International Student Identity Card

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International Student Identity Card
Motto "Improving intercultural understanding, increasing educational opportunities and facilitating student life globally"
Formation 1953
Type Nonprofit organization
Legal status Active
Headquarters Amsterdam, Netherlands
Region served
 133 countries worldwide
Official language
 English (internal communication)
ISIC Association Board Chair
 Matt East
Main organ
 ISIC Association Board
Website http://www.isic.org/
File:ISIC CVUT.jpg
ISIC of Czech Technical University in Prague (2010)

The International Student Identity Card (ISIC) is a Discount card targeting full-time students, and offers discounts for travel, insurance, and various goods. The issuer, ISIC Association, also issues International Youth Travel Card (IYTC) for non-students, and International Teacher Identity Card (ITIC) for teachers and professors. The membership fee varies by countries. In United States it costs $25 a year.

The card is recognized internationally. An ISIC card can only be issued to genuine bona fide students. ISIC cardholders can use the card to identify themselves as a student around the world.[citation needed] The ISIC card is managed and administered by the ISIC Association. The objective of the ISIC Association is to help improve intercultural understanding and increase education opportunities. The ISIC card is issued in 133 countries.

ISIC Association

The ISIC Association is one of eight sector associations of the WYSE Travel Confederation. It manages and administers the International Student Identity Card (ISIC). The ISIC Association is a non-profit membership organisation legally registered in Denmark.[1] The members are the organisations that hold the exclusive license to distribute, promote and develop the ISIC card within their territory or country.[2] These organisations are referred to as ‘ISIC Licensed Authorities’. Licensed Authorities include student travel organisations, national student unions and dedicated ISIC card development organisations.

The ISIC card is administered and managed at a global level by the ISIC Global Office B.V.. The ISIC Global Office B.V. is a company seated in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The ISIC Global Office B.V. is wholly owned by the ISIC Association.[3]

History of the ISIC card

File:ISIC 1981.jpg
ISIC (1981)

Formation of the ISIC card

Following World War II and the Cold War, the Western world was focused on mutual cooperation and understanding in order to prevent a resurgence of fascism. This atmosphere gave impetus for student organisations to form, with the aim of working together for peace and cooperation throughout the world. One such student organisation, the International Student Conference (ISC) held their 3rd ISC at the Studenterforeningen’s Hus in Copenhagen. It was attended by National Unions of Students and Coordinating Secretariat of National Unions of Students (COSEC), Denmark, amongst others. The attending student organisations made the decision to establish a single international identity document valid for the perceived need of travel concessions. This is the first documented mention of the International Student Identity Card (ISIC).[4] Representatives of the ISC were also representatives of the International Student Travel Conference (ISTC). At the 4th International Student Travel Conference (ISTC), and following the decision made at the 3rd International Student Conference (ISC), the Norwegian and Netherlands Union of Students, in co-operation with COSEC, presented a document based on a Survey of the Council of Europe.[5] The document concluded that the formation of an international student card would be of benefit to students while travelling. The Norwegian and Netherlands Union of Students, in co-operation with COSEC accepted responsibility to form a Travel Aids Commission and “take the necessary steps to ensure that an International Student Identity Card be made available as soon as possible in as large a part of the world as possible”.[6] Thus, the International Student Identity Card was founded with the aim to provide students worldwide with access to student facilities, wherever they travelled. It was agreed that the real value of the card would prove that the holder was a “bona fide” student.[7] The first ISIC cards were produced by the Travel Aids Commission managed by the ISTC. 56,000 cards were issued amongst 31 countries in the first year.[8]

UNESCO Endorsement 1968

From 1955 UNESCO joined the International Student Travel Conference and supported the ISIC card. In 1968 UNESCO issued an official endorsement in full support of the ISIC card. UNESCO recognised the ISIC card as the only internationally accepted proof of full-time student status and a unique document encouraging cultural exchange and international understanding. A renewed Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 1993. The UNESCO logo has appeared on the ISIC card since 1993.

