CONTACT: Zhang Boping from Huazhong University helping Ghana's AIDS program (COURTESY OF ZHAN RUI)

Think big, act big

Living in an environment of tremendous economic growth and social change, the post-80s generation has been characterized as egoistical, but optimistic about the future. Now many are dubbing them as patriotic, persistent, caring and responsible. It's believed China's Generation Y has unique and unprecedented opportunities compared to previous generations thanks to the economic environment they have grown up in, the education they have received and the global information they are able to access.

Zhan Rui takes this view. Zhan is currently the China Operations Director for the Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales (AIESEC), the world's largest youth-run organization. It focuses on providing a platform for youth leadership development. By this summer's end, AIESEC's African internship program enabled hundreds of young Chinese to participate in international internships, nearly double the number of participants over the same period last year, according to the organization.

"Post-80s young people are more easily accepted [to] overseas projects, which shows that they have appealing personal qualifications and strong competitiveness in a time of globalization," Zhan told ChinAfrica.

When AIESEC first opened offices on the Chinese mainland in 2002, most young people were more attracted to applying for internships in developed regions like Europe and America. Now, things are changing. Since AIESEC's initiation of African projects in 2008, increasing numbers of Chinese youths have volunteered abroad during their winter or summer vacations, getting involved in HIV/AIDS education, and helping school dropouts and local young people to start their own business in hopes of improving their education as well as viability.

College student Wang Shu is among these volunteers. An AIESEC's poster attracted her to apply for a program in Nairobi. Printed on the poster were the words of an intern who had worked on the continent: "I went to Africa in my 20s. I believe this is a once in a lifetime experience. Since I've been to Africa, what else is there that I can't do or dare not do?"