600 Global Leaders Down in KL for AIESEC

by Rachel Chan

The opening

As part of its 2009 International Congress, AIESEC, the world’s largest youth-run organisation, active in over 1700 universities across 107 countries, brought 600 global youth leaders down to KL last Saturday (22 August 2009).

AIESEC is an international platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential for them to have a positive impact in society. It was founded in 1948, and has 38 000 members and 800 000 alumni worldwide.

The AIESEC International Congress is AIESEC’s largest annual leadership congress, with its 2009 theme ‘Empowering Leaders Across Cultures’. It seeks to “connect leaders across different cultures, beliefs, and values to come together to make our world a better place”.

The network of young leaders also enables its members to travel to each other’s countries, as well as seek job opportunities with its sponsors, which include big multinationals such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Canon, Malaysia Airlines, Pepsi, and Nestle.

(L-R) Cafrey Ma, Geralynn Wong, and Aman Jain

When asked how much AIESEC is governed by its sponsors’ agendas, International President Aman Jain (from India) replied that it is “very little”. He also mentioned that AIESEC is “completely non-political, and we are very careful with who we work with. Most of the companies that we work with have been with us for the long term – between 20 to 45 years. They respect our space, and give us general guidance and support.” He ruled out “tobacco manufacturers” and other “unethical businesses”.

Cafrey Ma and Geralynn Wong

Malaysian AIESEC President, Cafrey Ma replied when asked how effective their projects to tackle issues such as lack of access to education and gendercide have been: “It has been very effective, because apart from the process of generating leadership opportunities for young people to be part of, one of the biggest things that we want to focus on, and in fact we have focused on for the past 1 year, is that we want to provide these change agents.”

The Muhibah dance

Its first activity in the line-up,The Global Village, showcasing “cultures and traditions from different parts of the world”, was themed “Travel the World in 60 Minutes”. Decked in their repsective national costumes, participants presented their native customs through dance, music, and food.

The Soka Gakkai lion dance

This was followed by its congress’ opening ceremony with a Malaysia, Truly Asia muhibah dance. A lion dance and drum performance by the Soka Gakkai Malaysia was next, much to the amusement of the crowd. The President of AIESEC International, Mr. Aman Jain gave his speech, welcoming all to both the Palace of the Golden Horses, and to the beginning of AIESEC’s 2009 International Congress.

The Congress lasts from August 22nd to August 31st. Among special events coming up are the Global Youth to Business Forum and the Warna-Warni Malaysia.