AIESEC in Malaysia, a youth organization that is proudly represented by one thousand members nationwide, organized its first conference of the new term; National Convention 2015 (NatCon) from the 8th to 12th of July 2015. Held in the impressive Great Hall at University Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC), the convention gathered 200 leaders of AIESEC in Malaysia from 13 local chapters universities.
The convention was chaired by Ms. Milena Nguyen, a former AIESEC member of Vietnam who was part of the AIESEC International team in 2013-2014. Her youthful exuberance, coupled with her love for yoga and meditation set the pace in creating a calm and mindful environment throughout the convention in order to encourage focus and diligence.
The second day of NatCon was dedicated to the inaugural Youth Speak forum, in which you can find more details here.
The third day of the convention witnessed the birth of AIESEC in Malaysia 2017 2.0 . AIESEC in Malaysia 2017 is a roadmap established by the previous President of AIESEC in Malaysia, Ms. Joanne Lim, with the vision of embarking AIESEC in Malaysia towards a 3 year plan. The 2.0 stands for realignment of the vision for “Every youth in Malaysia is actively involved in building a united nation,” as we believe in becoming a microcosm of change within the Malaysian community.
Our core beliefs towards this vision is centered around the behaviours of relevance and inclusiveness. However, this cannot be achieved without placing the necessary focus into key areas.
1) Diverse youth engagement.
According to statistics, almost 75% of AIESEC in Malaysia’s membership constitutes of those from Chinese background. This figure highlights the lack of diversity within the entire organization, and we believe that in order for us to breakthrough stereotypes, we need to be actively engaged youth from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
2) Quality Value Delivery.
In AIESEC in Malaysia, we believe that the high-quality experience provided to our members and exchange participants will be key in producing global change agents. Hence, it’s imperative for us, as an organization, to improvise on current procedures and create a holistic environment in order for these two main stakeholders to thrive in.
3) Accessibility.
If taking a closer look at the Malaysian map, it will be noted that AIESEC is only present in 7 out of 13 total states. This strikes a big question for us “what about those students in areas where AIESEC is not represented in?” Hence, there is a need for us to expand our accessibility and reach out to more students to spread youth leadership development across the nation.
The National Convention also provided the platform for the rebirth of LEAD as a supporting program for leadership development that focuses on soft skills development. These sessions were specifically created for AIESEC in Malaysia by Ronan Diego De Oliveira, a former President of AIESEC in Paraguay, who is currently working as a project manager with Mindvalley at Kuala Lumpur.
The convention was adjourned with the final emphasis of our vision. With friction within the country becoming apparent and more serious, the call for unity within the youth community needs to be proactively approached, as we are the future of creating a better Malaysia for all.
