Last week, six chambers of commerce across the U.S. welcomed international interns as part of CIPE’s ChamberL.I.N.K.S. program. ChamberL.I.N.K.S. is a new initiative designed to provide ‘rising stars’ of CIPE’s partner chambers of commerce and business associations overseas with the opportunity to gain valuable leadership skills in the United States. Participating U.S. chambers will establish ties with chambers abroad and benefit from the international perspective and unique skill set that each intern possesses. Click here if you want to learn more about the program.
Although they just arrived last week, the interns have already jumped into chamber activities.
Tobias Alando from the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) is quickly becoming a key part of the Rapid City Area Chamber of Commerce. And, based on a number of meetings he has attended, Tobias is already developing strategies for improving membership development, governance, and advocacy at the Coast Chapter of KAM.
Maria Gutierrez from Confecámaras in Colombia has also been thinking about membership development after a discussion with the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce’s membership services coordinator. Maria noted, “The information she gave me was very useful because in Colombia we have a different system and we need to learn about some other ways to get private resources.”
Kiran Farooq from the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Pakistan just got back from a two-day Leadership Institute retreat as part of her internship at the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce. She has now immersed herself in learning about a chamber program for business promotion and networking, with the goal of implementing something similar at the Lahore Chamber.
Luis Strauss from CAINCO in Bolivia has been busy shadowing the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s president. And Manel Khayati of the Tunisian American Chamber of Commerce and Marat Djanbaev of the Bishkek Business Club in Kyrgyzstan are also getting familiar with the operations at the Colorado Springs Chamber and Leadership Pikes Peak, respectively. Two more interns are coming later this month and we’re looking forward to their arrival!
Of course, not everything has gone perfectly. Lost luggage and difficult flight itineraries made some arrivals in the U.S. a bit stressful. And adjusting to new environments can pose some challenges – the weather in Kenya is quite different than the weather in South Dakota! But, that’s all part of the experience and I hope that the program will continue to benefit the interns, host chambers, and eventually the interns’ home organizations. It will be exciting to see the long term impact of ChamberL.I.N.K.S. – lasting international ties between chambers, a set of young leaders ready to make a different in their countries, and stronger chambers and associations around the world!
Published Date: September 13, 2007