Drive conference 2012

AIESEC in Iceland held their fourth Drive conference 18-20 of May 2012, where members gathered together in a small town called Borgarnes. The event team planned the conference and the MC´s took care of the agenda. Due to the fantastic job of these members and awesome guest that came, the conference turned out extremely well.

On the conference several topics where discussed e.g. AIESEC’s role in the community, the AIESEC experience that members can gain from the four programs that are offered (TMP, TLP, GIP and GCDP) and then ideas where put forward on how to improve members experience. New laws where agreed upon. Importance of understanding cultural diversity and world issues where discussed and members took a short personality test (the one with four colors) and got to know one another better. The members were also thought the basics in project management that can be beneficial in their work.

Election for two position took place, and also awards were given for good performance or being outstanding in anyway. Linda Björk Bjarnardóttir was elected LCP (Local Committee President) and Snorri Guðjónsson got confidence from the members to work as Vice President of IGX (Incoming exchange). Later this week, we will know if Snorri will be doing that job the winter of 2012-2013.

The awards were following:

Best team: Marketing and Communications- Erla Arnbjarnardóttir, Davíð Arnarsson and Selma Kjartansdóttir

Best member: Erla Arnbjarnardóttir

Time management: Linda Björk Bjarnardóttir

Public speaking: Anna Pálsdóttir

Living diversity: Hranfhildur Ýr Benediktsdóttir 

Enjoying participation: Snorri Guðjónsson

Critical thinking: Mirza Andjelic

Scary clown: Ása Kristín Einarsdóttir

Always forgets his/her charger: Mirza Andjelic

Saying „hérna“ all the time: Linda Björk Bjarnardóttir

Office rat: Hranfhildur Ýr Benediktsdóttir and Erla Arnbjarnardóttir
SexySmexy: Selma Kjartansdóttir

 The hostel where the conference was held

 Talking a walk around Borgarnes

 Kristín and Pétur

 Costumeparty

 Phillip, Mirza and Tom

Theme party

 Lecture from Mie

 Out new LCP- Linda Björk

Undirbúningsnámskeið fyrir AIESEC sjálfboðaliða sumarið 2012

Dagana 31. mars og 1. apríl var haldið undirbúningsnámskeið fyrir verðandi sjálfboðaliða (GCDP) en í sumar fer hópur af ungu fólki út á vegum AIESEC og munu þau starfa í ýmsum framandi löndum við allskyns spennandi þróunarverkefni.

Margt fór fram á námskeiðinu en til að byrja með var hópurinn hristur saman með alls kyns leikjum en þar á meðal var farið í hlutverkaleik tengdum mismunandi menningarheimum til þess að fá smá tilfinningu fyrir því hvernig mismunandi menningarheimar geta haft áhrif á okkur. Farið var í gegnum það hvað menningarsjokk er og hvernig það getur komið upp þegar ferðast er til framandi landa ásamt því að farið var yfir það hvað ber að varast í samskiptum milli mismunandi menningarheima. Að lokum var farið í gegnum ýmsa hluti tengda umsóknarferlinu og hvernig best sé að finna drauma starfið. 

Markaðsteymi AIESEC ræddi aðeins við nokkra sem voru á námskeiðinu og forvitnaðist um það hvers vegna þau hafa áhuga á því að fara erlendis í sjálfboðaliðastarf á vegum AIESEC. Svörin voru mörg og misjöfn en flestir höfðu það þó sameiginlegt að vilja upplifa eitthvað nýtt og láta gott af sér leiða á sama tíma. Hér að neðan eru nokkrir punktar frá verðandi sjálfboðaliðum og ástæður fyrir því af hverju þau eru að fara út:

„Ég hef áhuga á að fara til Afríku og sjá lífið frá þeirra sjónarhorni, læra að meta litlu hlutina sem maður spáir kannski ekki í hérna heima“

„Mig langar að fá reynslu við að vinna erlendis og með fólki með misjafna bakgrunna og láta gott af mér leiða“

„Ég vil sjá eitthvað nýtt, þroskast og gefa eitthvað af mér. Við höfum það svo gott hérna á Íslandi að mér finnst það bara nauðsynlegt að gefa eitthvað til baka“

Gleðilega páska!

