14 Reasons Why You Should Volunteer Abroad This Summer (Bollywood Version)

No plans queued up for this summer? Why don’t you pack your bags, travel to a new country and volunteer for community development? There may be a reason or two why you need not do this, but here are 14 reasons why you should, in good ole Bollywood style.

#1 Wake up and smell the coffee

Chaining yourself to the comforts of a couch and a hard disk full of TV shows to finish up doesn’t quite seem to agree with what you are truly capable of. Move out of your comfort zone and travel.

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#2 Burst your own bubble

Many a times when we are posed with chances of doing something off the beaten track, our misapprehension of our abilities can allow us to set the idea aside and settle for monotony. How about bursting that bubble?

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#3 Break open

A new environment will enable you to break your shell and help overcome shyness. This way, you will be able to shed your inhibitions easily and become more confident in all your endeavours.

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#4 Meet new folks

Meeting new people is one of the most obvious reasons. However it still remains evergreen and magical in its impact. New company always pulls out the best in you and encourages you to learn novel things from others.

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#5 Change your mindset

A volunteer program abroad will give you the chance to travel to new places, make new friends, make new memories and learn new skills. But essentially, it will challenge you and your mindset about the world, helping you become more open-minded.

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#6 Change others

Focused on solving particular issues in society, volunteering caters to cultural education, environment, cultural understanding or career development. You will have the chance to impact lives either directly in the short-term, or long-term, providing them with the skills and knowledge to be more successful.

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#7 Get Culture Shocked!

Feeling a personal disorientation while experiencing an unfamiliar way of life can bring about a lot of changes in a person. The new way or culture is seen as a source of uneasiness in the beginning but it always ends up in acceptance and mastery.

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#8 Savour new tastes, in food and more!

What’s the fun in staying at home while the world has so many flavors to offer? Starting off from clothing to curries, countries of the world are distinctly different from each other in ways words cannot describe. And given the chance to experience them, one must never think twice.

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#9 Work in a global team

International volunteer programs are global in the truest of sense. While at work, you will be surrounded by young people hailing from very different places. Each person will pool in his or her skill, knowledge and assets owing to his or her culture and contribute to making a great team.

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#10 Strike great places off your bucket-list

Years later when you dig out your time capsule from the backyard, you should have no regrets to have had pictures of you from your drawing room. Better still, embark on a journey of adventure and delight, visit new places, listen to the stories they stand for. Make your time worthwhile.

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#11 Young is now

Youth is not eternal. And life won’t always be just about you. So become a person of culture, adventure, and compassion. Travel, exhaust the infinite power of your youth, while you still can.

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#12 Be different

In order to be unique, it is essential to be different. A plain college degree, a neat grade sheet are not always enough to make you stand out. If you can embrace the unparalleled opportunity of being an exchange participant, you will be the round peg in a square hole.

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#13 Discover your potential

New environments are conducive to creativity and learning. And while you’re at it, you will discover new layers to your own self. Figure out what you are made for, where you true potential lies. Live a life-changing experience.

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#14 Why YOU?

‘Cause you were born to dazzle.

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So where do you want to volunteer this summer? 

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The Youth Global Entrepreneurial Program is a 6 week AIESEC program that provides undergraduate students an opportunity to develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills through international internships centred around social issues. The objective is to target our country’s youth and help them enrich their education by offering them a holistic international experience.

As a YGEP exchange participant, you will work on a developmental project along with other participants from across the globe, take complete ownership in an unfamiliar environment, manage your own projects and track your results – exactly as an entrepreneur would. We will support you through this experience and ensure that it challenges your world view and helps you gain a unique combination of multi-cultural, social and entrepreneurial exposure.

Visit http://ygep.aiesec.in/  for all the

awesome details!

 

Climbing the Ladder

It is a rarity for most to go beyond what they are most comfortable with in their lives, especially when they are already contented with what they have. The very idea of doing something more purposeful than what I was already doing seemed fantastically futile and hence I had not got a reason to prove myself otherwise for the same, until NSC 2013.

