student Community for Sustainable Development (WSC-SD)
Ready to Act? The WSC-SD is a multi-disciplinary network of motivated students with the ability to think and act both locally and globally, and who share the vision to make a difference. The organization’s purpose is to be a leading international student organization that carries out meaningful projects, which result in positive and enduring changes that improve lives and communities around the world. The WSC-SD currently exists of 14 member and partner student communities at leading universities globally. INEX has partnered up with WSC-SD in 2009 after meetings at UN conferences to create a common ground for young initiatives.
