Make a Difference Project

Make A Difference Project

Make A Difference (MAD) is a program run by AIESEC in cooperation with Fredskorpset. It is a project that combines exchange and learning in a way to create the best experience for the participants. AIESEC Norway will in July/August send out Norwegian interns to China, Bangladesh and Ghana and at the same time receive interns from the South countries who will work in Norway.

Going on exchange with the MAD project gives you some unique opportunities, and the objectives with the project are:

Give opportunities for positive leadership in a new cultural setting
Challenge young graduates to experience a new business culture, surrounded by a complete learning environment.
Increase the understanding between North and South countries to increase business cooperation and opportunities.

Bente Sofie Bye (to the right) was a MAD intern 05/06 in Ghana

As mentioned above there is a strong focus on learning in the program and this happens in three major components.

Preparation seminar: a three week course, one week held by Fredskorpset and two weeks by AIESEC, before you leave for your internship. The aim of this is to make you better prepared for the cultural and professional experience you will have.
Learning events: during the internship there will be learning eventsheld by AIESEC in your host country. The topics of these should be related to either the country’s culture or another AIESEC related topic. You are encouraged to take an active part in planning and performing these learning events.
Information work: when you return to Norway after the internship you will make an information work. This is done for two months. The frames for this work are very free but should have some connection with the country you have been to and Norway.

Practical information

Duration:

The preparation seminar will be from mid-July for three weeks (week 29-30 and 32) and the starting date of the internship is in August/September. The length of the internship is 9 months. The information work is then two month after the internship is completed, so in total the project is for one year.

Financial aspect:

As a MAD intern you will get salary from the company you are work for. The intern salary is set by the host country in relations to national standards. In addition to this you will receive a monthly payment (4000 NOK) from Fredskorpset.

Your travel costs to and from the host country are covered up to 14.000 NOK. Visa, insurance and vaccination costs are covered up to 5.000 NOK. The information work is also paid since it’s calculated to take two months of working time (12.000 NOK).

Why is this program important for AIESEC?

AIESEC is an organisation developing leaders for the future with a global mindset. Exchange and high quality internships are one of our ways to achieve our goals, mission and vision. With focus on understanding, learning and bridge building between countries and continents, this project fits perfectly into this direction.

With more focus on developing countries we will be more relevant in the direction we want to go, of developing change agents and social responsible leaders. We will not achieve the same thing with interns from the same part of the world as ours. The synergy effects and the relevance in AIESEC core work are addressed in the Make A Differenceproject.

What is Fredskorpset?

Fredskorpset is a public bodyanswering to the Foreign Ministry in Norway. Fredskorpset receives its funds via a separate chapter of the state budget.

Fredskorpset exists to let people from different parts of the world meet and work together since such meetings result in people learning from one another and enriches their experience. Fredskorpset believes ‘partnership for development’ is the way to strengthen understanding between North and South in a world becoming more and more globalised and this results in increased expertise in international questions. Fredskorpset is therefore calling on Norwegian companies, enterprises and organisations to enter into partnerships with enterprises in the South, with a view to exchanging personnel and expertise among themselves.

Fredskorpset helps to implement the overarching objectives for Norway’s cooperation with the developing countries. This is to contribute to permanent improvements in economic, social and political conditions for the people of developing countries, with special emphasis on aid benefiting the poorest of the poor. Fredskorpset contributes to the creation of contact and cooperation between individuals, organisations and institutions in Norway and in the developing countries, based on solidarity, equality and reciprocity.

For AIESEC this means that we are having an exchange program running with financial support from Fredskorpset, mostly for the participants.

More information:

Contact the national coordinator.

Annika Hedström

Email:

Phone: 22 42 16 00