Congratulations Johanna!

Congratulations to Johanna DeCotis - the new MCVP OGX of AIESEC Southern Cone!
We're so proud of you!!

MENAXLDS 2009!

Denise's review of the conference, and mine of the global village. Let's hear about your conference experiences!!

@ Love from Egypt,
Maddie and Denise

The Incredible Shrinking World

AIESECers are everywhere. Sometimes you don't even have to look for them. Like the magical beings they are, they just appear and astound you with their awesomeness.
For example:

1. In Charles de Gaulle, waiting to take off for Cairo after visiting a pretty sweet AIESECer from GT, striking up a conversations with a gentleman from Germany who turned out to have been in AIESEC back in the early 80s. He used his experience in AIESEC to start building a better team relationship in his company, as well as change the way the company interacts with its surrounding community. Bonus fact: he loves AIESEC dancing almost as much as I do.

2. Walking around the streets of Alexandria, I hear somebody yell "Hey AIESEC!" Turns out he was a delegate at the Egypt National Conference I faci'd at, and was forced to figure out the fastest way to get my attention. He then proceeded to ask advice about where he should take his traineeship and offered to drive me around Alexandria and meet his family.

3. At a football match (the real, international version of soccer) for Al-Ahly (the most loved club in Egypt), I met three AIESECers from Madison who also are studying at the American University in Cairo for the semester. Man, those awesome kids are everywhere. They also happen to love Bebot.

And those were all just in the past three weeks. Get out there GT, and you'll see what I mean.

Belatedly, but a tradition nevertheless

Although it's not readily apparent from looking at the photo, we spelled out AIESEC under the famous St. Louis Gateway Arch following that historic winter conference.




Arcadiy and I are the "A", our LCP Amira is contorting herself into the second half of the "S", and I suspect Preston is hunched over as the bottom half of the first "E". I also want to say that our very own Kate is the top half of Preston's "E"? I wish I could identify everyone else in the photo, but suffice it to say they are awesome AIESECers from around the nation.

Photo courtesy of the equally awesome Sohaib.

Built. Maintained. Elevated, again.

Congratulations Tiffany! AIESEC US MCP 2009-2010!

AIESEC GT, epic win. Let the Revolution begin!

AIESEC Alumnus Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Former Finnish President Wins Nobel Peace Prize

By WALTER GIBBS and ALAN COWELL

Published: October 10, 2008

OSLO — The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded its 2008 peace prize on Friday to Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president who has been associated over decades with peace efforts and quiet, cautious diplomacy from Asia to Africa and Europe.

Hazir Reka/Reuters

Martti Ahtisaari at news conference in Kosovo in 2006.

Out of 197 people nominated for the annual prize, the committee said, Mr. Ahtisaari had been chosen “for his important efforts in several continents and over three decades to resolve international conflicts.”

To outsiders, Mr. Ahtisaari, 71, has often seemed an undemonstrative and aloof figure. But some people who worked with him praised what Gareth Evans, the head of the nongovernmental International Crisis Group in Brussels called “charm and humor” in dealing with his various negotiating partners.

He has played a central role in ending conflicts that took root in the late 20th century and threatened the early 21st century with conflagrations in many places, some of them remote and all of them complex, presenting mediators with tangles of ethnic, religious or racial passions.

Specifically, the committee mentioned his work in ending South African domination of Namibia, the former South-West Africa, from the 1970s to the late 1990s , and peace efforts in the Indonesian province of Aceh, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Central Asia, the Horn of Africa and, most recently, in Iraq.

- from the New York Times

Martti Ahtisaari was an AIESECer from Finland. How rad is that? Not only are we the only student organization with a seat in the United Nations, we have a Nobel laureate among us. Congratulations Mr. Ahtisaari!

SoCoLDS 2008: The Leadership Revolution

This weekend, our regional conference was the best conference the Southern Comfort region has put on since we had our first SoCo RoKS in Spring 2006 in Jacksonville, FL. A number of factors converged to produce this perfect storm of AIESEC allsomeness.

First, our LCs have sufficiently built and maintained this year. UGA is coming back into their own in a strong way with nowhere to go but up, and Appalachian and UNC have grown explosively, while Atlanta has stayed strong as usual. Also six partners in change from AIESEC DC came down. Thus, the delegates capped off at 107 people, the most we were able to have for the event. The rooms were perfectly sized to make this number of people pack the haus, which in this case happened to be the Country Inn & Suites in Charlotte, NC.

Second, our OCP Nick was a baller with his team, even if the registration opened late due to circumstances outside of his control. He had everything under control and his party planner, Jessica from UGA, put on by far the best RoKS party I've ever attended, and others were in agreement.

