Studentmagasinet 1
WAKE UP! We live in a world that is changing by t
he minute, in fact, by every moment you spend reading this article. The issues our planet is facing are changing or intensifies along with it. And so must our efforts. AIESEC is a student run leadership development platform. We strive for cultural understanding and a sustainable future through offering young people international experience. We facilitate thousands of volunteering projects, entrepreneurial experiences and professional internships every year. We are ambitious to adjust our organization to the needs of the world. Only by staying flexible can we evolve and keep our impact relevant. Text by Malin Håkansson, National Director of Global internships and Volunteer experiences T he Sustainable Development Goals (also referred to as the SDGs) were brought forth by the United Nations along with collaborating partners. These are goals and targets, set to be fulfilled by year 2030. On September 25th, 2015, 193 world leaders committed to 17 Global Goals to achieve 3 extraordinary things by 2030: end extreme poverty, fight inequality & injustice, and fix climate change. The Global Goals for Sustainable Development could accomplish this mission. In all countries. For all people. AIESECs commitment In December 2015, AIESEC committed to support the UN by using our global platform as a channel to raise awareness among the worlds youth and empower action and participation in the implementation and fulfillment of these goals. We aim to achieve this not only in the members and exchange participants but also with the partners and companies we work closely with. Our commitment has three major factors that we believe only meets their potential when they are complementing each other. Firstly, we aim to spread knowledge and awareness about the Sustainable Global Goals. Without knowledge about them, it will be impossible for us to create impact before first knowing the issues we are facing and how to tackle them. Secondly, we are working hard to inspire engagement, to activate youth to speak up and get involved in the potential solutions to todays challenges. Finally we need to convert this engagement to tangible results and provide a space for concrete actions. Youth 4 Global Goals Youth For Global Goals is an initiative powered by AIESEC aimed at activating the leadership potential of young people of the world by engaging and mobilizing them through offering purposeful and cross-cultural projects around the globe that are designed to impact and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. We want to bring organizations together to support youth action for SDGs. This works as an umbrella campaign for the events and experiences that we facilitate. The main elements are; the YouthSpeak Survey where we have gathered hundreds of thousands of youth voices. The YouthSpeak Report where we summarize the outcome from the survey and use it to not only change our operations according to what is important for todays youth but also communicate this to the respective government. The YouthSpeak Forum is an event hosted by AIESEC all over the world where we invite actors from all sectors, institutions, companies, organizations and youth to discuss and act on the Sustainable Development Goals. YouthSpeak Forum A forum where inspiration and collaboration convert into action. We gather young and senior leaders to create a space for inspiring conversations around pressing global issues. The event aims to create an environment where people from diverse backgrounds can crosspollinate ideas, share insights and gain new perspectives to create actionable outcomes to push the world forward. We make this happen by taking our delegates through the unique and interactive framework of Inspire, Engage, Act. AIESEC in Sweden hosts a Youth Speak Forum with varied topics biannually. In March this year we had the hot topic of Digital Innovation Transforms Global Business hosted in Jönköping. In November it was time for Stockholm to get invited to the YouthSpeak Forum with the very relevant topic of Quality of Education in Sweden. We had an eventful day of keynotes, networking, workshops, panel debates and action spaces. Besides the engaged and inspiring youth that attended, we had the pleasure