Þórey í Kenía

Í vor fór Þórey Rúnarsdóttir fór í gengum AIESEC til Kenía þar sem hún tók þátt í alþjóðlega samfélagsþróunar verkefninu. Hér er hennar frásögn af reynslunni:

"Fyrir þremur og hálfu ári síðan mætti ég á minn fyrsta kynningarfund hjá AIESEC. Það var bara ein ástæða fyrir því. Mig langaði að fara til Afríku. Í janúar á þessu ári lét ég loksins verða af því, stökk út úr þægindahringnum, ofan í djúpu laugina og upp í flugvél til Kenía. Það var ein sú besta ákvörðun sem ég hef tekið í mörg ár.

Ferðin mín til Kenía var hápunktur ferils míns hjá AIESEC. Að fara þangað var ómetanleg lífsreynsla með öllu sem hún fól í sér. Öllu ógeðinu, öllum partýunum, öllum uppákomunum, öllum ferðunum, allri biðinni, öllum vinunum, öllum árekstrunum, öllum handtökunum og auðvitað öllum litlu sætu munaðarlausu börnunum.
           

   Sem meðlimur í AIESEC þá upplifir maður svo miklu meira sem gefur manni mun fleiri tækifæri til að læra um lífið heldur en maður hefði annars gert. Áskoranirnar eru fáar ef maður gerir ekkert utan námsins í háskólanum, jafnvel þótt námið sé þungt í mörgum deildum. Þetta er einfaldlega svo miklu meira. Maður kynnist miklu fleira og fjölbreyttara fólki með ólíkan bakgrunn en öll með metnað fyrir því að upplifa meira og fá meira út úr háskólaárunum en bara skólinn býður upp á.  Ég sé ekki eftir neinu sem ég gerði sem meðlimur AIESEC, nema þá kannski að hafa ekki nýtt öll tækifærin sem mér gáfust."

One AIESEC in Iceland partners startup company Awarded GALILEO Master

Leifur Björn Björnsson, co-founder of the Icelandic startup company Locatify accepted the GALILEO Master – Öresund Award in Munich, Germany, last week, as part of the competition European Satellite Navigation on business ideas involving satellites.

Leifur Björn Björnsson. Source: galileo-masters.eu.

There were more than 400 participants and 22 awards were granted to companies from different regions, a press release described.

Locatify won the Nordic contest for “Turf Hunt Games and SmartGuides Everywhere”; the company is developing tools for designing orienteering games and guides for smart phones.

The Californian company True3D received the competition’s main award for its idea for a guide in the form of a red line that appears on the windscreen of vehicles leading drivers the right way.

Sheep rounding in Westfjords

Before winter arrives every year, farmers in Iceland go through the grueling task of rounding up their sheep from the highlands and the country side, to get them back in the barns.

One of our Members Committee went on a trip with Inspired by Iceland to the Westfjords to experience this yearly ritual, round up the sheep and separate them according to their owners, sounds easy but boy it is hard work

Check the video below:

http://www.vimeo.com/30309189

Vilt þú vera meðlimur í stærstu stúdentareknu samtökum heims?

AIESEC hefur starfað á Íslandi í 50 ár. Við erum stærstu stúdentareknu samtökin í heiminum, við störfum í fleiri en 110 löndum og höfum yfir 60.000 meðlimi. Tilgangur okkar er að skapa ungmennum vettvang til þess að þróa með sér leiðtogahæfileika. Þannig veitum við ungmennum tækifæri til þess að kynnast annarri menningu en þeirra eigin, endurskoða heimsskoðun sína og öðlast reynslu og hæfni sem hefur þýðingu í samfélagi dagsins í dag.

Til þess að öðlast hagnýta reynslu býður AIESEC þér nú upp á tækifærið til að taka að þér forystuhlutverk eða hlutverk í virkri liðsheild Sem meðlimur í AIESEC munt þú kynnast nýju fólki, hjálpa til við rekstur félagsins og öðlast verðmæta reynslu sem erfitt er að nálgast annarstaðar á meðan þú ert í námi. Ef þú vilt vita meira ertu velkominn á upplýsingafundina okkar sem fara fram á eftirfarandi stöðum.