Even today, I distinctly remember my Local Training Seminar (LTS), way back in September 2013. It is an orientation day for new recruits of AIESEC. When I had to talk about how my day was experience, I remember saying, “I’ve been part of a lot of organizations like theatre companies like LOK, Shriek of Silence and QTP productions etc., but here it feels a little different. I’d definitely like to see how AIESEC changes me.” I now realize the there was a tinge of arrogance about my words. However, in all honesty, I could not see AIESEC making me any better than what I already was.
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In October 2013, I got the opportunity to be a delegate for the National Strategic Conference. I told myself that if this chance does not give me anything to take back, I would put a full stop to my AIESEC journey. I entered the conference hall and that was the last time the thought could occur to me. Those five days of the conference changed everything for me. Beyond the enjoyment and the interactions with people, I learnt what AIESEC really is all and what we as an organization are trying to do in this world.

Most of the those nights, I ended up building conversations with new people and resolved to answer that one question I had always had – “How can I, with all the experience and craziness I have, contribute to something that is much larger, the purpose of which is much nobler than I could ever imagine?”

I moved slowly, with patience. I became the Cluster Manager for Calcutta for Nokia [V] Indiafest, 2014 and I did what I do best – tell everyone who worked under me/ with me how brilliant my world of AIESEC is. This did work, especially for the February recruitments that were lined up then. After handling a few more essential responsibilities such as Management Body term, I am currently the Manager for Media and Public Relations for AIESEC in Kolkata.

This is my story so far. Although a normal day of mine includes a lot of activities, it is only AIESEC that defines me now. The new responsibility I hold does make me feel nervous. But, I am not going to allow this fear to stop me from doing what I aim to do for my Local Committee and the youth of my city. I will learn and succeed. That is my promise and also a prayer.

 

The author Sean Ankit Bothra is a member and Manager for Media & PR, AIESEC in Kolkata.

By offering experiences as lessons instead of preachy texts in prints, AIESEC tactfully lays down membership programs that are best suited for young individuals who are passionate. Experiential Leadership Development being its core operational goal, AIESEC enables the youth to develop themselves and help develop others too. 

A Snippet from across the border

In 2012, I was in my 2nd year and I did not know how to go about my career. I did not have a clear vision for my future. On 10th September 2012, I across a post on Facebook that caught my eye. The post said, “Do you want to be a Global Leader and work with the most diverse people in the world? JOIN AIESEC.” A ray of hope sprouted in my heart that this might help in exploring my potential. We had an AIESEC information desk at our university and that is where I got to know that it’s the world’s largest student organization. Never was I confident that I’d be able to clear the first round of the recruitment process, but fortunately I did. I was recruited as a member of Marketing & Communications department that has helped me unfold the basics of Communications for the corporate market. I was promoted to the role of Director, External Branding and then, Organizing Committee Vice-President of the biggest AIESEC Conference of Pakistan. In additionto all of this, I became the National Social Media Manager of AIESEC Russia. Currently I am working as Local Committee Vice President– Branding, Communication & Information Management of AIESECKarachi, Pakistan.

 

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That’s not it, I am also a National Support Board Member of AIESEC United States. If one thing that AIESEC has created in me, it is the spark – a spark to do better, a spark to be an asset for this society. Living in Pakistan, I have a network connecting me to over 25 countries including India, Romania, Russia, Indonesia, China, United States, Austria, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, Malaysia, Portugal, Brazil, Bulgaria and many more! If you are ready to live the same experience & boost your utmost potential, then be a Global Leader with AIESEC!

The author Hussain Dewani is the Local Committee Vice-President Branding, Communications & Information Management of AIESEC Karachi, Pakistan. He is also on the support board for Brand & Design, AIESEC United States. AIESEC truly connects people. While in AIESEC, political, national and international barriers seem to diminish under the power of one globalculture, defined by peace and fulfillment of humankind’s potential.

