AIESEC in Sri Lanka 15/16 Annual Report

AIESEC IN SRI LANKA ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OUR PURPOSE

04

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

06

ABOUT AIESEC

08

OUR VALUES AND QUALITIES

11

OUR ACTION

12

INCOMING GLOBAL VOLUNTEER

14

INCOMING GLOBAL TALENT

20

OUTGOING GLOBAL VOLUNTEER

26

OUTGOING GLOBAL TALENT

32

TALENT MANAGEMENT

34

SUSTAINABILITY

36

PROGRAMME SUMMARY

38

OUR MOVEMENT

42

CONFERENCES 44 YOUTH SPEAK FORUM

48

20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

50

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

52

OUR SPOTLIGHT

54

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

56

NATIONAL AWARDS WINNERS

58

EXTERNAL RECOGNITION

60

OUR PEOPLE

62

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD 2015/16

64

BOARD OF ADVISORS

70

OUR PARTNERS

72

OUR SUSTAINABILITY

74

FINANCE

76

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD 2016/17

78

EMPOWERING SRI LANKAN YOUTH SINCE

1995 CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

06

ABOUT AIESEC

08

OUR LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

11

OUR PURPOSE

AIESEC is a global platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential. We are a nonpolitical, independent, not-for-profit organization run by students and recent graduates of institutions of higher education. Its members are interested in world issues, leadership and management. AIESEC does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion or national/ social origin.

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OUR PURPOSE

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT As a country that is seven years into recovery from a three decade long war, the common goal of peace and reconciliation needs to be supported by one and all. I believe that the key ingredient to achieve this is through responsible and entrepreneurial leadership which reminds us of the youth in this country.

Out of a population of 21 million, more than 4.4 million are youth who have the sheer potential to bring about this much needed change and AIESEC being a youth leadership development organization is an ideal platform for the youth in our country to engage and develop themselves to create a better Sri Lanka.

The impact that AIESEC can create cannot be expressed or explained easily. However if I may share my personal experience, when I joined AIESEC almost 5 years ago I was an ordinary undergraduate who was not very outgoing or challenging and confused about what I wanted to do in life. Being an active member in AIESEC helped me to discover myself, what I am capable of and what I am passionate about which influenced me to channel myself into a purposeful life that strived to make a positive impact through leadership. Living the AIESEC experience, every day I am amazed by how it could transform one’s life. I am proud about the transformation I have experienced as an individual, the change that I am bringing to the world and at the same time how the fellow AIESECers around me have transformed their lives as young individuals capable of making a positive contribution to the society we live in.

Today AIESEC in Sri Lanka is established in 7 universities with a membership of nearly 1000 and has delivered 1106 student exchange experiences within the term 15-16 through the community development projects, corporate internships and volunteer opportunities abroad. These are direct experiences, and all the foreign students who have taken part in our projects have become ambassadors of Sri Lanka. For such level of accomplishment we are undoubtedly receiving the support of various organizations such as the Alumni network of AIESEC in Sri Lanka, state institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations, Business Organizations and various other individuals. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the membership of AIESEC in Sri Lanka and all these entities for the support extended at all times to take this organization to the next level and contributing to the change that we believe in.

I wish AIESEC in Sri Lanka all the very best for the term 16/17 and beyond.

Samith Yasas Siriwardana President of AIESEC in Sri Lanka

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OUR PURPOSE

ABOUT AIESEC What is AlESEC? AIESEC is the world’s largest youth run organization that provides young individuals with leadership development and cross cultural exchange experiences globally.

Currently present in over 126 countries and territories,AIESEC engages with over 70,000 members each year from universities and higher education institutes to deliver its programmes.

What do we believe in?

Established After a few years of World War II with the expectation of promoting understanding among nations,and changing the world one person at a time, AIESEC envisions a very powerful message: “peace & fulfillment of humankind’s potential”.

AIESEC believes every young person deserves the chance and the means to develop their leadership potential in a culturally-tolerant environment.

What do we do?

AIESEC has been providing young people with practical cross cultural learning experiences for more than 60 years. These experiences enable the participants to see the world, discover what truly matters to them and eventually make a real difference. The valuebased environment in AIESEC allows its members to incorporate certain behaviors that can shape their personality for the future.

Participants and members are offered a strong foundation of principles as they develop into responsible and entrepreneurial young leaders.

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Partner Organizations

5,000+

Countries & Territories

126

Active Members Universities Represented AIESEC alumni

70,000 2,400 1,000,000+

AIESEC IN SRI LANKA Since the establishment in 1995, as a Member chapter of AIESEC International, AIESEC in Sri Lanka has been creating a positive Impact through international experience centered leadership development to drive country for the betterment of youth in the future.

Today, AIESEC functions in University of Moratuwa, University of Kelaniya, University of Colombo, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, University of Peradeniya, University of Ruhuna and Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT).

Annual Exchanges

1,000+

Members

1,000+

Partner Organizations

40+

Community Development Initiatives

60+

Followers on Social Media

10,000+

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OUR PURPOSE

ABOUT AIESEC CORE VALUES OF AIESEC By providing every member of AIESEC a set of core values the organization has been able to develop the leadership potential of young people by engaging them early-on with a value-based environment that shapes their behaviours.

Striving for Excellence We aim to deliver the highest quality performance in everything we do. Through creativity and innovation we seek to continuously improve Demonstrating Integrity We are consistent and transparent in our decisions and actions. We fulfil our commitments and conduct ourselves in a way that is true to our vision Activating Leadership We lead by example and inspire leadership through action and results, taking full responsibility for developing others Acting Sustainability We act in a way that is sustainable for our organization and society. Our decisions take into account the needs of future generations Enjoying Participation We create dynamic and welcoming environments which stimulate active and enthusiastic participation by our members Living Diversity We seek to learn from the different ways of life and opinions represented in our multicultural environment. We respect and actively encourage the contribution of every individual 10

OUR LEADERSHIP QUALITIES AlESEC’s unique leadership qualities seek to prepare youth to take a stand on what they care about and become capable of making a difference through their everyday actions.

Therefore according to significant world issues and trends, AIESEC has identified following characteristics as focus areas in personal leadership development.

SELF-AWARE

WORLD CITIZEN

Understands and lives personal values, focuses on strengths over weaknesses and explores one’s passions.

Believes in their ability to make a difference in the world, Interested in the world issues and enjoys taking responsibility for improving the world.

EMPOWERING OTHERS

SOLUTION ORIENTED

Communicates effectively in diverse environments, develops & empowers other people and engages with others to achieve a bigger purpose.

Adapts and shows resilience in the face of challenges, transmits positivity to move forward throughout uncertainty and takes risks when needed.

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STUDENT EXCHANGES WITH 60 COUNTRIES WITHIN 1 YEAR

1109 INCOMING GLOBAL VOLUNTEER

14

INCOMING GLOBAL TALENT

20

OUTGOING GLOBAL VOLUNTEER

26

OUTGOING GLOBAL TALENT

32

TALENT MANAGEMENT

34

SUSTAINABILITY

36

PROGRAMME SUMMARY

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OUR ACTION It is our fundamental belief that leadership can be developed by providing a challenging environment.

Which is why exchange is considered as the core of AIESEC. Our Global Volunteer programme and Global Talent Programme are ideal platforms for young individuals to learn and develop through practical experiences. This unique value proposition is proven to produce change agents for a better tomorrow.

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OUR ACTION

INCOMING EXCHANGE GLOBAL VOLUNTEER Incoming Global Volunteer Programme (iGV) facilitates young people to volunteer around the world on 6-8 weeks long community development projects, which address several social issues in respective communities and societies.

The young individuals are being challenged in different cultures and environments to make them experience the leadership AIESEC develops while making a positive impact on the society. AIESEC has partnered with like minded organizations who share the same belief - “making a better world� to deliver the projects and facilitate the leadership experiences.

INITIATIVES Standardization of the iGV process The complete process of iGV from Raising (Initiation) stage to the Realization(Completion) stage was standardized and documented for the further reference of the membership. Each and every activity which should be carried out in each step was clearly briefed at process trainings in order to equip the members with the competent and up-to date information.

Introduction of new financial policies for the function The existing financial policies for iGV were reviewed during the first quarter of the term and introduced new policies to ensure the sustainability, transparency and financial control of the for sustainable project management.

Intern Conferences (IC) and Incoming Preparation Seminars (IPS) The deliverables of an Intern Conference and Incoming Preparation Seminar were finalized and added to a standardized agenda. The IPS agenda covers the basic introduction of the project and preparation of the intern for the stay in Sri Lanka while the Intern conference agenda aims to ensure that the intern understands the clarity, and is equipped with the necessary knowledge to have a better and impactful experience during the duration of the project.