Dagsetning	Tími	Staður	Háskóli
Sept. 19, 2011	12:00:00	M110	HR
Sept. 20, 2011	12:00:00	Skrifstofa AIESEC (Íþróttahús)	HÍ
Sept. 21, 2011	12:00:00	M109	HR
Sept. 22, 2011	12:00:00	Skrifstofa AIESEC (Íþróttahús)	HÍ
Sept. 23, 2011	13:00:00	M109	HR

Ef þú vilt vita meira um AIESEC vinsamlegast heimsæktu www.aiesec.is eða alþjóðlega síðu okkar www.aiesec.org.

Debby's in the house!

Happy New Year!!!

(Sun Lin Fai Lok!!!)

This is Debby, your CEEDer from Hong Kong~! I am in Iceland for 4 days now and I am getting more and more excited every day!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am really looking forward to meeting you all people!!


Let me tell you some of my first-timessss here, in 4 days...

• I saw snow when i was traveling on the plane! I was so excited!! But since I arrived here, I haven't seen any snow!! I'm really looking forward :DDDDDDD
  
• I tasted reindeer meat!! I've never thought that it is available for eating! But I like it :P
• I showered with my silver ring on and it turned into copper colour! And I discovered that I can remove the colour by using toothpaste on the ring!

I am looking forward to more first-timessss to come in my life~!


By the way, it seems like I'm the weakest Chinese girl ever who always feels cold whenever I am outdoor (especially on New Years Eve). I hope I can train my body to adapt to the cold weather soon!



Probably many of you know Chinese people eats animals' organs and many different animals like dogs, monkeys, bats etc..
But I DO NOT eat those at all.

I am a bit scared when I was holding this sheep head.







This is my first time having New Years out of my home country! I'm so glad that I made it here in Iceland!!

I watched the fireworks and the bombfire. The idea of bombfire is interesting!







If you are free to bring me tour around the city, or you have anything cool, please let me know! I want to know more about the country, the culture, the people, the food, everything about Iceland! My contact number is 8926192, and my facebook is Debby Shing :D

PS. I am the first one to blog in 2009 :)))))))))))

It's easy to say that it's a small world when you're an AIESECer.

But how often do you find a relative in an international conference?!

I met Elias, LCP of Linköping, Sweden, at ScaLDS and again at Euroco... turns out that he's part icelandic and after having looked his dad up in the database of Icelanders, I find out that we're 9th cousins! Maybe we're not THAT related but still!

(From the right: me, Elias, Espen and Robert)

You can almost tell that we're cousins!

Your MCPe's leadership style

I thought it's only fair that you get to know what my leadership style is. So there you go!

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Don't know how accurate this is... probably not very much so... but at least it's amusing!

AIESEC in Iceland's process for forwarding emails

We did the impossible...

...we tidied up the office in University of Iceland!

This is what it looked like before...


And this is how lovely it looked when we were almost done...

We rock! And by we I mean myself (Freyja), Laurent Teitur and Bryan.

We found some pretty funny stuff while we were cleaning. My favourite was a transition report from the year 2000 where the MCP current concluded with the remark that "he thought it was very important the Icelandic MC girls didn't dress all sexy during IC. And by that he meant tight and bright coloured shirts. He couldn't really explain it in writing, but at IC he saw how important this was and that they would discuss this at the transition meeting."

We also found a few hundred small papers in different colours that all had a different sentence written on them. One was "I enjoy problem solving" and another was "I learn best by learning from myself"... I cannot imagine what this was used for!

Then ofcourse I haven't mentioned the huge box of condoms and instructions on safe sex... along with a poster with drawings of different positions.

I never knew that tidying up could be so much fun... but how could I not, after all, we are supposed to enjoy all participation in AIESEC!

Let me introduce our CEEDers...

AIESEC in Iceland is receiving CEEDers!

Introducing our OGX CEEDer....
Debby Shing from Hong Kong!

