ASIFA (Association International du Filmd'Animation) was established in 1960 in France, operating as the longest and largest international animation organization affiliated with UNESCO.

The proposal of establishing an international animation organization can be traced back to over 70 years ago after the Second World War.

At that time, there was a boom in the film industry.

And filmmakers were united by organizing film festivals and publishing magazines.

Animators faced a completely different situation, a dilemma: animated films or animated series were only commercial works produced collectively which could not express individuality; while independent animated shorts could only be screened as clips before films in cinemas.

In this circumstance, a cluster of animators tried to seek the possibility for screening their independent films. Their approach was to compile their films into a feature-length duration and then negotiate with the cinemas.

With all the endeavors, animators, for the first time, proposed to establish ASIFA during the 9th Festival de Cannes in 1956. However, the talk was unfinalized. Then, it was in 1958 in Annecy that the meeting continued and the detailed scheme was at length discussed and finalized.

Legendry masters including Norman McLaren, Jiri Trnka, Alexander Alexeieff, Paul Grimault, John Hubley took the lead in this process, which caught the attention of the Annecy local government, who reached out to them proactively.

A consensus was reached promptly, in which the government promised to offer cinemas for their animations and support their proposal to organize animation festival.
The same year, the structural plan was drafted by ASIFA and Norman Mclaren was appointed as the first president.

Since its establishment, ASIFA endeavors to the development of animation and is devoted to building a bridge connecting multiple cultures and ideologies by animation and constructing a world that values peace and settles disputes through dialogues.

Currently, ASIFA chapters are scattered across more than 40 countries or regions, boasting over 6000 members.

ASIFA promotes opportunities for professionals in animation to share information and network globally through publications and public communications.

ASIFA is concerned with sustaining and preserving the rights of animators and the art of animation by promoting, educating, cooperating, and assisting others.

ASIFA promotes progress toward peace and mutual understanding through the unified interest of the art of animation with workshops, gatherings, and worldwide projects.