Establishing the Entity Control Board (ECB) For the first time in AIESEC in Sri Lanka an

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Entity Control Board (ECB) was established with the objective of being customer centric as an organization by customer experience management and implementing Standards and Satisfactions. The ECB is fully functional as an independent body working closely with the Member Committee, Internal Control Board (ICB) and Global Finance Board (GFB) to ensure that the best experience is delivered to every stakeholder.

Alignment of iGV projects with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) AIESEC Globally, have partnered with United Nations as an active youth movement to achieve SDGs by the end of 2030.

Implementation of the globally predefined SDG alignment framework has been completed successfully. Responsible Members from all the Local Committees have been educated and trained on the SDGs alignment.

This has significantly contributed in making the projects more relevant externally and sustainable while addressing the pressing issues in the communities.

Standardization of documents The document templates and formats which were in use (Eg : Project Tracker, Project Report, Intern buddy system & etc. ) were made more relevant, less complex and standardized in order to improve the efficiency of the membership and to make the documents more presentable.

HIGHLIGHTS Exchange Participants

933 Projects

106 Countries

50+ Relative growth in number of exchange participants

67% Absolute growth in number of exchange participants

375

LEAD Framework for interns.

Restructuring of the iGV experience of an Exchange Participant by integrating the elements of our Leadership Development Model to facilitate their Inner and Outer Journey. This will enable the young people to go through a high quality leadership experience throughout the entire 6-8 weeks.

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Quality Education Most of the projects conducted through iGV focuses on supporting the school children on receiving a better and a quality education in the fields of English and Information Technology.

Exchange Participants volunteered in several schools, pre schools and orphanages in Sri Lanka, teaching language, IT and soft skills.

Health and Well-Being AIESEC in Sri Lanka has initiated a considerable number of projects which address several concerns including Cancer Awareness, Children with Disabilities, Differently-abled Children, Prevention of Drug abuse, Sexual and Reproductive Rights and also indigenous medicine and promoting mental wellbeing across the society.

Life on Land / Life Below Water / Climate Action The projects conducted focused on environmental sustainability, waste management and protecting water.

With several partner organizations we have been able to make not only the awareness but a change in attitudes among the school children on environmental protection.

Decent Work and Economic Growth Empowering the youth in Sri Lanka, AIESEC has conducted several projects focusing on secondary school children, undergraduates and the youth. The main objectives of the projects conducted were skill building and capacity development among the youth to tackle the barriers for education and employment. The projects consisted workshops, sessions and competitions on entrepreneurship.

OUR ACTION

DINA SHAHEEN UKRAINE I am Dina from Ukraine. I was doing my volunteering experience with AIESEC in Sri Lanka in June 2015. My project was Ripple Effect 4.0 and the main purpose of the project was to help underprivileged and unattended communities. We were doing events in different places like Cancer hospital, girl’s orphanage, Down syndrome home, Adult homes etc. On each and every event our team of 16 interns from different countries was making an impact on society, trying to make world a better place, to make these people smile and believe in better life.

That was my goal when I was preparing for my trip and I really hope that we made these people happier, at last for a moment.

This internship changed my life like never before. Even though I cannot exactly explain how it happened I think all the small moments we had in our project caused this change.

Finally I want to thank everyone who contributed his or her time and effort in the process of making this internship perfect for us. I will continue what we have started in the future as well.

Thank you AIESEC for this amazing opportunity.

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STEFANI TSIKANDELOVA BULGARIA Six months ago I used to live in Korea as an exchange student. After my stay there, to me, Asian cuisine was all about way too spicy meat and tasteless white rice, Asians were mainly focused on partying and there were only grey megalopolises with hundreds of skyscrapers and no nature. This was the reason I tried to keep my expectation regarding an internship in Sri Lanka as low as possible so that I do not get disappointed. However, Sri Lanka is nothing like that. The cuisine is amazing – delicious fried rice or noodles with vegetables and chicken, egg hoppers and tons of fruits. The local people as well as the people coming from other countries are amazing. I have never expected that they would be interested in spending time in the wild, riding elephants or even laughing when unexpected rainfall ruins your makeup! Although I have always preferred working alone and not having to explain my decisions to other team members, living in Sri Lanka proved me wrong. The good organization as well as the friendly AIESECers made every experience unforgettable. This way, we have enjoyed every part of the journey and found something amazing or hilarious even in the difficulties we have encountered!

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OUR ACTION

INCOMING EXCHANGE GLOBAL TALENT This programme offers foreign youth the opportunity to have academic to professional transition through undergoing an internship with a company in Sri Lanka which has partnered with AIESEC. These internships span from 6 – 24 weeks.

The membership of AIESEC facilitates these internships while undergoing a highly challenging experience.

This product offers the unique opportunity for local companies to hire foreign talent and meet the requirements of the company.

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We strongly believe that iGT product can help local companies to penetarte the global market by acquiring highly talented people from our global talent pool. AIESEC in Sri Lanka members undergo a highly challenging experience in this programme as they are resposnible for the entire process staritng from selling the product to visa process and cultural integration of the exchange prticipant.

INITIATIVES CEED(Cultural Envoy Exchange Development) Programme with China AIESEC in Sri Lanka’s biggest partner in iGT for the past few years has been Mainland of China. With the intention of further improving the number of exchanges and relations 2 CEEDers arrived in Sri Lanka in July 2016. Their output was as follows.

• • •

Raised 6 new opportunities Conducted trainings for members Standardized Process refinement

Standards & Satisfaction As per AIESEC 16 criteria of Standards and Satisfaction need to fulfilled for the delivery of an exchange. The following initiatives were taken to improve the delivery of exchanges and a document was prepared explaining the minimum criteria to be implemented under each category as per the feedback of members.

Incoming Preparation Seminar The objective of the incoming preparation seminar is to better prepare the Exchange Participant (EP) for the internship experience in order to give a better customer experience.

The material was prepared and finalized by the collective effort of Vice-presidents of AIESEC Chapters in Universities.

The intern was given necessary information regarding the country,living conditions and the internship. This was implemented by Vicepresidents and team leaders of respective AIESEC Chapters.

Job Description A set of processes was established in order to ensure the job description of the EP was satisfactory and adequate to provide a challenging experience in his/her professional field and provide the necessary experience to develop one self. This proved highly successful as we had zero terminations of internships due to job descriptions in 15/16 which was a significant improvement from previous years. iGT Day iGT Day is a one day conference for all the members of the iGT function. The objectives of the conference were as follows.

Clarity of AIESEC. Provide the necessary knowledge to deliver satisfactory exchange experiences.

This was held on 10th September 2015 at University of Sri Jayewardenepura with the participation of 40 members

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Tourism Starting from the last decade, Sri Lanka Tourism Industry has been growing rigorously. AIESEC has been able to identify the exact requirement of this industry very well along with the alignment of AIESEC’s expectations and values. It can be said that during past couple of years, Tourism is the field where AIESEC had a significant level of corporation. By the name itself the field requires foreign talent and AIESEC Global Talent Programme provided a value addition to the sector while delivering number of life changing experiences globally.

Teaching Education being a major customer segment, is gradually developing into an advanced market segment due to the continuous improvement and focus.

Currently there is much effort taken to expand the market outside of Colombo and to improve the intern diversity to improve the quality of the programme.

Marketing With AIESEC gaining recognition in the corporate sector in Sri Lanka, demand for Marketing interns saw a significant increase. AIESEC Talent pool contains smart, talented young professionals from all over the world, which is an ideal match for this requirement. Talking about the interns experience, all of them have gained a remarkable experience through the corporta internships that we have facilitated. On the other hand this talent has given a new definition for the marketing aspects in a number of fields locally.

Business Administration Another sector that AIESEC has gained popularity in is Business Administration. With the initiation of the Global Entrepreneur Programme (Short term professional internships) many small and medium scale companies showed interest in the programme to recruit interns for Business Administration and related fields as a method of sourcing global expertise to their organizations.

OUR ACTION

ANLAUG OVERGAARD OSTBY EMBLA SOFTWARE INNOVATIONS Honestly, not knowing anything about Sri Lanka or the internship I was getting into I didn’t expect anything. Fast forward six months later and I have ventured outside of my comfort zone quite a few times, from riding tuk tuks to eating kotthu at a shady Pilawoos joint at 3am. The valuable work experience and responsibility I received at Embla thanks to AIESEC is something that will help strengthen my repertoire of international experiences. It was my plan for a long time and I’m glad that I finally got to do it.

