Karachi LCong

We've just come back from Karachi Local Congress.
I reckon it was great, both in terms of content and atmosphere!

A brief insight on what happened at the conference:

Day 1

We started with a few physical and intellectual teambuilding activities where Karachi members found out new facts about each other and felt the team spirit. Our facilitator Anna guided them in this discovery process.

After biryani-lunch in the SZABIST garden we continued with global updates, AIESEC ScoreCard education and MC 07-08 farewell. Members especially liked AIESEC ScoreCard session, because it broght clarity on the planning process and helped LC review their plan next day. MC Farewell happened to be a 'corporate-style' session. Taha and Klepo came in suits, serious ans smart, and presented MC team results for the previous term with suggestions for this year. All members are supposed to vote for discharge of the MC, we will find out final result after Lahore/Islamabad congress in September!

Last session of the day was fully devoted to the new MC :) Saaim's favorite toy, Mariam's role-model in life, Jeremy's hated food, Katya's visited countries.. Now our members know a lot about who we are, and it will definitely help us to enjoy working together!

Day 2

We moved to Junaid's house!

Day 2 was focused on plan review. At the first session in the morning, Jeremy presented the current state of AIESEC Pakistan and then led to the vision for 2010 created by national plenary. "Learnt a lot", "Best session of the day", "Very interesting and useful" - these are some of the feedback notes we got in evaluations. The following 'What is next' session was quite practical: after the presentation of a national plan for 08-09, members gave their input on all initiatives we are going to run this year. Members' feedback will help us adjust these initiatives to specific LC needs. When plan became clear for everyone, we discussed the role of Member Committee in AIESEC country and individual roles of each VP.

Next big block was devoted to functional meetings and LC plan review. Each MC VP met with LC VP individually, and there was a team management track in parallel (for members who are planning to apply for teamleaders in fall recruitment). At the next session LCP of Karachi, Khurram Lodi, presented LC year plan for all members and got their input, so as everyone became clear what LC wants to achieve in the end of the year. Happened for the first time, this session will certainly make an impact on LC performance.

Day 3

The most energetic day of the conference! In the next few weeks LC Karachi is organizing their new members recruitment. That's why we decided to let them practice the process... :) We based simulation on real figures and time-line, giving LC members various tasks to handle. Such hands-on experience is much more effective than any theory! Having done this once, Karachi will learn from mistakes and organize a great recruitment in August!

'What's new in My.AIESEC.net' - next session led by Mariam aimed at giving members an overview of new features in the system for measuring exchange quality. As quality of exchange is a quite relevant subject for AIESEC Pakistan (due to political situation in the country, we are facing challenges with matching, so we have to ensure every intern coming to Pakistan is happy with his/her experience), these on-line tools can be a good asset for all exchangers.

Last but not the least - session with an attractive name 'Grab it now'! Ahmed shared with us opportunities that AIESEC globally provides to its members: conferences, exchange, CEEDs, ... as well as non-AIESEC opportunities for personal and professional development. After that our special guest Adeel Hasan talked about his CEED experience in India. I wish we could have had more time for such an exciting story!

Day 4

How to communicate an information in a way that everyone will understand? How to keep the attention of audience? How to deliver an exchange training to members so as LC will double its results?

Ability to deliver the knowledge and skills to others is a primary responsibility of executive body members and team leaders, especially during recruitment of new members. The idea of this day was to give members of AIESEC Karachi opportunity to gain a skill of effective presentation and communication. Skills are gained through practice, therefore after a short insight in theory members had a hands-on experience with delivering their own sessions. What really added the value is that members practiced presenting induction sessions as for new members! This means that next time, during actual induction, they will do it even better.

Training was led by Joan Vozeh, Associate Consultant of EngageHR.

... Closing was very emotional which was not surprising after such a productive conference!

Facilitators Anna & Ahmed, MC and our chair Joan did a really good job!

Thank you LC Karachi and facilitators for such a great conference experience we've all had!

The 08/09 Pakistan MC has landed!

After procuring visas, numerous flights and weeks of intense transition...

The AIESEC in Pakistan 08/09 MC has landed!



Today is our first day in the office. We're busy going on meetings, settling into the office and making it our own. But most of all, we're excited about building on the immense work of the 07/08 MC and taking AIESEC in Pakistan to greater heights, and look forward to working with AIESEC in Pakistan's members and AIESECers around the world to change lives!