This is why we exist, live and evolve.

The Need for Positive and Inspiring Leadership

AIESEC and ING share the same commitment towards leadership development, because in a world advancing at an unprecedented pace, we need leadership more than ever in order to tackle the arising challenges. However, as the world is changing, leadership is evolving too – adopting new forms that correspond to the 21st century lifestyle and culture. Nowadays, individuals are not leaders per se, but because they are experts in an area there is demand for, because they know how to build a culture, impact people and start a movement.

In order to build and nurture the right culture and develop the right kind of leadership, it is important to start from the “Iceberg principle” – What is it that we value and how will we behave according to it? People perform best when they are motivated and when they work on something they genuinely believe in, guided by values and ethics established within a shared culture.

That is why ING aims to build positive, inspiring leadership from the inside out and does this by encouraging employees to really know themselves; because leadership begins with self-awareness.

ING Bank will be facilitating a workshop at Youth to Business Forum Top Leaders Edition on February 25, 2014 where Mr. Robert Scholten, Country Head for Greater China will give participants a chance to learn about the ING Orange Leadership behaviours and how they are also applicable in the day-to-day life.

Join us on our official Facebook channel www.facebook.com/GlobalY2B and watch live to find out more about the type of leadership that is developed in this international bank.

Five reasons why we need to talk about the future of leadership today

1. The turning point is approaching: post-2015 Development Agenda

The year 2015 is approaching and with it the turning point for the current Millennium Development Goals. All eyes will be on the United Nations and the post-2015 developmental agenda. It is the right time to start thinking about what the future holds beyond 2015. Leadership nowadays is culture-oriented and issue-based, striving to be not just a concept, but a socially responsible solution for the challenges the world is facing. Once we define challenges we want to tackle in the future, we can be set to shape the type of leadership young people will need to be able to solve world’s burning problems.

2. Keeping up with the swift pace of changes in the world

The world is changing at an unprecedented pace and it is necessary to have a visionary outlook in order to predict challenges and start generating possible sustainable solutions. Today’s professions did not exist 10 years ago and we probably have not yet anticipated the professions of tomorrow. However, by ensuring we are developing experts aware of the world they live in, we are one step closer to being in charge of our future, keeping up with the evolution and not falling behind.

3. Value-based leadership development among Gen Y

Technology has changed the way we perceive the world and has influenced the lifestyle of a new generation – Gen Y. It has created interconnected, intertwined society, but has also contributed to information overload, or in other words “information glut” and “data smog”.

T.S.Eliot once asked “Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”

Technology did not only change our lifestyle, but also a much deeper aspect of society – the one comprised of values. Since the values that guide people have shifted, we have to ensure that the values the world is built on today, will not endanger any aspect of life in the future. While it is encouraged to live in the present, shortsightedness can prove fatal, as seen by the state of the climate change today.

4. Generation Y to lead the world in the future

Representatives of Generation Y will comprise 75% of the workforce by 2030. It is crucial to understand the way they think, work and act in order to provide the right opportunity for them to develop skills they will need in the future and in order to ensure the right kind of leadership is in store for tomorrow. If provided with an interactive and informative learning platform, young people will be able to develop their potential to the fullest and use it to contribute to their society.

5. Understand. Define. ACT. (in that order)

We should define the type of leaders we want to develop in the future. The first step to developing leaders is knowing what kind of leadership we would like to see in the future. Dynamic? Collaborative? Impactful? Inclusive?

It is important to remember that leadership is not an end goal, but a solution. There are no easy fixes for the challenges we are facing. But the best way to tackle them is to invest in youth – young leaders who will one day decide about the future of our world. In order to achieve that, it is necessary we begin today.

What type of leadership would you like to see in 2030?

Join us on our official Facebook channel www.facebook.com/GlobalY2B and watch live on February 25th, as we discuss the future of leadership on Youth to Business Forum Top Leaders Edition.