Third, Atlanta's own Arcadiy "2 Hottiy" Kantor was the conference manager, trained at International Trainers Congress 2008 in Kiev, Ukraine earlier this year - the highest-quality AIESEC conference for trainers and facilitators in the world. He put together a faci team, including Atlanta's own Thomas Wehner, Katie Sassaman, and Rob Hazelwood that set a whole new standard for the quality of facilitating a regional conference in the United States. As a side to this, no MC member was able to come down to represent at the conference. While I find this unfortunate as I was looking forward to Naoufel gracing us with his humorous and lovable presence, it is nonetheless remarkable due to the success of the conference. In the past, the national staff's presence was largely only effective to police, curb, and often castrate our sessions which we worked so hard on (most memorably Ben James' "The Business of Flirting") and to hand out propaganda for us to read about business development and the exchange programs. This time, we put on an amazing conference completely FUBU.

If that was a little too long for you to read, I'll just put it in math / code form:

Atlanta.rep = ++;
SoCo.rep = ++;

Dragon Boat Races

This past Saturday, AIESEC Atlanta took part in the 13th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival here in Atlanta. AJC International was kind enough to sponsor a boat for us, and we arrived at Lake Lanier ready to make waves!









Despite the fact that many of us had never rowed before, we quickly adapted to the circumstances and managed to win in our division!






All in all, we had a great time, and it was a great opportunity to network with the civil and professional organizations represented at the event. With any luck, our involvement will become an annual affair!

For more pictures, visit the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival website!

The New Generation

In spite of everything else going on in AIESEC US, here in Atlanta the academic year has begun with the usual bang. Fall recruitment is officially over, culminating in the orientation of over 20 new members this past Sunday.






Just look at those bright-eyed, bushy-tailed new AIESECers.

Let's hear it for Atlanta's newest generation of AIESECers!

@Masr yoheb @GT.

Dear AIESECers of GT,

I have signed many emails and conversations to you as "Love from Egypt". And, although I love you incredibly, I wanted to explain to you that that love is by no means limited to me. AIESEC in Egypt loves you, too. From the exposure of our members through MENALDS in Morocco and MENAXLDS in Tunisia, to meeting up with Egyptians around the world (especially Mohammed and Ma'andi in our own city) - AIESECers who hail from Atlanta are loved over here.
I just returned (literally JUST walked in to my room and fired up my computer to chat with you all) from National Planning Meeting and National Interns Gathering 2008, a simultaneous conference for the leadership of AIESEC Egypt to plan their national and local directions with the brand new EB teams, both on the LC and MC levels, as well as interns from around the country (and around the world for that matter) to meet and develop themselves and their traineeship experience by increasing their position in the global network.
I was a Faci for the intern's track - and I can't tell you how many people either knew a member of AIESEC at GT or of our LC (very often through Bebot - which we danced anytime the music came on), and how much it meant to me that I could talk endlessly about how proud I am to be an AIESECer from GT. So continue to be the incredible organization that you are, the incredible people you contain, dear @GT.
You're kind of a big deal out here, people know you.

Love from Egypt,

Maddie

Summer '08 - A first taste

A month into the summer semester, our LC is already going full throttle!



From May 7-11, Preston, Kyle, Thomas, Amira, and I made way for Markham, Ontario, Canada right on the outskirts of beautiful Toronto for AIESEC Canada's National Leadership Development Conference 2008. I'll let the picture above speak for itself.



The following week, AIESEC Atlanta gathered at our LCP's lake house in Alabama for Summer LTR to go over strategy for the upcoming year.

And of course, our members abroad continue to inspire. Check out their blogs to the left!

Tactical strike

It is currently the week after the end of the spring semester, and finals have come and gone. Two weeks ago, AIESEC at Georgia Tech had its final General Participant Meeting of the semester. It was a fun-filled evening put together by Birgitta and the TM team. There was a scavenger hunt, followed by a water balloon fight.







What a way to end the spring!


This summer, globetrotting AIESECers from AIESEC Atlanta will be spanning the globe:
Preston, Thomas, Kyle, Amira, and myself are heading to Markham, Ontario (just outside of Toronto) for Canada's National Leadership Development Conference of 2008. This conferences is Canada's yearly leadership development venue, and also marks the transition between MC terms.

Arcadiy, our trainee in Almaty, Kazakhstan, is currently in Kiev, Ukraine for AIESEC International's International Trainers Conference.

Johanna, Anna, and Michael have been matched on traineeships to Brazil, Costa Rica, and Malaysia, respectively. A few of them are already there!


As usual, things carry on here in Atlanta, and we continue to strive for excellence in the AIESEC network and in our local community. Keep an eye on us as we move through the summer and into fall!

