INFORMATION BOOKLET
... HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR AIESEC EXCHANGE? To say that my exchange to rural Taiwan, living with people of the Amis tribe in Changguang village was all-amazing would be an understatement and part lie. It was challenging yet exciting and tiring yet exceedingly fulfilling and has made me learn, discover and love a different culture!
CHRISTINE TEE, 2014
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ABOUT AIESEC
GLOBAL CITIZEN
SAMPLE PROJECTS
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APPLICATION PROCESS
TESTIMONIALS
FAQs
ABOUT AIESEC AIESEC is a global platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential. We are a non-political, independent, non-for-profit organisation run by students and recent graduates of institutions of higher education. Its members are interested in world issues, leadership and management. AIESEC does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion or national / social origin.
Our belief is that sustainable, informed and globally-minded leadership can help us solve many of today’s challenges. We provide young people with a global platform where they grow in confidence, gain experience and can perhaps fail but learn fast. They discover what really matters to them while creating a positive impact.
4 OUR VISION
“ PEACE AND FULFILMENT OF HUMANKIND’S POTENTIAL.”
AIESEC is a global youth network impacting the world through leadership development experiences.
The organisation is present in over 126 countries and territories.
Internationally, we facilitate over 21,000 exchanges annually to students.
It is the world’s largest youthrun organisation with over 86,000 members and 1,000,000 alumni.
GLOBAL CITIZEN For over 65 years, AIESEC has been facilitating youth leadership activities as well as international internships and volunteer experiences, creating a global learning environment.
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Our Global Citizen Program offers you the chance to develop yourself through community development projects throughout the year with peaks during winter and summer breaks. The opportunity offers you an intense learning experience by living and working in a foreign environment. The projects involve creating and facilitating seminars and activities for young people around subjects like cultural education and career development, allowing you to have a direct positive impact on communities while gaining an intense cultural experience.
SUB-ISSUES
... In 2014, more than 500 youths from Australia journeyed abroad through our programs.
Create a bridge between cultures and endorse cultural diversity in foreign communities.
Work with local communities to improve sanitation and health to reduce disease and increase food production.
Enabling communities to better deal with the effects of climate change and reduce their impact on the planet.
Use your skills to help educate young people to improve their chances while working within their community.
Bring facilitation and business skills to communities around the world in order to help improve their living standards.
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MAIN DESTINATIONS BRAZIL
POL SOUTH ITALY CHINA AND KOREA TAIWAN EGYPT
COLUMBIA
PHILIPPINES
INDONESIA
HUNGARY INDIA ROMANIA CAMBODIA
VIETNAM
CZECH REPUBLIC
REQUIREMENTS TERTIARY STUDENTS OR RECENT GRADUATES (ANY DISCIPLINE) BETWEEN 18 AND 30 YEARS OF AGE EXCELLENT ENGLISH COMMUNICATION SKILLS UNDERSTANDING OF AUSTRALIAN CULTURE OPEN MINDED AND FLEXIBLE
COST $700 administration fee Most Global Citizen projects will provide you with free accommodation in a host family, or hostel or an intern house depending on the community you choose. This fee is not inclusive of your flights, travel insurance and visa costs.
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... WHY BECOME A GLOBAL CITIZEN? Gain personal and professional skills Immerse yourself in a different culture Generate positive impact on communities Develop a global network
WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A REGULAR DEGREE OR A FRUITFUL UNIVERSITY LIFE WITH AIESEC?
FEATURED OPPORTUNITIES
10 Global Citizen Programs are typically 6-8 weeks and allow youth to make a positive impact in the society in the areas of Cultural Understanding, Education, Health, Social Entrepreneurship and the Environment.
FEATURED OPPORTUNITIES
This project aims to bring multiculturalism to the Czech Republic through educating primary school and kindergarten aged children. The volunteers in this project will be delivering interactive sessions on political and social issues around the world.
The aim of this project is to empower Vietnamese youth through developing the necessary knowledge and skills to become more adaptable in the modern, fast changing, global world. The volunteers will help young people learn about multiculturalism and improve English communication skills.
In this project, volunteers will work with Taiwanese elementary schools and activate children’s interest in learning foreign languages. Volunteers will inspire children to think outside the box, arrange classes and activities to create a multicultural learning environment.