Stay tuned as we find our feet and give you an insight into the 08/09 Pakistan MC and what makes us tick.

We'll see you at July National Conference - 26-29th July, 2008!
The 08/09 Pakistan MC

Tea Time

For some reason, last night the boys decided we were going to be coming into office at 9Am (usually we come in at 10, leave at 7 or after that). I think a motivator was the 9AM office tea we manage to miss everyday (we all love the tea, and the tea boy!) but whatever our individual motivations might have been, we were all up at 7:30 AM (unheard of, normally) and I actually got to say "have a good day" to Anna before she left for work (she leaves really early, usually we're still sleeping). Within minutes, Sohaib and I were slaving away making breakfast for everyone (omelette's) and by 8:30, all dressed up, we were ready to leave. So far, on track for tea - yay!

So we get downstairs, head for Taha's car, and realize - oh no! - there's a punctured tire! Not letting this faze us one bit, Taha, KLepo and I start puttering around trying to get the spare on, and Sohaib, his usual useless self :P is standing in a corner, smoking. What follows is undoubtedly the funniest half hour I've ever experienced this early in the morning, unfortunately, I only started taking pictures halfway through, and my camera phone ain't great, but regardless, there's some proof of the hilarity.

Anyway, I was talking about how the car tire was being changed. So just as Taha had managed to raise the car with the jack, bang!, the car fell off it. Like literally, just slid off the jack! At first I thought Klepo (who was at the back) had accidentally pushed it, but looking over I realized he was no where near it! Taha's expression was priceless, KLepo was swearing in Slavak, and Sohaib and I couldn't stop laughing. Anyway, we live above Gunsmoke, and even at this godless hour, they had people there, so they came over (to watch, I might add). So did two beggars who were roaming in the street. Pretty soon we had a good crowd going, Sohaib still smoking and smiling, KLepo giving suggestions, Taha trying to clean his pants of all the dust (he was all dressed up for a meeting) me taking pictures, and the car just standing there, half tilted into the sandy parking lot, with one tire missing!

Finally, Klepo came up with, what was, a brilliant suggestion. Let's put rocks right behind the wheel (Where the jack is supposed to go) so we can first lift the car and then put the actual jack in (since there was no space to put it in). So he starts collecting rocks, Taha starts digging a hole (I still don't know why!) and the rest of us are still standing there, smoking, watching, taking pictures.

Then comes the difficult part, raising the car that one extra inch or two, so Taha can get the jack in. Finally, Sohaib decides to help, so Klepo and him start lifting the car, but don't get very far, since it's heavy, and well..they're no supermen! So Taha, who's still kneeling on the hot ground in his formals, yells at the beggars/Gunsmoke guys, "Dude, help us!!" and they all run over. Suddenly, there's too many people near the car, I'm expecting another fall, one of the guys is trying to put the jack way under the car (near the axle, by my guess) and Taha's like, "not there!".

What seems like an hour later (ok, no, 10 minutes!) the car is up on the jack, and miraculously, the rest of the tire changing procedure was completed within minutes by the onlookers, with Taha providing a little help. Sohaib, is standing around looking like he did a lot, Klepo is still smiling and Taha's like, "shit, my clothes are messed up now!" and I'm like "let's go!"

We leave, make a few stops at some petrol stations to get the punctured tire fixed, get to office at 9:20ish, thinking, "crap, we missed the tea!". Taha comes in, makes a call to the office kitchen, requests we still be given tea, and lo and behold, at 10:20ish, the tea makes its way to our office! Good morning, eh?

And the AIESEC in Pakistan 2008/2009 MC is...

After 2 rounds of applications...

... 2 rounds of confidencing by the national voters...

... and hours of interviews...

YOUR 2008/2009 MC has been selected!

Please give it up for the next AIESEC in Pakistan MC team!















Name: Saaim Mazher Khan
Email: saaim.khan@aiesec.net
Country of Origin: Pakistan (LC Karachi)
Position: MC VP External Relations















Name: Ekaterina (Katya) Khaletskaya
Email: ekaterina.khaletskaya@aiesec.net
Country of Origin: Russia
Position: MC VP Talent Management and LC Development















Name: Mariam Zameer
Email: mariam.zameer@aiesec.net
Country of Origin: Pakistan (LC Lahore)
Position: MC VP Exchange



















Name: Jeremy Higgs
Email: jeremy.higgs@aiesec.net
Country of Origin: Australia
Position: MCP

Come June 2008, we will all be assembling in Karachi for transition, ready to take AIESEC in Pakistan to greater heights in July and beyond!

