You made my journey wonderful :)

thanks everyone & everything in Sri Lanka
u make my journey more wonderful :)
by Emily Wang

Colombo South Launched WING

Project "Wing" is a program initiated by AIESEC Colombo South to provide a life changing experience to the youth of Sri Lanka. 

The program consists of four phases which would expose you to International environment, different cultures and cultural practices, give you the opportunity to create your own project with AIESEC and work with youth from all over the world, participate in National Youth Conferences, and give you the opportunity to expose yourself to the International Corporate world once you graduate which will give you an definite edge in your Professional Career.

All these in ONE package, only if you dare to take WINGS!! 

Why Wing ?

The four phases of Success !!! 

• Phase 1

  
  Participate in a Global Community Development Project (GCDP) via AIESEC
• Work in a project of your choice in a foreign country of your choice.
• Work with the youth from all around the world.
• Visit places of interest in the host Country.
• An opportunity to improve your soft skills.
• Team management / leadership skills development
• Make new friendships from around world.
• Have FUN!!!



• Phase 2

  
  As a return exchange participant design and work in a project similar to the one you worked in abroad
• Bring down interns to Sri Lanka to work in the project
• Working in an Organizing Committee and experience project management at its best
• Get opportunity to work with corporate and NGOs
• Get the awesome opportunity to broaden your network among Local & International Universities.
• The opportunity to do something useful towards the Society while having fun.



• Phase 3

  
  Be an AIESECer and experience the AIESEC member development opportunities and fun
• The opportunity to Participate in Business forums organized by AIESEC. (Youth to business, International Youth forum)
• The opportunity to Participate in National conferences. (Transformers, National Leadership Development Seminar (NLDS))
• Alumni Member development sessions



• Phase 4

  
  The opportunity to work in an International company as an Intern after you Graduate




• The once in a lifetime opportunity to work as an Intern in an International Company via the AIESEC GIP program.
• An opportunity for you to put your degree into use in an International environment.
• Make official contacts from all around the world.
• Get the edge over other graduates and boost up your professional career.

                                      

Elvina Cao's VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE in Sri Lanka

I am glad to see my family again. I am staying in Jakarta for one week and will go back to Melbourne soon. I share my experiences and tell my parents about letters from the girls. My mother was touched and cried. I feel glad that my parents support my decision going on a volunteer even though they really concern about my health and safety at first. But in the end after discussing and arguing with them, they emotionally and financially support me to help these kids. They are the ones who keep reminding me to buy gifts for the girls, the auntie and uncle in the Children’s Home. They are the ones who ask me to treat these kids to a nice pizza feast. I feel blessed to be born this way.

Now my task is to send them a letter and print out all the photos that I have taken and send these photos to them as soon as possible. They do not have emails and do not get access to internet so I have to send these via post.

 If you like challenges and want to prove yourself to the greatest limit, I encourage you to go for a volunteer. But beware of the unexpected, things won’t work or happen according to your will. You have to adapt to their culture, lifestyle and be ready that you might get gastroenteritis or some diseases or outbreaks that are endemic in the areas (especially in developing countries) that you are working at.

For me this is a life changing experience. By the end of this volunteer, I learn about a number of things. I challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone, adapting with different cultures, work ethics and environment. I struggled at first but I have faith and am confident I can get this through. My stay in the Children’s Home is only 5 weeks, nevertheless I have achieved so much: motivate and encourage them to love English, help them to memorise vocabs easily through various means such as songs and drawings, give them lots of love and care, helping them with all I can. This experience has increased my communication skills as I have to handle each of them differently since they have different personalities. It further trains my leadership such as guiding the kids and being an exemplar for them, arranging various kinds of activities, and helping them to solve various problems. I have gained more confidence and becoming more optimistic after going through challenges, cultural shock and the unexpected. In addition I meet various interns from different parts of the world, we share our experiences and learn about their cultures.

These kids can not buy anything they wanted, some of them are orphans, and most of them could not meet their parents often. They are restricted to be involved in any kind of romantic relationships, prohibited to watch movies, forbidden to go outside their shelter except schools. They do a lot of rough works: cutting trees, cleaning houses and gardens, a lot of washings. But every day they smile brightly and greet me in the morning and before I sleep at night. Each of them is independent and they cherish their life. This is one of the things that in my opinion is crucial for us to reflect upon. You and me, we have to learn from these kids. Be blessed, live your life to the fullest, and have a faith in what you believe in.

via http://elvinavolunteerexperience.blogspot.com

Feel Lanka

Feel Lanka is a project initiated by AIESEC Colombo South to promote Sri Lanka as a tourism destination. We have targeted young energetic change agents from all over the world and spread the message about this miracle of Asia through their own first hand experiences.

