AIESEC in Kiev

Right, I almost forgot I was going to get to see all of the AIESEC stuff happen here in Ukraine. It’s really exciting to see the similarities and differences between AIESEC in Kiev and AIESEC in Halifax, or even other LCs in Canada. Their LC is really big, almost 160 members. You have to go through a really rigorous application process to join. Right now most students are in the middle of exams and finishing classes, or heading home for the summer. I have only got to meet a small minority so far, but everyone is really committed and enthusiastic. They are slightly less organized here, but I think it goes along with the culture. The MC office is also here in Kiev, but except for a random phone call from an alumni staying at the MC flat trying to find a party, I haven’t had any contact with them.

The first Friday we were here all the interns who had arrived so far went to a Local Committee Meeting, or LCM. This is like the General Assembly meeting in Canada. And, like Halifax, they have them every week, even in the summer. About 40 people show up each week and they have presentations from interns about their countries (like me), and announcements about upcoming projects. They have a lot more opportunities to attend conferences in nearby countries of Europe and the Middle East, and lots of LC projects going on to get involved in.

There are two upcoming conferences being held in Kiev that I might get to participate in. The first one will be this weekend and it is called Local Committee Conference, or LCM. I think it is more of a planning conference and most LCs from across the Ukraine are attending. The next one is in a couple weeks and it’s also hosted here in Kiev. It’s the Ukraine’s version of NLDC. Leadership Development Seminar is taking place after most exams and classes are done. It’s really interesting to talk with most of the organizers about their planning since I just finished helping to organize a similar conference in Halifax. Like most things here, the details are vague, so hopefully more come soon and I can either help out or attend some of the sessions.

Since one of the only places with semi-fast internet is the AIESEC office, we’ve also coincidently been spending a lot of time there. It was really cool to see the office, it’s a lot bigger than ours, and it has wireless for everyone. I didn’t realize it right away, but this was my first AIESEC office outside of Canada, very cool. It was interesting to meet with and talk with the incoming President as well as her team. Not many people here are experienced members, and also I am the only intern who has been a member of the organization for more than one year.

Finally, we got to go to a legendary AIESEC party. Whoa Canada, to host parties here they rent a flat just for the night and then have all their friends over. The hard part is no one usually knows how to find the flat, but once you do it’s an insane party. Very respectable people become completely sloshed on $3 quarts of vodka. My drink of choice has become the 50 cent 0.5L bottles of beer. Luckily the police didn’t show up, but if they had, you can easily bribe them with about $10 and they go away.