Rotary E-Club of New England AIESEC & Rotary – A Call to Partner

By Vierka Donicova, Rotary E-Club of New England Member

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I am very pleased to share with you my journey to Rotary through RYLA and AIESEC. Many of you know about RYLA and in my home district, our RYLA program is for young adults aged 19-30. AIESEC (the International Association of Students in Economics and Management) is often unknown in Rotary. AIESEC is the world’s oldest, and largest, international student-run organization. I’ll expand on AIESEC a bit later.

A First Step: I have long had a passion for international service, therefore I was helping in many international projects, when I have heard about RYLA I have found it as a great opportunity to learn more about international service and leadership. I joined my Slovakian District 2240 RYLA as a delegate in April 2009. The theme of my first RYLA was related to Work-Life Balance, a topic I was wrestling with as a medical student. The RYLA experience gave me valuable insights into what it took to be a leader, and that I could be one. A year later, I joined AIESEC, as a team

member yet I quckly took a leadership position as a Vice President. AIESEC has motivated me a lot through practical leaderhip tools such as different ways of thinking and communicaiton with people. Later that same year I returned to RYLAas a leader of my own team. Full of energy and enthusiasm I led my team to the “out of box thinking,” ,that I had learned in AIESEC. Teh RYLA experience was amazing as I was able to apply lessons learned from both RYLA and AIESEC, yet live in the moment of making new memories with the team I was leading. Unwittingly I had connected knowledge from these two organizations which are very important in my life. In sharing this knowledge with my RYLA team and applying this together, we won the ‘Best Team’ award!

Going Global with RYLA My RYLA journey continued to International RYLA 2010 in Montreal, Canada. There, I met many amazing people from around the world as part of the iRYLA program, including a number of fellow AIESEC members and AIESEC Alumni. I greatly enjoyed making new connections with fellow international youth leaders with common interests in service, leadership, and addressing global issues. We

RYLA District 2240

Rotary E-Club of New England AIESEC & Rotary – A Call to Partner

By Vierka Donicova, Rotary E-Club of New England Member

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were able to later explore the International Convention and the House of Friendship that had presented many wonderful service projects. It was an eye-opening experience as the complete world of Rotary was shared with us and it inspired me to work towards becoming a Rotarian.

A Vision: Bring AIESEC and Rotary Together Both AIESEC and Rotary have helped, in many ways, shape who I am today. AIESEC and Rotary are two organizations that compliment each other in many ways – while both are dedicated to the development of tomorrow’s global leaders, Rotary is also an organization full of the leaders of today. Let me present more about AIESEC to this Rotary audience to help paint this picture of synergy further:

What have AIESEC & Rotary in Common?

1) Peace and Exchange Both AIESEC and Rotary have a mission to have a profound impact on society and to promote Peace throuhout the world. While Rotary was established earlier, in 1905, both organizations have existed for decades with similar goals. AIESEC was established in 1948, with seven founding countries (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden). World War II in Europe had ended - the widest and most destructive armed conflict in history is over. Seven students from European countries, decided they didn’t want another war and they decided to do something about it. AIESEC’s founders believed that in order to reduce the chance of another conflict, people needed to understand and experience other cultures and countries, according to their local customs and their experience. The best way to do this was to exchange people between countries, allowing them to live and work in a country they ordinarily would never discover. The core premise was to develop young people by giving them opportunities to experience the business world in other cultures.

In 113 countries and at 2400 universities, AIESEC exchanges 5,000 young professionals each year, promoting peace

and global understanding through projects and programs in many forums around the world, including 15,000 International Volunteer Experiences each year and over 500 leadership conferences around the globe such as its annual Global Youth to Business Forum each year during its International Congress. AIESEC’s Exchange Program works with local and global businesses who are willing to take in a foreign intern between two and 18 months, offering a meaningful work experience to that global trainee. AIESEC’s Exchange Program is in essence the

Rotary E-Club of New England AIESEC & Rotary – A Call to Partner

By Vierka Donicova, Rotary E-Club of New England Member

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extended practical vocational training program that would be a natural progression for those young people that have participated as a Rotary Youth Exchange student, or compliment Rotary’s new Vocational Training Program. AIESEC can also be a strong compliment to Rotary’s Rotaract program in many places.

2) Common Commitment to Developing the Next Generation of Leaders Both organizations possess amazing networks that can be positioned for the development of tomorrow’s leaders. Rotary has 1.2 million members who are community and business leaders in over 200 countries and 34,000 communities. AIESEC has over 86,000 members at many of the world’s top universities in 133 countries – and partners with over 8,000 Global Partners who support AIESEC mission and programs.

There is immense untapped potential in the space between the two organizations. Rotary has an untold number of alumni that have participated in Youth Exchange, RYLA, Interact, Rotaract and Foundation programs such as Group Study Exchange, Peace and Ambassadorial Scholar programs, and friendship exchanges. AIESEC has over one million alumni out in the world today, some who’ve been involved in Rotary.

Here is what AIESEC says about its membership:

Our members are part of an exciting, driven global network. They are able to contribute

to societal change while exploring their own vision for a positive impact on society.

We are supported by thousands of partner organizations around the globe who look to

AIESEC to support the development of youth and to access top talent through our global

internship program.

Our alumni are leaders within their organizations and communities. They use the

experience, skills and inspiration AIESEC has provided them to be agents of positive

change within today’s society.

