Olha Burkut, a student of KNEU with a degree in systems analysis, a junior consultant on the implementation of ERP systems in a consulting company and vice chief financial office at the international youth organization Aiesec in Kyiv, tells about the idea to hold a Global Village in Prospekt shopping mall and what young people think about the mall.

Olia, tell us what was unusual in conducting the Global Village event?  
The most important thing for Global Village was to find a suitable venue and gather all the interns at the same place – and we’ve done this. It is not for the first time that Global Village is held in Kyiv and we wanted as many trainees from Aysek and visitors of Prospekt Shopping Mall as possible to join us and talk with representatives of different countries, so to speak, to touch different cultures “without leaving home”.

How many countries were represented? 
10 countries took part at the event. The largest delegations were from Brazil, China, Turkey and Egypt. They came for internship in Ukrainian schools and start-ups with different thoughts and stereotypes about Ukraine. After the event, during which they had an opportunity to communicate both with small children and adults, they would take a piece of Ukrainian culture to their homes, located on 4 continents.
During which period of time everything was bought at the fair? What was the delegation of the country?
- Everything presented at the fair was free. Any passer-by could come up, meet a representative of a certain culture and try, for example, traditional food. The most popular were Turkish delight and pishmanie (tastes like cotton candy) from volunteers from Turkey, as well as sweets and Brazilian sweetness, which is similar to chocolate paste from volunteers from Brazil.

What were the highlights of the event? 
The guys from China translated words and sentences, drew hieroglyphs on paper. People took away the leaves with their names, congratulations on the New Year, as well as with the words “love” and “peace”. There was also a competition for the largest amount of selfies with strangers in the mall. It was cool, because regardless of color of skin, nationality and language that people spoke - everyone smiled, asked to take photos with them, thanked them and ran on.
The competition lasted 5 minutes. The winner took more than 60 photos and 2 finalists won the certificates from the Bodo company. There were also dances from the interns. Honestly, not all dances were prepared in advance, but the guys tried and invented new dances “in process”, creating a relaxed atmosphere between the trainees and visitors of the shopping mall.

In what locations in other countries your colleagues hold their events? Is it also shopping malls?
The Culture Festival takes place twice a year - in winter and summer in all 126 countries of the world. It would be desirable that as many people as possible join the Festival, therefore the locations which allow gathering many people are selected.

What advantages for your events do shopping malls have?
During their day off, visitors unexpectedly meet foreigners, dance and have an opportunity to have a great time, combining it with shopping or visiting attractions. We show visitors of the shopping mall that this is the place where nobody cares what nationality or what age they are, what is the color of their skin or what language they speak. Thus, the event brought together different cultures, giving the visitors a feeling of comfort, “a family”.

Olya, tell us about yourself - where do you study, who do you want to be and why in AIESEC?
I study at the KNEU on the specialty “system analysis”. I entered this university because I was interested in something new, but graduating with the specialty “Accounting” I realized that I wanted to do something more ambitious. I also work as a junior consultant for the implementation of ERP systems in a consulting company. I came to AIESEC two and a half years ago because I wanted to get experience necessary for building my career.
However, I quickly realized that organization is about leadership, about the ability to take responsibility, make decisions, change lives of other people and be the changes you want to see in the world. When you can give energy and time to the world – the world gives you back much more.

Where do you and your friends do shopping? Do you like shopping in shopping malls?
I am not a shopaholic. I like to buy practical things that will be of high quality and may be worn for a long time. Therefore, I like to buy everything at the same place during one day, in warmth and comfort together with close people. By the way, it is cool to have a snack between purchases :)
I have no idea where else one can make purchases. Prospekt is located very close to my house and there is everything I need - from a dress for an important event tomorrow and gifts to friends, to daily purchase of food.

What three new ideas (thoughts, conclusions) did you get after holding an event in Prospekt shopping mall? 
The first is amazingly friendly staff. We often look for partners for holding events because we are a non-profit organization. Sometimes it happens that the event is canceled a day before the appointed date, some partners fail to supply technique. This time I can say that our work was coordinated, everyone cared about the result. The event was really great!
Second, it was cool to communicate with people who joined the festival by chance and did not expect to feel such an international atmosphere. It was a pleasant surprise to them and such an effect would have been hardly achieved in case of a closed event visited by invitation. The third, cooperation is always easier and funnier!