“Fast forward six months later and I have ventured outside of my comfort zone quite a few times”

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TEREZA TICHA TOTALAMBER I took a chance to participate in AIESEC Global Talent Programme and experience six-month internship in Totalamber, Sri Lanka. Interning for world leading provider of ERP Services and Support with a company culture such as Totalamber has, is simply a perfect match.

“The internship went far beyond from what I expected�

The internship went far beyond from what I expected. Rotating through different departments equals lot of precious experience and various type of activities to perform. As an intern, I was given an unique opportunity to participate in Project for International Cooperation, i.e. to accompany TA Senior Consultant on his visit of Clients` Sites in France so as to assist the Project Team with proceeding data collected which is an opportunity rarely given to interns. On top of that, I received great support from wellexperienced and joyful Totalamber Team. This internship helped me as a recent graduate to understand which areas to put an effort to so as which career path I would like to follow in regard to diversity of duties and tasks given to me.

Apart from TA Team, AIESEC Colombo North was a great asset. Selection process was very quick and AIESEC members responsive.

I would highlight the assistance in visa application process, that is documents before my arrival so as accompaniment to Immigration Department in Borela and to Totalamber Office on my first working day.

Pickup from the airport was perfect.I had great six months in Sri Lanka.

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OUR ACTION

OUTGOING EXCHANGE GLOBAL VOLUNTEER AIESEC’s Outgoing Global Volunteer Programme is an opportunity for young individuals to experience the most intense learning environment by enabling them to work abroad as volunteers in projects centered around social issues in areas such as Education, Environment, Health and Poverty.

community.

Based on capability and convenience of obtaining visa and other reasons there is a specific set of countries generally considered for this programme.

INITIATIVES

PROGRAMME BENEFITS Through Global Volunteer programme, young individuals will gain a unique combination of multi-cultural, social and entrepreneurial exposure that can prove to be invaluable when they progress as responsible citizens in the

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Personal Development By being a part of in an international team, working outside the home country, participants learn to adapt quickly to different cultures and perspectives and learn how to be strong and independent in all situations and by that developing leadership and communication skills.

Cross-cultural Experiences Individuals who join the programme have the chance to research and learn about world issues, culture, history, architecture, cuisine, language and the economy in the host country. They will also be exposed to a global mindset when working in a team with many nationalities.

Social Impact By working in projects centered on social issues, young people will feel more socially responsible, know how to contribute to the society and strive to be a better person.

Standardization of the oGV process Documenting the entire oGV process from raising to reintegration with step by step and detailed information was done at the beginning of the term which was later used as a training material to educate members and the document is currency available in the online information Hub.

Implementing policies and tracking system for external entities Introduction of a new set of policies for operations in external higher education institutes was a priority in the term in order to ensure that standardized process is followed by a local committee when approaching a new external entity as well as to increase the quality of operations inside these institutes.

These policies were very useful throughout the term to minimize the confusions, conflicts and established to ensure the sustainability, transparency of the operations.

The Podio Customer Relationship Management tool was also introduced parallel to the above for improved access to information internally. The tool was very useful to record and track progress of Local Committees in these external institutes.

External entity audit External Entity Audit is the process in which the Local Committee performance in external entities is evaluated. This initiative comes under the External Entity Policy that was introduced in term 15-16. The purpose of this is to understand performance, potential and opportunities that we have in External Entities.

HIGHLIGHTS Exchange Participants

127 Countries

15 Relative growth in number of exchange participants

115% Absolute growth in number of exchange participants

68

National OPS content Developing material for Outgoing Preparation Seminar (OPS) as a national initiative has been useful for exchange participants to get to know about AIESEC and other useful information such as cultural shock, common issues and challenges and how to effectively utilize the internship experience. The content was facilitated inside expansions and shared with Local Committees to be used in their process.

This will enable the young people to go through a high quality leadership experience and get the best out of their journey throughout the internship.

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Sales Campaign

Online Marketing Campaign

Sales campaign for Global Volunteer programme is a key success story which is widely shared and practiced in the local Chapters. The pilot programme was rolled out in AIESEC in SLIIT which included a structured sales training and an offline sales campaign where our members conducted one to one promotions.

With the support of marketing department of AIESEC in Sri Lanka online promotional campaigns were designed and implemented to attract more customers to the product.

This included creating a separate Global Volunteer website at the beginning of the term. Additionally AIESEC in Sri Lanka facebook fan page and AIESEC in Sri Lanka website were utilized for online marketing. These efforts resulted in an impressive number of online signups from all over the country, indicating increased market reach. signups from universities such as university of Jaffna and University of Wayamba is evidence that the programme can have significant scope for development. Global Volunteer Website was further used to market selected projects in the selected countries which facilitated provision of key information in a user friendly interface.

Visitors to the website could easily access information for over 50 projects and they were able to apply for projects which were of interest to them directly through the website.

This offline sales campaign enable us to be more customer centric. Through this we physically deal with customers from the first touch point. In certain instances student review board interviews were done on the spot to reduce the process time and it was found that it was easy to convince people by sharing our experience first hand with them which has proven to be a major benefit of this method of promotion.

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OUR ACTION

During the term 15-16 internships were provided to Sri Lankan Undergraduates in following countries Bahrain Bulgaria Turkey Nepal

Myanmar Russia Egypt Philippines

Indonesia Poland India Italy

Thailand Vietnam Malaysia

During the term 15-16 internships were provided to Sri Lankan Undergraduates in following institutes University of Colombo University of Kelaniya University of Moratuwa University of Sri Jayawardhanapura Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology University of Peradeniya University of Ruhuna Royal Institute American national College National School of Business Management National Institute of Business Management

Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology Informatics Institute of Technology Colombo Institute of Research & Psychology ICBT Campus Northshore College University of Sabaragamuwa Colombo International Nautical Engineering College (CINEC) Academy of Design Horizon College of Business and Technology

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OUR ACTION

Hansika Piyumali It was a new experience for me as I have not taught English for adolescents and adults before. At first I was nervous. But with time I got used to it and the project went really well.

We covered all the four skills; writing, reading, speaking and listening. But most importantly we gave priority to develop their speaking ability in English. Once students got friendly with us, it was easy to handle them and teach them. Organizing Committee from AIESEC in Myanmar accompanied us few times in order to translate what we say to the students.

Teaching students English did teach me a few things too. I was able to rediscover my ability to speak in front of a crowd without getting extremely nervous. I became confident day by day. At the end of the project I was a whole new person. Me and my friend had to encourage each other from time to time. There were instances where both of us were totally discouraged and counting days to get back to Sri Lanka. But we survived. We learnt how to step out of the comfort zone and to live the life to the fullest. We had so much fun with the AIESEC team in Myanmar. They were so friendly and treated us as their own sisters. I am really thankful to the AIESEC in Myanmar for giving us this wonderful opportunity to come to their country and experience the beauty of it.

Exchange Participant in Myanmar from University of Peradeniya

Dushyanthan Vaiyapuri My exchange story actually started in August 2015, at the point where I decided to step out from my comfort zone and participate in the AIESEC exchange program. I applied for several projects and successfully attended interviews for two of them and finally I was selected to be an exchange participant in the project “Entrevoltion�. Project Entrevolution is the tool that groomed me as an entrepreneur. We visited some SMEs and had a talk with the entrepreneurs about their success stories and we suggested solutions to their current business problems. We visited schools, villages and had cultural and knowledge sharing programs, especially regarding farming and tourism. We had discussions with University students about entrepreneurship. I spent 40 days there with 6 different culture, 6 different languages and 7 exchange participants. They were the best set of people who were there for me for those forty days and I must say that they have become my friends for life. I gained plenty of unforgettable memories from this internship. The learning experience that I acquired from this internship truly helped me to mould and develop myself. And after I came to Sri Lanka I have started my own business through the experience I gained from this project.

Exchange Participant in Indonesia from University of Colombo

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OUR ACTION

OUTGOING EXCHANGE GLOBAL TALENT Global talent brings in youth leadership, global perspective, innovations & functional expertise to provide the organizations with competitive edge when it comes to talent and leadership pipeline.

The purpose of Global Talent is to bridge the talent gap between the opportunities from corporate organizations with the youth of Sri Lanka who are students or recent graduates interested in pursuing 3 to 12 months work experience in abroad. The Global Talent programme is both talent sourcing solution for the organization and a unique value addition to the career of young individuals.

The global talent internships allow participants to become globally competent and gain valuable skills through work experience abroad. The programme aims at bridging the gap between countries and allowing cultural understanding through working in an international environment. Global internships enables university students & recent graduates to develop themselves both professionally and personally through new

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and challenging experiences. Acquire realworld leadership skills such as communication, critical thinking and adaptability in a challenging cultural environment, which will be important for employers in their future career.

