Dear friend,
This past 2005 brought me to unforgetable experiences that you mad part of. The conversations we had, the e-mail you wrote, the desicion you took, the smile you offered, the asessment you gave me, the detail that you took care of, the support you offered me when I needed it, the piece of your world that you showed me, came together and made my 2005.
For all of us, it was a year of choices. Choices that we dared to take, choices that we are now proud of, even if at the moment we took them or when we assumed the consequences all seemed to be hard. Think about it ... is life something different than a journey where day after day we have the right to choose who we want to be? And who we want to be is driven by our dreams. Let´s be conscious around that and be clear that dreams are realities and they are not buzzwords! Let´s enjoy this constant activity of exploring and taking choices and let these choices be the guardians of our dreams. If we approach life like that, I am pretty sure there is always a reason to wake up every day with a smile and with this emotion on our hearts that we feel when we are so close to our dreams.
We live in an era where in many places of the globe it has never been more difficult to to follow our dreams - the price is high and sometimes it seems to be so complicated, that we are simply tempted to give up, forgetting that by doing it, we are also giving up who we are. This world is already full of people that have done so, let´s not become one of them! I know the dreams of many of you and they are beautiful, so beautiful that many of them have inspired my own ones. Let´s please never missuse the opportunity that life has given us to have a acces to education, to a family, to diversity, to health to remain loyal to our dreams.
Today, many will decide to no longer sit back with a victim mentality, but to take charge of their lives and make positive changes. Why not us? Today, many will rise above their believed limitations and make contact with their powerful innate strength. Why not us?
I wish you all a new year full of dreams, love, health and more than anything, the attitude. Happy 2006 wherever you are! and remember ... have you encouraged your dreams today?
Oriana

Ps. Check out my recent country visits postings:

Colombia
Bolivia
Argentina
Dominican Republic Part I and Part II
Puerto Rico Part I and Part II
and other holidays

 
Posted by Oriana Torres at 05:58  | 0 comments

Last month I blogged here about being lucky enough to see the launch of the $100 Laptop Project, and the associated One Laptop Per Child foundation at the World Summit for the Information Society in Tunisia.

It was cool for me to see in the news today that the manufacturer has been selected, and mass production is due to start by the end of 2006. The project is as cool as anything happening in anywhere in the world right now, as far as I am concerned. The laptops are gorgeous, all bright green and cartoonish, and I want one badly.

However, first to get them will be school children in China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria, and Thailand, the first countries that have committed to buying at least a million laptops each. By the end of this decade, hundreds of millions of the worlds poorest children will be equipped with an incredible learning tool, and will enter the online world.

Anyhow, heres all the great things happening around us - what a time to be alive.

 
Posted by Tom Gara at 15:41  | 0 comments

Steering Team is happening these days in the AI office with intense and high-quality strategic discussions. They are discussing about: AIESEC Experience, Learning Networks, AIESEC 2010, Brand, AIESEC strategy and Planning Process. Stay tuned for the output.

Besides these of course we take the opportunity to socialize with the 10 representatives of the global network: Mairi - Estonia, Kamil - Poland, Pinar - Turkey, Peter - Austria, Carly - USA, Ryan - New Zealand, Gary - Hong Kong, Mark - UK, Ezequiel - Venezuela. You can see in the picture some of them enjoying Paddy's Murphy in Rotterdam:)

 
Posted by Geta at 17:27  | 0 comments

Right now I’m sitting in the living room of Devrim’s (AIESEC US alumni) apartment in Shanghai, beside two members of the Chinese MC (one Czech, one British). Last night Petr, Adam (@MoC MC), and I concluded our two days of participation in the UN Global Compact’s Summit here in Shanghai.

It was interesting being there with hundreds of senior corporate leaders of the world’s largest organizations, along with many Chinese business leaders and various UN representatives. Good to have them together discussing how business can contribute to the Millennium Development Goals, a bit dissapoitning that we didn’t achieve more.

But sipping wine at the top of a beautiful hotel in central Shanghai, being escorted by police through closed roads to a boat ride where we could talk with Kenneth Roth, Mary Robinson, and other incredible people, seeing into the minds of those who are grappling with some of the world’s most seemingly intractable challenges… an experience to be grateful for…

 
Posted by Brodie at 06:12  | 0 comments

Going to Paris for the first time in my life and having a meeting with the view on Eifel tower from the window... Going in 3 days to London for a workshop with the company that is interested to work with us... Learning what open API is and advising countries on their cases... Receiving hand-written letters from alumni in different parts of the world with the support for AIESEC...
And this is my work, this is me in AI!

This is a unique feeling that I had recently - realizing that AIESEC has many faces we don't even think it has. I had a meeting with an alumnus who was PAI 1950...He was one of those people who were in the beginning of our organization, when even my parents were not born! You come to realize, REALIZE, not only to know, that AIESEC, which will always has the face of youth, was a vision for many generations before and it still runs in their veins. He and me, with almost 60 years difference, lived similar dream...
Indeed AIESEC doesn't have borders: neither between countries, nor between ages!

I bless that time 5 years ago when I did the choice to join AIESEC :)

 
Posted by Sveta at 23:30  | 0 comments

Is that Mr Brodie Boland has made a solemn promise to start blogging, after some serious lobbying by the Shanghai based blogging community. Heres to hoping!

 
Posted by Tom Gara at 11:35  | 0 comments

I read a depressing story in the paper on my flight from Amsterdam to Stockholm on Monday.

There is genocide in Dafur – STILL. To be completely honest I knew two years ago this was happening and in my secure world as I stopped seeing articles I stopped thinking about.

I remember watching Hotel Rwanda shortly after we started our AI term – we were still in transition and we talked about how some of us had never even heard that there was genocide there and it was only after and when the film was made that they even heard it had happened. I was living in Canada and I remember even as a young child hearing about it. And again as a Child I relied on my parents and friends for my safety and to keep the world safe for me…but apparently we don’t learn. We don’t learn that by ignoring it surprisingly more people are murdered, raped, and enslaved. And my people I mean 2 year olds named Zahra Abdullah who was beaten to death with a club on the street in front of her mother and sister and Noura Moussa who was gang raped

(http://iht.nytimes.com/protected/articles/2005/11/27/opinion/edkristof.php)

And now again another African country is being murdered and the Int’l community is quiet. Quiet and inactive. Unfortunately for Dafur there is no oil there, no gold, no high profit natural resources for the int’l community to care about. What they do have is an unstable neighbour – Chad who is struggling to stay out of civil war and that this genocide next door is threatening to cause again…

Millions have already died –how many must die for us to care?? Like the brave reporter (in my opinion said) “How much Genocide is too much?”

http://iht.nytimes.com/protected/articles/2005/11/27/opinion/edkristof.php

Today is World AIDS day – maybe we need a world Genocide day for people to step up and take some action. Personally I will be learning all I can about what is happening and from there see who needs to be talked to, written to and influenced to do something. I encourage all of you to do the same.

 
Posted by FDR at 10:53  | 0 comments