AIESEC from an AIESECer – With Hussain Dewani

May 29, 2014 by     2 Comments    Posted under: Cover Story, Spotlight

They say that degrees can grab you a good job, but what if we want a well-rounded personality too? If you don’t know the answer to that then certainly we’ve an audience for this article. This week, Youth Correspondent was fortunate enough to have a light chat with HUSSAIN DEWANI who is the Local Committee Vice President or as they call it LCVP (Branding, Communications & Information Management) of AIESEC Karachi. Sharing his remarkable journey as an AIESECer, one could easily decipher that AIESEC has brought about a unique spark in his life and promise to do wonders for others too!

So what is this unique spark all about? AIESEC is an international organization that empowers young people with practical leadership opportunities to develop themselves into global leaders with an urge to make a difference to society. It is the world’s largest youth run organization, currently present in over 115 countries providing students with various opportunities globally. It started in Pakistan in 2005 and is currently present in 3 Local Committees (AIESEC Karachi, AIESEC Lahore and AIESEC Islamabad), 1 expansion initiative (AIESEC GIKI) and 1 official expansion (AIESEC IBA) functioning successfully with a member base of over 350 students from the top universities of Pakistan.

Agreeing completely with the question that if AIESEC has been doing justice to its promised goal of bringing about a global impact, Hussain Dewani relates experiences of AIESECers on how effectively they have played a crucial role in positively tagging Pakistan across the continents and removing all negative elements that marred its name on the international level. He goes on telling about incoming exchange students who reside in with the Pakistani families, study the local culture, blend in with the environment and once they return to their native countries, they take with them positive and peaceful stories of Pakistan. In his words,

“I have a few Brazilian friends who are just like my other Pakistani friends except that they bear a different nationality. They share their problems with me and meanwhile, the whole perception about Pakistan changes; they know it’s not only about bloodshed but people help each other too. Two of the exchange students were so much inspired by our traditional values and religion that they used to fast with us during the month of Ramadan!”

AIESEC also provides its members with an integrated development experience consisting of leadership opportunities, international trainee-ships and participation in a global learning environment. Students of different universities and colleges get a chance to go on international internships and/or join various local chapters. Associate membership opportunities allow the students to work with various NGO partners of AIESEC, and represent their college as a part of campus ambassador program. Each year members have an opportunity to live and work in a foreign country. Participants can choose to work in areas of management, technology, education, or development; helping to build one’s corporate skills. All internships focus on educating the volunteers with world issues, community development and understanding new cultures.  Asked if he got benefitted from AIESEC in the real sense, Hussain replies,

“Honestly speaking, before joining AIESEC I had no goals, no vision of my future. It not only built up my confidence but channeled me to easily communicate my thoughts and ideas with other people. Through this, I realized that pursuing a career in Economics is not my cup of tea therefore, I switched to Media Studies.”

He then digs through ‘Experience Karachi’ a project that was organized by AIESEC. In this the delegates participated in different challenges and speaker sessions designed such that they utilized each and every moment learning and socializing not only with the people of Karachi but also with the group of foreign delegates that came from different countries for the event. Such projects mainly focus on making foreigners see the brighter side of Karachi and Pakistan that gets ignored somehow. Sharing details about the selection criteria, he adds that AIESEC recruitment drives visit different universities and institutes. The interested candidates have to fill in a form that is available on AIESEC.org  which is followed by an assessment test in which the candidates respond to several situations that analyze their decision-making powers. The final stage is a one-to-one interview that determines whether he/she is actually eligible to be a part of AIESEC or not.

And finally on the question of what sort of encouragement would you give to the youth to become a part of AIESEC? He responds,

“It not only brings a change to the society but improvise a change in yourself too which is the best impact actually!”

P.S. For future reference, if an AIESECer ever shouts “AIESEC” at you, answer them by saying “Whats Up!”; No matter where you are! *Drum roll*

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  • can medical students join AIESEC?

  • How can I be a campus ambassador?

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