JCI Dublin - Junior Chamber International Dublin

We are delighted to announce a new partnership with McGrattans Cafe and Bar, who will kindly offer JCI Dublin a private room for their project meetings once a week.
McGrattans are situated close to Merrion Square at 76 Fitzwilliam Lane, Lower Baggot St, Dublin 2. More details about the veue can be found on McGrattans website www.mcgrattans.ie .

We look forward to hosting meetings and future events at this location.

The New Year is always a period for new beginnings and resolution.
In JCI every year brings in a new council and creates opportunities for all members to develop in their area of choice. 

At the first meeting of the year Immediate Past President Michelle Daly presented a report of 2009 activities and handed over to the new president elect Laura Borlea.

Laura was inaugurated by JCI Dublin past presidents Michelle Daly and Mark Kelly (currenlty national President) and former JCI national president Suzanne Corcoran.

President Laura proudly introduce the 2010 council, a strong team that will support members across all the four areas of opportunity in JCI: Community, Business, Individual Development and International. 
Moreover this year there will be an extra effort taken in promotion and membership recruitment, as the main aim for the year is to raise the profile of JCI Dublin and grow membership.
Laura Borlea also welcomed the nomination of Deputy President  Ken McIntyre-Barn which will to ensure succession as well as the very important support from JCI Dublin past president in the council.
Immediate Past President – Michelle Daly
Deputy President – Ken McIntyre-Barn
Membership
Officer/treasurer – Christophe Lascore

Communications Officer – Agnieszka Legowik

Individual Development Officer – Tudor Borlea

Community Officer – Emma Hickey

Business Officer – Rahel Araia

International Officer – Julian Gay-de-Montella
The new president thank them all for the enthusiasm already shown in the first weeks of January. We are all looking forward to a busy year, full of new ideas and opportunities.

 JCI Dublin organised on the 10th November the first of a series of entrepreneurs dinners. The event was called Successful Practices for Entrepreneurs - Listen, Learn & Network - and gave participants the opportunity to meet a successful and inspiring entrepreneur while networking, sharing ideas and enjoying dinner.
The speaker was Patrick O'Sullivan, who started as an entrepreneur at the age of 23. In 2000 he launched the “Storm Cinemas” brand and developed the Group into Ireland’s fastest growing cinema chain, strategically targeting provincial locations.  When he sold the business in 2008 at the age of 39, Storm Cinemas had 6 modern multiplex locations, 42 screens, over 8,000 seats,  2 million customers per annum and an annual turnover in excess of €20m.
Patrick was a great inspiration for everybody present. He touched on very important topics related to entrepreneurship, he was very open and eager to talk to his audience.
Almost 20 young entrepreneurs were present on the night, getting involved in conversations and interacting with the speaker. They left inspired and full of new ideas.
Participants also enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere and a three course delicious dinner, while networking.
The entrepreneurs dinner was a successful blend of business, inspiration and pleasure. After the positive feedback, the organising team is already preparing the next event, which will take place at the beginning of 2010.

Every year JCI Irelad is celebrating the hard work, the success and the great learning achievements within the Irish JCI branches in a weekend long National Convention. This year the convention was held in Moyvalley on the weekend of 16th-18th October. Four first timers to this event were asked to write down their experience and their impressions.

For 3 days in October of 2009 (16-18th), JCI chapters across Ireland gathered in Moyvalley (Co. Kildare) to participate in their National Convention. This annual event was attended by nearly 100 members in the scenic settings of the Moyvalley Hotel and featured unique training sessions, teambuilding opportunities, discussions and of course- energetic social gatherings. Aside of interesting and enthusiastic activities, the convention was an opportunity for both new and long-serving members to discuss current campaigns to stay active in their communities and promote JCI. Most of all, it offered a forum to discuss activities taking place across Ireland and for all to contribute in shaping the future of JCI in this country.
Members attended special presentations on the benefits of being green for businesses and the planet, as well as an analysis of leadership styles by the reputed GRID organization. The information learned was both useful in practice as well as motivating on a personal level. With personal development being an obvious part of JCI, the convention was also successful in providing interesting networking and social opportunities. Group sessions such as Samba Drumming or Belly Dancing brought members together while learning new skills. Debates and a gala dinner, along with memorable social evenings complemented a weekend that was inspiring and fun for all who attended.
Dublin had a good representation at this event and much to be proud of looking forward to the upcoming year. Pledges were made by all delegates to remain active citizens as a close to the Convention. It is expected that promises will be kept and that motivation will remain high where next year’s theme is aimed at growth.

