Headway Institute of Strategic AllianceReviews of headwayinstitute.org

I had a great experience with HISA, I felt the organization was great and in general I had fun. I just wish there were more breaks as I feel it can get overstimulating.

HISA is an amazing organization that allows us the youth to engage with diplomatic processes, benchmark with fellow change makers and leaders. The events are always neatly organized, communications are prompt and clear and vibe is ever 💯

It was educative and interactive forum, I am glad I got to participate - Mabel Mac-Claude

Absolutely amazing team of organizers, great program and perfect selection of delegates. It was one of those conferences where I found networking very easy. I got to know most delegates and it was easy to spot similarities and interests. Great choice of speakers too and the lodging was 5 star. I'm definitely doing this again. Suggested improvements are having Delegate names on the badges to ease communication and encourage name recall. Perhaps it might be good to have time for delegates to showcase what they do professionally as opposed to having a 2 hour speaker. In all, Absolutely wonderful experience.

My experience with HISA was excellent. The event was well organized, the staff were welcoming, and I had the opportunity to learn, network, and meet people from different backgrounds. Everything was handled professionally, and I am grateful for the opportunity to participate.

I had the privilege of participating in the International Volunteer Forum as a fully funded delegate from Portugal. The forum was exceptionally well-conceived and executed. This was not a passive conference; it was an active, immersive experience that challenged me to think deeper and act bolder. The planning behind the scenes was seamless. The schedule was thoughtfully structured, balancing high-impact sessions with meaningful networking breaks. I experienced no logistical friction, which is rare for international events.

One word to summarise my experience with HISA IVF 4.0 edition: Disappointment. Here's the breakdown of my experience and observations: 1. The overall management of the forum was sub-par and visibly amateur, with many questionable policies in place, such as asking for "only cash" fee and trying to levi late fee for late documentation, even when the visa process is not in participants' control, instead of acknowledging that, the HISA sought it as an opportunity to cash more amount from participants. Or the fact that during the application phase, a city tour was highlighted in the agenda, which was removed from the agenda once u had ur fee from the applicants. Another very disturbing aspect of forum, this has been showcased as 4 days forum right from the beginning, leading applicants to believe that we are investing our time and money into a forum which will engage us in international collaborative brainstorming on pressing challenges and other activities spanning across 4 days, but in reality it was only 2 days and that too just lectures, with virtually no activities, like we got transported to school lecture halls !! 2. Interacting with participants there and finding out many of them were on fully funded scholarships, even though they didn't seem to need financial support as they were coming from relatively nearby countries and were themselves expats. Which led to the question, what exactly was the criteria for scholarships? 3. Whoever put together the planner for the conference, didn't really get the idea of what such forums are all about, but then since this planner was approved by the management itself, put the problem right at the systemic level with this forum and the organiser HISA. The "opening ceremony" , the back to back pointless, just so basic lectures continuing till the last day... no introductory activities for participants, no working brainstorming sessions, no cultural introductions or exposure to the country you brought all of us to, not even reflections and feedback at the end of it all !!! What exactly was your purpose of this gathering- checking countries from every continent and expanding your "event management" portfolio? 4. Even the quality of lectures or speeches was so basic, clear indication of you didn't study who your targetted audience will be, for whom u needed to plan your engagement and sessions. This was supposedly a "youth" gathering, by definition youth are the most dynamic , vibrant, innovative, non-nonsense, get-to-the-point section of population and all you could deliver for them was unproductive baseless lectures from mostly senior citizens who could have been prepared ahead to upskill their delivery in more youth friendly conversational, inviting style of sessions, if the organisers played their role as facilitators. 5. I'm a working professional with years of experience in volunteering and not just attending but delivering at international conferences and workshops, I didn't see even a minute of that forum which was relevant or productive for me. And just like , there many other professionals there, who I believe will resonate my observation. The organiser knew my background during selection process, why wasn't I informed ahead that this forum is only for early stage volunteers, and can offer professionals like us absolutely nothing! I wonder if the early stage volunteers or students gained anything out of this forum. All I see that I have utterly wasted my money on this forum.

I really enjoyed my time at IVF 2026 in Budapest, being surrounded by people from around the world. In future, I would advise the team to give around 30mins- 1 hour for delegates to quickly introduce where they are from and what field they work in. This would help delegates to filter who to connect to, as there is not enough time to talk to everyone. Also I recommend name tags. Otherwise, I think this event is great and well managed!