AIESEC

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AIESEC is "The international platform for young people to discover and develop their potential". As a global, student-run, non-profit organization, AIESEC looks to create tomorrow's leaders, today through the facilitation of an internship exchange program. AIESEC is present in over 800 universities in 95 countries and territories, and aims to provide its members with the opportunity to work abroad, develop leadership skills, build a personal network, and explore their future ambitions. As of 2005, the network has 19000 members and places over 4000 university graduates in internships around the world annually. It is the largest student-run organisation in the world.

History

After World War II, in 1946, students from 9 universities in six countries met in Liège, Belgium, with the intention of fostering a new form of international cooperation. They created the Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques (AIESE). Its aim was to establish relations between students all over the world, in order to build peace between the countries and to fight against racial discriminations providing to its members wide traineeships and exchange opportunities.

Jaroslav Zich, a young Czech, was elected its first president. The new association was first headquartered in Prague, Czechoslovakia but had to leave the country within a year in order to stay politically neutral after the communists gained power. Its headquarters moved to Brussels, Belgium and in the early 90's moved to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where they remain today.

In 1949 a second congress was held in Stockholm. Seven countries attended it: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, The Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The representatives signed the association's foundation document. The name changed a bit to Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales.

The name Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales was supplanted by the acronym AIESEC, pronounced "eye-sek" because many of its members were not Commerce or Science students.

AIESEC Today

AIESEC is a student-run, non-profit educational organisation which aims to be independent and non-political. It is comprised of students and recent graduates of institutions of higher education interested in leadership, management and global issues. The organization's values forbid unfair discrimination, and one of its aims is to realise its vision of peace and the fulfilment of humankind's potential.

AIESEC corework actually consists on providing its members an integrated development experience ("AIESEC Experience") comprised of leadership opportunities, international internships and participation in a global learning environment. In short, AIESEC's goal is to provide young people several learning and intercultural opportunities to develop their potential as individuals in order to make them able to have a positive impact on society.

AIESEC International is still based in Rotterdam, however each country with an AIESEC presence has their own Member Committee to co-ordinate activities for that area. Members belong to a Local Committee for their university, with the executive posts for the LC (as well as the MC and AI) being determined in yearly elections.

Members regularly attend conferences, ranging in scale from small regional events to huge international gatherings (such as the yearly International Congress). Conferences allow delegates to learn how to carry out the organisation's work more effectively, often with the help of business leaders and other speakers. The organisation's unique internal culture is highly visible at these events, with various songs and other Memes known throughout the network.

Away from conferences, members frequently use AIESEC's extensive intranet (AIESEC.net) for communication, which is notable for being the world's largest OpenACS installation. In addition to hosting hundreds of virtual communities, suitably trained members can use the "InsightXP" online database to match potential trainees with companies. This greatly streamlines the work of exchange, since before the introduction of this system in the 1990's, members were required to meet and exchange physical forms.

AIESEC now focuses on facilitating international traineeship exchanges and supporting other activities that provide learning experiences for its members and trainees. AIESEC trainees are placed in one of four pools:

Management traineeships - the biggest pool, covering most areas of business
Technical traineeships - generally IT or engineering work
Education traineeships - teaching
Development traineeships - any work with underprivileged communities, whether or not in a developing country

AIESEC has also decided on a set of core values, which it attempts to instill in its members and the events/programs it operates. These values are: Activating Leadership, Demonstrating Integrity, Enjoying Participation, Living Diversity, Striving for Excellence, Acting Sustainably.

AIESEC Experience

AIESEC corework actually consists of providing its members an integrated development experience internally known as "AIESEC Experience." It is realized by providing young people several learning and intercultural opportunities to develop their potential as individuals in order to empower them to have a positive impact on society.

As seen in the picture, AIESEC's approach to enabling young people to discover and develop their potential is a full experience with several stages that is based on a few key principles. This approach, which comes through the AIESEC Platform, helps to build young people that have the desire and capacity to have a positive impact in society. This flow and the opportunities within it are reinforced by 5 key principles, that are reflected in all parts of the process. These principles are:

aiesec_experience.gif|frame|left|The following diagram shows the different steps in the AIESEC experience. All members go through a formal introduction to the organization and then begin to take on responsibility in some area. They then have the option to take on leadership, work abroad, or both. The final step is to head to the future – to take the skills, inspiration, and networks from AIESEC to have a positive impact in society.]]

Taking an Active Role: AIESEC will provide the opportunities and some support, but it is ultimately up to the individual to make the most of those opportunities. Each individual must take responsibility for his/her experience within AIESEC. Each individual must also take responsibility for the organization. It is through the collective efforts and commitments of everyone involved in AIESEC that the organization is able to provide so many opportunities – some 350 conferences, 3500 work abroad opportunities, and 5000 leadership positions, plus many other activities.

Developing Self-Awareness and Personal Vision: AIESEC thinks young people need more space and support to answer fundamental questions such as “What is important to me?” and “How do I want to contribute to the world?” AIESEC supports young people in clarifying and expanding their ambitions through mentorship, personal vision exercises, an inspiring environment, and providing intense experiences that challenge their view of the world and their role within it.

Increasing Capacity: Through conferences, work abroad opportunities, and the management of our offices, AIESEC provides young people with the opportunity to increase theoretical knowledge in a wide-range of functional and soft skills and the opportunity to put it into practice.

Building a Network: AIESEC thinks that people need a network of support that can guide and encourage them towards their vision and goals. Through conferences, learning networks, innovative on-line platforms, and a growing alumni network, AIESEC want to provide young people with the opportunity to create a strong and global network to support them in their personal and professional pursuits.

Challenging Worldview: Through intense experiences such as conferences, working abroad, and engaging in diverse environments, AIESEC want to “shake up” the way young people see the world. According to the organization view, a stronger and more holistic view of the world enables them to more easily incorporate new perspectives, see interdependencies, and identify ways to positively impact any given situation.

AIESEC networks

Africa

North & South America

Asia-Pacific

Europe

AIESEC Alumni Associations

AIESEConnect - AIESEC Alumni platform
- AIESEC alumni association in France
- AIESEC Alumni in Russia
- AIESEC Alumni in El Salvador
- AIESEC Alumni Association, India-The AIESEC Alumni Association, an initiative of former AIESEC members from India was launched at International Congress 2005 in Agra, India. "25 Years of Excellence - Alumni Congress" ran parallel to IC and gathered over 150 delegates spanning several generations of AIESEC alumni. The Congress had representation of alumni from India, USA, Japan, Ghana, Germany and several other countries. A special CD retrospective including videos, photographs and presentations is available on the website.
- Alumni-Netzwerk Ruhr e.V. - Regional AIESEC alumni association in Germany

References

AIESEC International
AIESEC Home Page (2005) Retrieved November 26 2005

International nongovernmental organizations | non-governmental organizations

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