Hong Kong Ripples Conference story 2

Ripples Conference in Hong Kong!

My long awaited first overseas conference, the planning for attending this conference had began during the last exam session where I drafted my application in a rash to submit while still studying. Then after, during the NLDS, my expectation had heighten, seeing so many delegates experienced the impact of wonderfully planned. The fun factor raised when I mentioned that that I was going for this conference and further 9 delegates were pulled in, through indirect influence.

Around another 2 weeks of planning resulted from this since there were now 10 delegates in total. Booking of air flights and accomodation happened over the Christmas season. Everything ended by then on 21th Jan, the delegates of 10 are on their way abroad for their first overseas conference.

Arriving in HKU, my first enpowering session was on the Culture of Execellence by Nadya. Nadya talked about the story behind CoE, what the Culture of Excellence is all about - which happens not to be the Culture of snobs or culture of perfection. It's about creating the culture that values the striving for excellence - and I think that rocks.

Later in evening, we had barbarque, Hong Kong style; simple saying, it's just BBQing in the cool weather of 14 - 20 degrees, which really made BBQ less of a hassle since you don't have to sweat and sweat like in Singapore's weather - rather it's the opposite since you are trying to get some warmth from the pit.

On the 2nd day, the topic is on Corporate and Social Responsibility. We had some sharing from @ers of the different regions - Hong Kong, China and Taiwan talking about the CSR from different points of views. External speakers such as the Dr Yeung, CEO of Glorious Sun Group and Mr Bernard Chan, member of legislative council - my thoughts then : "Man, how do they get such prominent figures in Hong Kong to sponser and to come and give a talk." - came to share
what CSR is to them and what they are doing to encourage CSR.

In the evening, we are divided up into 3 groups to explore the beauty in the different areas in Hong Kong. I went to Mong Kok where we get to see up close what really defines Hong Kong - the mini buses, the night market and the food. Food stalls by the side are serving all sorts of food from smelly tofu, fishballs which are different from the kind in Singapore, fried pig instestinals, etc. The variety is really amazing. My group got to dine in one of the local food stall where we are endulge in more food culture exchange.

On the 3rd day was mainly about entrepreneuship. we got to hear from some great speakers as well as engaging with entrepreneurs who came to share with us their experience. It was one of the highlight of the Conference, since the speakers are really infectious with their passion. I get to hear from Ms Belle, founder of BeansBox - a website design company. Belle shared her journey with us, telling us why she had started off to get into this line despite being trained as a lawyer. As well as the difficulties that she faced from family and friends during the start. Yet she persisted to where she is now with this quote - "Find your dream and follow it"

In the evening, we explored into the politics of the Greater China Region where we talked about corruption. Not what I expected though, I would expect something more provocative such as unification of China, still I had better understanding about the corruption scene in the region.

The highlight of the evening is the @red party, all of us are dressed in red. We had the usual sculling games and as well as an "interesting" fashion show by all the participants and followed by lots of @ dancing - there's this great dance by Taiwan Delegates with the song "Huo Yuan Jia" which I didn't managed to tape down - still looking for it though.

The last day which we had simulation of what we had learned in the last 3days and the closing plenary for the conference.

What I can conclude from my learning experience is - "A short 8 days yet a huge impact" All sort of new experience came in during this conference - pre-conference organising, talking in Cantonese wherever I go, the different lifestyle, different culture, different thoughts, new network of friends, etc.

Two question that I should pose to all before I end : If you haven't been to an international conference, what's stopping you to know more about AIESEC, stopping you to learn more about the different cultures, stopping you to make new overseas friends. If there ain't, what are you waiting for?

By Nicholas Ong, 1st year @er OGX NTU

Hong Kong Ripples Conference story

Hong Kong.

It’s seems like a memory buried deep in my heart.

Yet, last night, while I was looking through the pictures, everything re-surfaced. The people, the actions, the sceneries, the events, the chill, the food, the conference.