SUB PRODUCTS Marketing Marketing is part creativity and part logic – combining aesthetic with a strong message for a company’s target audience. An understanding of a product positioning is key to this field and interns can expect to build upon previous experience. Those that take on these opportunities can choose to work in sales, market research, and international relationships.

Teaching AIESEC is a worldwide leader in providing international language teaching opportunities since its inception. Education interns can provide a major impact to local communities by fostering cultural understanding, improving basic work skills, or creating passion for a second language. English language teaching opportunities are the most abundant and available in the AIESEC network and are necessary for developing countries as an investment in humanity.

Information Technology Careers in the IT sector are consistently on the rise. Software, web, and mobile app developers are in high demand and work experience in these fields is crucial to getting

the job. With a Global Talent internship in the information technology field, students and recent graduates are able to gain new skills in an international work environment.

INITIATIVES oGTP CEEDer With the aim of improving oGTP performance a CEEDer (Cultural Envoy Exchange Development) was from AIESEC in India.

During his stay , the oGTP ceeder contributed in matching in Asia pacific countries and Europe countries. Raised a partnership with AIESEC in MoC for the first time in oGTP function. He worked with all the four local committees and two expansions. Most importantly he applied for the member committee of AIESEC in Sri Lanka and currently he the Vice president for oGTP in term 16-17. oGTP Summit oGTP Summit for the term was conducted in January 2016 with the aim of enhancing member knowledge on the oGTP process.

More than 20 members from the four Local Committees and Official expansions paticipated for this event and was concluded successfully with action plans developed for each entity for the next six months. oGTP website A website was created by the oGTP CEEDer to facilitate the application process and information sharing for potential exchange participants. This was an effective tool for attracting customers for the oGTP programme.

RAHUL’S EXPERIENCE December 16th I started my journey as a CEEDer for oGTP in AIESEC in Sri Lanka. This was the most challenging role that I had in my AIESEC journey, coming to my neighbouring country and starting something new that they haven’t done before. I was in a very depressed state before I came to Sri Lanka loosing EB selection for the third time and I was almost about to quit from entire AIESEC. This is when I had an opportunity to get my passion back to this organization.

So considering my role in AIESEC Sri Lanka I was appointed as the CEEDer to initiate oGTP function in Sri Lanka and start operations full fledge. It was really a great challenge breaking the mind-set of people to start something new in the entity which has full scope to run operations in oGTP. I had the most challenging 40 days of my term where every day was learning and I had a good experience driving down all the knowledge that I had in oGTP to this entity as well as I made sure that they were confident enough to run the operations. Personally I have initiated few IR projects and after the role I also helped the entity in terms of being a virtual support member for the entity.

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OUR ACTION

TALENT MANAGEMENT One of the priorities during the term was to increase the membership and to give our members a valuable experience.

(planning, organizing, leading and controlling) AIESEC’s operations and the delivery of its’ best output.

AIESEC is present in University of Colombo, University of Kelaniya, University of Moratuwa ,University of Sri Jayewardenepura, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) and University of Ruhuna.This year we had a membership of 985 members at the end of the term (30th June 2016), which is a 118% growth from previous year. Our members have different academic backgrounds such as economics, management, finance, engineering and social studies & they all work together to achieve a common goal.

The programme provides a practical learning and development experience to young individuals by giving them the responsibility to lead a team. Team Leader participants contribute in developing fellow members, while ensuring the AIESEC’s performance and the delivery of its best output.

TEAM MEMBER PROGRAM Team Member Programme (TMP) is an opportunity for a young person to develop entrepreneurial and responsible leadership by living a practical team experience at a local, national, regional or global platform.

The programme provides practical learning and development experience to young individuals, who become a part of a team and take responsibilities towards managing

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TEAM LEADER PROGRAMME Team Leader Programme (TLP) is an opportunity for a young person to develop entrepreneurial and responsible leadership through leading and guiding a group of people at a local, national, regional or global platform.

What does an organization gain through this program?

The organizations and institutions that wish to support the development and fostering leadership potential of young people work with us; AIESEC and thus, they gain the access to the large and diverse membership of AIESEC, equipped with ambitious and charismatic young leaders What can a young person gain through this program?

He or she gains the access to the AIESEC’s value-based platform and he or she experiences; A practical team experience, practical soft and hard skills development, solution-oriented thinking, access to a global

network, an entrepreneurial and responsible attitude towards being a better leader and a professional network.

TMP and TLP participants can have different types of practical team-based leadership experiences, such as leading a team,acting as a part of the executive leadership body of an entity , working as a manager for a local committee and acting as a part of member committee of National Coordinator Team in local or international level.

INITIATIVES Implementation of Team Minimums Team Minimums was successfully implemented in every local committee with a tracking system. Each team should fulfill these five areas to become an effective team. It helps to enhance the experience & leadership development of members and interns. At the same time team minimums helps to effectiveness and efficiency of the team while contributing to increase the bond between the team. Under each and every criteria sub elements were introduced and awareness and knowledge has been delivered through trainings and conferences.

Standards Process & Guidelines Standard talent management process and guidelines were introduced and implemented to ensure all the entities follows the same effective process and operations are handled smoothly. Process consists with nine main areas : Talent planning, Reallocation, Recruitment, Team Allocation, Team Environment Management, Team Closing , Reward and Recognition and Human resource Business Intelligence. For each and every area sub elements and guidelines were introduced to ensure the effectiveness of the standardization. Trainings and

workshops were carried out simultaneously for executive bodies, team leaders and members.

TM Audits Talent Management audit is a process conducted by every executive body quarterly to evaluate the experience of members and to see new improvements. In this local committees collecting data such as no of active members, their experience, whether they fulfill criteria to become a full member and feedback about their experience.

Further it acts as a one - to - one feedback session where member will also get a full review about his role and what needs to be improved. From this we can maintain the up to date member database and obtain data to plan for next quarter.

Conferences During the term the following four national conferences were delivered successfully.

National Planning meeting 2015 (NPM ), National Leadership Development Seminar 2015(NLDS), National Conference 2016 (NatCon 2016) , Member Committee Transition Conference 2016.

National Team Leader Opportunities National Organizing Committee opportunities is a one of a kind experience where members can work with member committee of AIESEC in Sri Lanka and to get to know and work with members from different universities. Within the term we have been able to provide 99 National Opportunities for members contributing to develop their leadership skills. These opportunities include National Organizing Committees, National Coordinator positions and ceederships.

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OUR ACTION

SUSTAINABILITY FINANCE System Implementation AIESEC Sri Lanka is transforming itself into a massive not-for-profit organization in Sri Lanka with the current growth achieved in almost all the entities. This scale of growth demands more focused long term investments in an effective manner. Therefore National Finance Team with the collaboration of the External Auditor of AIESEC in Sri Lanka have been able to successfully implement an improved Financial Management System for record keeping and financial control.

As a part of the system, Quickbooks accounting software was introduced in order to support the record keeping process and information management in the Finance function. Training on the use of the software was delivered to the respective LCVPs followed by a parallel implementation of the system.

Full Membership AIESEC in Sri Lanka regained the Entity Full Membership status from AIESEC International after 2 years. With the continuous effort & the support from the all the stakeholders it was possible to achieve this status within the global plenary at International Presidents Meeting 2016 in Morocco.

Entity Full Membership status is given to a particular entity for fulfilling defined criteria within a specific period of time. Full Member Entity is given the right to participate and vote during Global Legislations. The

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criteria are set by the global plenary under three main categories namely Global Responsibilities, Legal & Governance and Exchange Performance. Only 76 entities have full membership status out of all 122 entities under AIESEC International.

Standard of Procedures & Finance Policies Finance is a function that requires more detailed process maps with clear guidelines without which, it will not be possible to achieve effective financial control & management.

National Finance Team compiled all the finance policies, processes & models with clear guidelines to be implemented during operations related to AIESEC. Apart from the detailed policy documents, guidelines for Team Leaders & Members were developed which was distributed with the past Newsletters to the membership in order to deliver knowledge and awareness on finance required at a member level.

External Audits AIESEC in Sri Lanka being a registered organization under companies Act 2007 is liable to AIESEC International to provide audited accounts of the entity and therefore it is necessary to conduct an external audit for on an yearly basis. During this term National Finance Team was able to complete both Term 13/14 & Term 14/15 external audits which tipped the scales in regaining full membership status after two years.

Internal Auditor Under the guidance of Board of Advisors

of AIESEC Sri Lanka, an internal auditor was appointed to evaluate the operations of the entity overall and in specific critical functions such as Finance, Talent Management & Operations. This was in the form of a consultation audit where extensive analysis was done in the current practices of the organization.