UN World Tourism Organization

In October 2013 the ISIC Association was officially appointed as an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

ISIC – travel to lifestyle

In the new millennium the need for a student card orientated to travel concessions was becoming less relevant than before due to societal changes such as worldwide economic decline, introduction of budget airlines, online flight booking and direct airline sales. Due to this decline, it was identified that the ISIC card and focus must be repositioned. Up until 2001, the ISIC card existed as a travel card and a student identity card but it was agreed that the discount aspect must be utilised and the card refocused as an everyday student lifestyle card.

Facts about ISIC

ISIC International Student Identity Card
Year launched 1953
Ownership The ISIC card is owned by the ISIC Association, a non-profit organisation.
Annual card sales Annually over 4.5 million ISIC cards are sold worldwide.
Eligibility Eligibility for an ISIC is restricted to bona fide students engaged in higher/tertiary education and students in full-time secondary education.
Minimum age requirement 12 years old. There is no upper age limit.
Card validity The card validity is usually 16 months and follows the academic year, with 4 months extra.

ISIC card distribution

ISIC Licensed Authorities, who have the exclusive license to issue ISIC cards in their respective countries, make up a global distribution network for ISIC cards. The ISIC card is available in 130 countries. In each country, the ISIC Licensed Authority is exclusively responsible for ISIC card distribution, promotion and development, including the development and managing a portfolio of local and national discounts and services available to the ISIC holders.[9]

ISIC card today

Eligibility for an ISIC card is restricted to bona fide students engaged in higher or tertiary education and students in full-time secondary education. Students must be a minimum of 12 years old to be eligible. There is no upper age limit for an ISIC card.[10] An ISIC card is valid for 16 months. The validity period of an ISIC card corresponds to the academic year in the country of purchase. For example, in countries where the academic year starts in September (e.g. countries in the Northern Hemisphere), the ISIC card is valid from 1 September to 31 December the following year. In countries with the academic year begins in December (e.g. countries in the Southern Hemisphere), the ISIC card is valid from 1 December to 31 March, 16 months later.[11] There is an advised national retail selling price for the ISIC card in each country where the card is issued. The card price in each country is determined by the value of the ISIC in the local market and the countries economic development level.

ISIC Cards “combined‘’ with bank or college cards

An ISIC card can be combined with a bank or university card. This creates a unique combined card with the aim to reach and provide services to a common or overlapping market. Currently 102 banks and more than 839 universities worldwide have merged their cards with the ISIC card.[12]

Endorsement of the ISIC

The ISIC card is endorsed and supported as an official proof of student status by various organisations and institutions locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Organisations that endorse the ISIC card include national governments, ministries of education and tourism, universities, other academic institutions and student organisations internationally.

The ISIC card has been endorsed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 1968. UNESCO recognises the ISIC card as a unique document encouraging cultural exchange and international understanding.[13]

Organisations that endorse the ISIC card

  • AIESEC [14]
  • Community of Andean Nations [15]
  • International Pharmaceutical Federation [16]
  • ELSA [17]
  • European Students' Union [18][19][20][21][22][23][24]
  • European Law Students' Association (ELSA) [25]
  • European Youth Card Association (EYCA) [26]
  • World Youth Student Education Travel Confederation (WYSETC) [27]
  • UNESCO [28][29][30]
  • World Savings Banks Institute (WSBI) [31]
  • European Commission, Youth on the Move Project [32]

Strategic global partners

ISIC has built relationships with global organisations that provide discounts and services to ISIC holders or allow for increased distribution of the ISIC card into the global student community. Global ISIC partners include:

ISIC Event

The ISIC Event [40] is an annual event for ISIC issuers, global partners, endorsement partners, student union bodies, and other organisations involved in the international student community. Coordinated and managed by the ISIC Global Office B.V., the annual three day gathering is an event. ISIC Events are hosted by a different country each year.