Debby studies Mechanical Engineering at Hong Kong University. She has been in AIESEC for 3 years and is now on the National Exchange Quality Board of Hong Kong. She was national coordinator of an Exchange Program in Hong Kong and has even been on exchange herself on a DT (Development Traineeship) in Malaysia.


Introducing our TM/OGX CEEDer
Will Chan from Guangzhou, China...


Will studies electronic commerce and has been in AIESEC for 9 months. He has a lot of practical experience both inside and outside of AIESEC, such as communication coordinating, external relations and what not!

It's alive!

The semester is now coming to an end and it’s only appropriate that we revive our blog. Your MCP elect hereby promises that this website will be active during the rest of this term!

It’s safe to say that we have had a pretty great semester.

The AIESEC term started with two little timid girls going on their first international conference which was ScaLDS in Sweden. International conferences can be quite scary… especially when a finnish delegation is involved!

But the two little girls survived the conference, the Finns, the surprise speech they had to deliver for 150 people and all the alcohol! They even considered going to another international conference!


Next thing on the agenda was recruitment!

It seemed a bit scary at first. Only 3 leaders and 1 member! But a little goes a long way… we got some unexpected help and over 100 people signed up as being interested in AIESEC activities, and we got over 60 applications from people that either wanted to be a part of AIESEC or the Career Days team. We did this by baking waffles for hungry students and putting up posters in the bathrooms so that people could multitask by doing their thing while reading stories about AIESECers. Talk about brand affiliation!

We also did some unusual class presentations and last but not least, we held a science trip for the students in business administration, engineering and economics! We received more than 150 students that were introduced to AIESEC while the beer was flowing everywhere (literally!).

Around 30 people made it through the trial period and 26 members are still standing… congrats to the recruitment team and to our remaining members on that!

A part of our induction to AIESEC was our national conference Think Big. The conference was held at Hótel Hvítá and lasted from Friday to Sunday. It is safe to say that we had fun… the Icelandic secret induction ritual was introduced to our new members and they seemed very pleased with it!



We also had sessions on the AIESEC way, the AIESEC eXPerience and all that… we really did! I promise!

Next thing to do was to start working and our alumni event group started working really hard! We decided to have our alumni event on the 1st of November, which was the same day as our
next conference, IceLDS.

The weekend turned out to be a success, but we had two externals from JCI delivering sessions, Helgi who did a session on leadership in organizations, and Tómas who delivered a
session on networking which was very useful for the next thing on the agenda… our most successful alumni event since 2001!

40 people showed up at our alumni event which was held in Þróttarheimilið in Laugardalur. We got to hear some speeches from alumnis and current members and one alumni was rewarded for his great help to AIESEC throughout the years, that was Ólafur Jónsson. He has given us coffee, food and waffle powder for recruitment and conferences and we are extremely grateful for that. Thumbs up for Bjarki the Team Leader, Gabriel, Rannveig and Laura for arranging this event… it was a huge success and resulted in Gabriel being nominated the member of the month!


Gabriel definitely wasn’t the only one stepping up as three people applied for LCEB positions which resulted in Bjarki being elected the LCP of LC RU, and Laurent being elected LCVP ICX in LC UI. Nothing makes Freyja’s little LCP heart prouder than this… congratulations to both of you!

You think that’s it? It’s not. Because we reeeeeally like elections, we elected two more people into office. Our MCP, Tómas, was offered a job as Assistant Manager in Perth, Australia so he will be resigning in the end of this year. That meant that we needed a new MCP, so Freyja was elected MCP until June 2009.

Whereas Freyja is becoming MCP, we needed a new LCP! And our beloved Bryan was extremely excited about that, he applied and was elected with 100% confidence. Bryan, congratulations, we know you’re going to take us to another level with your brilliant ideas!

Freyja has quit her job at Nova to become a dedicated MCP, and she is absolutely positive that she couldn’t ask for a better team for next term!

Heiðrún, Ægir and Freyja met up recently to reply to some really mean questions from the editor of the university paper of HÍ! Don’t miss it… the interview will be in the December issue!

