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• AIESEC Sri Lanka, Event, Leadership, Membership, National News

Natcon 2022: AIESEC Sri Lanka’s Largest National Conference

AIESEC Sri Lanka conducted the Largest National Youth Leadership Development Conference of the Year.

As AIESEC, we are determined to develop young people. To make this happen, AIESEC Sri Lanka successfully conducted NATCON’22, the largest national youth leadership development conference at Citrus Waskaduwa on the 8th,9th, and 10th of April. The 3 day conference laid the foundation for the newly elected leadership bodies of AIESEC Sri Lanka to prepare for the upcoming year, hence this was a critical phase in the AIESEC calendar. Thereby, with a whole new dimension and understanding of the sort of leadership the world needs, the conference was bound to be one of epic proportions.

The conference was conducted with the engagement 260 delegates from the leading universities of Sri Lanka including University of Colombo, University of Moratuwa, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, University of Kelaniya, University of Ruhuna, University of Peradeniya, SLIIT and NSBM. The young leaders who participated in the conference were university undergraduates seeking leadership development, skill development and career prospects and senior undergraduates who are looking towards employability perspectives. Meeting all of these remarkable individuals under one roof was undoubtedly a unique opportunity for an organization.

To make sure that the delegates become impactful leaders, a series of experiential sessions were organized. The sessions focused on leadership development with national facilitators, chaired by Piumal Tennakoon, former Member Committee President of AIESEC in Lithuania and former Member Committee Vice President of AIESEC Sri Lanka. The sessions included LEAD spaces, Activating Leadership Functional/exchange simulation, Lead Innovate Evolve: The present context and way forward for AIESEC Sri Lanka, space to interact with other delegates and networking spaces with mentors to enhance their potential skills while engaging in several leadership-centric spaces over the three-day event schedule.

Among the highlights of the event was the Outbound Training which enhanced the performance and teamwork of the delegates through use of experiential learning activities and games.

Gala Night

The conference’s most glamorous night, with dynamic awards, gratitude, shoutouts, The Gala Night, the Awarding ceremony of AIESEC Sri Lanka for the membership was held where the tremendous performances and dedication of the members of AIESEC were rewarded with the utmost aim of encouraging them to be the future advocates of change. AIESEC in University of Sri Jayewardenepura won the The Most Outstanding Local Committee Award while AIESEC in University of Ruhuna won the The Most Outstanding Official Expansion Award. Apoorva Ekanayake was rewarded as The Best Young Leader and Gayashi Kavindi as The Best Emerging Young Leader.

Our Partners

NatCon 2022 was delivered successfully in strict accordance with health and safety requirements exceeding the planned outcomes as well. It would not have been successful without the support given by our partners including

Stax – Exclusive title partner, Technomedics International (Pvt) Ltd, – exclusive healthcare partner, SOZO – beverage partner for gala night and outbound training, Unilever – national talent partner, Innovate – exclusive youth partner and Nestlé – official beverage partner.

Hello TV and Hello Radio – exclusive media partner, Mark &Comm – PR partner also helped us to bring Natcon 2022 to perfection.

The impact made via the conference was incredible, which in fact shows the enthusiasm of the Sri Lankan youth in contributing towards the betterment of the country. The enormous favorable response from both the AIESEC Sri Lanka membership and the external partners engaged attests to the event’s success, which was held on an even larger scale than prior years in terms of its importance in developing youth leaders. NatCon 2022 which was organized by AIESEC Sri Lanka made a huge impact showcasing the potential of our youth and affirming the fact that the youth in our country can be utilized in uplifting the nation in a sustainable manner.

Await the launch of the Official Photo Album and After movie on our social media platforms!

• AIESEC Sri Lanka, Leadership, Membership, National News

The NextGen AIESECer Program 2022

The NextGen AIESECer Program is the most extensive employability enhancement program initiated for the membership of AIESEC Sri Lanka. This program is one of the entity’s roadmap projects and it is expected to achieve the final outcome by 2023. The ambition is to develop the skills that the corporate partners seek in an employee while they are still a member of the AIESEC organization. This program will take place at the entity level, focusing on each and every member of AIESEC Sri Lanka.