Year Host
2011 Tallinn, Estonia
2012 Miami, USA
2013 Copenhagen, Denmark
2014 Seoul, South Korea
2015 Belgrade, Serbia
2016 Toronto, Canada

ISIC Award

The ISIC Award was introduced by the ISIC Association in 2011. The ISIC Award recognises and rewards organisations working on a global scale to reduce social, economic and cultural barriers and increase access to education. The ISIC Award is awarded annually. Through the ISIC card the ISIC Association aims to ensure individuals who aspire to participate in higher education have the help and resources to enable them to do so. The intention of the ISIC Award is to support existing education accessibility initiatives. The ISIC Award winner is nominated and selected by the ISIC card distributors worldwide. Nominees for the ISIC Award can be a non-government organisation, institution, association, or similar organisation that are able to clearly demonstrate a commitment to making education more accessible. The ISIC Award winner receives a financial contribution to support the continuation of their work to increase access to education. Previous award winners include AIESEC International (2011), the International Association of Universities (IAU) (2012), the University of the People (2013), and the Institute of International Education (2014).

References

  1. ↑ ISIC Association (2011), “2011 Annual Report of the ISIC Association”, p1 https://extranet.isic.org/annual-report-2011 rel="nofollow"
  2. ↑ ISIC Association (2011), “2011 Annual Report of the ISIC Association”, p8 https://extranet.isic.org/annual-report-2011 rel="nofollow"
  3. ↑ ISIC Association (2011), “2011 Annual Report of the ISIC Association”, p1 https://extranet.isic.org/annual-report-2011 rel="nofollow"
  4. ↑ Swiss National Union of Students, Foreign Office (1954), “Report on International Student Travel Conference 1954, Zurich – Switzerland October 20th – 23rd, 1954”, p55 rel="nofollow"
  5. ↑ Swiss National Union of Students, Foreign Office (1954), “Report on International Student Travel Conference 1954, Zurich – Switzerland October 20th – 23rd, 1954”, p56 rel="nofollow"
  6. ↑ Swiss National Union of Students, Foreign Office (1954), “Report on International Student Travel Conference 1954, Zurich – Switzerland October 20th – 23rd, 1954”, p179
  7. ↑ Swiss National Union of Students, Foreign Office (1954), “Report on International Student Travel Conference 1954, Zurich – Switzerland October 20th – 23rd, 1954”, p57
  8. ↑ Swiss National Union of Students, Foreign Office (1954), “Report on International Student Travel Conference 1954, Zurich – Switzerland October 20th – 23rd, 1954”, p146
  9. ↑ ISIC Association (2011), “2011 Annual Report of the ISIC Association”, p10 https://extranet.isic.org/annual-report-2011
  10. ↑ ISIC Association (1954) “Constitution of the ISIC Association”
  11. ↑ ISIC Association (1954) “Constitution of the ISIC Association”
  12. ↑ ISIC Association (2011), “2011 Annual Report of the ISIC Association”, p8 https://extranet.isic.org/annual-report-2011 rel="nofollow"
  13. ↑ UNESCO (2004), “UNESCO”, p8 http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=22235&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
  14. ↑ AIESEC (2004), “AIESEC” http://www.aiesec.org/AIESEC rel="nofollow"
  15. ↑ Community of Andean Nations (2004), “Endorsement with ISIC and the Community of Andean Nations”
  16. ↑ International Pharmaceutical Federation (2009), “International Pharmaceutical Federation” https://extranet.isic.org/documents/10157/3a1224fa-c5f9-4fe6-932d-cf0981b9878b rel="nofollow"
  17. ↑ ELSA (2009), “ELSA” https://extranet.isic.org/documents/10157/3a1224fa-c5f9-4fe6-932d-cf0981b9878b rel="nofollow"
  18. ↑ European Students' Union (2011) “European Students' Union” http://www.esib.org/ rel="nofollow"