Last but not least, we had Killer Days and the winners were…. Laurent and Íris! They were rewarded with a bottle of white wine each… which they will receive at the Christmas party.

So… what have we achieved this term?

• 26 new members
• 23 members that are staying with us next term
• 3 new LC Executive Board members
• A successful alumni event
• Raised huge awareness of AIESEC activities
• Gotten lots of students interested in going on exchange

Lets make good use of this success by recruiting more members, more Exchange
Participants and by doing more exchanges and projects next semester!

What's ahead?

Recruitment is coming up in January, and that means… ANOTHER CONFERENCE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE… woohoo! Recruitment will be from 19th till the 28th of January and the conference will be on the weekend 30th of January - 1st of February. Make sure to tell all your
friends that are interested in AIESEC in Iceland about it!

We are receiving a CEEDer…. so far we have interested people from China,
Brazil, Nigeria and Portugal so it should be a success!

We have also challenged the LC of University Aalborg to an exchange competition… the one who realizes the most exchanges wins! They claim they’re going to kick some Icelandic butt but I really don’t think they will… we’re already two exchanges ahead!

IPM

Hey everyone!

Now the conference is in full swing. 14-16 hours of sessions followed by incredible parties with 200 people from all over the world creates a really unique atmosphere (although at times a very tired one).

We have a new PAI (President of AIESEC International), thats Juan from Costa Rica. An incredibly smart person with big vision for AIESEC. Personally I really look forward to working with him.

The conference is at one of the oldest lake in the world (granting it a place on UNESCO's list). I have been using my lunch brakes to run around the lake and to neighbouring towns and the immense beauty of this country is stunning. We had a very relaxing boat ride yesterday where we could unwind and see the surrounding from another angle.

Now on to the main thing. At 19:00 Icelandic time, Thordis is having her interview for a Vice President position in AIESEC International. If selected she would be the first Icelander in the 46 years history of AIESEC in Iceland to achieve that.
This is a big moment for Thordis and for AIESEC in Iceland so I ask of you to send her positive thoughts!!!

This is an update of what is going on now. But there is another very important announcement that has to do with next term. We have selected two vice presidents for the MC 08/09. Faycal and Lyuba I personally want to congratulate them and I really look forward for an exciting year!
Tomas

Greetings from WENA pre meeting.

Hey AIESEC.

me and Tomas just wanted to say hello to you from Skopje, Macedonia.

We are now attending the WENA pre meeting where countries from Western Europe North America come together and talk about strategies for AIESEC WENA and what we can do together to support the AIESEC experience of our members.

Tomorrow the conference officially starts and we will be sharing pictures and experiences with you here so stay tuned for an amazing experience sharing from your MCPs in Macedonia :)

All the best and have a great time in AIESEC!

Thordis Katla and Tomas

Merry Christmas :)

We wish you a Merry Christmas and hope you have a great holiday with family and friends.

Christmas wishes
Your MC team
Benni, Hildur and Þórdís Katla

Promotion of MCVP Exchange Development

Being a Vice President in an MC is challenging, rewarding, interesting and fun. Being a Vice President of Exchange development is a role where you approach companies, promote to companies the idea of take an intern, go to classes of Universities to raise interns to go abroad etc.

You develop your selling skills and your promotion skills, as well as you increase your skills in managing projects and management, and get a deeper connection with companies. You learn how to manage your time well, be strategic in thinking, and gain high leadership skills. You get deeper insight into Icelandic business life and learn to evaluate the market. You also get valuable experience and have fun at the same time.

Exchange Development is an area that has huge potential for further development and if you are interested in success of AIESEC as well as your own personal development this role in the MC is something to consider. Iceland has many companies that are very international and could benefit from taking part in AIESEC. It’s up to the Vice President of Exchange Development to deliver on this.

Why should you consider applying?

Being a member of the Icelandic MC means you are supporting Local committee in their development, you face challenges and you learn how to achieve results from each and every challenge you take on. You grow as an individual and you work with a team that is motivated and result orientated.

Being part of the Icelandic MC prepares you for the years to come. One year can make a difference in your experience and your focus so when you come out in the business world you have something extra over most other employees.

