Hello, my name is Henkhenk Broekhuizen, member of Mensa Netherlands since 1994. First I was a National SIGHT coordinator, and for 6 years now I've also been the International SIGHT Coordinator, actively helping traveling members to connect. 

SIGHT stands for Services Information, Guidance & Hospitality for Travelers. SIGHT aims to help traveling members to get info about their destination(s) from local members, perhaps also meet for talks & a coffee, perhaps also staying with a SIGHT host if he/she can offer a place to sleep. A SIGHT host has the possibility to help out members travelling from overseas or other members closer to home (some people cannot travel for various reasons).

SIGHT is a great way to discover a country, experience other cultures and, in lots of cases, make long-lasting friendships.

In my role I have met so many people from very different places. It is really rewarding to know (and hear!) how much they benefit from the SIGHT program and to know that we, as SIGHT coordinators, have helped them with their travels.

I’m Natalie, 26 years old and a board member of Mensa Switzerland. I joined Mensa in November 2019 and became an active member in February 2020 by doing the technical editing of our magazine “Mensa Inside”. 

In September 2021 I was co-opted as the 5th board member and started working as Head of Marketing. By now I am responsible for the Gifted Children, Regions & Events and Mensa Inside. 

My time as a board member enriched my life in many ways. Mensa gives me the platform to meet a lot of new people and offers a place for self-actualization. I have already gained a lot of knowledge in all the departments I’m active in and I’m eager for more. Mensa even gives me the opportunity to do an intervention study about volunteerism for my master’s thesis in business psychology. 

The possibilities are wide, convince yourself of this by becoming active for your Mensa chapter!

In group tests, I am more than a supervisor. For the candidates, eager to take what some of them believe to be “the most important test of their lives” and which will give them the long-awaited answer of a lifetime, I am the image of an international association. And, in the midst of all the tension of that moment, combined with the candidates' expectations and curiosity about Mensa and the life of an “officially super gifted person”, I ask myself what led me to volunteer?

As a volunteer, I’m always seeking to be the person I wish I had met when I was young, who would introduce me to people like me and encourage me to be who I am, as I am and not anybody else. Whether in the chess matches of the tournaments I organize (Brazilian National SIG of Chess) or in face-to-face meetings between Mensans where time passes unnoticed between deep conversations and laughter, I feel that my duty has been fulfilled. As a reward, I am happy to know that I am part of the lives of my peers, and that my small actions are simple but enough for me to be, even for a brief moment, the person who makes a difference in their lives.

I’ve been in Mensa over twenty years and have made incredible friends; many are members I’ve met at local events I’ve planned and hosted. Volunteering this way lets me try new things and expand my social circle, as well as providing the satisfaction of being part of members, meeting other members and building friendships.  

I’ve organized different events: dinners, parties, classes, tours, mini-golf…  For years, I’ve picked a restaurant monthly and scheduled a dinner out. A typical dinner has fifteen or twenty members and guests discussing every subject under the sun (although I admit I’ve declared them politics-free). Sometimes, they’ve even had a (social) purpose—to find the best Italian food in town or to select which beer to serve at an upcoming Gathering. My Mensan husband and I host a Games Night regularly; usually twenty of us eat, drink, talk, and play games, sometimes late into the night. 

During Covid isolation, I planned on-line mixology and cooking classes. Those events kept me and many others from being socially isolated during the time none of us were going anywhere.  

What all these activities have in common is that every time we get together, conversation can take two people from being just acquaintances to really getting to know each other and becoming friends. Friendship is what I joined Mensa to find—and that’s what I hope everyone else finds, too.

I volunteer with Mensa International because I want to make friends across the world!

My role as Assistant Constitutions Review Officer (CRO) is to help each national Mensa keep their governing documents compliant with Mensa International’s governing documents.

Observing how our International Society manifests across different cultures, languages, and traditions - all while sharing the same basic nature and purpose - has enriched my Mensa experience.

I whole-heartedly recommend volunteering with Mensa International for anyone that wants to deepen their Mensa understanding and broaden their Mensa relationships!

Hello there. I'm Rie Banzai.

I am a member of Japan Mensa's steering committee. My role is helping to activate interactions among members, mainly by organizing official events, such as annual gatherings, new member orientation sessions, anniversary celebrations and so on.

While it requires a significant portion of my personal time, I find immense value in dedicating myself to these responsibilities. As a member of the Mensa community I'm able to deepen my interactions with members both domestically and internationally. Additionally, the process of collaborating with the entire team to bring events to success provides a satisfying sense of achievement.

My journey with Mensa began in 2015. Shortly after joining, I had the opportunity to attend the IBD held in Japan. This experience sparked my interest in creating official goods for our members. Since then, I have been able to make friends and had a wonderful time in this Mensa society because many volunteer members have held nice events for us Japan Mensa members until I took on the role of a committee member in 2022.

Now, as a volunteer staff myself, I see smiles on the faces of those who attend the events our team organizes together which are an important team building contribution. These smiles bring me profound joy, reinforcing my belief that this happiness is the essence of being part of Mensa.

Even when meeting new members for the first time, I feel a connectedness to that of family.

Participating in volunteering activities brings me an irreplaceable sense of fulfillment, and I can confidently say that I am fortunate to be part of this community.

Furthermore, I am honored to serve as a committee member for AMG 2025, which will take place in Japan. I eagerly look forward to meeting members from around the world and forming lasting friendships.

As the LocSec of the city of Pécs in Southern Hungary, I am responsible for organising activities for the local group.

We have monthly meetings with a lecture by either one of our members or a local celebrity or scientist. We then have dinner together, chat and play board games until the venue closes. We have also manned a Mensa stall at several festivals, entertaining festivalgoers with mechanical puzzles and meaningful conversation.

I volunteer for Mensa because the local group of Pécs has become my second family. I love meeting and talking to them, and we can always count on each other’s support. I met so many good people in Mensa, and some of them have become true friends.

Volunteering as a Malaysian Mensa Test Officer allows me to contribute to identifying and nurturing intellectual talent in the community. The role involves planning and executing test sessions, ensuring fairness and confidentiality, and coordinating with fellow volunteers.

It's a fulfilling experience that fosters personal growth and connects me with like-minded individuals passionate about intellectual exploration.

I’m Satriadi and I joined Mensa in April 2012. I’ve loved being in Mensa, since it has enhanced my network by enabling me to get to know other Mensa members from all around the world through gatherings and online interactions. Aside from becoming a proud and active member, I’ve also actively volunteered since 2016 and I was eventually elected as the Chairman of Mensa Indonesia in early 2023.

By becoming a volunteer, and then as a board member, I’ve had the privilege of understanding and experiencing how Mensa works as a global and premier organization. I’ve also had the opportunity to shape our national Mensa in the direction that's in line with what our members aspire it to be - in this case, a social-impact organization that makes a solid contribution to the world. 

Mensa is a place where every member, regardless of age or experience, can contribute and make an impact. Just imagine what we can create together.

There’s an easy answer to why I do this work, and why I believe that spreading awareness about gifted children to teachers and parents across the country has value. I believe that teachers that know different, do different. I believe that knowledge can change the future, and that the right knowledge can give the next generation the opportunity to reach their full potential, a chance me (and many like me) never had.

I want more for the child that was told to stop being rude because he asked too many questions, or for the child who had to erase all the math she did, because she had «gone too far».

I want more for my daughter.