I was recently requested to participate in a panel during the election for the new president of the local committee by a group of undergraduates from the university of Kelaniya. I was glad to be there even though I was not a student at the University of Kelaniya since it served as more of a [...]

Education

World’s Largest Student Run Organisation – Unknown brand origins

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I was recently requested to participate in a panel during the election for the new president of the local committee by a group of undergraduates from the university of Kelaniya. I was glad to be there even though I was not a student at the University of Kelaniya since it served as more of a trip down memory lane for when I was a student at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and spent time at Aiesec. I had no knowledge about Aiesec before I enrolled at the institution.

I clearly recall how Padmaka, the president at the time (now Dr. Mirihagalla), delivered his speech in an informal manner and urged us to consider joining Aiesec. Many of my batch mates, especially the ones who had come from distant schools, could be seen joining political movements in an effort to put pressure on the university administration to look into minor issues that might exist, which I suppose is the case for any university since they all depend on government funding to survive. I’m very happy I opted for Aiesec instead of political parties. I had the chance to conduct myself as an employee of an organisation that handles foreign relations thanks to Aiesec. To obtain the membership, we had to complete a certification programme. We held leadership conferences, among other things, at the institution, so there was no time to spare. As a trainer, I eventually started to facilitate these conferences. The most notable accomplishment was that I was a member of the first team that established development traineeships in Sri Lanka, where we could send down international university students to instruct Sri Lankan kids in English in underdeveloped areas.

However, I was able to observe the same levels of intensity in the young leaders of our nation present at the event. Since its modest beginnings in 1995, when there were just a few members, Aiesec has expanded to 1500 active members, 19 universities in Sri Lanka, and 100 active projects, all supported by local and international university students who are a part of Aiesec Global. I simply inquired about the meaning of AIESEC from a team member out of curiosity. No, was the response. Some brand pain points become less relevant as the brand matures. AIESEC (pronounced: eye-sek) was originally a French acronym for “Association internationale des étudiants en sciences économiques et commerciales” (English: International Association of Students in Economics and Business). The full name is no longer officially used, as members can now be graduate and undergraduate from any university background.

After World War II, officials from universities in Europe began exchanging information on various business and economics-focused programmes and institutions. This is how AIESEC was born. Internships that students had been doing abroad, largely on their own initiative, came to an end with the outbreak of World War II. The neutral Scandinavian nations were still exchanging students as late as 1944. The Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques (AIESEC), with its headquarters in Prague and Jaroslav Zich serving as the organization’s first President, was founded on July 2, 1946, by Bertil Hedberg, a representative from the Stockholm School of Economics, and students Stanislas Callens and Jaroslav Zich of Czechoslovakia and Belgium, respectively.

By participating in local chapters or taking an international internship, AIESEC gives young people at various universities and colleges a platform. By working with and managing international teams, these young people may grow as leaders. Opportunities for associate membership give young people the chance to collaborate with various AIESEC NGO partners and represent their nation as part of campus ambassador programmes. Global Teacher, Global Volunteer, and Global Talent are the company’s goods. Every aspect of AIESEC’s activities is overseen by students and recent graduates in the organization’s 126 nations and territories. 100,000 young people currently participate in AIESEC team experiences that change their lives. More than a million young and seasoned professionals who want to make a positive difference in their organisations and communities around the world now make up AIESEC’s alumni network, which has grown significantly since the organization’s establishment in 1948.

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