  19. ↑ European Students' Union (2011) “Press Release with the endorsement with ISIC and the European Students' Union” http://www.esib.org/index.php/News/press-releases/674-european-students-union-and-the-international-student-identity-card-isic-join-forces.html rel="nofollow"
  20. ↑ European Students' Union (2011) “Interview with the European Students' Union” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sGi9-8cnnM rel="nofollow"
  21. ↑ European Students' Union (2011) “Endorsement with ISIC and the European Students' Union” https://extranet.isic.org/documents/10157/a732db08-3189-4184-9744-3e419eb77da4 rel="nofollow"
  22. ↑ European Students' Union (2011) “Endorsement with ISIC and the European Students' Union” https://extranet.isic.org/documents/10157/c430d704-6224-4390-b62e-801eb8b57dd9 rel="nofollow"
  23. ↑ International Union of Students (2011) “Endorsement with ISIC and International Union of Students” http://ngo-db.unesco.org/r/or/en/1100000693 rel="nofollow"
  24. ↑ European Council of Culture (2011) “Endorsement with ISIC and the European Students' Union” https://extranet.isic.org/documents/10157/93ed53d9-3faf-4b5e-a454-af2d143666f8 rel="nofollow"
  25. ↑ European Law Students' Association (2011) “Endorsement with ISIC and the European Students' Union”
  26. ↑ European Youth Card Association (EYCA) (2011) “Newsletter of EYCA” http://www.eyca.org/newsletter/read/10/eycatcher-spring-2011 rel="nofollow"
  27. ↑ World Youth Student Education Travel Confederation (WYSETC) (2011) “Endorsement with ISIC and the European Students' Union”
  28. ↑ UNESCO (2011) “UNESCO Directory of International Youth-led Youth-serving Organisations” https://extranet.isic.org/documents/10157/c430d704-6224-4390-b62e-801eb8b57dd9 rel="nofollow"
  29. ↑ UNESCO (2011) “UNESCO Directory of International Youth-led Youth-serving Organisations” http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SHS/pdf/repertoirefinal_ong.pdf rel="nofollow"
  30. ↑ UNESCO (2011) “UNESCO Directory of International Youth-led Youth-serving Organisations” http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID%3D11236%26URL_DO%3DDO_TOPIC%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html rel="nofollow"
  31. ↑ WSBI (2011) “Memorandum of Understanding with WSBI” https://extranet.isic.org/documents/10157/f8850ec6-d185-4762-a30d-1221fe232241
  32. ↑ European Commission, Youth on the Move Project“European Commission, Youth on the Move Project” http://www.eurocities.eu/Minisites/progress/inclusivecities/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=228:towards-the-youth-on-the-move-card&catid=12:main-news&Itemid=7 rel="nofollow"
  33. ↑ Accor Hotel Group“Interview with Accor Hotel Group” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW5d2gGmpZg rel="nofollow"
  34. ↑ Accor Hotel Group“Interview with Accor Hotel Group” https://extranet.isic.org/documents/10157/5629eab1-c298-4415-8745-77ebbabbcf97 rel="nofollow"
  35. ↑ e-academy“Press Release, e-academy” https://extranet.isic.org/documents/10157/5629eab1-c298-4415-8745-77ebbabbcf97 rel="nofollow"
  36. ↑ MasterCard“Interview with MasterCard” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjjPpm8P6vo rel="nofollow"
  37. ↑ MasterCard“ Interview with MasterCard” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_9Jpm7hFFM rel="nofollow"
  38. ↑ Microsoft“ Interview with Microsoft” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_uoQb_xFGI rel="nofollow"
  39. ↑ Microsoft“Press Release, Microsoft” http://staywyse.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/microsoftisic/ rel="nofollow"
  40. ↑ http://www.isicevent.org rel="nofollow"

External links

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