By: Julian Gay-de-Montella (Dublin)

After hearing about JCI through friends for some time now I decided to join about 2 weeks before the weekend of the convention. I had just got involved in the Dinner with an Entrepreneur and Friendly Business Award projects.  I got there on Saturday morning, ready for a full day of training and team building.  The morning kicked off by Adam Woodhall, MD of PeopleProfitPlanet training on how being green can benefit your environment. The training involved a presentation on the damaged to environment actions that we have take and ways to change our behaviour so we can reduce the harm it causes on the environment while saving costs. The training drove home the fact that the harmful effects on the earth would be felt in our lifetime and if we did not change our habits that contribute to the problem, it would unfold before our eyes in the not too distant future.  It was not all doom and gloom, through team activities we learned many ways to reduce our use of valuable resources in addition to recycling what we use.  It opened up my eyes, that the little things that I do such walking to work, recycling paper and use of less water made a big difference.  After the seminar I was able to add a few more to my day to day routine that can reduce the overall use of resources.
This was followed by the Leadership Grid training. I was familiar with some of the concepts before but it was good to hear a fresh perspective on things. I was able to relate to some of the situations that it resolves in the work place. It was good approach to leadership and created a positive working environment.
In the afternoon we learned some belly dancing which I have never tried but got an opportunity to do so. It was a lot of fun learning the moves and to top it all we got to perform in front of everyone. Strangely enough we did not have any guys in our belly dancing class.  I enjoyed the performance of the drums by the guys and some women. It was a great way to get to know people and connect in such a relaxed and fun environment.
      In the evening we had dinner, awards and dancing.  It was great to hear about the many contributions made by the JCI members throughout Ireland. It was inspirational to see how enthusiastic people were in the different projects that they were involved in.  It was a truly great introduction to JCI. I look forward to many more weekends and opportunities to make contributions to JCI in the coming year. 


By: Rahel Araia (JCI Dublin)

After the morning's "food for thought" participants headed for lunch and were given a chance to join one of the two afternoon workshops (Brazilian samba drumming or belly dancing) or to go for a round of golf.
This member's choice was for samba drumming - a most energetic and fun way of doing team-building! Drums in all shapes and sizes were made available to the participants by Team Samba, and with the help of the instructor everybody learned how a team of drummers can create together something more complex and better sounding than the sum of the individual drum sounds. The afternoon ended with each team performing for the other (drummers for belly dancers and belly dancers for drummers)  It was a great way to lift everybody's spirits up and get in shape for the highlight of the event, the gala dinner on Saturday night.
The Awards Dinner was nothing short of the usual JCI high standard of professionalism - a well organized, well run event, with just the right mix of speeches, food and drink. JCI Dublin took home the Best Member award, Best National Council Member award and Best Business Project award.
The night ended with dancing.
Sunday saw the Open Forum discussion and the launch of the Active Citizenship Week, after which participants headed back to their home chapters filled with renewed ambition, clearer goals and with great memories of yet another successful JCI event.

By: Tudor Borlea (JCI Dublin)

 
JCI Dublin prepared intensively for the event. We submitted entries for JCI Projects Awards, did up a great branch presentation and encouraged a high attendance by offering subsidies for participating members.

Ten JCI Dublin members participated in the convention and enjoyed the meetings, the talks, the training and the parties. A nice mix that brings members together, inspires them and creates a great atmosphere.
The weekend started Friday afternoon with the meeting of the National Council and I was given the chance to participate and represent Dublin in the discussions and the elections for 2010 national board. Three members form Dublin where put forward and got elected on next year's board including Mark Kelly, the National President 2010.
It followed an interview for best JCI branch. We presented a busy year with projects covering all four JCI areas: community, business, individual and international.
A personal highlight of the weekend was the drumming training on Saturday afternoon. Besides having an amazing time with the drumming group I discovered a real passion that I might follow in the future.
The gala dinner on Saturday was a much expected event as it showed and recongnised the great contribution of members and branches alike. JCI Dublin proudly walked away with three awards: Best Member, Best Member of The National Council and Best Business Project.
The weekend ended with an open discussion forum on Sunday. Everybody was invited to participate in the strategy discussion for next year. Some really good idea arouse from the forum and we all got clearer views on what  members are interested in and where to set the focus for next year.
For the Active Citizenship Week launch all participants were actively involved by taking a pledge and creatively signing on a huge Active Citizenship banner.

By: Laura Borlea (JCI Dublin)

At the end of July JCI Inernational organised the 2009 Summit at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The summit focused on addressing the global problem of climate change. Representatives of many National Organisations  and key partners from UN gathered to explore, propose and take action on climate change as well as to issue a Commitment to Action with the support of the UN Global Compact and the International Chamber of Commerce. Visit www.jci.cc/summit for more details.

