Angeline shares her thought about the Alumni's visit to AIESEC Mainland China under the B.R.I.D.G.E. Programme

The year 2002 marked one of the most significant milestones in AIESEC's history. After much effort, AIESEC in mainland China was officially formed.

As former members of AIESEC, the fondest memories of our days as student volunteers in AIESEC consist of making friends with people around the world. Though we have graduated, we hope to continue to expand our network of friends around the globe.

One of the goals of AIESEC Singapore Alumni is to become a regional networking hub for AIESEC alumni from the Asia-Pacific region.

Last year, we decided to move one step closer to this goal by launching the BRIDGE (Bilateral Relations Initiated and Developed through Global Expeditions) programme. We set our eyes on mainland China as the destination of our first expedition. The dragon of Asia has awakened and is fast becoming a major player in the world economy. In recent years, there is also a growing number of our members who are based in China.

It was near Christmas when we set off. Like the 'Three Wise Men', we eagerly embarked on a pilgrimage to see the new-born AIESEC in China. We had great fun catching up with our members and gained an insight into their lives working and living in Shanghai and Beijing.

It was a fruitful trip as we made friends and network with other AIESECers in mainland China. They shared with us the difficulties they had to overcome to set up the AIESEC chapter in China. While some of us have taken the existence of student organisations and NGOs in Singapore for granted, it is not easy to set up such organisations in China. As a young organisation, the alumni community from AIESEC in mainland China is just starting to grow and it is looking into ways to develop its alumni network. We were glad to share our experiences.

Although the wintry month in China was terribly cold, new friendships blossomed quickly and made it one of the most heartwarming trips I have ever made.

This article first appeared in ALUMNUS April 2003.