Quebec, nous t'aimons

These past couple of weeks, AIESEC Atlanta members were flung across the globe to attend the numerous international conferences that AIESEC International holds each year. Germany, Tunisia, Russia, and Japan each saw the smiling faces of eager, exuberant Americans from the Peach State.

However, a few of us thought, "Why should we need a conference to justify visiting another MC, LC, or interesting destination? Why can't we just go?"

And so we went.



Thomas, Ryan, Masato, and I met up with Shannon Guy (of former LCP fame) from AIESEC Yale and headed for an atypical Spring Break destination, Canada. Montreal, Quebec, to be specific.

What began as a simple trip into a city evolved and shifted into a week-long love affair with the local committees nestled in the heart of this francophone metropolis. We were welcomed with unparalleled enthusiasm and warmth by the LCs of the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) and Hautes Etudes Commerciales Montreal (HEC). They accepted us into their offices, their events, and their social circles without hesitation and thoroughly immersed us in the Montreal experience. And even though we struggled with our French, it was easy to see that no language barriers could overpower the strength of the AIESEC network to create friendships. AIESEC Montreal is truly a force to be reckoned with.



We came, we saw, we conquered. An indelible mark was left on our hearts, even for those of us who are seasoned visitors of our neighbor to the north. I know I speak for all five of us when I say that we will remember this experience for years to come.

And to you Canadians: may we meet again at NLDC in May at Toronto!

Go big or go abroad.

Traineeship Rocketship: (n) [trey-nee-ship rok-it-ship]
Origin: AIESEC, Madisonian

(1) The act of taking that immense step off the AIESEC platform and into another country, experiencing life in another culture, meeting incredible life-changing people, and discovering and developing yourself to become a change-agent with a positive impact on society.
(2) The act of going big and going abroad.
(3) How to become an AIESEC Rockstar.

Shanky, we miss you already...

How much?

This much:

Daily Paradigm Shift

I respect, more than anything, the willingness of others to change. I revere individuals that embrace this phenomenon, the people that leap into change head first, not solely accepting changes that happen upon them, but their entire ambition is to constantly change and grow while supporting, pushing, encourage others to experience the same impact.
From reading about a revolution in perspective, to discussions with my role models about their direction in life, from gentle pushes from across the ocean to examine how to improve myself to improve others, to a hero of mine sincerely forcing me to look into the direction of my own - it constantly pushes me to change myself, my perceptions, and to focus my direction. To discover my purpose.
I am consistently impressed that AIESEC has placed these incredible people in my life. That their experiences in this organization has shaped them in away that they have been able to shape me, that their changes in perception of individuals, of cultures, of growth and the globe have so significantly changed my own. That taking on these challenges, whether it is a traineeship, an international conference, or leading other such amazing individuals, do not accept that they have overcome these challenges, but are constantly looking for new ones.
It is amazing that the slightness of one action impacts so many others. That missing a bus my freshman year allowed me to read a flyer advertising AIESEC, that one night of hunger turned into a dinner that cemented my personal connection to some other AIESECers that have been some of my closest friends, that one delayed plane caused me to have some of the most constructive and inspiring conversations of my life. That allowing myself to be dragged to one information session a year and a half ago could give me so many of the opportunities that AIESEC has.

Preston, our fearless leader, told me this, in a dead-tired, half-aware state on the plane somewhere over the Appalachian Mountains - there is a reason that change is in the word exchange. Because exchange may be the medium of AIESEC, but change is what we do.

Welcome Xiao...building bridges (and tables)

Yo, yo...yo,yo, yo, Xiao!
Welcome to Atlanta where the Aiesecers play
And we create them exchanges like everyday
Big beats, hit streets, see Aiesecers roamin'
And parties dont stop til' eight in the mornin'

We finally got a chance to meet with our newest trainee in Atlanta, Xiao, from Beijing! She's currently working at Deloitte up around the Perimeter and she finally had some free time to meet and become a part of our AIESEC family.

We had an amazing pot luck dinner in the newest AIESEC house and I'd like to thank everyone for making it an incredible night (and delicious dinner) .

More than anything else, I'd like to thank y'all for making Xiao feel at home with our little family, and showing her the meaning of AIESEC love, southern comfort style. Stay tuned for an update for a "local's tour" with Xiao, and really showing how we do it in the ATL.

ps -many thanks to Kyle for building a dinner table for many more dinners to come...

Amanda-Panda

Shout out to my habibti, Amanda Browne from AIESEC DC, for gracing us with her gorgeous presence this past weekend. Atlanta was explored, parties threw down, booties were shaken, and the best ribs in Atlanta were discovered. Amanda, welcome to our little family and best of luck in Tunisia.

AIESECers, come visit. Atlanta loves company. AIESEC at Georgia Tech loves you.


love, and AIESEC.
Maddie