Mr. Charith Baddage was appointed as the internal auditor, who is an alumnus of AIESEC in Sri Lanka as well as one of the management accountants in Brandix (Pvt) Ltd. He is well versed with Process Audits & Management Consultancy, with very thorough understanding of AIESEC Operations as well.

A consultation audit report was compiled and handed over to the leadership body of AIESEC in Sri Lanka for implementation of the stated recommendations.

EXPANSION DEVELOPMENT Official Expansions AIESEC in University of Peradeniya and AIESEC in SLIIT obtaining official Expansion Status is a key achievement for the term 15/16. Introduction of a new Leadership Body structure, Integrating these entities to the National Planning Agenda, training and transition of the new Leadership Bodies are some of the key initiatives taken to ensure sustainability of the entities as well as their timely progression in the network.

Initiative Groups AIESEC in Ruhuna successfully initiated its own iGV and oGV programmes within the faculty of Engineering which has set the stepping stones to expand operations into the rest of the University and grow as an entity.

Exchange Operations The exchange operations have seen a significant growth in all programmes where both Official Expansions entities have met the targets for the term 15/16 with all three entities achieving 50%+ growth. In iGV programme certain projects initiated by these entities have become hallmark projects which have been of exceptional quality,redefining innovative and sustainable project delivery.

All entities have been successful in obtaining impressive growth in oGV making a significant contribution to the national exchange growth as well as changing the culture and landscape of oGV in AIESEC in Sri Lanka.

Talent Management In terms of Talent Management, Expansions entities have acquired a significant level of growth due to improved team cycle management, establishment of proper member review process and structured Induction, training and meeting agendas. The development in the TM function is reflected in Expansions Members being nominated and qualifying for National Awards, increase in member numbers for national talent contribution and leadership opportunities such as National Coordinator positions.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Customer Relationship Management A new customer relationship management tool was introduced to effectively manage relationships with partners. This helped all the business development managers to be updated with the status of ongoing partnerships while reducing the internal conflicts and maximizing opportunities.

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OUR ACTION

PROGRAMME SUMMARY During the term 15/16 AIESEC in Sri Lanka achieved a remarkable growth in the number of exchanges delivered through its programmes. This achievement also marks the first time in the entity history that AIESEC in Sri Lanka was able to exceed 1000 exchanges delivered within a term.

The new initiatives from both exchange and back office functions, fruitful international relations and an enthusiastic membership played a major role behind this success.

AIESEC in Sri Lanka was able to position itself among the global top 10 entities based on the performance of incoming Global Community Development programme during term 15/16.

Overall exchange performance and the growth resulted in AIESEC in Sri Lanka progressing to the top 20 entities, placed 19th (Total number of exchanges) and placed 12th (highest absolute growth) globally.

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OUTGOING

GLOBAL TALENT

933

INCOMING GLOBAL VOLUNTEER

127

TOTAL

1109 EXCHANGES

OUTGOING

GLOBAL VOLUNTEER

41

INCOMING

GLOBAL TALENT

38

TOTAL EXCHANGES

OUTGOING EXCHANGES

INCOMING EXCHANGES

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OUR ACTION

GLOBAL REACH

40

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160,000 RESPONSES FOR OUR YOUTH INSIGHT REPORT ON SDGS

CONFERENCES

44

YOUTH SPEAK FORUM

48

20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

50

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

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OUR MOVEMENT

AIESEC conferences and events play a key role in our culture. While promoting an excellent learning environment these events create an equally valuable opportunity for individuals to experience the value based platform provided by the organization.

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OUR MOVEMENT

CONFERENCES NATIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR 2015 From 29th of October to 1st of November at MAS Athena with over 330 delegates and 12 facilitators and 3 industrial trainers/ speakers.

National Leadership Development Seminar is the AIESEC Sri Lanka’s largest National Conference of the term which creates a common platform for our incoming and outgoing leadership teams to enhance their leadership skills. The profile for the 350+ delegates was split into three main tracks.

As the chair of NLDS 2015 I was very impressed with tremendous commitment shown by both the Facilitator (MC 15-16) and Organizing Committee.

I have attended countless of AIESEC conferences from national to international level and NLDS 2015 was one of the most well-organized one in terms of logistics. All Organizing Committee members were responsible, detail-oriented, flexible, solution-oriented. About the Facilitators team, throughout Pre-meeting, they were very open to new facilitation input and feedbacks. They actively seek advice to make their session better and was fast and flexible to make necessary changes.

During the conference when one delegate asked about my most inspiring moment, I answered that I was inspired whenever I saw the conference

The 4 days were enriched with the sessions which were conducted in order to familiarize the core of AIESEC and a thorough knowledge about AIESEC to all the delegates. Apart from the class room sessions which were highly interactive and practical, an outbound session was held, which helped the delegates to gain a practical experience about teamwork and challenges. The mid term ambition of AIESEC introduced by AIESEC International, AIESEC 2020 was also launched Sri Lanka at NLDS 2015.

NLDS 2015 was also an arena for this young crowd, to get a recreational break and enjoy.

The social agenda included 2 theme parties, and the end of the 3rd night was marked with the Gala dinner and the AIESEC in Sri Lanka’s Awards Ceremony, which was held in grandeur with the participation of alumni and partner organizations.

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team worked. The conference team’s commitment gave me the strength and inspiration to be the best Chair I could be for 300 delegates of NLDS. NLDS 2015 of AIESEC in Sri Lanka is by far one of the most successful national conferences I’ve ever witnessed in AIESEC. I am proud of AIESEC in Sri Lanka and its members. I am inspired and hopeful for the future of this incredible island because a youth organization like AIESEC in Sri Lanka exists. I am confident that each person who was a part of this incredible journey - Organizing Committee, Facilitators ,Delegate, and me included - learnt so much about themselves, about the people and about the world around them. NLDS 2015 was a life-changing experience. The credit goes to each and every member of the conference team, and 300 delegates. I am only grateful and honored to contribute and be a part of this legend.

Milena Nguyen from Vietnam

PROGRAMS & INTIATIVES

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OUR MOVEMENT

NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2016 From 22 of April to 24 of April 2016 at Centauria Tourist Hotel, Embilipitiya with over 120 Delegates and 18 facilitators. nd

th

NatCon is AIESEC Sri Lanka’s second largest National Conference for the term which creates a common platform for our incoming and outgoing leadership teams to enhance their leadership skills. This annual residential conference hosted by AIESEC in Sri Lanka is a flagship event on the AIESEC annual calendar that connects young leaders from seven most prestigious universities in Sri Lanka, providing an opportunity for them to exchange their vision for the betterment of AIESEC. NatCon 2016 has been the knowledge hub where the potential leaders could share their experience, discover the leader within them and gain the required knowledge about AIESEC that would help them to take over the 20 years of legacy, and to define the NatCon 2016 theme,“Be a leaf to the leadership body”

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What an incredible experience in Sri Lanka. I am grateful to have the opportunity to engage with so many passionate Sri Lankan youth during the conference. Particularly, the Organizing Committee, who put their hearts and souls, working together to deliver the best NatCon in the history of AIESEC in Sri Lanka. I am thankful to have worked with such talented group of leaders, the Member Committee of AIESEC in Sri Lanka, always demonstrating and leading by example for not just the high standards we should hold ourselves accountable to, but also the values and attitude we should have while reminding all of us why we do what we do. Thank you for inviting me to this special and wonderful experience with you all as the chair of NatCon 2016.

I would hereby like to again wish the future leaders of AIESEC, of Sri Lanka, and of the world, as I did during my closing message at NatCon 2016: be resourceful to overcome the lack of resources; appreciate the good, because when you don’t, the good will depreciate; always have fun and enjoy the ride!

Enoch Wong from Hong Kong Conference Chair

ASIA PACIFIC PRESIDENTS’ SUMMIT 2016 Asia Pacific Member Committee Presidents’ Summit is a 3 days Summit which brings together young leaders across the Asia Pacific. The Summit provided an open space for a conversation between the leaders of Asia Pacific region. It has been hosted by the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand in the previous years. This year for the first time AIESEC in Sri Lanka hosted the Asia Pacific Member Committee Presidents’ Summit at Paradise Beach Hotel, Negombo from May 25th to 27th with the participation of National Presidents of AIESEC from 24 Asia Pacific countries, AIESEC international representatives and representatives from Asian Development Bank.

AP MCP Summit 2016 had a delegation representing Afghanistan, Australia, Mainland of China, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, India, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Pakistan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Nepal and Iran and the Summit was facilitated by the AIESEC International. Niels Caszo, the President of AIESEC International for the term 16/17 was also present during the summit with a total delegation of 28.

At the end of the summit all the delegates were equipped with common understanding about the fundamentals of AIESEC and the way forward, the global and regional context, AP direction for the future, and most importantly the strategies for the term 2016/2017 of the AP region.

