Emma Sommerville | Contributing Writer
Most people in Ireland have no clue what AIESEC is. The first question I usually get is ‘what does that stand for?’, or sometimes ‘sorry, what was that word you just said?’. For anyone who really wants to know, it’s a French acronym that isn’t used anymore, and AIESEC is pronounced I-SEC. The important things about AIESEC that you actually need to know are: 1. It’s the largest student run non-profit non-governmental organisation in the world, and 2. It’s main objective is to send young people abroad on both volunteer-based and professional (paid) internships.
Although AIESEC may not be too well-known in Ireland at present, it is much more prominent in many of the other 125 countries that it’s active in around the world. AIESEC is known among students worldwide as a bridge between student life and the real working world. It can act as the perfect platform for young people with initiative who want to gain real world experiences and challenge themselves in a unique way that only AIESEC can offer.
So why is this article all about “a different way to volunteer abroad”? What could be so different about the volunteer programs AIESEC offers in comparison to all of the other organisations out there? One of the main differences is, unlike most other volunteering programs on offer in Ireland at present, AIESEC does not require any fundraising. A recent article for The University Times by volunteer organisation SUAS puts up a good argument about the impact volunteers can make in a community, however, like many other organisations out there, requires extensive fundraising in order to take part in their projects. You do have to pay a fee of €399 to AIESEC after your acceptance, but this will cover your accommodation, food, and transport within the country for the 6-8 weeks you’re there.
Another area where AIESEC differ from most other organisations, is that their volunteers generally travel on their own to these volunteering projects. I know us Irish very much like to stay in little packs of other Irish people when we’re abroad, but you definitely won’t be on your own in whichever country you go to. Whichever project you choose, there will be other interns from all over the world working with you. In fact, the accommodation for most of the projects will have you living in a house with a number of other like-minded volunteers from all over the world. Not to mention that the city/town you’re staying in will have its own AIESEC committee there who are in charge of your airport pick-up, and who will do their best to make sure you have the best experience possible while you’re in their country.
And which countries might these be, you may ask? Again, this is where AIESEC differs from most other volunteering projects on offer. On the AIESEC website you will find hundreds, perhaps even thousands of internships, with the possibility of them being in almost any of the 125 countries AIESEC is currently active in. Now that’s quite a wide scope, and it can be confusing and time-consuming even trying to figure out where to start. Due to this, AIESEC Ireland have done their best to make things a bit more approachable for their volunteers-to-be by partnering up with 6 countries which they know offer high quality internships. These countries are Vietnam, Nepal, Argentina, Costa Rica, Romania, and Kenya. Each country offers a different project such as wildlife conservation, health promotion in schools, and teaching important life skills to children through workshops.
This being said you can still choose to go to any country of your choice if you find a program that really suits you. Part of the fun of AIESEC is that it is very much up to the individual themselves to make up their own minds.
AIESEC offers students a unique volunteering experience, without the usual task of fundraising vast sums of money. If you’re looking for a volunteering program with an edge, look no further than AIESEC. The reason I’m writing this is because my life has changed for the better because of AIESEC, and I want more students to become aware of what volunteering can offer them too. Maybe you’ve read all of this and yet you still think AIESEC isn’t for you, but trust me, it is.
