So finally, on holiday in India, I had some time to write. I'm going to post a few of the things over the next few days. First up, thoughts in International Congress 2005
International Congress in Agra
Well, that was a busy one. I've said it a few times already this year, and I will probably say it again in the next few months, but I really think this was one of the busiest and most professionally intense things I have ever worked on. Going to International Congress as a delegate is great - lots of great people to meet, new and old friends to spend time with, some good sessions, and the ability to do whatever you really want - if you decide the best use of your time is to sit on some steps for a couple of hours talking about what is going on in Bosnia, Togo or Russia, then do it, with one of the many Bosnians, Togo'ans and Russians that are around you. International Congress as one of the team who are running the whole thing is a whole different experience.
I am working on the External Relations team for AIESEC International, which means we look after all of AIESEC International's external partners, and create new partnerships. At International Congress, this means looking after all the external guests of the conference. Sounds easy. Most of our guests at the conference were global management level - global vice presidents, directors and some "Chief..." level people (CEO, CFO etc...). When one of these people attends our conferences, it is a big investment by the organisation sending them - their time is not cheap. So we need to make sure that they are occupied and entertained for pretty much every waking minute that they are there. This would be easy if it was a one on one thing - you look after him, I'll look after her, style. But we had something like 50 of these guests, and there was only really 4 of us doing the looking after. So at any one time, I would be making sure that 6 or 8 different Extremely Important People were in the right place with the right people. In a big conference site, with something like 600 people all over the place, and the horror of No Mobile Phone (such primitivity - how is it possible?) - this whole logistical challenge became a read headache at times. Throw in the general principle of chaos and uncertainty that surrounds anything that you work hard enough on, and at times it felt, for the first time in my life, like I really just wasnt up to the task at hand.
My defining memory from all this was right in the middle of the conference, on Day 5, when all the guests I was responsible for were on the site and all doing things. Random things had gone wrong, some people hadnt shown up to the meetings they were supposed to have, different people were requesting different things, everyone I needed to speak to couldn't be found, and I needed to be in about twelve places at the same time. I was rushing down a hallway crunching through all the things I needed to do in my head, when I just stopped, and wondered, "Where am I walking to?". This brief moment of questioning why was I indeed walking down this particular hallway led to a whole meltdown of questioning - what am I doing, right now, what is the absolute next individual thing I have to do, what is my name, where am I? What the hell am I doing here, man?!
In the middle of the meltdown one of my friends from Egypt walked past me and said hello - I had totally lost all perspective on where I was and what was going on, time and space had totally eluded me, and I think this hello from a familiar face helped me to rebuild. But for a second there, I think my brain just decided to restart in order to clear things up a little. I've never managed to flick the overload button on my brain before, and once I got started again, with much more clarity and level headedness, I wondered whether this was a good or a bad thing. Anyhow, it all worked out in the end, I kicked ass at everything I was supposed to do at the conference, and all is cool.
International Congress in Agra
Well, that was a busy one. I've said it a few times already this year, and I will probably say it again in the next few months, but I really think this was one of the busiest and most professionally intense things I have ever worked on. Going to International Congress as a delegate is great - lots of great people to meet, new and old friends to spend time with, some good sessions, and the ability to do whatever you really want - if you decide the best use of your time is to sit on some steps for a couple of hours talking about what is going on in Bosnia, Togo or Russia, then do it, with one of the many Bosnians, Togo'ans and Russians that are around you. International Congress as one of the team who are running the whole thing is a whole different experience.
I am working on the External Relations team for AIESEC International, which means we look after all of AIESEC International's external partners, and create new partnerships. At International Congress, this means looking after all the external guests of the conference. Sounds easy. Most of our guests at the conference were global management level - global vice presidents, directors and some "Chief..." level people (CEO, CFO etc...). When one of these people attends our conferences, it is a big investment by the organisation sending them - their time is not cheap. So we need to make sure that they are occupied and entertained for pretty much every waking minute that they are there. This would be easy if it was a one on one thing - you look after him, I'll look after her, style. But we had something like 50 of these guests, and there was only really 4 of us doing the looking after. So at any one time, I would be making sure that 6 or 8 different Extremely Important People were in the right place with the right people. In a big conference site, with something like 600 people all over the place, and the horror of No Mobile Phone (such primitivity - how is it possible?) - this whole logistical challenge became a read headache at times. Throw in the general principle of chaos and uncertainty that surrounds anything that you work hard enough on, and at times it felt, for the first time in my life, like I really just wasnt up to the task at hand.
My defining memory from all this was right in the middle of the conference, on Day 5, when all the guests I was responsible for were on the site and all doing things. Random things had gone wrong, some people hadnt shown up to the meetings they were supposed to have, different people were requesting different things, everyone I needed to speak to couldn't be found, and I needed to be in about twelve places at the same time. I was rushing down a hallway crunching through all the things I needed to do in my head, when I just stopped, and wondered, "Where am I walking to?". This brief moment of questioning why was I indeed walking down this particular hallway led to a whole meltdown of questioning - what am I doing, right now, what is the absolute next individual thing I have to do, what is my name, where am I? What the hell am I doing here, man?!
In the middle of the meltdown one of my friends from Egypt walked past me and said hello - I had totally lost all perspective on where I was and what was going on, time and space had totally eluded me, and I think this hello from a familiar face helped me to rebuild. But for a second there, I think my brain just decided to restart in order to clear things up a little. I've never managed to flick the overload button on my brain before, and once I got started again, with much more clarity and level headedness, I wondered whether this was a good or a bad thing. Anyhow, it all worked out in the end, I kicked ass at everything I was supposed to do at the conference, and all is cool.
Welcome back ! Hope your doing okay babes, thinking of you xx
You always kick ass :-). So happy and proud to see you in IC. Can't wait for November to see you in our POWER TRIP to Basata.
I have no idea how you survive those International Congress thingies at all. I was utterly tired of conferences by the second national conference I went to, and now the thought of being crammed in a building with eighty other people for any amount of time (let alone many hundreds for the obscene length of Intl. Congress) fills me with fist-clenching dread and a strong desire to barrel head-first out of the nearest window.
Then again, I wasn't exactly the sociable type.
Yeah, you always were a bit of a flaky one hey Neo :)
I find it pretty easy from experience. Go to bed early once every few nights, eat a decent breakfast each morning, and drink water religiously throughout the conference.....