The Summit provided a space and information for all delegates to address key trends in their current situation, make concrete strategies and implementation plans summing up the learning of the conference driving culture of

achievement in Asia Pacific.

The summit guided the delegates to understand the overall picture of a CEO journey, improve knowledge on certain elements to be a successful CEO, and create the concrete individual CEO journey towards their own entities as well as for the AIESEC Global network.

Entertainment segment included a night campfire with a Sri Lankan Calypso band was organized at the conference venue and a post conference tour was organized for a group of 11 delegates accompanied by a few of the Organizing Committee members. The tour provided an unforgettable experience for the delegates to understand and enjoy Sri Lankan culture,history and cuisine and included a visit to historical monument and an adventure camp activity.

Hosting the AP MCP summit can be considered as a key achievement for AIESEC in Sri Lanka as we were able to organize the conference in a successful manner to enable AIESEC AP Region to meet the conference objectives while meeting and exceeding delegate expectations.

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OUR MOVEMENT

YOUTH SPEAK FORUM Youth Speak Forum 2016 was held at Sri Lanka Foundation on March 19 on the theme Entrepreneurship and Employability with the participation of over 200 delegates.

‘Youth Speak’ is a global movement conducted

by AIESEC partnering with United Nations and ‘Youth Speak Forum’ is an initiative of this movement where the young leaders are given the chance to discuss global issues with the thought leaders, business leaders and experts of the world.

Youth Speak Forum 2016 had a delegation of 200 representing 16 universities and educational institutes, 6 schools and 8 clubs and organizations in Sri Lanka. These delegates were between the ages 16-26 and represented many areas of the country. The forum was chaired by Zoe Lawson, Head Coach/Director at Colombo Horse Riding Academy, Consultant & Communications at MDF Training & Consultancy and also a former AIESEC Sri Lanka president.

The Forum included two inspiring keynotes delivered by Mr. Nissanga Warnapura, the Founder/ CEO at 3D Concept Studio Co. Pvt. Ltd. on ‘The importance of believing in your dreams and not being afraid to bring in brand new concepts to the market’.

And Mr. Sunesh Rodrigo, TedX Speaker as well as the Managing Director at Vantage Consultancy & Deputy General Manager, Group Human Resources, MAS Holdings, on

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How constantly improving yourself leads to success, the importance of managing a good online brand and how employers value that brand using his own personal story.’

Following the keynotes, a session was delivered by Irushi Aluwihare, the General Manager at Image Consultants on ‘the employability skills, skills lacking in Sri Lankan Education System, how an individual can improve his skills and also empower others’.

In the afternoon session, the delegates were grouped into workshops according to their preference, and workshops were conducted

by Duleepa Karunaratne, hSenid Mobile on ‘the role youth play in establishing social enterprises and hSenid developed a business model with the delegates to empower them to establish their own social enterprise.’ , UN Volunteers and International Labour Organization on ‘Youth, Volunteerism & Employability’ and by Sampath Thrimawithana, Virtusa on ‘key skills businesses are looking for in an applicant, other than a degree and the opportunities available to develop those skills while being an undergraduate.’.

PROGRAMS & INTIATIVES

The later part of the forum included an action space where the delegates were given the opportunity to develop a project concept to improve the quality of education in Sri Lanka.

They were guided with a Social Enterprise business model to build concepts under topics such as IT literacy, English education and Entrepreneurship Education. AIESEC in Sri Lanka will select three concepts out of 15 developed at this space and will implement it in Sri Lanka collaborating with the group that developed that concept.

A panel discussion was also conducted with the participation of two UN representatives who were the Official Youth Delegates of Sri Lanka to 70th UNGA, Thilina Kalhara and Naushalya Rajapaksha, the Founder/CEO of hSenid Group of Companies, Dinesh Saparamadu and the Head of Learning and Development of Virtusa, Sampath Thrimavithana. With the questions raised by the Chair as well as the delegates. After giving away the tokens of appreciation to the Guest Speakers, Youth Speak Forum 2016 was concluded on a high note with many commendations from invited guests, event sponsors and delegates.

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OUR MOVEMENT

20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 20th Anniversary for AIESEC in Sri Lanka was held at Waters Edge,Battaramulla on 4th of March under the theme “It’s a red Carpet Affair” denoting the glamour and prestige of the event.

20th Anniversary was targeted at enhancing and strengthening alumni and partner relationships. The event was attended by Alumni, Board of Advisors and the current Leadership body and corporate partners of AIESEC in Sri Lanka. Representing AIESEC International Alumni Association, Mr. Noni Mauricio, Director, AIESEC Alumni International, participated adding more value to the event.

Being first of its kind, the event was attended by more than 130 prestigious alumni making it more eventful than ever expected. From the very first generation of AIESECers in Sri Lanka to the most recent, all the AIESECers shared the legacy of 20 years of AIESEC in Sri Lanka. Ms. Dinoshi Keiper, unravelled the story where it all began 20 years ago & praised everyone for all the good work towards a better world.

Marking a special night in history for AIESEC, with the gentle walk down the memory lane, enjoying the participation by everyone together for the success of AIESEC in Sri Lanka.

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OUR MOVEMENT

Global Village Global Village is an annual extravaganza of the events calendar of AIESEC in Sri Lanka’s as hundreds of young people get together from all over the world to share their cultures while realizing even though we come from different cultures, we are similar and connected to each other more than ever. We as AIESEC in Sri Lanka have successfully conducted two national global villages in July 2015 (at Arcade Independence Square, Colombo 07) and January 2016 (at University of Colombo) respectively. Hundreds of people witnessed both the evenings with joy, happiness, learning and fun.

Exchange Participants from all over the world added glamour and excitement to the event by showcasing their cultures through performances, dresses, food and souvenirs. Both the events were published on social media, newspapers and web through our media partners while they were sponsored by renowned organizations.

Intern Conferences Intern Conferences provide the Exchange Participants to reflect on their leadership journey during their volunteering in Sri Lanka while experiencing the atmosphere of an AIESEC conference. Intern conferences were successfully conducted by AIESEC Colombo North, AIESEC Colombo South and Jayewardenapura Local Committees. The conferences were facilitated by the Member Committee and the respective Executive Bodies of the Local Committees.

NUMBER OF UNDERGRADUATES ACTIVELY INVOLVED

852 CONTENTS INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

56

NATIONAL AWARDS WINNERS

58

EXTERNAL RECOGNITION

60

OUR SPOTLIGHT

AIESEC in Sri Lanka had many moments in the spotlight with its excellence echoed internationally and locally with International Awards & affiliations. It was always due to the unconditional support & commitment provided by its entities and members, who are always recognized for their time & effort.

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OUR SPOTLIGHT

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS GLOBAL EXCELLENCE AWARD AIESEC in Sri Lanka was awarded the Cluster 3 Global Excellence Award by AIESEC International at International Congress 2016 recently held in Poland. Through the Global Excellence Award, AIESEC International recognizes the Best Performing & the Most Outstanding Entity in each of its clusters. It was after 12 years that AIESEC in Sri Lanka as an entity was able to achieve such an accolade at Global level, surpassing many of other entities in the world. Yet it comes as no surprise as this is a result of the sheer commitment and dedication of the amazing membership and the effort of the leadership during the past few years.

The impact this award would create on the organization in the future would not reflect on that brief passing moment.This is not only an achievement, but also an opportunity to showcase the thousands of life changing experiences that AIESEC in Sri Lanka has facilitated and a catalyst to continuously improve and excel and continue the legacy.

ASIA PACIFIC LC EXCELLENCE AWARD AIESEC Colombo South won the Local Committee Excellence Award at the Asia Pacific Conference 2016 held in Shanghai, China. This award is granted to the most outstanding local committee of the Asia Pacific region. There were many factors behind this achievement. Innovation in its functions including both front office and back office, the strong middle management structure and the continuous focus on delivering the high quality experience for its customers were among them.

Above all, the drastic and sustainable growth attained within the last few years directed the local committee to reach its zenith.

The hard work and the commitment of its members and the guidance of the alumni was the strength behind this success.

This is the first time in the history of AIESEC in Sri Lanka, an award of this magnitude and caliber was won by a local committee.