Feel Lanka 1.0

Project was implemented by undergraduates of University of Rajarata with 9 foreign undergraduates from four different countries Singapore, China, Australia and India. The team of interns got the opportunity  to participate in several awareness sessions, which were conducted by the industry-related lecturers and professionals. Photo campaigns, video documentations, blogs and reports had been carried  in a whole new way to pump up the image of Sri Lankan tourism.

Apart from that, foreign interns got the opportunity to conduct several workshops on different aspects of tourism and hospitality with related to their cultures to the middle management of hotel industry and other employees. Closing ceremony of the workshop series was a Food Fiesta, where the interns presented their own food cultures and preferences.

Feel Lanka 2.0

China is considered one of the fastest growing and most significant Tourism segment in Sri Lankan inbound tourism industry. Project was focused on creating an online platform for potential Chinese tourists to get to know the first hand experiences of  their fellow citizens who have traveled and experienced Sri Lanka.

12 foreign interns, mainly representing Mainland of China joined with the project. They were assigned to travel around the country and capture photos and videos of tourist attractions on their own. In the meantime, according to their first hand experiences they have developed the articles and experience sharing. With all these content, a website is created and will be launched in both Chinese and English languages. 

Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) 2.0

Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) 2.0 was initiated by AIESEC Sri Lanka as a combined effort of Colombo South and Colombo North Local Committees, aiming the enhancement of skills and knowledge of youth in universities and higher educational institutes. At the first phase of the project, series of sessions was conducted at selected institutes under key topics such as social responsibility, global citizenship, skills development, project planning and etc.

Partnered Institutes for the project

Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT) 

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT)

American National College (ANC)

Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT)

British College of Applied Studies (BCAS) 

National Youth Services Council (NYSC)

WCMT Campus

Technical College – Maradana

Technical College – Ratmalana

Ceylon - German Technical Training Institute (CGTTI)

The second phase comprised of four major events,

·         Global Village – Aimed in providing a rare opportunity for Sri Lankan youth to experience different cultures, customs, traditions and their life styles

·         United Nations Day – Aimed in providing an interaction with seven different organizations under United Nations Organization (UNFPA, UNV, UNDP, ILO, IOM, UNICEF, UN Habitat) 

·         Leadership Development Day - Aimed in developing necessary skills which matter youth the most to bring out the inner leader in them.

·         Youth Empowerment Symposium – Aimed in providing latest information regarding employment opportunities in Sri Lanka in order to plan their career. 

Together with local undergraduates in University of Kelaniya and University of Moratuwa, 42 foreign interns from 15 different countries (China, Denmark, USA, Australia, Russia, Taiwan, Kyrgyzstan, Brazil, Bahrain, Kazakhstan and Poland) joined their hands together to empower Sri Lankan youth.

Through the project, over 1000 youth were directly approached and benefited.

Media Appearance

Ceylon Today 



Project Partners

Dragon De Danza

The Chinese New Year is a traditional festival which is also known as the "Spring Festival", the literal translation of the modern Chinese name. This time it marked the beginning of Chinese Lunar New Year 2013, the Year of Snake. Together with over 1.3 billion people in China and millions of Chinese around the world, as AIESEC Colombo South, we decided to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Sri Lanka. 

"Dragon De Danza" was held on 11^th of February, 2013 at Maharagama Youth Centre. Traditional Chinese dances were performed and the history of the new year was explained to the participants by Chinese interns. Furthermore, traditional Chinese games and other items were exhibited to initiate a sound cultural understanding.

Setting up another milestone, AIESEC Colombo South celebrated 125 GCDP exchanges for  12/13 term which was not just a number, but the impactful life changing experiences that we created . 

SPARK

The project, “SPARK” was carried out as a series of educational seminars, targeting the students of Ordinary Level (O/L) and Advanced Level (A/L) classes, with the aims of developing leadership qualities, communication skills in English, literacy in Information Technology and their interest in Robotics.

