What is the ISIC card and who is FESU?
ISIC or International Student Identity Card is a card that proves student status in Estonia and 130 other countries, gives discounts in more than 300 Estonian and 130,000 foreign sales points. The ISIC card in Estonia is issued by the Federation of Estonian Student Union (FESU).
How ISIC started?
The importance of the ISIC card idea was announced at the 3rd International Student Conference held in Copenhagen in 1953 by the Norwegian and Dutch student unions, where it was considered necessary for the international student card to reach as many students as possible in different parts of the world and increase mutual understanding and tolerance between nations and cultures with more affordable travel options. ISIC grew rapidly in the following years, and since 1968 ISIC's activities have also been recognized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
More than 4.5 million people use the ISIC card today, and a new card is issued every 7 seconds. To date, there have been more than 100 million ISIC cards in use worldwide.
Who is FESU?
The official representative of the ISIC brand in Estonia is the Federation of Estonian Student Unions (FESU), which has been working in the field since 1993. The Federation of Estonian Student Unions stands for the rights, needs and interests of students at the national level and supports student councils in their work.
What does FESU do?
Since 1993, FESU has issued the international student card ISIC Student. Since September 1999, Estonia has been one of the first in the world to issue combined ISIC Student Maestro cards, which combine the ISIC card and the Maestro international debit card that enables bank operations. In 1999, FESU started issuing a joint card with SEB, which was the first ISIC card with bank functionality in the whole world and quickly found a place in the wallets of many young people. Since August 2013, ISIC cards with bank functionality have also been issued in cooperation with Swedbank, and these cards are called ISIC MasterCard Student cards. From 2020, ISIC in Estonia issues virtual cards in cooperation with LHV bank.
Various options have been added to ISIC cards over the years. In Estonia, the cards are used as door, canteen, library, public transport and bank cards. ISIC cards can be applied for in the card management system developed by FESU here in EDUID.
