Vision: Peace & Fulfillment of Humankind's Potential

Present in over 800 universities in 89 countries and territories, AIESEC is a non-political, independent, not-for-profit and the world's largest student-run organization, which serves as the international platform for young people to discover and to develop their potential, so as to have a positive impact in society.

AIESEC's focus is intercultural understanding, which has remained its core idea since the founding of the organisation in Europe after World War II. In pursuit of its vision AIESEC annually facilitates nearly 4000 work abroad opportunities, organizes over 350 conferences and offers over 5,000 leadership positions. AIESEC has always had an innovative approach to engage and to develop young people since many activities not only help to strengthen its own member base, but also seek a strong interaction with students and people's of all backgrounds.

Our alumni are leaders and positive agents of change within the world's organizations and their communities, who use the experience, skills, and personal vision, which they further developed during their active time in AIESEC.

Beginning in 2000 I was searching for an opportunity to work abroad directly following my graduation from my Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. By chance I stumbled upon AIESEC in the Internet. After some minimal (but intense) interaction with the organisation, I soon found myself flying to Germany to work for Hewlett-Packard during a 9-month internship. My new home would be the fairytale city of Tübingen. I remember telling myself that my new adventure had begun and I would therefore limit my interaction with AIESEC in Germany, so as to better concentrate on my personal development abroad.

This was perhaps the most incorrect statement of my young life. Minutes after take-off I began a conversation with the young woman next to me only to discover that she was also flying to Europe (Prague) to begin an international internship - with AIESEC. With this discovery we were both surprised by the obvious impact, which AIESEC delivers. This impact didn't stop there, but continued upon my arrival and reception at the airport in Stuttgart and during the first days and weeks of my internship. I quickly discovered that AIESEC had the potential to be a central pillar of my personal development abroad (language, cultural interaction, travel, skill development, etc.) and due to certain developments, I was catapulted into the national scene of AIESEC in Germany as a trainer and/or conference moderator.

This amazing year (9-month internship and 3-month world travel) opened too many new horizons to be described here, but led to the continuation of my studies in Electrical Engineering for a Master Degree in Germany. During these 2 years I continued and intensified my interaction with AIESEC, both receiving and delivering educational and development seminars to a range of topics (Train the Trainer, Intercultural Competence, Personal Leadership, Team Leadership, and much more). During this period I also became well known internationally within AIESEC and obtained requests and invitations for train, facilitate, or moderate certain activities (Negotiations, Meetings, Seminars, Conferences) in countries like: Romania, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria.

Upon the conclusion of a very successful Master Degree, I made the "radical" choice to bid for my election to the National Executive Board of AIESEC in Germany. In short, I and four other students became responsible for the executive leadership and management of a national branch of an international organisation. As the largest county in the AIESEC network, we became responsible for (merely a few examples) a member base of 2000 students with dozens of partner companies and a budget of over 3 million Euros. More profound for us, however, was the personal challenge of leading an organisation, where the reason for existence wasn't the cold pursuit of profit, rather the betterment of the world.

Unfortunately the outside world at first glance would cast such a position aside as a "cute experience for students", but in truth (especially when looking at the numbers) I would argue that few career positions would equal the combination of responsibility, impact, passion, personal reward, hard work, professionalism and fun. Not many can claim to have a job, which brings you around the world, places you in negotiation with company executives and offers the diversity of wearing your best suit to a personal audience with the Federal President of Germany in the morning and wearing jeans and a t-shirt to a meeting with students of a local AIESEC committee.

Now, following the 14-month term in the National Executive Board, I am quite pleased to still serve the organisation as an active alumnus, offering my services and experience to new generations of AIESEC students. The harmony between my personal values & ambitions and the substance of AIESEC will forever resonate, allowing AIESEC to retain its place with me as a life-long attitude.

The DAMU Foundation is a very young organization, which was first founded in 2005 upon the early success of the project "Why Should I Care". DAMU's vision is "the awakening of creativity and compassion of youth around the world, resulting in the development of globally minded citizens who are active members of society."

The DAMU Foundation is gathering more attention in Germany, where the project and associated film "Why Should I Care" has been shown in Cinema and soon television. The DAMU foundation is also currently working to expand its organizational structure and funding, so that it can promote its current project and begin work on future projects and activities.

I was asked to join the DAMU Foundation by the Project Director and European Representative. Since the organisation has a forming structure, I have no official position, nor do I need one. In any case I am proud to be the first official new member in Europe. I hope to continue to consult the DAMU Foundation as they grow and with them form an efficient structure and vibrant organizational culture.

The aim is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Participation is fee. Members can look at each other's profiles, send messages and post comments about their experience on the website and build a personal network, which opens the world to themselves and others.

The club is supported by volunteers who believe in one idea: by bringing travelers in touch with people in the place they visit and by giving "locals" a chance to meet people from other cultures, we can increase intercultural understanding and strengthen the peace on our planet.

I am a active volunteer, meaning that I maintain my profile and have welcomed travelers on several occasions (e.g. accommodation, city tour, etc.). I furthermore promote the use of "The Hospitality Club" and maintain contact with one of the founding members, whom I met through various other projects and whom I've welcomed as a guest.

I also know and have met the founders of the hospitality club because we have worked together on various occasions (e.g AIESEC & the leadership conference NaLDS 2004). Together at NaLDS 2004 we also initiated an AIESEC subgroup in the network of the Hospitality Club with the hope of expanding the interest and involvement in both organisations.

The "Open Business Club" is an online contact network, which enables you to find and to remained informed about personal and professional contacts. Furthermore, one is able to see the contacts of their contacts, attempting to prove the theory: "only six degrees separate all the people in the world."

Through your personal & professional profile, one is able to search or be search based on experience, topics of interest, etc. If you have a need, search for somebody, who can fulfill it. The result might be surprising, because one might already know the ideal contact OR know somebody, who knows the ideal contact - OpenBC can show you the power and extent of your network.

Please click here and accept my invitation to join OpenBC

I actively expand my network and continually search for interesting people or opportunities. One can see my profile here: https://www.openbc.com/hp/Robert_MacKenzie/. In addition, I participate in various forums and work to expand the awareness of OpenBC, which in turn expands both the size and influence of my international business network. So far there has been no direct benefit, such as a job or business opportunity, but it has enable me to relocate people and to keep my address book extremely updated.