IC Memories

Many people in my network of AIESEC friends have been typing out their memories of International Congress (known affectionately as IC) - their joys, their revelations, their conversations with people... but me. I have been hiding behind my laptop busy preparing for our next conference Beyond Limits 2006 (NZLDS). It's going to be a big conference... 90 delegates, the biggest one I will be attending since my first NZMS in Auckland 2002.

First of all, I was completely blown away by my team, especially Simone, who put so much work into organising the external function and promoting the conference to members. So when I got back...instead of reminicing about IC, I was straight into Beyond Limits. But there were times when I missed it, when I got emails from the "Poi crew" and now.

My LCPs and I had a lot of fun together. I got to know them on another level... away from the formalities of work and into the craziness of conference. We laughed, we laughed a lot. When we were not together, we were busy working to make connections with lots of different people around the network - getting new knowledge and discovering diversity.

This year's IC was my favourite IC. I had the most AIESEC moments. Never at any time did I feel lost or alone.

The first AIESEC moment was saying Hi to familiar faces on the first day of arrival. It felt like I was coming back to a national conference after a couple of months. Everyone looked the same, everyone sounded the same but there was a slight difference - we were now leading teams.

The second was at global village in Warsaw... the New Zealand stall was buzzing with people, coming to collect maps, brochures and pens; coming to try the Jafas and the kiwifruit; coming to learn more about the beautiful country of New Zealand... we must thank our supporters for their promotional materials. It was a moment, not only because of the success of the stall but also because we worked as a team to get everything ready and we were prepared to talk about New Zealand and share our unique culture.

My third AIESEC moment was talking to one of my fellow MCPs after global village... going over feelings of our terms and discovering that shared understanding. Actually, it happened twice with two different MCPs.

The fourth and last AIESEC moment would have to be... when AIESEC in Hong Kong received the UBS award. Mindy told us how far HK has moved since 2004. I remembered back to what AIESEC in Hong Kong was at IC2004 in Germany and thought about what it has become. Absolutely incredible. I know it's not impossible now. It only takes the right people, the right direction and an undying thirst for excellence.