São Paulo – AIESEC (originally called Association internationale des étudiants en sciences économiques et commerciales), an organization providing professional exchange programs for young people, is offering 75% off on administrative fees for students looking to work for startup businesses in Egypt, under its Global Entrepreneurs program, up until next Friday (23). Pictured above are AIESEC exchange students with the pyramids in the background.
The idea is to make exchange programs more accessible to young people, so they can develop leadership capabilities in an international setting. The original price is BRL 1,790, while the discount price is BRL 400. Health insurance discounts are also available until next Friday.
Candidates must be university students or graduates aged 18-30 with intermediate English or Spanish language skills. The programs last 6 to 12 weeks, involving projects at a local startup.
The charges include accommodation at family homes, hostels or shared facilities with other students; airport reception; and weekly follow-up. Some accommodations include meals. No grants are involved.
The deadline for the discount is at noon on Friday. The trips can be taken up until 2020. Check out the AIESEC promotional webpage to find out more and enroll.
Best experience
Advertising practitioner Rodrigo Souza, 25, spent two months in Cairo, Egypt last year. “It was the best experience of my life. I had never been abroad. It gave me a lot of knowledge on the personal and professional levels,” he said. Souza worked at retail startup Mashtal, where he worked on his marketing/digital marketing and strategic planning skills, working alongside young people from countries like Kenya, China, Greece, Morocco and India.
“I was about to graduate and I wanted to go on an exchange program, but I wasn’t sure where. I went to AIESEC, they gave me a few options and Egypt was the one that fit my budget best. I spent about BRL 6,000 total, including tickets, accommodation and other costs, for two months. I was much cheaper than taking an English course in the United States or Ireland, for instance,” explained Souza.
According to him, the entire trip was about diversity, since he would interact with people from different countries in the student home where he lived and at work. “Personally, I managed to get to know myself better. I found myself more resilient, more open, solution-oriented and it did away with a few silly prejudices I had about differences, especially Islam,” he said.
Souza said he felt at home in Egypt and managed to travel to a few coastal cities. “I felt welcomed, at home. Egyptians love Brazil, they love football and they’re very welcoming. I’m sure I made the right choice. This was the best experience I ever had, without question, and I advise everyone who can to go!”, he said.
AIESEC
AIESEC is present in over 120 countries and has over 2,000 members in Brazil. It provides exchange programs and opportunities for young people aged 18-30 to explore their leadership potential in multicultural settings. The organization makes over 12,000 scholarships available per year.
The organization was created in 1948, in the wake of World War Two, by seven young people from seven different countries, in a bid to build multicultural awareness among nations. By 1977, AIESEC spanned 50 countries in six continents, and had enabled leadership experiences to 40,000 young people around the world.
By 2010, AIESEC had provided 10,000 experiences. In 2015, young AIESEC leaders from 126 countries and territories had promoted and directed the participation of young people in implementing the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
