On June 25, 2017, over 80 alumni embarked on a beautiful boat cruise to Bratislava, where, inspired by “be the change” presentations, they reconnected with old friends and met members of other generations!

In addition to alumni from all over Europe–Peter Mandl as President of AAE, Alex Tichy as PAAI, and, of course, the host, Dieter Langenecker as P-AAA–we welcomed an exceptional guest for this special occasion: Jean Choplin, founder of AIESEC, together with his wife, Catherine Choplin.

This boat cruise was part of a special weekend program that included a sightseeing tour, visits to museums, lunch, and dinner with traditional Austrian cuisine in Vienna.

It’s clear there are great ideas, visions, goals, and events within the AIESEC family when it comes to its mission: “Peace and fulfillment of humankind’s potential.” The question remains: How can we–each in our own way–achieve lasting positive change in the world we live in?

It might be easy to organize many separate events and renew slogans. However, without continuity and purposeful action that starts on a personal level, our intentions remain just nice ideas. By joining forces within our AIESEC community, our impact reaches further. Fortunately, many alumni have demonstrated and continue to show that a lot can be done on both small and large scale: Jean has been sharing his journey with AIESEC since 1948. Further, AIESECers of all generations have presented their own “Be the Change” activities, including what has motivated them to choose their path, their pitfalls, as well as their success stories. Just to name a few that were present: “Impact Hub,” “Teach for Austria,” “Social Man,” “Kattunfabrik,” “Younited Cultures,” and “Sietar.”

Let’s continue or start Being the Change by supporting one of the initiatives or starting one of your own.

It was an inspiring highlight of AAA’s annual program!