Day 5

Hey everyone,

A small update from the Talent Management side: IC is amazing!! I am getting so many insights on how other countries’ systems work and I can assure you: we still have some work to do in Belgium. Nevertheless, I feel more motivated than ever! I have amazing ideas on recruitment, member tracking, our mentor program, got introduced to the adjusted competency model, the branding XP etc. Furthermore, I had the chance to talk to some of the most inspiring people ever and I can only say one thing: make sure you invite your alumni to your Local Motivational Seminar, because their story can truly inspire new members! The most amazing story I heard today was about IC in the Eighties, when AIESEC had to take a stand on the situation on South Africa, where the apartheid began. It is amazing to see how our alumni stood their ground and held to their principles even when in the most difficult times. And even after 20, 30 and even 50 years after their own AIESEC careers, you can still hear the passion in their voice, talking about our organisation. Today definitely was a day I will never forget and I will do everything in my power to live up to these people's legacy!

Leentje

First impression of Pieter

Hey all,

I’ve my first break here at IC, so time to keep you posted.

Traveling:

Traveling to the venue was really a challenging experience. We left Brussels around 20H with the plane, and landed at 2o’clock in the morning Turkish time (GMT+2) at Ataturk airport. And than, the adventure began. We were totally lost at the airport as there were no people from AIESEC waiting for us. In the Starbucks (first time in my live) we met some other delegation also waiting for pick up.

Around 4am someone from the organizing team showed up to take us with a bus trip for one hour to the venue (an amazing venue BTW). After a very long extra hour of check in we could finally get in our rooms at 6am!!!! The flight from Brussels to Istanbul took us less time than the transport to our room J

Day -3

This was today, the first day of the conference. After 3 hours of sleep I was feeling ready to meet no one, and sleep another sleep, but apparently we had to start of the sessions, and there were 300 people at breakfast all eager to talk to you. The morning started of very well. Luckily our MCP, Andries took a bit care of me and guided me to the first session (than you mate) .

After I got awake, during the opening of the day, I was ready to start enjoying the conference. We had sessions and I could directly feel the power of the AIESECERS around me. It’s amazing to be here and the feeling I have cannot be put on paper. I had a conversations with people I never met before about the organization where I was committing to for the last 3 year, and it felt like normal. First time since long I could talk about my passion!!!!! I’m so happy to experience this!!!! And above all, these people came from: Peru, Tanzania, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Spain, USA, UK,… (I can still keep typing for some timeJ.

I’m really enjoying my time her, and it is really the right place for me to be right now so I would like to thank all people who gave me the opportunity to be here, and above all those who pushed me to attend this conference.

I’m heading back to sessions right now. I’ll keep you updated.

Overexcited greetings from a tired Pieter