When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel.
- Harold Kushner

Labels: thoughts

The feeling of being in the stuffy, hot room at MCP Pre meeting was quite amazing. There I was amongst a group of people who have met each other at IPM (which I sadly missed). I was actually quite nervous about it as I literally have never met anyone in that room ever before. Once I stepped in to the room, the AP MCPs greeted me as if I knew them forever. All worries just dissolved to non existence. It just feels right, right where I belong. You speak freely to these strangers and yet they know exactly how you feel. Definitely MCP Pre meeting and the all-night legislation helped in creating that sort of bond.

Outside of the MCP circle there are people that you just feel connected with. People with amazing stories, doing amazing things and have a relevant point of views that everyone could learn from, people you met from 2 years ago, people that went to the same IC two years ago...so many people with different backgrounds to talk to and enrich your own experience!

Inspiration

I think one of the best sessions at IC is the half-hour spent with Martin Bean. Martin was PAI in the 1970s. He is now working for Microsoft as their Global Education Manager. After all of those years, he still is very much passionate about AIESEC! The session that I was mentioning was not even part of the formal session agenda. It was an impromptu session as Martin asks for half hour from the Lego Fair time to talk to the MCPs.

The struggles he had as an AIESECer at that time were no different to what we have nowadays. Family and studies are the two biggest obstacles in his AIESEC career. Especially being an undergraduate who was applying for MCP and later on PAI. When family and friends gave up on him, he never gives up and proved everyone wrong. With his AIESEC experience and determination to finish his studies after his PAI term – he arrived to where he is now today.

One thing that he said that struck me the most is about how AIESEC Experience impacted his life. After years moved on from AIESEC, he still lives the AIESEC values. He is the living proof of how AIESEC changes the world.

The story did not end there. When I was talking to Betsy from Colombia at Ataturk Airport waiting for my flight – there were a couple sitting on a table next to ours. I was talking to Betsy about that inspiring session with Martin when the guy on that table interrupted. Apparently he overheard me saying acronyms like PAI, MC, AIESEC …and apparently he was involved in the MC of AIESEC India in the 1990’s! He came to Istanbul for holiday with his Turkish wife. At the end of our short conversation, he said this, “The thing that you said about the impact of AIESEC in your life. It is true.” It surprises me as he is another living example of how AIESEC impacts your life (and most probably the life of others!).

In AIESEC it is very very easy for us to get demotivated. Depending on which position you are in, it could easily been the most thankless job you could ever done in your entire life. But one thing I learned from this experience is to never doubt the mission of AIESEC and its impact in your life. Why are we here for? We are in the organisation not only for our own benefit but to enable others to have the same.

Labels: Events

Back from International Congress 2007 in Turkey. Amazing people, amazing experience and feeling so grateful for being able to experience all of this!

Direction

The first few days were spent in educating the delegates about Global and Regional strategies and initiatives. Update from AI about the Global Information System (Goodbye AIESEC.net – hello the new friggin’ awesome GIS!), the AIESEC 60^th Anniversary (Let me tell you it’s going to be massive! Start booking your flights to the events, people) the HEROES project (AP "HOT TO GO" initiative).

Gabitza, the PAI facilitated the MCP Pre-Meeting day and AI members come and go throughout the day - introducing themselves and presenting their AI plan to a bunch of MCPs.

The first three days (especially the first day) we were learning a lot about the global direction. Where do we want to go as an organisation? What is our relevance in the world? Why does AIESEC exist at all? The sessions designed to make you think of these questions – external relevance of AIESEC.

One thing missing though, what is our internal relevance. This might not be applicable for delegates at IC (because everyone would have the same opinion – it is relevant for each one of them otherwise they wont be there). This could be something that New Zealand ask as a country. How AIESEC is relevant to you as a member of the organisation?

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Aaaannndd

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Action

Country meetings- heaps and heaps of country meetings! Working groups and sub-committees! Phew! The whole 10 days of IC were full of action, self-initiated or AI-initiated. It becomes clear to everyone of us the concept of ONE AIESEC that Gabitza has in her PAI speech. One AIESEC, working together, having fun together.

100 Cupcake Campaign is coming to the LC near you? What is the 100 Cupcake Campaign? It is a way for AIESEC New Zealand to push exchange growth in the OGX side. It is a very exiting idea to capitalise on what New Zealand is good at … Sending EPs! Based on country meetings our EPs for DT and ET are hot in demand. Why don’t we provide them with a life-changing experience? It is part of “people development” to provide our members with a life changing experience.

This is just a recap of IC in a tiny nutshell. There are so much more to the experience than just strategy discussions and professional development =) There is also connection, inspiration, motivation and adventure that came out of IC. These are the things that you can not get anywhere else and that money cant buy.

Labels: Events