The program is designed to enhance employability, develop and refine workforce skills, network with industry professionals and alumni, recognize competencies, value addition to the CVs, develop organizational Skills and Knowledge and give a competitive advantage in the job market for our members. Most importantly, we focus on boosting their employability rate. The program focus on developing the most on-demand skills, which include social & communication skills, critical thinking & problem-solving, project management, team, work & collaboration, analytical skills, global awareness, creative thinking, emotional intelligence, data-driven decision making, digital savviness, work ethics & personal grooming and growth mindset. The knowledge is provided within 4 weeks to different categories of the membership through team projects, quizzes, assessment centers, group discussions, training, and workshops.

The Next Gen AIESECer program is carried out in collaboration with our exclusive talent development partners as it’s more of a return on talent investment (ROTI) program. The program was established after looking at current corporate trends, and it allows them to connect with Sri Lankan businesses. As a result, more young people will become leaders, resulting in a community that will continue to have a positive influence.

This program is the first step toward creating a more structured membership development and engagement program that will eventually result in a National Portal of skilled AIESECers who will open their doors to a brighter future to impact the world positively. We have long believed that authentic AIESECers with the traits and principles listed in our leadership development model should be recognized and their journey to success should begin as soon as they leave AIESEC.

Visit the NextGen AIESECer Website to learn more: www.aiesec.lk/nextgen-aiesecer/

• AIESEC Sri Lanka, Event, Leadership, Membership, National News, News

National Functional Summits

The National Committee of AIESEC Sri Lanka hosted their national functional summits for the national and entity leadership bodies in the months of August, December and January.

Presidents' Summit

The President Summit was conducted on 18th and 19th of December 2021 at the Member Committee Office of AIESEC Sri Lanka in Maharagama. This summit is mainly focusing on the talent pipeline of the presidents in AIESEC University establishments in Sri Lanka.

The summit mainly focused on the essence of the organization, departmental understanding, strategic decision making through experiences, team management, synergy management and understanding the scope of the president role while connecting to external and internal environments through practical simulation and informative sessions.

Our main objective was to give the newly elected presidents in AIESEC University establishments a head start and a proper clarity to drive their local entities towards our main aspiration, which is to develop youth leadership.

Business Development Summit

The Business Development Summit for the Sales Teams of AIESEC Sri lanka was held on the 7th August 2021 virtually on Zoom. The outgoing Business Development Commission for the term 21.22 along with the Member Committee Vice President , facilitated the sessions.

The Summit was organized with the objective of providing the necessary knowledge for all members to carry out their roles well specially in a time where Business Development was the focused product and the sustainability of the entities were mainly dependent on BD. Another objective of the summit was to establish and nurture a good Business Development Culture in the entities that could be continued for years to come.

The summit included knowledge sharing spaces,pitching sessions and fun activities and the participants got the opportunity to interact with members from other entities ,create friends and share ideas and insights.

Marketing & Digital Experience Summit

The functional summit for Marketing & Digital Experience was held on 18th & 19th December 2021 at the Member Committee Office premises of AIESEC Sri Lanka with the participation and facilitation of current and elected Local Committee & Official Expansion Vice Presidents for brand and product marketing. The summit was conducted with the theme “Think Outside the Box.”

Aligning with this theme, the summit was organized with the aim of creating a space for elect vice presidents to get an overview of both Brand & Product Marketing and onboarding them for the strategic direction of AIESEC Sri Lanka for Term 22.23, while honing their creativity through team activities and spaces.

Outgoing Global Talent Summit

The functional summit for Outgoing Global Talent was held on 19th December 2021 at the Member Committee Office premises of AIESEC Sri Lanka with the participation of current and elected Local Committee Vice Presidents. As per the main objective of this summit, necessary functional knowledge with respect to the go-to areas for term 22.23 were downscaled to the elected Vice Presidents.

This was facilitated by the Current Vice Presidents along with the practical experiences they went through, ensuring proper consolidation of all the good case practices and processes within the local entities which proved to be productive. oGT Custom Funnel, International Relations management, Attraction management, Lead nurturing and Exchange standards fulfillment made up the scope of delivery for this functional summit through which we believe the function can be assisted towards a growth during the term 22.23.

