Launched in 1934, the British Council opened its first office abroad in El Cairo four years later. At the time, the organisation was seen as an international body to promote the values of parliamentary democracy in the face of the threat of Fascism. It now has 220 offices in a range of cities in 110 countries throughout the world, with 600,000 students and a staff of 7,000. One million people per year choose to sit for its official qualifications in English. Its libraries boast 250,000 members, and 8.5 million visitors pass through its information services every year. Fostering British education and training, working alongside governments and NGOs and disseminating innovation, creativity and excellence in British sciences, arts, literature and design all figure amongst its main objectives. One of the Institute's greatest landmark events was to organise a British art exhibition for the public in Teheran (Iran) for the first time ever, as also was working with opposition groups and other civilian organisations in the final years of apartheid in South Africa.