That is why you should apply for the Icelandic MC.

For further information about the MC and the role of a Vice President Exchange Development please contact Benni, bab2@hi.is .

If you want the application booklet with more information or the applications for the MC, send a request to the current MC team, aiesec@hi.is

“There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened. We all have a choice. You can decide which type of person you want to be. I have always chosen to be in the first group.” - Mary Kay Ash

So seize this opportunity and make sure your next year is a year of adventure and great experience.
The application deadline is 4th January 2008.

Look forward to the new year with new opportunities.

your MC team 07-08

Benni, Hildur and Þórdís

MCVP External Relations promotion

Being a Vice President in an MC is challenging, rewarding, interesting and fun. Being a Vice President of External Relations is a role where you approach companies, create products to sell based on AIESEC experience and manage the Career Days. You develop your selling skills and your negotiation skills. You learn how to be strategic in thinking and create products to be beneficial for the organization.

Everything you learn from being a Vice President you will have to use in the business life so this is the chance for you to make a huge personal development in an area you are interested in.

External Relations is an area that has huge potential for further development and if you are interested in success of AIESEC as well as your own personal development this role in the MC is something to consider.

Why should you consider applying?
Being a member of the Icelandic MC means you are supporting Local committee in their development, you face challenges and you learn how to achieve results from each and every challenge you take on. You grow as an individual and you work with a team that is motivated and result orientated.
Being part of the Icelandic MC prepares you for the years to come. One year can make a difference in your experience and your focus so when you come out in the business world you have something extra over most other employees.
That is why you should apply for the Icelandic MC.


For further information about the MC and the role of a Vice President please contact Þórdís Katla, thordis03@ru.is.

If you want the application booklet with more information or the applications for the MC, send a request to the current MC team, aiesec@hi.is

“Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.” - Orison Swett Marden

So seize this opportunity and make sure your next year is a year of adventure and great experience.

The application deadline is 4th January 2008.

Look forward to the New Year with new opportunities.

your MC team 0708 :)
Benni, Hildur and Þórdís Katla

Are you ready to fly? Apply for Icelandic MC 0809!!!l

Wanna get the coolest and challenging experience in AIESEC in Iceland next year?

Wait no more!!! Member Committee applications for 2008/2009 are now out!

Download the application booklet here: http://aiesec.net/members/ai/iceland/file-storage/file?file%5fid=70426789

Application for MCP can be downloaded here: http://aiesec.net/members/ai/iceland/file-storage/file?file%5fid=70426815

and here you can download the application for MCVP positions:
http://aiesec.net/members/ai/iceland/file-storage/file?file%5fid=70426855

Application deadline by January 4th 2008.
More information, drop an email to aiesec@hi.is

Are you dreaming of a great future or making it happen?

It's up to you!

MC team 0708 :)

National meeting - Opportunities

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Winston Churchill.

Dear members of AIESEC in Iceland.
When November is ending it means new times are coming. New month full of excitement, joy and opportunities.
Members of AIESEC in Iceland have been getting into their roles, learning more about the organization and seeing the possibilities there are in AIESEC. Members are starting to see the benefits of being in AIESEC.

Because of these new times, AIESEC in Iceland is going to have a national meeting for all members of AIESEC in Iceland.
It will be held in Askja ( in University of Iceland area )next Wednesday, 28th November.
The meeting will start at 17:30 and end at 18:30.
I hope to see everyone at the meeting, talking about AIESEC, opportunities and what comes next for members of AIESEC in Iceland.

We will have externals at the meeting so please come on time so we can quit on time.

Please confirm your attendance by replying to thordis03@ru.is as well as let me know if you will not be able to attend. I hope all of you will look at this meeting as a great way to learn more about AIESEC, meet new people and just have fun.

I started this mail with this qoute about opportunities because there are always opportunities for us in AIESEC, it's up to us to find them and grab them when they knock on our doors.
This meeting is a platform for you all to find out what you want to get out of AIESEC, how you can grab the opportunity and learn from people that have gone through that experience before.

See you all on Wednesday at 17:30
Your MC 0708
Benni, Hildur and Þórdís Katla