AIESEC International President welcomes JCI World President.
Today's students are far too conservative and accepting.
-- JCI World President Graham Hanlon
On February 22, JCI World President Graham Hanlon attended the 2008 AIESEC International Presidents meeting in Orhid, Macedonia. He was the first JCI President to do so in many years. AIESEC, as the world's largest student organization that helps students discover and develop their potential so as to have a positive impact on society, is a natural source for new JCI members.
A debate during the meeting centered on what the world will be like in 2025 and what students can do now to shape that world. Three candidates for AIESEC President, and representatives from Junior Achievement and the International Association of Agricultural Students (IAAS) joined Hanlon on the panel.
Hanlon told more than 200 young student leaders from 80 countries that today's students were far too conservative and accepting. "I am not asking you to run out onto the street and start throwing eggs, but today's students are far too accepting," he said. "If you in AIESEC, like we in JCI, wish to see change, then you must constantly articulate your views and push for change."
Asked if the environment will still be a major issue in 2025, Hanlon said he sincerely hoped it would not be. "If we are still talking about the environment in 2025 the way we are now, it means we will have failed in our responsibility to solve the environmental and ecological challenges that confront us," he added.
Join JCI!
The student body was keen to know what they could do after graduation to continue to live out the AIESEC philosophy. "Join JCI," Hanlon advised quickly. "As soon as you start your professional career, you WILL, whether you like it or not, become absorbed into the mainstream, and will soon be consumed by those everyday things that presently do not occupy your mind," he added.
"You'll focus on your job, career, income, pension, property and eventually relationships," said Hanlon. "These are all part of life but the demands they place on people in today's world are so great that many lose that passion and desire they had as students to make a difference. In JCI we keep that desire to make a positive contribution to change."
Students asked panel members what issues would be relevant in the future. "Ethics, particularly in business, is a growing concern for people" said Hanlon. "I think this is evident from the various groups appearing in society, like the Fair Trade for example," he said. "In JCI, we are concerned about ethics. That's why we have partnered with the United Nations Global Compact and have an active Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program."
Partnership Agreement
Prior to the debate, Hanlon held a constructive meeting with AIESEC President Gabriela Albescu and AIESEC Global Networks Manager Emanuel Gaverts. Discussions centered on a new partnership agreement between JCI and AIESEC. Both parties agreed that it could and should become more dynamic as the synergies between the two organizations were not being fully used to benefit both organizations.
Acknowledging that many of their national networks had close cooperation, all felt much more could be achieved. It was agreed that a new cooperation agreement would be entered into in 2008 and strongly promoted within JCI and AIESEC.
After all the formal engagements, Hanlon had the opportunity to participate in the festivities with AIESEC members. He refused to rule out the possibility of becoming a "mature student" some day in the future.
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