Friends at the water's edge on Playa Blanca, Barú, as the sun sets over the Caribbean

Global Alumni Meet for MCPs and AIs of 1997–2000

GAMMA 2027

Bienvenidos a Colombia

18–25 July 2027 Barú & Cartagena de Indias

Save the dateSee the week
About forty of us at GAMMA 2025 in Da Nang, crowded together in one room, many making finger hearts at the camera
This is usGAMMA 2025 · Da Nang, Vietnam

Around the turn of the millennium we ran AIESEC in our countries and around the world. Since 2001 we have met every two years, somewhere new each time, to catch up, to argue about the world, and to dance like it’s 1999.

This time: the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

The shape of the weekFour nights on the sand, three inside the walls

  1. Land at CartagenaSun 18
  2. about 1 h 15 by road, over the bridge
  3. Playa Blanca, Barú4 nights
  4. about 1 h 15 by road
  5. Getsemaní, Cartagena3 nights
  6. 15 min
  7. Fly homeSun 25
Playa Blanca from the air: white sand, palm-thatched huts and turquoise water18 – 22 JulyBarúHQ: Hotel Calamari Baru, on Playa BlancaSunset over the sea from the Santo Domingo bastion on Cartagena's city walls, with old cannons and the city flag22 – 25 JulyCartagenaHQ: our house in Getsemaní

Stop one · 18–22 July · 4 nightsBarú: barefoot on Playa Blanca

Barú is an island just south of Cartagena, joined to the mainland by a bridge. Its long white beach, Playa Blanca, is an hour and a quarter away by road, with the reefs of the Rosario islands on the horizon. Our headquarters (HQ) sits right on the sand.

Our HQ on Barú

Hotel Calamari Baru

The HQ is where we meet: sessions, meals and the start of every evening. It is not where everyone has to sleep.

  • Right on the sand of Playa Blanca, with its own beach area.
  • Rooms of 45 m² with a balcony and air conditioning, many of them facing the sea.
  • Calamarí, the hotel’s restaurant and bar: breakfast (included), lunch, dinner and cocktail hour.
  • Rated 9.0 by more than 1,000 guests, and 9.5 for its staff.

~US$110 a night

Indicative price for a Deluxe Double with a balcony, breakfast for two included. Want to sleep at the HQ? Rooms go first come, first served: write to oc@ourgamma.com. Or pick a place nearby that suits you better.

When the day boats head back to Cartagena in the late afternoon, the beach goes quiet. That’s when it becomes ours.

Coconut palms leaning over the clear water of Playa Blanca
Aerial view of the Islas del Rosario, green islands in deep blue water
Boats moored off Playa Blanca, seen from above

Stop two · 22–25 July · 3 nightsCartagena: inside the walls

Bougainvillea spilling over wooden balconies, plazas that fill up after dark, and four centuries of stone walls holding back the Caribbean. We end the week in Getsemaní, the old city’s liveliest neighbourhood.

Our HQ in Cartagena

Our house in Getsemaní

The HQ is where we gather by day. It has only nine bedrooms, enough for about 18 of us, so most of the group will sleep in small hotels a minute or two away.

  • A nine-bedroom house with a private pool, on Carrera 10.
  • Queen beds in every bedroom, and the housekeeper cooks breakfast.
  • 5 minutes on foot to Plaza de la Trinidad, 8 to the Clock Tower and the Walled City.
  • Rated 4.95 out of 5 by its guests.

~US$90 a night

Indicative price for a bedroom with a queen bed for two, about US$260 for the three nights. Bedrooms go first come, first served: write to oc@ourgamma.com. Or stay nearby, in whatever style you like.

The house is our base for sessions, the pool and breakfast. Our evenings happen on the rooftops and plazas all around it.

A narrow street of balconies and flowers leading to the cathedral tower
Two palenqueras in the yellow, blue and red dresses of Colombia walking along the city walls
The yellow church of the Trinidad on its plaza in Getsemaní
A mural of a tiger in sunglasses on a wall in Getsemaní

ProgrammeThe week, day by day

Same rhythm as Da Nang: sessions in the cooler hours, one outing a day, a party every night and the Grand Dinner at the end. The OC will keep fine-tuning the details.

  1. Sun18Jul

    Arrive · Barú

    Bienvenidos

    Land at Cartagena (CTG) and ride straight to the beach. Barú is an island, but a bridge joins it to the mainland, so Playa Blanca is about an hour and a quarter away by road. Check-in from 13:00 at the HQ, or wherever you're staying along the beach.

    EveningWelcome drinks as the sun goes down, then dinner on the sand.

  2. Mon19Jul

    Barú

    Catching up

    Briefing and personal updates in the shade before the heat. Afternoon in the sea, or in a hammock.

    EveningAmericas & Africa party.

  3. Tue20Jul

    BarúColombian Independence Day

    Islands day

    Boats out to the Islas del Rosario and the Corales del Rosario national park: reefs, snorkelling and lunch on an island.

    EveningColombian night on the beach: vallenato, champeta and a toast to Colombia's birthday.

  4. Wed21Jul

    Barú

    Coffee talks & plankton

    Morning coffee talks, on the world and on ourselves. The afternoon is free.

    EveningSwim with the glowing plankton right after dark, then the Global Village.