Impacta Hoy aims to empower youths to find solutions for the problems in the Peruvian community . Volunteers will conduct workshops for children and teenagers on entrepreneurship, leadership, project management, and presentation skills.
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Volunteering adventures that will help you develop life-long friendships and provide experiences to shape you for years to come. Together, we will change the way you see and understand the world.
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This project aims to raise awareness of HIV/AIDs through teaching about this issue in various schools and educational institutions in India. Volunteers will create learning modules and deliver them to students in rural areas.
Volunteers will work with an NGO in Naples to deliver courses on environmental conservation and legal issues to young people. You could also be involved in doing some marketing activities for the NGO such as website management.
The project addresses environmental issues through educating students of various ages about environmental protection in China. Volunteers will be raising awareness of environmental issues through organising classes, competitions, and activities for students to get involved in the community to take action against pollution.
The goal of this entrepreneurship project is to improve the financial suitability of organisational growth and of local NGOs in Greece. Volunteers will empower NGOs to give them increase capacities to act on social issues that Greece presently faces.
Peru
APPLICATION PROCESS
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01 SIGN UP AND CONNECT Build your profile on the AIESEC Opportunity Portal and we can start matching you with opportunities. You can access this at: www.aiesec.org/internships
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SEARCH FOR PROJECTS Filter search results to find the perfect opportunity in the perfect location for you.
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Tip: Contact your hosting AIESEC entity for assistance. You will be paired up with a buddy throughout your journey!
CONFIRM Once we find a match, we can start the process of putting things in place for your volunteer experience.
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BEGIN YOUR EXCHANGE
Congratulations, you’re on your way! We’ll be on hand to welcome you as you start your new adventure.
TESTIMONIALS
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JORDAN SMALE Kyrgyzstan Project MEKTEP
"Our project was aimed at high school students aged 14-18, teaching the career development and cultural awareness. We worked in 3 different schools across the city, one school was rowdy and active, the other two more quiet and attentive. We also worked in language centres in the city, holding 'talking clubs' and teaching English to students aged from 10 to 50. Our project had volunteers from four different countries; Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia. So we were able to teach our students about our individual countries and cultures and what professions are popular in each country and territory. Planning and running classes were hard at first, but as the weeks passed, we got to know all the students individually and learn what they were interested in and what goals they all had. Many students have kept in touch after our classes ended and have been very welcoming and friendly. Outside of the classroom, we had many trips and activities with the AIESEC OC here. Horse riding, a trip to the country's largest lake, paint balling, ice skating and mountain hiking just to name a few."
Check out Jordan’s blog at: www.barnstapleandbeyond.weebly.com
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KYLIN KWAN Brazil Project Smarketing - Novo Olha
“I found a project relating to Marketing for an NGO. It was a useful experience to apply my fashion marketing skills to a non-fashion industry, and at the same time a huge challenge to be working in a foreign environment as I had to overcome cultural and language barriers. I worked with some of the kindest people (despite major language barriers); being given tremendous opportunities at work, and on top of that, I’m very lucky to be staying with a host family who cooks the best home made food and runs an English tuition centre. So on the weekdays, apart from going to and fro work, I often attend English classes to learn Portuguese or just hang out with my host family. There were even students sharing many stories from Asia and Malaysia! I had a blessed opportunity to meet people from a diverse background and age groups, and in the process of exchanging knowledge, I tended to find my personal identity. My inspiration often derive from people. I love to learn, to satisfy my curiosity, to expand my understanding in everything! I really couldn’t ask for more. Everyone here has either inspired or made an impact of some sort in my self-development. If you are inspired, then take these inspirations and put them into action and do something! I never stop spilling my passion onto people, in fact, I love doing so because ultimately, I wish to see our generation to be a little more motivated and generous!”
