terça-feira, 26 de agosto de 2008

An International Conference Experience: Discovering, Empowering and Connecting...

The International Congress (IC) and the YOU CAN! 2008, the two biggest international conferences of AIESEC, have taken place in São Paulo this year.

I've spent two weeks in SP as a part of the Organizing Committee of one of those conferences (named YOU CAN) and I can tell you this was one of the most international experiences I've ever had!



I've been to Paris for an international meeting in 2006, when i met 200 youngs from 50 different countries, but being in my own country for this conference was even MORE international!


Talking to Ghana on the bus: african projects on entrepreneurship, cultural perceptions and future desires...

I've met people from over 100 countries! I had dinner and lunch with europeans, asians, latin americans, africans,...I noticed on details their cultural differences, ways of thinking and arguing for their own reasons,...



To organize an international conference brought me challenges all the time. Even when Putting 200 delegates in 5 buses in the middle of a paulista avenue in the rush time or balacing discussions between the Brazilian Embassy in Nigeria and the MC from Nigeria, having the Aiesec International Vice President for the Africa Region pressuring me for the delivery of visa to Nigerian delegates.



Sleeping a few hours per day ended up in a great conference, where we could meet together people from the whole AIESEC network in 106 countries.



One of the most happy moments for me was at the Global Village, an event held during the conference to promote cultural diversity. It happened in a park in São Paulo.



There, with just a few steps you could visit more than 100 countries. In 3 hours, I've talked to leaders from Malaysia, met people from the distant kazakhstan, found out about flavors of the indian typical food...



or just met American guys trhiving on a leadership project to promote cultural understanding around the world...



The diversity of actions, projects, atttudes is incredible! Seeing people moving themselves to generate real changes in society was one the biggest learnings I've brought back home.



I've also met great friends I've made through the AIESEC network...



and said goodbye to recent friends that are already going back home like Audrey from France...



It was also about new connections...discussing Talent Management strategies with the Global Chair of TM for Aiesec International or with arabic girls from The Emirates...



...or meeting global leaders, like Lana who's now leading the impact of AIESEC in the development of young leaders in Jordan, in the middle east.



The experience of organizing this conference with other 13 guys was also incredible just because they are great! Really! They are high perfomers, they are team workers, they value learning experience...they are just great!



This conference was a great learning experience...all about team work, learned a lot about myself, personal values, the importance of having passions and dreams and leading personal changes when you want to achieve what you want...



I come back home thinking of how important it is to value what you believe, to have dreams and to connect yourself (worlwide) to people who share the same passions as you.