Incoming Global Talent Summit

The National Summit of iGT was held on 28th of December at the Member Committee Office premises of AIESEC Sri Lanka with the participation of current (gen 21.22) and elected (gen 22.23) Local Committee Vice Presidents. The core objective of the summit was downscaling of the experiential functional knowledge gathered by the Current Local Committee Vice Presidents to the Elect Local Committee Vice Presidents, while giving a space to become acquainted with each other.

The functional sessions were conducted in the areas of iGT History and Ownership, Customer Funnel, Sales and Partner Management, IR and Matching, and Value Delivery. Apart from that, sessions on Member Engagement, Management, and internal culture were also conducted to give Elected Vice Presidents an understanding about good case practices and improve their knowledge on laying internal processes. In summary, this summit was an opportunity for the Vice Presidents of gen 22.23 to get a head start on their term.

• AIESEC Sri Lanka, Event, National News

AIESEC Strives for World Peace: Global Youth Dialogue-Phase 04

Global Youth Dialogue is the platform initiated by AIESEC in Japan in collaboration with AIESEC Sri Lanka, AIESEC in Mainland of China and AIESEC in Nepal to create a cross-cultural space for the youth of these countries to come together and exchange ideas, stories and holds discussions creating lifelong friendships.

AIESEC is the world’s largest youth-run organization. We are a global, independent and not-for-profit organization active in more than 114 countries. AIESEC strives to achieve peace and fulfilment of humankind’s potential; we place our confidence in youth as the key to archive a better future because they have the passion and responsibility to make a better future by shaping today. We believe that leadership is the fundamental solution, and anyone can develop it. We enable young people to develop their leadership through practical experiences in challenging environments. We do this through cross-cultural exchanges and by creating these opportunities. AIESEC in Srilanka has dedicated youth leaders determined to provide leadership development opportunities to Sri Lankan youth. In Sri Lanka, we have an active membership of more than 1000 university students.

Global Youth Dialogue Phase four was organized to showcase the hard work of a group of young people representing various universities. In 2021, it was possible to have an event with the AIESEC in Japan, China, and Nepal, even though it was challenging due to the prevailing situation. All the delegates who participated actively engaged in the daily tasks. At the end of the daily task, the delegates parted with smiling faces, eagerly awaiting the next day’s golden hour. In addition to the daily task, everyone was eager to go beyond that particular area and share more of the language of their country, food, music, social issues, and so on. When they share information about their country’s culture, social issues, and much more, those five days will be a memento written in gold for everyone in attendance.

The Global Youth Dialogue program was initiated so that the youth of those countries have a cross-cultural understanding by sharing their values and cultural heritage, which would allow them to demonstrate AIESEC’s values of peace and understanding. By creating this platform, we hope to create more determination from youth to engage with AIESEC and go through cross-cultural exchanges to be closer to engaging and developing every young person.

Aftermovie of Global Youth Dialogue Phase 04: https://youtu.be/lv0i0SBIWFo

Written by: B.R. Charitha Basnayaka (Member, AIESEC in Rajarata)

Edited by: Janith Giragama (OCVP Operations, Global Youth Dialogue Phase 04)

• AIESEC Sri Lanka, Event, National News

Global Village 2022: A celebration of cultures

Global Village is the largest celebration of cultures from around the world hosted by AIESEC, encouraging social sustainability, world awareness, and cross-cultural understanding.

It is an annual national event organized by AIESEC Sri Lanka that brings together young people from various cultural backgrounds together to celebrate multi ethnicity, cross culture and global citizenship. It is a time of festivity that strives towards promoting peace and harmony by bridging the gaps and differences among countries.

Global Village 2022 was held on the 30th of January 2022 from 1pm onwards, at the Colombo City Center. Foreign Exchange Participants of AIESEC Sri Lanka coloured the event with a showcase of their nations through singing, dancing, food, costumes, music and traditions through dedicated country booths and a wide spectacle of cultural performances.

The event also brought together AIESEC members and alumni to engage with cultural booths, performances and of course, jives. Attendees of all ages were able to enjoy a taste of traditional cuisine from a host of countries and territories including India, The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Spain and France and learn fun facts and stories from the exchange participants. Global Village was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interact with people from all over the world in a single location.

Experience more with the Official Photo Album of Global Village 2022 here.

Signup with our Global Volunteer opportunities to explore and experience cultures around the world!
www.aiesec.lk/global-volunteer/

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