  5. Thu22Jul

    Barú → Cartagena

    Into the walled city

    A last swim, check-out at 11:00 and the road back to the city. Check-in from 15:00 at our house in Getsemaní or at your hotel nearby.

    EveningSunset on the city walls, then the Asia Pacific party.

  6. Fri23Jul

    Cartagena

    Walls, balconies, murals

    Walking tour of the Walled City and Getsemaní in the cool of the morning. Afternoon at the Castillo San Felipe, or a long siesta.

    EveningAll aboard the chiva: a party bus through the city.

  7. Sat24Jul

    Cartagena

    GAMMA 2029 & the Grand Dinner

    We choose where we meet next. Free afternoon for the city, the markets and the rooftops.

    EveningThe Grand Dinner, then the Europe party.

  8. Sun25Jul

    Fly home

    Hasta la próxima

    Farewell breakfast and check-out by 11:00. The airport is 15 minutes away, so any flight after about 13:00 works.

    EveningOr stay on: Medellín, the coffee region, Tayrona.

TravelGetting there, and what to bring

Flights

Fly into Cartagena, Rafael Núñez airport (CTG). On Sunday 18 July, aim to land by 15:00 so we reach the beach for sunset. On Sunday 25 July, any flight after about 13:00 works.

Connections

Most of us will connect through Bogotá, Medellín, Panama City or a US hub. If your route is long, arrive a day early and sleep in Cartagena.

Entry

Check the visa rules for your passport. Every foreign traveller also fills in Migración Colombia’s free online Check-MIG form before flying.

Weather

July is hot and humid: around 26–32 °C, with the sea at about 28 °C and the odd short shower. Pack linen, a hat and reef-safe sunscreen.

Money

Colombian pesos (COP). Cards work almost everywhere in Cartagena; on Barú, bring cash.

The sea decides

Boats to the islands sail only when the port is open. If the red flag goes up, we swap the islands for a beach day and go another time.

Where to sleep

At each stop the OC books one place as our headquarters (HQ): where we meet, eat and start the night. The HQ is not where everyone has to sleep. Its rooms go to the group first come, first served, through oc@ourgamma.com. Everyone else books their own room a few minutes away, choosing the place and the price that suit them.

  • Barú: a room at the HQ is about US$110 a night for two. Places along the beach start at about US$45.
  • Cartagena: a bedroom at the HQ is about US$90 a night for two, and there are only nine. Hotels around the corner start at about US$70.

Our storyThree decades, still counting

  1. The back of a T-shirt that reads INDONESIA 1997 AIESEC

    1997–2000

    Where it began

    Our years as MCPs and AIs, at IPM 98, IC 98, IPM 99 and the conferences around them.

  2. The whole group posed on a football pitch at GAMMA 2001

    2001

    Malaysia & Singapore

    The first GAMMA: the beaches of Tioman and the streets of Singapore.

  3. Got a photo from 2003? Send it in

    2003

    Lithuania

  4. Got a photo from 2005? Send it in

    2005

    Portugal

  5. Got a photo from 2007? Send it in

    2007

    Miami, USA

  6. 2009–11

    Two years off

    Nairobi was cancelled, and 2011 fell to the financial crisis.

  7. Two old friends in a big hug at GAMMA 2013

    2013

    Portugal

  8. A group of us in swimsuits on the sand at GAMMA 2015

    2015

    Playa del Carmen, Mexico

  9. Two of us sawing a log with a two-man saw on a farm in Lithuania while the others watch

    2017

    Lithuania

    Back on the Baltic, fourteen years on.

  10. A big group of us lined up on a beach in Bali

    2019

    Bali, Indonesia

  11. Got a photo from 2021? Send it in

    2021

    Mini GAMMA, Austria

    The Covid edition, for those who could travel.

  12. A group of us in front of an old fortress gate in Mozambique

    2022

    Mozambique

    The first GAMMA in Africa: Maputo, Ilha de Moçambique and a dawn in Kruger.

  13. The group gathered around a big 2023 sign

    2023

    Türkiye

    Where two continents meet: İzmir, the Aegean coast, a boat day off Fethiye and a farewell dinner on the Bosphorus.

  14. The GAMMA 2025 group in Da Nang

    2025

    Da Nang, Vietnam

    Coffee talks on My Khe beach and a day among the lanterns of Hoi An.

  15. Playa Blanca on Barú from the air

    2027

    Barú & Cartagena, Colombia

    The 12th GAMMA. Seven nights on the Caribbean.

  16. 2029

    You decide

    On Saturday 24 July, in Cartagena.

Then & nowSame faces, a few more laughter lines

Then GAMMA 2001, Tioman and Singapore

Now Bali 2019, Mozambique 2022, Türkiye 2023, Vietnam 2025

Spotted yourself? Got better ones? Send your favourites to oc@ourgamma.com and we’ll put them up. Want a photo taken down? Same address, no questions asked.

2001 photos from Paulius’s albums. The rest shared by Hatem and Fernando from friends’ albums.

Your organising committeeDiego · Fernando · Hatem · Stephan · Sven · Thanneer

Questions, ideas, a room at the headquarters, or a party theme you can’t keep to yourself: one email reaches all six of us.

oc@ourgamma.com