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OUR SPOTLIGHT

NATIONAL AWARDS WINNERS NLDS 2015 Bi-annual Excellence Awards iGV - Colombo North iGTP - Colombo South oGV - Colombo South oGTP - Colombo Central

Most progressive Local Committee Colombo South Most sustainable Local Committee Colombo South Most outstanding Local Committee Colombo South

Best Programme Awards iGV - Colombo South iGTP - Colombo South oGV - Colombo South oGTP - Colombo South Highest Growth Awards iGV - Colombo South oGV - Colombo South Individual Awards Best Young Leader Kaushalya Batawala (Colombo South ) & Dhaniru Dissanayake (Colombo North) Best Emerging Member Randika Dulanthi (Colombo North) Best EP experience - Incoming Karina Prokopchuk (Jayawardanapura) Best EP experience - Outgoing Andrina Fernando (Colombo Central) Most contributing Alumni Akila Ramanayaka Best Performing National Coordinator Januka Wijesinghe & Tharindhu Abeyrathna

Most Outstanding Expansion SLIIT

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NATCON 2016 Bi-annual Excellence Awards iGV - Colombo South oGV - SLIIT iGTP - Colombo South Individual Awards Best Performing National Coordinator Harshani Sumanasekara & Sandaru Karunasiri Best Emerging Leader Lushanya Dayathilake (Colombo Central) Best Young Leader Dhammika Marasinghe (Kandy) & Isuru Chathuranga (Colombo South) Best EP Experience - Outgoing Dushyanthan Vaiyapuri (Colombo Central) Best EP Experience - Incoming Yiki Zeng (Colombo North) Most Contributing Aluminus Poorna Molligoda

NLDS 2015 Bi-annual Excellence Awards iGV - Colombo North iGTP - Colombo South oGV - Colombo South oGTP - Colombo Central

Most sustainable Local Committee Colombo South Most outstanding Local Committee Colombo South

Best Programme Awards iGV - Colombo South iGTP - Colombo South oGV - Colombo South oGTP - Colombo South Highest Growth Awards iGV - Colombo South oGV - Colombo South Individual Awards Best Young Leader Kaushalya Batawala (Colombo South ) & Dhaniru Dissanayake (Colombo North) Best Emerging Member Randika Dulanthi (Colombo North) Best EP experience - Incoming Karina Prokopchuk (Jayawardanapura) Best EP experience - Outgoing Andrina Fernando (Colombo Central) Most contributing Alumni Akila Ramanayaka Best Performing National Coordinator Januka Wijesinghe & Tharindhu Abeyrathna

NATCON 2016 Bi-annual Excellence Awards iGV - Colombo South oGV - SLIIT iGTP - Colombo South Individual Awards Best Performing National Coordinator Harshani Sumanasekara & Sandaru karunasiri Best Emerging Leader Lushanya Dayathilake (Colombo Central) Best Young Leader Dammika Marasinghe Kandy) & Isuru Chathuranga (Colombo South) Best EP Experience - Outgoing Dushyanthan Vaiyapuri Best EP Experience - Incoming Yiki Zeng (Colombo North) Most Contributing Aluminus Poorna Molligoda

Most Outstanding Expansion SLIIT

Most progressive Local Committee Colombo South

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OUR SPOTLIGHT

EXTERNAL RECOGNITION AIESEC BECOMING YOUTH PARTNER FOR HEFORSHE AIESEC in Sri Lanka was recognized as the official youth partner for the HeForShe campaign in Sri Lanka. HeForShe is a campaign initiated by UNWOMEN to generate positive action towards gender equality. The launching ceremony was graced with the presence of the Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Hon. Chandrani Bandara and UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Sri Lanka Resident Representative Subinay Nandy, Ms. Rosy Senanayake, Spokesperson, Prime Minister’s office and AIESEC representing the youth of the country. The Launch of this campaign was held on Thursday, 10th December at Independence Square, Colombo 7.

Addressing the gathering the President of AIESEC in Sri Lanka, Mr. Samith Siriwardana highlighted AIESEC’s contribution and involvement in community projects on ending discrimination against women and girls, and were therefore happy to embark on this partnership with UN Women.

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UNILEVER INCLUSIVE LEADER AWARD Danula Eranjith, Member Committee Vice President for Business Development was awarded as one of the three Student Inclusive Leaders at Unilever Youth Forum. Unilever Sri Lanka together with Unilever Sparks Student Ambassadors organized the forum for the second consecutive year with the participation of more than 300 undergraduates and guests, on the 20th November 2015 at Cinnamon Grand Colombo.

PARTNERSHIP WITH JCI AIESEC in Sri Lanka and JCI Sri Lanka partnership was formed to scale up our effort to empower youth in Sri Lanka.

The partnership was launched on April 29th at Olympic House and on that occasion we laid the framework for a youth empowerment project.

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MEMBERSHIP OF AIESEC IN SRI LANKA

985 CONTENTS NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD 2015/16

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BOARD OF ADVISORS

70

OUR PARTNERS

72

OUR PEOPLE

The key success factor for every organization in this magnitude is its people. From strategies to growth and basically everything originates from its people. From partners to the newest member, people reflect the direction of the organization. AIESEC Sri Lanka is proud to have excelled with its people delivering the growth, drive & all success factors to the organization.

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OUR PEOPLE DONORS & MEMBERS

HEADING GOES HERE

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OUR DONORS & MEMBERS

HEADING GOES HERE

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OUR PEOPLE DONORS & MEMBERS

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD 2015/16

DANANJAYA WEERAWANSHA

DANULA ERANJITH

JANITH DUSHYANTHA

Member Committee Vice President - Outgoing Exchange Program

Member Committee Vice President - Business Development

Member Committee Vice President - Finance

AIESEC is the best place to learn and expand the skills and capabilities. Everyday is a learning experience that motivates me to continuously improve. It is the place where I can challenge my limits ,say yes to the opportunities that someone would refuse to handle and build my confidence as a young individual.

AIESEC has taught me the best lessons for life. I found it to be an exciting playground to learn about people, cultures and businesses. My fondness for AIESEC has largely come from the wonderful moments that I have experienced throughout the years and the fact that they have changed the way I look at the world.

The Best Adventure you want in your life is the amazing expedition AIESEC takes you through. With its ups & downs, new experiences around every corner & the world at your fingertips, at one point you realize, AIESEC makes a bestseller out of your story. And to my story, AIESEC has created the best first chapter.

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JANUKA WIJESINGHE

KAVEEN MUHANDIRAMGE

PIUMAL TENNAKOON

Member Committee Vice President - Marketing

Member Committee Vice President - Global Talent Programme

Member Committee Vice President - Global Volunteer Program

MC Experience for me has been quite extraordinary. I never expected this experience to be this much diverse. One of the most important lessons I learned was to accept both failures and success, specially failures. AIESEC taught me not to be disappointed by what I couldn’t accomplish and to move on to the next best thing and make the most out of it.

AIESEC is a way of life for me. It has never been only about Leadership but an entirely different life changing experience that has fundamentally changed me forever.

I believe AIESEC will play a key role in developing the youth leadership our country needs in its road to sustainable development.

AIESEC has added tons of best moments to my life which I will cherish for the lifetime. AIESEC taught me to be myself, believe on myself and to never give up until I achieve my dreams. Above all, the MC term was an unique experience with heaps of different challenges everyday which made me the exact person I am today.

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OUR PEOPLE

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD 2015/16

PULANI RANASINGHE

RUWINI RAJASOORIYA

SHIFAN MIHILAR

Member Committee Vice President - Information Management and Communication

Member Committee Vice President - Expansions Development

Member Committee Vice President - Global Volunteer Program

AIESEC is a university to me that taught about life, diversity, leadership, society and in short it helps you find your purpose in this world and in life. Now I am a person who loves to take on challenge, dream with a plan, understand about people and the society. I owe to AIESEC for what I am today.

What I value most about AIESEC is working together with so many different individuals to make a difference and to make the world a better place.

Lessons you learn and friends you earn through AIESEC are worth a lifetime. The motivation ,inspiration it can bring is simply amazing and I am truly grateful to be a part of AIESEC.

The time I spent in AIESEC became the most challenging experience in my life which made me realize the power of young people who are working tirelessly to make this world a better place. You will never find an organization other than AIESEC which allows you to fail, learn from the mistakes and to be better than the person who you were earlier.

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ENTITY LEADERS Local Committee President – Colombo Central Kaneru Godagama Local Committee President – Colombo North Sohan Wijegunawardhana Local Committee President – Colombo South Dehan Vithana

THIMALI YASODA Member Committee Vice President - Talent Management

Without a doubt, AIESEC is the best leadership experience that any undergraduate can encounter. Throughout the years I spent in AIESEC, I realized that it gives you the ability to identify your potential and instills a sense of passion and commitment to pursue your aspirations. You will face so many challenges in your AIESEC journey but what ever comes on your way you will do the best to achieve your goal.

