This was my first conference outside of Canada, and it was certainly different experience. The venue was beautiful; it was right on the beach and you could see the water from the conference rooms!!
Upon arrival after a 12-hour, cold and restless bus ride, my new roommate and I decided to have breakfast on the beach. Shall I mention that this was after we had checked in and marveled at our wonderful suite? It had 2 separate rooms, 2 balconys and a phenomenal view of the mountains and sea. The beach was quite rocky and a little painful to walk on, but the water was crystal clear and the view was wonderful!
In terms of the conference, AIESEC in Turkey is very formal and has many traditions. During every plenary each LCP presents themselves and their LC, beginning with "Good morning Mr. President, Good morning AIESEC in Turkey".. It was very different. During the opening plenary he was also given T-Shirts as a gift from every LC.
Most roll calls were similar to what we would have done in Canada, however the AIESEC Songs for the initial dancing were somewhat different. I attended a few sessions in the EP track to share my experience with the members. One of the sessions was a type of game show where each of myself, Tilly and Abey shared our experiences and answered "audience" questions. I also got to Faci one session on leadership.
The problem is this: the conference was not an international conference, it was the National Congress of AIESEC in Turkey. As such, many of the sessions were in Turkish and many of the students spoke very little English. Therefore, when in a group of about 20 individuals each are asked to share their perceptions in English, it is not entirely effective. A student approached me after the session to inform me that as a very proud people, the Turkish are hesitant to make any mistake, however small, and this was the reason for their lack of participation/
The AIESEC Culture also differs significantly. As mentioned before, there is a great deal of formality. AIESEC in Turkey is seen heavily as a business, less so as an organization, and there is a strong competitive spirit. What is missing somewhat is the willingness to "change the world" or have an impact on society. It appears there is a greater emphasis on achieving goals and seeing results in exchange numbers. There also appears to be a certain resistance to change or to radical and different ideas. An AIESEC Alumni did a presentation on the last day about sustainability. It appeared that much of what she was saying, though reasonable and largely common knowledge, was new and nearly too much for the crowd. Terms like "peak oil" were unknown to the audience and it seemed as though abstract concepts on how to change the world or be sustainable were lost. In fact, I would argue that a strategy showing the students how these crises affect them directly would be more effective in this particular environment.
This mentality and culture is a result of historical influence in addition to the level and nature of the educational system. In talking to different individuals, I've realized that the level of education could be improved. In fact, it is strongly based on exams and preparing for exams, which prevents students from truly being emersed in the material or getting a thorough education. At the end of high school, there is a major exam that all students have to write. It determines if they will or will not get into university. Apparently this is a big deal and if one is sick on the respective day, they must write it the following year. As such, much of students' time is spent preparing for it, not in the pursuit or discovery of knowledge. What would be beneficial is a uniform system of education in all schools; one that includes a culturally different experience such as Erasmus.
Anyway.. back to the conference. Since the hotel was on the beach, it was within walking distance. It almost felt surreal that one could walk out of the hotel and in two minutes be on the beach. During my stay, I'll have to admit that I visited the beach daily. On the third day, Abey and I took a stroll to the Beach Park. This park runs along the beach for a few kilometers and has many cafes, bars, and private beach areas. In fact, we decided to enter one of these private clubs (luckily for us the bouncers were not present). It was called the "Bacardi Bar" and you had white leather couches, umbrellas, and fancy people (including topless people -- certainly tourists). One really nice thing about both the poolside area and the beach is that they played good music. I was actually surprised to hear Spanish music including Juanes and Julio. In addition, good house music played throughout and the Turkish music that was played was quite good.
Parties. The first night was the bolliwood party. In other words, each person was expected to dress with something Indian and they played some Indian music as well. The second night the party was also in the hotel discotec and the music was pretty good. However, at one point, one of the LCs lit firecrackers causing a horrid smell to fill the poorly ventilated club and forcing everyone to leave. The third night was the Banquet Dinner. It was VERY nice. Each person with their respective dates lined up and shook the hands of the MC at the entrance. The tables were set up beside the pool and our table happened to be right in the front near the stage where the MC would subsequently announce awards. The food was fabulous as usual, but we weren't allowed to eat until the president said a speech. In addition they have a tradition that each LCP goes around to the tables and makes a toast with each of the other LCs. There was also dancing, singing, and a particular group of interns singing KenLee, dancing and causing a bit of a rucus =). Afterwards we went to the beach and had LC meetings where there were some more speeches, including ones from us interns on our experience.
The final day was one filled with a lot of emotion, at least on the part of the MC. It included some dancing, beach, sugar cubes and a 5 hour closing plenary full of tears and farewells. And back to Istanbul we went; it was the end of one small adventure and the beginning of another week in the fabulous city.
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