The seminars were conducted by the foreign undergraduates and graduates, along with undergraduates from Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology. 13 foreign volunteers joined together, representing four different countries, Australia, China, India and Pakistan. Interaction and experience sharing with foreign students helped Sri Lankan students to understand what young generations in other countries do differently in shaping their careers.

                                                                                                       
Over 2000 students in 6 schools in Colombo, Kandy and Galle were directly approached and were give the opportunity to develop their knowledge in relevant fields taught & develop leadership skills, which is one of the key motives of AIESEC.

Partnered Schools for the Project

·         Royal College, Colombo

·         Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya,Colombo

·         Richmond College,Galle

·         Rippon Girls' College,Galle

·         Lagamuwa M.V.,Kandy

Project Partners

London Business School Ltd - Principal Partner

ICBT Campus- Main Partner

Achievers Lanka Business Campus - Main Partner

Sri Lanka Institute of InformationTechnology - Co-Partner

 NetAssist International (Pvt)Ltd - Co-Partner

Exploring Galle : Feel Lanka 2.0 by Emily Wang

Feel lanka 2.0 is a project of AIESEC , our goal is promote the tourism industry in Sri Lanka!

we start the first trip in Galle for four days, visited Galle Fort , temples, church , National museums, beach and so on, the most impressive is Galle Fort , filled of old-fashion atmosphere .

We take a train to Galle, coastal rail line, sun shine and breeze make my trip more colorful,. When we arrive Galle , it seems that we have enter another world, here doesn’t look like Colombo, the Galle is more beautiful and silent .When we walk out the railway station , we see a part of Galle Fort !! After we’ve our package set in the Sea line hotel, we went to the Galle Fort , First, we see the small fish market near the Fort, then we walked to the National museum. On the way to museum , I was astonished by a cute child , I didn’t notice him in the car , when I walked by, he said “Hello!” with sweet smile. I think this is the specialty  in the Sri lanka .The children here wear the native smile always. After museum, we walk around the Galle , we see the beautiful church, Then we walked back to the Galle Fort,

we have lunch near the fort, delicious food ,beautiful views …Everything needed ,is there. After lunch, we go to the jewelry factory , we see the how the rings is mounted with diamonds… I think the work needs person who are patient and considerate!  

We back to the Galle town, we walked around the town, and take picture there,

We up stairs the Galle Fort , a wide ban comes into view! We walked along the Fort and waited for the sunset  …

by Emily Wang .

Innovation leads to change, Change leads to Success….:Fuegosticka

'Fuegosticka', is an initiative by the Global Community Development Program of AIESEC Colombo South, University of Moratuwa, which provides a platform for the youth in Sri Lanka to feel the latest advancements in Mobile Technology.

Deviating from the usual way, AIESEC Colombo South introduces Fuegosticka, to enhance mobile development skills in local undergraduates. Foreign mentors from Brazil, India, Egypt, China and Hong Kong are joining with this project, adding more value by sharing their experiences.

Fuegosticka was launched on 19^th January 2013, remarking a gathering of many enthusiastic participants, interns and sponsors. IDM, Dialog, GTS, Virtusa, ReadMe.lk, e-Globe Solutions and Redline Technologies are sponsoring for this massive project in order to make it a success.

Chief Guest for the Opening Ceremony was Dr. B. Ranasinghe, Director IDM, highlighted the importance of innovation and techno entrepreneurship in young people. Further he highly valued the platform that AIESEC provides for youth to develop their leadership skills and potential. He stated that these kinds of events are very much needed to develop entrepreneurship skills in local undergraduates.

The function was followed by an interesting cultural presentation by foreign interns which added colors of global harmony to the event.

Fuegosticka sessions are to be held weekly focusing on Android Mobile Game Development and as well as marketing and project planning. Our hope is that Fuegosticka would be one of the best learning and cultural experience for youth in Sri Lanka.  

                           

               

      Two interns, Andre and Hend explaining the rules and agenda of Fuegosticka

                                            

Thushan Dharmawardana, Vice President for Incoming Exchange and projects in AIESEC Colombo South addressing the gathering behalf of AIESEC.

by Achini Adhikari.

(for more info visit http://fuegostica.aieseccs.lk
https://www.facebook.com/fuegosticka
http://aieseccs.lk)