ACOIA was a regional conference, originally sponsored by the Auburn University Student Senate, on international affairs and social issues. Each conference focused on a specific theme and typically featured 5-10 speakers over a two- to three-day period. Circa 1970, the conference's format was changed to a series of speeches over a two- to three-month period; around the same time, the conference's purview was expanded to include domestic issues. In that connection, the conference's name was changed from "Auburn Conference on International Affairs" to "Horizons" in 1971. The Horizons lectures were organized by students on the Horizons Committee of the University Program Council (UPC) in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.