With seven continents, one hundred ninety six countries, and close to seven billion people, it’ll take great effort, time, and money to go around the world and back. But no matter how unfeasible it may be to go and explore the world in its entirety, most people still seem to lean towards taking this challenge, wanting to see much more than the place they’ve been accustomed to.  The World Wide Web has been a popular alternative for those who wish to see more, most especially for students. A teenage girl shopping online as if walking the streets of Paris or young boys playing interactive games, meeting people from different cultures, indeed the internet transports us to different parts of the world with just a click, but as people, we can’t help but seek a more tangible and deeper connection.

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Technology can provide us with only so much and when it’s time to turn the computer off, although we’ll surely keep everything we heard, saw, and learned, we are again transported back to where we came from without so much as a key chain souvenir  to remember it by. Thankfully though, it is not just the internet that gives students this chance. Ever since 1968, AIESEC has been developing “globally minded responsible leaders” here in the Philippines.  Today, this sixty year organization is found in one hundred ten countries and territories with sixty thousand members all over the world.

Photos from AIESEC NLDC 2011

The organization’s down to business approach in leadership training and in fostering international relations is reflected in the various events and activities they hold including international internship programs, seminars, and workshops to give further training to the world’s future leaders. Organized by young people for young people, contributing to societal change is brought to levels students are able to relate to. When asked about their different events, Joanne Joaquin, Organizing Committee President of AIESEC UP Diliman's latest event, AIESEC Intersect, says that these include the National Leadership Development Seminar (NLDS) where sessions, workshops, team buildings, and socials are attended by AIESEC members here in the Philippines, the Social Entrepreneurship Experience (SEE) where “interns make Manila their destination on a mission to help fight poverty through entrepreneurship,” the AIESEC Global Business Seminar (AGBS), AIESEC Week, AIESEC-SEED Project Hiyas, and Global Village. With countless course requirements and hectic schedules, why still do all these? Joanne’s reply was simple, “At the heart of AIESEC University of the Philippines Diliman is our commitment to honour and excellence. Honour first before excellence gives AIESEC UP Diliman its drive.”

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