Local Committee President – Jayewardenepura Kalpa Nallahandi Expansion Committee President - Kandy Dhamika Marasinghe Expansion Committee President - SLIIT Harin Liyanarachchi Initiative Group President - Ruhuna Supun Perera

2015/16 ANNUAL REPORT

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OUR PEOPLE

BOARD OF ADVISORS

Mr. Anthony Jayaranjan

Ms. Gayani De Alwis

Ms. Dinusha Jayamanne

Non-executive Director Lankem PLC

Management Consultant and Corporate Trainer Freelance

Human Resource Director Fonterra Brands Lanka Pvt Ltd.

AIESEC is a unique organization run

AIESEC Offers a unique platform

AIESEC is a fantastic student body

for young student leaders to

which churns out some of the best

hone their leadership skills and

potential recruits for organizations.

develop themselves before they

I have been amazed by the passion

enter the world of work. It gives

& commitment of its members

an opportunity for students who

since my initial engagement with

are willing to stretch beyond their

them.

for the youth and by the youth to serve the developmental needs of the youth.

It has been my pleasure working with a team of enthusiastic, committed and energetic set of office bearers. AIESEC will survive and thrive in the future as it serves the vital need of developing leadership skills of the youth whilst engaging itself in community development.

comfort zones and discover their true potential.

AIESEC more closely in future and

My experience during the past

support it to grow from strength to

year has been very fulfilling. The

strength.

leadership of Samith and the energy and the vibrancy of the Exco and how they overcame challenges which was seemingly impossible was very encouraging.

So I had no hesitation in agreeing to serve again as a BoA when Samith approached me.

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I look forward to working with

Mr. Vidhura Ralapanawe

Ms. Chandi Dharmarathne

General Manager Environmental Sustainability MAS intimates

Director Human Resources Virtusa Pvt Ltd.

I have been fortunate to be associated with AIESEC in Sri

I am honored to be on the Board of Advisors of AIESEC Sri

Lanka as a member during my undergraduate studies.

Lanka and be part of initiatives that give youth in Sri Lanka

I have seen its power to shape and improve skills and

and overseas the opportunity to be change agents who are

capabilities of its members through global interaction and

smart, responsible and entrepreneurial leaders - ready to

programmes.

be employable not just in Sri Lanka, but on a global scale.

The past year saw AIESEC face multiple challenges and

I would like to make this an opportunity to the congratulate

take decisive steps to overcome the same. I commend the

the outgoing member committee on the great strides

dedication I have seen across the organization to strive to

made in all initiatives – specially attaining for the first time

better themselves and their performance, celebrated with

1100+ exchange experiences within a term, accomplishing

a string of commendations at the end of the year globally.

significant outgoing exchange programme These numbers

The resilience the teams have shown is indeed remarkable.

I believe are testimony to the passion and dedication that

I see AIESEC play a broad role in developing people. AIESEC provides opportunities to broaden perspectives, bring in

has been shown by the AIESEC Sri Lanka team over the last year.

a global outlook, focus on core skills, and create a youth

On a concluding note, I would like to wish the incoming

who have the capacity to think and innovate. AIESEC’s core

member committee all the best for a very successful year

programme activities including issues around gender,

and I’m sure they will take AIESEC Sri Lanka to greater

skills, cultural understanding and environment are critically

heights – with a greater number of international exchanges

needed in Sri Lanka as it looks to the future. I commend the

and partnerships in order to expose more youth to the

teams of 2015/16 for a job well done. The foundations you

AIESEC international learning environment.

have set are fantastic for the future of AIESEC in Sri Lanka.

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OUR PEOPLE

PARTNERS AIESEC in the term 2015/16 successfully partnered with number of leading establishments in Sri Lanka while increasing the value we create through our programmes.

The aim of the business development team was to strengthen current partnerships and sustain them for coming years as AIESEC in Sri Lanka is growing at a rapid pace. In order to achieve this we introduced number of methodologies to continuously engage our partners.

We constantly invited and got them engaged in our events at both national and local level including 20th anniversary celebrations.

Both local committees, project team as well as national project teams were advised to send constant updates to partners including a comprehensive report at the end of a partnership.

Our main conference partners of the term including Millennium IT Software (Private) Limited and Fonterra Brands Lanka (Private) Limited have previously been partnered with AIESEC. For Youth Speak forum we were able to partner with hSenid Software International (Private) Limited who has been an exchange partner of AIESEC few year back.

Local committees were also able to sustain their partners from previous year while ensuring quality delivery through the establishment of proper business development teams. For instance Sampath Bank partnered with Jayawardenapura Local Committee for the fourth consecutive year for the project API.

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We also engaged with number of new partners, including not for profits such as Sri Lanka chapter of Junior Chamber International. New business development policies were implemented to maintain standards of partnerships and to ensure that we deliver external expectations. We also introduced a new customer relationship management tool utilizing podio platform.

“Since 2012 we have been working with AIESEC in Sri Lanka to bring down global talent to the company. As a creative media agency, we always believed in providing a very diverse & experience working environment brings out the best from any individual. The AIESEC global talent program has been one of the best sources where we attract some of the most forward-thinking, motivated university students around and I have seen how they challenge existing organizational views, introduce new ideas, and display their enthusiasm everyday at work. I really recommend this program for any employer who looks for a transformation in their business & the working environment.�

Lividul Witharana Co-Founder & CVO RADICALZ (PVT) LTD

KEY PARTNERS CONFERENCE PARTNERS

EVENT PARTNERS

PROJECT PARTNERS

2015/16 ANNUAL REPORT

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GROWTH IN TOTAL INVESTMENT

167% FINANCE

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NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD 2016/17

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OUR SUSTAINABILITY The story of AIESEC Sri Lanka is not complete without mentioning the finances. Sustainability is the first word muttered from the initiation of any project or event we do. It is deep rooted within our organization and inculcated in our culture. Therefore superior financial performance for the year is not a surprise for the organization, and definitely not unexpected.

2015/16 ANNUAL REPORT

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OUR SUSTAINABILITY

FINANCE AIESEC Sri Lanka, with its disruptive growth for the past 20 years since initiation, has always contributed to innovative and bold financial moves with an open mind focus towards sustainability.

Considering the past three terms from 2013, the revenue of AIESEC Sri Lanka has grown by 116% in 2016, having 84% growth in Term 2015/16.

With this outstanding revenue growth along with the number of exchanges, AIESEC in Sri Lanka has been able to achieve a steady growth and as a result was recognized as one of the most stable entities in the AP region with superb reputation and strong finances.

With 118% exchange revenue growth compared to the last year, the daring investments continued for 2015/16 with Member Development Expenses having 42% Allocation from the total direct expenses. Having revenue from iGV dominating for the past few years, the proceeds from partners has reached a close second with

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28.7%, totaling revenue from iGTP, Other Income and Project/Event Revenue.

With increased sustainable partnerships during the term 2015/16, this gap will continue to close in the coming years.

AIESEC Sri Lanka has shown a significant progress in the term 2015/16 in almost every way possible. But there is room for improvement in several areas that need to shine more, but that is a story left untold for another time, another team.

0.5%

REVENUE BREAKDOWN

OUTGOING

GLOBAL TALENT

2.8% INCOMING

GLOBAL TALENT

63.8% INCOMING

7.1%

GLOBAL VOLUNTEER

OUTGOING

GLOBAL VOLUNTEER

12.4%

13.5%

PROJECTS AND

OTHER INCOME

EVENTS

PERCENTAGE

REVENUE PERCENTAGE GROWTH

2014

2015

2016

2015/16 ANNUAL REPORT

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OUR SUSTAINABILITY

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD 2016/17

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2016 ANNUAL REPORT

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Member Committee of AIESEC in Sri Lanka wishes to thank the following individuals and organizations for their valuable contribution during the term 2015/16 •

Alumni of AIESEC in Sri Lanka for the continued support

•

Board of Advisors of AIESEC in Sri Lanka for the guidance and contribution

•

University Staff advisors : Dr. Mayuri Wijesinghe (University of Colombo), Dr. Upaali Amarakoon (University of Kelaniya), Dr. Pujitha Silva (University of Moratuwa), Prof.

Sudantha Liyanage (University of Sri Jayawardanepura), Mr. Prasanna Haddela (Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology) , Dr. Thilak Wijethunga (University of Peradeniya), Dr. N. Hettiarachchi (University of Ruhuna)

•

National Youth Services Council, Department of Immigration & Emigration, Ministries of Youth Affairs & Skills Development, Ministry of Higher Education for the assistance and support

•

Mr. Charith Baddege, Internal Auditor for the term 15/16

•

Our partners including Fonterra Brands Lanka Pvt. Ltd, Millennium Information Technologies Pvt. Ltd

•

Various well wishers, organizations and individuals who have supported AIESEC in Sri Lanka for in the term 15/16

•

Membership of AIESEC in Sri Lanka