Yes. It was the conference, which granted me one of my best @ XP now to date.

And the conference has a name, The RIPPLES. Organised by @ in Hong Kong Uni. That’s where all the stories started.

It was a chilly morning when we arrived outside HKU together with our bulky luggage. Two cheerful OCs were there to greet us. But the sight of endless staircase terrorized me. The OCs volunteered to help me, but looking at their petite size, I gently refused (I wonder why they didn’t station male OCs).

After registration, I got into my groups and met up with my group mates. They were from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong (of course), and South Korea (the only female delegate from South Korea!). We were shy initially, so we ended up exchanging contacts.


Then the conference began! By a welcome speech by the Canadian chairman called Felix Thai (wonder if he’s a Thai). He led us through expectation setting, which I thought was nice. So that we know what we want to know in the conference and what we should do to get the most out of the conference. After that was ice-breaking games, @ knowledge and checking into rooms. The day ended of with a long barbeque session. It was the first time that I actually appreciated the heat from the barbeque fire! And the meat pieces that we had were simply HUGE.


The rest of the days whizzed through with a series of talks, presentation by the organising LCs (Guangzhou LC and National Taiwan University [NTU as well! But they had to be named NTLC because NTU is taken by us! Hohoho] participated in the preparation of agendas as well), discussions, insightful games and party. The talks were interesting, but they were also the most challenging part of the conference! I was fighting hard to keep my eyelids apart! This was the result of late night chatting with other delegates. Nonetheless, the speakers were very enlightening.

The topics for the conference were Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The OC managed to invite many speakers who hold important positions in these areas. One speaker that left a deep impression in me was Dr. Charles Yeung, the CEO of Glorious Sun Group, which is a MNC.

He shared with us his management philosophy, which were real philosophy! He quoted from Mencius (Meng-tse), Confucius and other philosophers, and showed us how these noble lines were used in his management of the company. The lines that I could still remember now:
‘All human, in many years ago, were one big family. So what’s wrong with helping your family members?’
‘What we gain today is from the society. So it is only right that we contribute what we gain back to the society.’

Apart from activities in the university, the OCs were kind enough to insert a study tour for us to visit famous tourist destinations! We could choose to go either The Peak, Tsim Sha Tsui or Mongkok. I went to Tsim Sha Tsui. And visited the many handprints by famous HK artists, like my beloved Tony Leung! Wahaha.. My friends who went to other destinations had interesting experience to share as well. For example, those who went the shopping haven Mongkok went back without buying anything because they said they couldn’t decide on which shop to stop!


Another biggest challenge in the conference was the shower time. Shower session is usually after the day ended, when temperature was at its lowest and wind was at its strongest. After the shower, it always felt so cold that even the air from hairdryer doesn’t feel warm!

However, it was the delegates, not the challenges, that left the greatest impacts in me. They were a bunch of motivated and passionate people! One of my group member, who is first-year in @ as well, has already been to 3 conferences! And their @ knowledge is simply astonishing. We learnt a lot about their @ structure and @ XP, and I personally thought these were really good stuff that I can bring back to SIPO!

Furthermore, interacting with them gave me the opportunity to see the same issue from different angle, from different perspective built from different culture. It teaches me, that everything in world is like a diamond, has a different colour when viewed from different dimensions. It is the combination of these dimensions that make the diamond whole, and it is these dimensions together that make the world colourful!

Through this trip we’ve also learnt how @ connects people. While checking into hotel after the conference ended (us the Singapore delegates were up to some personal fun), a lady walked pass us and asked, ‘Are you all from AIESEC?’ Apparently she was an ex-LCP of Auckland Uni, New Zealand, and she happened to see the @ phone strap on Siew Yik’s neck (from NUS)! This is the magic of @! It makes the world we are living in like a world without strangers!

