In November 2009 AISEC along with Kairos Futures conducted a survey of over 3,000 young people from around 122 countries about their views on climate change. The results were telling. 73% of respondents believe climate change to be a greater threat to society than the war or terrorism, and nearly all see their main responsibility as being to leave the world in better shape than their parents did. Here is a run down of their findings.
Everyday more young people around the world are getting increasingly concerned, and rightfully so, about how corporations can act in a more sustainable and responsible way, while maintaining their influence in the market. The success of the mission of an organisation like AIESEC has a direct correlation with its own practices in sustainability which are often inspired by what the members of this organisation see and understand of corporate behaviors and environmental issues.
AIESEC is the world's largest student-run organisation, a premiere choice for youth to develop their personal and professional skills, and a platform that facilitated 10,000 international internships and provided over 10,000 leadership experiences throughout 2010.
The world is challenged by a changing climate, biodiversity loss, abject poverty and environmental degradation. Sustainable development is the only way we can make a difference. In the current context, creating awareness amongst youth is one of the key steps needed in order to take the necessary actions.
AIESEC, together with Kairos Future, the international research and consulting firm dealing with futures research and strategy development, surveyed young people around the world about their views on climate change. Data was collected in November 2009. The questionnaire was distributed in English via e-mail and AIESEC’s web page to our members globally. We received 3,119 replies (48% women, 52% men) from 122 countries. Most of the respondents in the survey were students (75%) in the fields of economy, commerce, social sciences and technology. Almost all of the respondents say that their most important responsibility as young people is to leave the world in a better shape than their parents did. 73% of the respondents believe that climate change is a bigger threat to society than war or terrorism. This is what more than 3,000 of tomorrow’s leaders think from all over the world. The output of that survey was revealed at a youth event at COP15 in 2010.
During the last AIESEC International Congress in August 2010, members from 110 different countries and territories explored during one-day different solutions for Sustainability Issues and other topics such as Labor Mobility and Youth Innovation. With 600 co-creators, 10 open-space discussions and 88 simulations AIESEC’s leaders sought to answer these questions by presenting unique solutions.
An underlying principle of AIESEC as a global organisation is that of “Acting Sustainably,” both environmentally, and within the practices of the organisation’s members and leaders. During the first day of the event, the delegates took part in a tree planting ceremony, where each of the 110 countries and territories planted one tree. This, in conjunction with environmental projects based on student exchange executed globally each year, illustrates a perfect example of putting theory into practice. This is the same expectation that the AIESECers have of their partners.
The AIESECers realise that these types of changes can only be ignited from the ground up, which fit suggestions of corporate social responsibility practices being driven by consumers, or involving the government in creating social regulations for start-up companies.
Sustainability for AIESEC is an important topic; during 2010, approximately 1,000 AIESEC Internships were focused on CSR and Energy; 67 Countries offered internships in sustainability and CSR; Over 200 NGOs, 140 Corporations, 90 Educational Institutions and 14 Governmental Institutions provided AIESEC internships around Sustainability and CSR.