that day It started normal: cereal and watermelon, coffee. Walk to the office, emails - check. Transition session: Trip around the Local Committees (LCs) part II. Lots and lots of focus on the development of our LCs this year, identified trends and particularities.
Lunch and some football of course.
Then - trip to La Presidencia. Meeting with Luis Alfonso Hoyos Aristizábal, who is the right hand of the President when it comes to Acción Social, the social programs run by the Colombian government. The plan was ready: Juli was to present AIESEC in Colombia, I was then to explain Explora , then the Project Based on Exchange (PBoX) "Alcance Social" with which AIESEC in Colombia wants to support NGOs involved in work with "desplazados" - people who had to leave their homes because of the internal conflict of Colombia. The goal: get feedback on our proposal, gain Acción Social as institutional supporter, link to NGOs with relevant high quality programs, to find specialists to participate in online and physical learning circles, and a project mentor.
Well, so far the plan.
It turned out that Señor Alfonso Hoyos thinks at 3'000 km/h, loved the project, picked up his phone and got us a quick chat with Diego Andrés Molano Aponte, ex-MCP of AIESEC in Colombia, ex-AIESEC International in the 1990s, who is the "Director of Presidential Projects" (in other words he has all social projects under him). Leandro (the National PBoX Manager of "Alcance Social") and I will meet with him properly again this week, and he asked us to prepare a proposal to support the project as partner over and above mentoring the project and giving advice! Needless to say that Juliana and I left the Presidencia with a big grin across our faces.

But the afternoon had only started! We set out to meet the rest of the two MC teams in the spot where Bogotá was founded, in the Candelaria. Besides an open space that was used for public gatherings back in the day and has colonial looks, there is also a cozy old café. We got a space to sit in the attic, right under the slanting roof, on the floor with cushions and candles and were served hot chocolate with cheese. Yes, you drop entire slices of cheese in the sweet chocolate, wait until it is melted, and then enjoy... It was to be an incredibly motivating and moving afternoon up there in the semi-darkness, with the Member Committee 2005-06 sharing what they have learned, what the year driving AIESEC in Colombia means to them as individuals. Team 2006-07 even received symbolic presents: something the "salientes" wished they had had at the beginning of the year, and something to symbolise what they see in us that will help us in our year. In the first round Juliana gave me a bracelet in Colombian national colours (bienvenida!) and for the second round I got a pack of traditional Bocadillos - incredibly sweeeeeeeeet blocks made from fruit and sugar - to symbolise my way with people...
We then sat around, in campfire mood, sharing stories from our elections in January, which I was only living from afar in Catto up in the Alpes of Ticino (while selecting my own successor for the Swiss team...)
The magic cannot be recreated, the motivation that permeated that attic, the emotion of both teams.

Thank you Vivi, Juli, Davo, Martis, Juraj, Paulis and Caro, I am proud to take over from you.

Ivancho, Jenn, Pipe, Juank, Sergio, Aleja... we are the Dream Team!  ¶ 9:44 PM