18 CATHERINE NGUYEN Taiwan Project Dream Beyond Language
"I worked at an elementary school on the outskirts of the city, close to a farming/rural area, so the kids came from a mixed background of the city and the rural area. Every morning, I'd wake up early so that my host father (Director of Academic Studies) would drive me and his son to school, and depending on the day, I would teach from two to five or six classes, and assisting the English teacher with their class. Because there was another intern at my school, I taught year 3 and 5, and she taught year 4 and 6. My school, Da Shu Elementary School, also had a branch school in the mountain area around 15min car ride away, called Heshan Branch Elementary School. Honestly, I preferred this school more as the classes only around around 3 - 6 kids in each of them, so I got to play a lot of games with them, rather than present about Australia. I think it was then that I realised that I actually really enjoyed interacting with the kids, encouraging them to learn English and looking up games I could play with them rather than just follow the teacher's lead. I was also lucky to be able to spend a lot of time with the other EPs from my host LC, four from Singapore (2 Arabic, 1 Chinese and 1 Korean) and one other Australian EP, and some of my favourite memories are with the other EPs, going on trips together to Taipei, around Kaohsiung, E-DA Theme Park, and all the random sight seeing we had."
FAQs
20 WHERE CAN I GO ON EXCHANGE? Opportunities exist in many countries. However, we recommend countries and programs that have previously provided quality experiences for students from the University of Melbourne. These countries include Poland, China, Taiwan, Romania and many more. Conversely, there are several countries we do NOT recommend for your own safety.
WHAT ARE THE FEES I HAVE TO PAY? The Global Citizen program has a one-off administration fee of $700. The fee is not inclusive of your flights, travel insurance, visa costs, etc. However, most of Global Citizen projects will provide you with free accommodation and depending on the project, meals for the volunteering day.
CAN I DO MORE THAN ONE EXCHANGE? Yes. However, the minimum duration for each project is 6 weeks. While you are on your first project, you can then search and apply for your next opportunity before you leave. This will incur an extra cost, although special discounts will apply. We also offer back-toback Global Citizen projects at a discounted rate!
CAN I PARTICIPATE IN A GLOBAL CITIZEN PROGRAM BACK IN MY COUNTRY? No, you are not allowed to go on exchange to anywhere you have stayed for over a year.
DO I GET UNIVERSITY CREDITS FOR AN AIESEC EXCHANGE? Not for every university. We are working with our universities to get AIESEC exchanges accredited for you, but so far, only a few universities have given student credit points for participating in our exchange programs. Please ask your university AIESEC chapter for more information. But let’s look at this more positively - do you really need to be earning credit to do something fun and awesome that will develop and help you in your career? We thought not!
DO I GET A REFUND IF I DO NOT END UP GOING? Unfortunately, no. But don’t worry, you don’t need to pay anything upfront! You only need to pay the fee when you find a project you like, and that’s when we’ll ask you to sign a contract with our and your rights and responsibilities.
21 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I GET THERE? The local AIESEC members will pick you up at the place you agreed on before flying (probably an airport, or a train/bus station) They will take you to your accommodation, and should help you get a local mobile SIM card, explain the transport system, get you a bank account (if needed), etc. They will also take you to your first day of volunteering.
CAN I GO WITH A FRIEND? You can. But do you want to? On an AIESEC exchange, you will meet so many new friends! They are usually volunteers from all over the world, working and living with new and different people is part of the challenge. We do not recommend you to go with a friend because you can always go to different places then come back and share all the unique experiences you had throughout your exchange.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I COME BACK HOME TO AUSTRALIA? When you come home after your exchange, we will invite you to come to a Welcome Back Event. This event is organised for you to have a chance to share stories with other students who went on exchange in the same period as you (but to different destinations), reflect on your learnings from your exchange experience , and learn about other opportunities AIESEC can offer you.
WHAT DO I DO IN AN EMERGENCY? AIESEC works with International SOS, an organisation specialising in emergency assistance in case of all kinds of situations. If anything was to happen (which we hope it doesn’t!) - anything from a sickness to a natural disaster, from a theft to political unrest, there is a number you can call wherever you are, and the operator from International SOS will redirect you to someone who can help you straight away.
NOW WE HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU:
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!
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You can never be 100% ready. But we’re here to support you as you take your first steps outside your comfort zone. And from there you will grow as a role model for others. The world is more connected than ever before; it requires leaders who can work together and empathise. Gain a new appreciation and understanding of diversity and culture. FIND ADVENTURE OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE
www.aiesecaustralia.org