The similarities are striking – Rotary is an exciting driven global network committed to service and the promotion of peace and global understanding. … ‘Positive impact on society,’ ‘development of youth,’ ‘leaders within their organizations and communities,’ and ‘’agents of positive change within today’s society’ …. Do these statements not apply directly to Rotary and its youth programs?

3) Fellowship AIESEC is, for me, one big international family around the world. Wherever I come I can feel welcome and safe that I have my friends who will help me and I am very happy that I can get to know new people and better understand their culture or even for few months, I can feel as one of them.

Gala Night Awards, AIESEC National Conference April 2011,

Slovakia

Rotary E-Club of New England AIESEC & Rotary – A Call to Partner

By Vierka Donicova, Rotary E-Club of New England Member

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I have experienced how it is to work in international teams and to handle cultural differences. AIESEC and RYLA has taught me to see in each person something good. On the other hand, has AIESEC provided me one great opportunity and that’s how to learn something new or teach them something from my experience. In this way AIESEC is exchanging experiences around the world and has had immeasurable impact on society.

4) How AIESEC and Rotary Develops Global Leaders

Each AIESEC member has the opportunity to choose their development path – indeed, they will get out of their AIESEC experience what they put into it. Locally, students can directly apply for the Team Leader Program, the Internship Program, or if they don´t feel strong enough to lead others they can be a part of Team Member Programs where they can observe others and work to take leadership roles in the future. While RYLA, Interact, and Rotaract may have less formal programs, the development path to leadership can be very similar (learn one, do one, teach one).

When I joined AIESEC I was on Team Member level but I decided within five months to join the Team Leader Program, to lead others and to be responsible for my team. I was Vice President for Outgoing Exchange where my main responsibility was to select students, the future leaders of change

in the countries where they are going, to experience their internship through the AIESEC traineeship program. Together with my team, we led the selection process, conducted language tests, ran interviews and assessment centers. I have learned a lot about the different personalities, the characteristics I need to observe during those activities, and interview questions and scenarios used to select an appropriate candidate, who

will represent our country well and make the most of their Exchange experience. In both AIESEC and Rotary we work for free, but what we get from this experience you cannot pay with money. The most important thing is that our teams are based on friendship from which we get the energy to work many hours for free and to have great fun from doing so.

Vierka Leading in AIESEC

AIESEC Leadership Development

AIESEC Spain during their National Conference in Spring 2012

Rotary E-Club of New England AIESEC & Rotary – A Call to Partner

By Vierka Donicova, Rotary E-Club of New England Member

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Through our programs, we are building change in ourselves, our communities and throughout the world from this base of friendship and common commitment to our developement as leaders. We make contacts and connections for life, we experience unforgottable moments that will remembered foreverand we have made friendships that will always be there throughout our vocational and personal lives.

5) Service Projects

Both AIESEC and Rotary make an impact in its local and global communities through local, national, and international projects . In my Slovakian Local Committee, we’ve organized one project in which we renovated a children’s’ playground; we have cleaned, repaired and repainted everything. We also participated in a national initiative called Educate Slovakiai

in which AIESEC is cooperating with all young students from high schools to kindergartens, and our exchange participants from all around the world are sharing their culture and language with these young students. Like Rotary, we experience the many obstacles to get projects to work, to get enough sponsorship or to manage team very well but at the end, when you have your members active in project planning and your students out on exchange to another country, you can say proudly that you did it.

AIESEC also has many international Service opportunities. I have experienced one year working in AIESEC Madrid, five weeks in AIESEC Ha Noi, Vietnam and a few weeks together with

AIESECers in AIESEC Recife, Brazil where I volunteered to help interns to teach kids basics of the Spanish language. I was afraid that in leaving Brazil I would lose connection with the friends I had made and with the culture, yet my kids are writing me in Spanish and Portuguese to stay in contact. If these students remember something in Spanish, they are very happy to use it. This ongoing connection with this global network of friends from around the world through AIESEC and RYLA has encouraged me to leave my comfort zone and start to be the change that I would like to see in the world.

AIESEC in Vietnam

Rotary E-Club of New England AIESEC & Rotary – A Call to Partner

By Vierka Donicova, Rotary E-Club of New England Member

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Conclusion – Bring AIESEC and Rotary Together! It is quite clear to me that our two organizations can work together in many areas – from leadership development programming to local and global service projects. There are great opportunities to jointly promote global peace and understanding through vocational exchanges and even local cooperation between Rotary Clubs, Rotaract Clubs, and AIESEC Local Committees. Let’s work together to identify concrete opportunities for collaboration in our communities both locally and globally. I will be working with E-Club members and others in my AIESEC and RYLA networks to further the discussion. Lastly, there is a strong case for reaching out to AIESEC Alumni – one million strong - and extending Rotary’s message of Service Above Self and our commitment to developing the next generation of leaders. Please see the program addendum below that highlights some of AIESEC’s more famous alumni. Please reach out to me and others here in the Rotary E-Club of New England if you are interested in working with us on bringing AIESEC and Rotary together. Thank you for your time and consideration. Yours in Rotary and in AIESEC – Vierka Donicova

Some AIESEC Alumni! AIESEC ALUMNI

AIESEC Alumnus and Nobel Peace Laureate, Martti Ahtisaari, Former President of Finland

AIESEC Alumnus Kofi A. Annan, Former Secretary General, UN

Rotary E-Club of New England AIESEC & Rotary – A Call to Partner

By Vierka Donicova, Rotary E-Club of New England Member

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