Experience Pakistan campaign by AIESEC Pakistan

AIESEC Pakistan, under the lead of MC the Phoenix :) , is adding a new level to the Experience Pakistan campaign - our effort to bring a realistic image of Pakistan (from our view) mostly to and through the global AIESEC network.

Today we have launched the website that will be the merging point of the campaign: www.aiesec.pk/experience

Be updated on present happenings in the country and in AIESEC Pakistan, download pictures, watch pictures from trainees and members on Pakistan, see list of available TNs and find contacts... All there, and if You miss something, ask for it - we do not want to only talk about OUR experience, we want to enable You a personal or at least virtual "Experience Pakistan" :D

And btw, if you want to get personal with Experience Pakistan... visit its Facebook profile :D and become friends!

Experience Pakistan on the 08/09 MC - Applications Open!

Are you asking yourself where you want to be in the 08/09 term? Instead, think about what kind of change you want to make.



Applications for the 08/09 Pakistan MC are now open! We are looking for passionate and proactive people to take AIESEC in Pakistan to new heights - be part of a team that develops youth leadership in a country in the midst of a transition to democracy.



For more information, read the MC application wiki.

Applications close 28th February, 2008.

Experiencing the real Pakistan as a CEED

The response I received when I first told my friends and family that I was going to Pakistan to work for AIESEC for 2 months was a loud "WHAT???!", followed closely by "please don't get blown up."

Such was the image I came to Pakistan with.

The Pakistan I have experienced is nothing like what I imagined.


(Kids playing with fire - Old City, Lahore)

Since arriving in Pakistan 2 months ago for my MC CEED (Cultural Envoy for Exchange Development), I've been through a whirlwind of experiences and emotions. Every day I am met with a new challenge; whether it's trying to explain to a rickshaw-wallah in broken Urdu that I want to go to Saddar ("Salaam alekum. Saddar? Kitne ga?") and bargaining down to a reasonable price, working with AIESEC members across the country to introduce issue-based experiences, to adapting my working and communication style to a completely different culture.

My first experience with AIESEC in Pakistan was at the National Youth Development Seminar, at which I was fortunate enough to be a facilitator. I had incredible conversations with members around the status of women in Islam, climate change, and how we as youth can address the issues our world faces. These discussions only reinforced my view that there are incredible people all around the world who are passionate about having a positive impact - and I am now even more certain that AIESEC is THE platform to equip youth to achieve that.


(NYDS 2007 delegation)


(Discussions at NYDS 2007)

Working for AIESEC and experiencing Pakistan has also allowed me to push my own boundaries far further than I ever dreamed. I have been inspired and demotivated, reflected on the way I communicate with people, and re-evaluated why I am in AIESEC, its relevance, and where I want to go.


(Hanging out with the LC - Islamabad)

There is no greater need for the people that AIESEC develops than here in Pakistan - a country that has been labelled as "the most dangerous country on Earth" and a "failed state". What is missing from the coverage you see overseas is the incredible work going on to make Pakistan better - organisations building the economy and providing necessary products and services, NGOs working to address environmental issues, poverty, education, disability, among many others. Behind all of this work are people, 160 million of them, with differing living conditions, levels of education, cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds, who are working to make their country better. There is a real need for positive, responsible leadership in a country like this - people who will work in diverse fields and sectors, who exhibit integrity and will stand up for what is right.

The knowledge that I have contributed in some small way to developing leadership in this country is something that I will treasure.

To say my image of Pakistan has changed would be an understatement. Being here has given me incredible experiences that I will cherish my whole life, and will be intrinsically connected to this wonderful, vibrant country and its people. Being here has enabled me to see through the reputation Pakistan has developed, to not only see a country that is diverse in culture, ethnicity and religion, but to respect and understand it.

سَب کُچھ کے لِیے شُکرِیا, AIESEC Pakistan.
Sab kuch ke liye, AIESEC Pakistan.
"Thankyou for everything, AIESEC Pakistan."


(Chai-wallah - Regal Chowk, Lahore)


(Sufi chanting - Lahore)


(Badshahi Masjid - Lahore)


(Aun, Sohaib and Taha - Gizri, Karachi)