AElDL was founded in 1988, in the form of a not-for-profit organisation. Its General Assembly is made up of local development stakeholders and specialists from various sectors of the civil society and European Member States: academics, development agents, association managers, civil servants and social economy company directors. All are AEIDL members on a personal basis. AEIDL’s objectives focus on contributing to a united, citizen-oriented Europe, based on sustainable development and equal opportunities, by offering an extensive range of services to local development and civil society actors, along with various institutions including the European Commission. AEIDL’s thematic activities cover local development in its broadest sense and include urban and rural development, employment and social affairs, regional development, training and professional insertion, democracy and citizenship, the environment, support for SMEs and businesses in the social economy. AEIDL’s multilingual, multicultural team, at its head office based in Brussels, includes 25 permanent employees with a broad diversity of nationalities and backgrounds, who together cover the entire range of skills required to accomplish the association’s objectives. They are supported by an extensive pool of experts.