View the latest issue - IAESTE

former General Secretary, Pauline Ferguson, we were able
to find the IAESTE Alumnus Enda Young who is a leader
in his field of conflict resolution. Enda agreed to host a
workshop for participants focussing on dealing with conflict
in the work place and in life generally.
From the feedback we received after the event, Enda’s
workshop was a real highlight of the conference. Not only
was it engaging and fun, the participants also felt like they
learned a lot that they could take back into their lives and
use.
After the intensive morning session and a nice lunch
with the AC participants, the afternoon was spent hearing
from the Alumni Relations Manager about the current
status of the Alumni Network and gave the participants the
opportunity to provide feedback and develop new ideas to
take forward.
It was a really excellent session and lots of great feedback
and ideas were received. The enthusiasm shown by the
participants clearly showed how firmly they hold IAESTE
in their hearts. IAESTE Alumni are very keen to stay involved
with the organisation and are a huge resource for the
organisation with the experience and knowledge they bring.
In the evening the participants attended the gala dinner
which took place at the Titanic Signature Building. The
dinner was a truly memorable experience, not just in terms
of the excellent food, but also the atmosphere and setting.
At the end of the evening participants were treated to a concert
from the Belfast Community choir which was incredible
and a wonderful way to finish the first day’s programme.
It was going to be hard to top day one but we had to try.
The day began with a bus tour of Belfast, taking in all the
famous sites including the Peace Wall, Stormont, Queen’s
University, Belfast and many more. We were lucky enough
to have Pauline Ferguson as our tour guide and she was an
excellent source of local information and very entertaining.
Despite the snow and difficult driving conditions, everyone
had a great time and learned a lot about the wonderful city
of Belfast.
After warming up and some lunch, it was time for the
afternoon sessions, The History of IAESTE, once again delivered
by Pauline Ferguson, Fundraising activities, delivered
by Eleftheria Karydi and then an opportunity to hear from
the participants themselves. Listening to the participants tell
their own stories was very inspiring and showed just how
much IAESTE impacts on people’s lives. The willingness
of those people to want to give back to the organisation
by staying involved with IAESTE was amazing and really
showed the benefit of hosting a conference for Alumni.
The final event left for the weekend was the famous
International Evening where over 300 delegates shared food
and drink from their home countries. The Alumni Conference
participants had their own table and brought together
many different flavours from all over the world. A great
time was had by all and it was a wonderful way to end the
conference for the alumni.
We are already looking forward to the 3rd Annual
Alumni Conference which will take place next January in
Ecuador and we hope to see many of our alumni there!
s
Photo taken by Anli Tang
For lots more photos from the
2nd Annual Alumni Conference,
log in to the Alumni Network!
5