The idea of an international student festival in Trondheim originated in 1988. Trondheim has always been a city with great traditions for student commitment and activities, yet some believed that there was room for more. By bringing together students from many different parts of the world, they wanted to create an event that would be both a conference and a festival.

The theme for the very first ISFiT in April 1990 was "A Changing Europe - What are the responsibilities of the students and their universities?". 400 hundred students from 45 countries participated. The following festivals were:

1990 “A Changing Europe”

Former Prime Minister of Norway, and later Director-General of WHO, Gro Harlem Brundtland opened the first festival. 375 participants, mostly from Europe, attended.

1992 “Breaking Communication Barriers”

Ms Chai Ling’s speech on hatred is remembered as one of the highlights.
This year still holds the record for the most applications, more than 4300 were received. The first truly global ISFiT.

1994 “Human Rights”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama attended as a keynote speaker. Travel support, making it possible for even more people to participate, was introduced.

1997 “Quality of Life”

The Dialogue Groups were introduced to the ISFiT concept. Also the festival focused on smaller, more intimate meetings.

1999 “Solving Conflicts”

The Student Peace Prize was introduced to ISFiT.

2001 “Global Responsibility”

Reports from the workshops were presented at the UN Earth Summit 2002. 458 participants from 106 countries makes this the biggest ISFiT ever.

2003 “Challenging Attitudes”

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. José Ramos-Horta was among the keynote speakers.

2005 “Education. Why?”

Focusing on educations impact on society. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangaari Maathai was one of the keynote speakers.

2007 "Global Boundaries"

Globalization and the challenges it presents the world was the theme of 2007. 

Thematically, the focus of the festival changes with every ISFiT - always trying to capture and discuss the most current global challenges. ISFiT has grown to become the world's largest thematic student festival with more than 105 countries represented in 2001.

Each festival has presented speakers of high international caliber - among them the student activist Chai Ling, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Director-General of WHO Gro Harlem Brundtland, Dr Klaus Töpfer from the UN and Nobel Laureate Dr. Wangaari Maathai.

At ISFiT, a diversity of young people get the opportunity to meet each other. The festival is an arena for overcoming cultural, political and religious borderlines, in order to promote tolerance and understanding.

The organization behind ISFiT is made a new for each festival, and much has changed in the way the festival is organized. Up until 1997 all communications were done by mail, fax and phone, and no single central office existed. New concepts like the Dialogue Groups (1997) and The Student Peace Prize (1999) have been introduced, and are now important parts of ISFiT.

Today ISFiT is highly organized, runs its own office and commands resources that the founders could not have imagined. ISFiT is also internationally recognized, and highly regarded. Some think ISFiT has lost something in the process, and believe that parts of the original idealism and spirit have been replaced by ties to business, and a shift towards a more cultural focus. Others applaud the changes, seeing them as opportunities for ISFiT to reach new groups in society, and bring the message of understanding and the importance of a neutral meeting place to many more.