I wonder if I have bored you all but I am definitely not finish with my sharing of experience! But fine, I shall not hog the space. My last words: People, for an enriching @ XP, go conferences! Conference is the time to learn about AIESEC, learn about the world and learn about yourself. It is the time for you to realise, appreciate and be surprised by the beauty of diversity in the world. It’s the time for you to be inspired, challenged, and empowered!

Till now, the effect hasn’t stopped. There’re still ripples in my mind……

@ SIPO! We rocked the RIPPLES with our noise!

The weather there..

The panoramic city view of HK.

By Low Wan Xin, first year @er of ICX NTU

Member Future Development Plan coming SOON

Hey AIESEC!

It’s time of the year again! The Member Future Development Plan (previously known as EB Application form) will be available on @.net from Feb 16 (Fri) till 28.

This year, we will not only reach out to those who wish to apply for EBs, but ALSO members who wish to be involved in issue- & non-issue-based projects and service. In fact, there will be more leadership positions (aside from EBs) and learning opportunities created in the next term (0708).

The MFDP will be divided into 3 parts, namely
A. Application for Executive Board (EB)
B. Application for Organizing Committee Presidents (OCPs) for Projects
C. Application for OCVPs, OC Exec, ROs and others

It will also serve as a platform for you to devise your future plans in AIESEC, and allow the current EBs to understand your needs/grouses better. (Yes, any feedback, be it positive or negative, is welcome in @ J)

Yup, stay tuned for the release of MFDP on Feb 16. The deadline is Feb 28.

In the meantime, should you have any doubts, pls feel free to contact Alvin at alvin.hong@aiesec.net or Diana at diana.dawidson@aiesec.net.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

AIESECly yours,
Alvin

NTU Barbeque

We had a blast!!!! On Saturday, 10/02/2007, we had an LC BBQ Gathering, at West Coast. It was amazing. We had a wonderful time mingling around, sharing, no formalities. It was wonderful. We had trainees from Hong Kong(Peggy) and Netherlands(Eric) . We even had a few @ members from NUS. Guess they wanted to find out how to have a good time, just like how NTU @ always does!

Nicholas and Wan Xin also shared with us their experience in Hong Kong where they attended the RIPPLES Conference. No power point presentations, just circle sharing, members sitting on the grass sharing mandarin oranges! Thanks Nicholas and Wan Xin. Thanks to all who turned up and made this event a successful one. Also, not forgetting the members who planned this. THANK YOU!!!








And, how can a BBQ be complete without food? There was food aplenty. Thanks to all the cooks. It was great.




And as the sun sets.....


....AIESEC members still go on enjoying themselves


Thank you all. It was an amazing experience!!

LC Outing - BBQ cum CNY celebration

Dear @ers,

Gong Xi Fa Cai,

Chinese New Year is just around the corner.

In order to indulge ourselves in this festive season, LC NTU has brought to you CNY out at West Coast Park!

So...
Who is invited?
E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E under the sun.
Just come down and join us! The more the merrier.

What will I be doing there?
Have fun, Lots and lots of fun!

What will I be having there?
BBQ, CNY sharing, games and many many more

More importantly, how much do I need to pay?
ZERO, Yes its Free for all! We will provide the basic food, so do come down with your snacks, traditional food, drinks, etc.
Please bring extra food to avoid 'starvation' he...

Cool, When is it?
10th Feb Two Thousand Seven, 3pm at West Coast.
NTU @ers, let's meet at 2pm at Boon Lay MRT station.
The event will kick off with LC Gathering sessions such as sharing sessions from HK Ripples Conference, CNY sharing and games. Do join us anytime!

Oh no...what should I wear?
We will be happy to see you in CNY colours: red, gold, orange :)

Yeah! I'm free on that day, who should I contact to confirm my attendance?
The Chris - chris.chan@aiesec.net [so we know how many to expect]

And by when must i do so?
Friday, 9pm

OK I will see all you guys there this Saturday!

Regards,
Chris