“Organizations like AIESEC are not about you being leaders of tomorrow, but being leaders of today,” is what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau affirmed to more than 300 delegates during the Youth to Business Forum at AIESEC Canada’s National Leadership Development Conference (NLDC), held in Toronto, Ontario.
Youths of today are called to make an impact and pave a brighter future for tomorrow’s generation. We believe that cultural understanding and social entrepreneurship, through international exchanges are the keys to driving these realizations. Collectively, it is our responsibility to ensure that we have the right tools and opportunities to maximize our potential and change the world.
This year’s NLDC was the first national conference I have ever attended in the two years I have been with AIESEC SFU. NLDC is a five-day conference that gathers more than 300 students from 29 universities across Canada to further develop their functional skills within their respective AIESEC chapter. This year’s NLDC focused specifically on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which are 17 goals that AIESEC strives to achieve in the next 15 years, and how youth leaders can develop the global competencies to implement these goals to end poverty, promote quality education and achieve sustainable economic growth.
Having no experience with national conferences, I came in to NLDC with the expectation of gaining the necessary skills to strengthen my abilities as a youth leader and an AIESEC ambassador. However, there was more to what meets the eye, and I was fortunate to be part of an event that truly changed how I see value in creating impact in many people’s lives. Personally, the most impactful experience at NLDC was the Youth to Business Forum, where, as a congregation, we had the opportunity to listen to leaders in the business community discuss the current issues that Canada faces today, and how the youth can influence each other to develop the necessary competencies to obtain economic sustainability. Furthermore, we witnessed three keynote speakers, who covered topics such as, understanding Canada’s natural resources, managing finances, and developing leadership competencies to maximize our potential as global ambassadors to the business community.
Of all keynote speakers, Judy Goldring, who is the Executive Vice President and COO of AFG Management Ltd., inspired me to do more of what I am capable of as a leader. Throughout her presentation, I learned that one doesn’t become a leader instantly, and it takes time to develop the competencies to become an efficient leader. There are three valuable skills that a leader should obtain: first, a leader must be ethically responsible and fully embrace corporate values; second, a leader must be an active listener and must be able to relate to others by providing personal experiences as examples; and last, a leader must develop their own style that reflects upon their vision and work-life balance. Goldring ended her keynote with: “Good leaders know that through communication they inspire. If you really want to engage your people you need to do it by being clear about where you are at, and what you need.”
Overall, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to connect with bright and talented individuals who I share a common goal with, and that is to inspire and to create an impact on others to alleviate global issues. Throughout the five days at the conference, I learned that the voice of the youth can have a strong influence by developing the necessary skills and global competencies to achieve the possible. As leaders of today, we can make the most out of our resources to build a better tomorrow.
Bio:
Mark Ponce is a 4th year BBA Honours student, concentrating in Marketing and Operations Management. After transferring from another faculty in SFU, he has been heavily involved in AIESEC SFU, where he is currently the Organizing Committee Vice President of Marketing and Communications for NLDC 2017. A former Editor-in-Chief for BASS’ Executive Magazine, he plans to be more active within the Beedie community, where he can apply his marketing and graphic design skills to further develop his potential as an aspiring brand manager.