Three JCI Dublin members represented Ireland at this event: Louise Walsh, Laura Borlea and Tudor Borlea. After hearing the presentations of UN representatives and specialists on climate change, they participated in workshops on establishing JCI's global commitments to take action on this issue.

An important part of the event was the promotion of  'Seal the Deal'. The UN campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of political will and public support for reaching a comprehensive global climate agreement in Copenhagen in December 2009.

Part of the JCI commitment is to promote this campaign through all means. Please take action by going on the website www.sealthedeal2009.org and signing the petition!

September started off with a fun table quiz to raise money for future JCI Dublin projects.
'Welcome Back The Recession'  - the '80s Table Quiz gathered 12 enthusiastic teams. The quiz was spiced up with many spot prizes, all reminding of the wonderful 80's; 'Ghostbusters', 'Garfield' and 'Cocktail' DVDs, pink accessories and a singing doll where the highlights. Participants put their memory to work in domains like music, movies, TV, politics and history and brands that no longer exist while chewing childhood sweets.
It was a fun night and we thank the organising team: Emma, Louise, Aga, Chris, Anthony, Laura, Michelle and Mark and other JCI Dublin members who helped out for the great work!
Also thanks to everybody who participated and joined us for this event!

This years’ JCI Presidents Day celebrations were hosted by the Dublin chapter of JCI, which indeed did a great job at providing a varied and interesting agenda. The meeting on 18th July 2009 gathered over 40 attendees in the lovely location of London College Dublin on Merrion Square. While the National Council had its meeting, all other attendees were guided through chosen pathways of Dublin by Laura Borlea, the Vice President of JCI Dublin, who impressed everybody with a concept of seeing ‘Dublin thru the eyes of an artist’. All present had an opportunity to improve their sketching skills which were later judged and recognized by Laura.

July meeting of JCI Dublin began with a 30 minute training on JCI for guests and new members. Michelle Daly, JCI Dublin President, introduced the structure and basic concepts about the organization. This 30 minute introductory session is taking place before each monthly meeting.

Next item on the agenda was the adoption of minutes for June and May meetings followed by a presentation of the upcoming international projects provided by Vincent Rives, International Officer of JCI Dublin. Vincent talked about JCI Leadership Summit at the UN in Geneva, as well as JCI World Congress in Hammamet, Tunisia. Contact Vincent for more information: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Geneva: 27th-30th July 2009, http://www.jci.cc/summit/
Tunisia: 16^th-21^st November 2009, http://www.jciwc-hammamet2009.com/

Michelle Daly took the stage after that and introduced the project ran together with Down Syndrome Ireland. All attendees were asked to volunteer. Contact Michelle to participate: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Next Agnieszka Legowik, Communications Officer of JCI Dublin, gave a short introduction to the upcoming event- JCI Presidents Day- which will be hosted by JCI Dublin on 18^th July 2009. Contact Agnieszka to register: agnieszka.legowik@jcidublin.com.

Fundraising for the Dublin chapter of JCI was another topic discussed. Michelle Daly mentioned briefly the Cinema night project which is in its initial stage. The project aims at organizing a show of a chosen movie in one of central cinemas in Dublin. All profits from ticket sales will be used to subsidise participation of JCI Dublin members in JCI evens, as well as to support future projects  in JCI Dublin.

Another fundraising idea was introduced by Emma Hickley who invited everybody to get involved in the Table Quiz project which was launched a week before. Similarly, all profits will support the JCI Dublin cause. You can contact all of the above mentioned JCI Officers to enquire about those projects.

JCI Dublin is also running a project aimed at young entrepreneurs. The Responsable Entrepreneur is a group where participants enrich their business knowledge, get help from people with different skills and get advice that brings new perspectives to their business ideas. Cezar Gonzales gave a great presentation about this project and encouraged member and non-members to participate. Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it for more information.

Next topic was mentioned by Michelle Daly who gave us an overview of X-factor debating. This  was a national debating training, where three JCI members were selected to be part on the Irish debating team representing JCI Ireland at international events. Michelle Daly is one of the three proud members.

Eva Eckert, active JCI Dublin member was named member of the month for her efforts in coordinating the  trip of fellow Jaycees from JCI Westfallen.

This session was finished with training on mentoring given by Laura Borlea and Michelle Daly. The trainers introduced the idea of pairing more and less experienced Jaycees as mentors and mentees. Both parties involved would benefit from learning new concepts and new skills and would get a better understanding of what kind of organization JCI is. The presentation was warmly welcomed by all participants who admitted that the concept of mentors and mentees should be introduced to JCI Ireland.

Official meeting was followed by social gathering in Howl at the Moon.

Agnieszka Legowik
JCI Dublin Communications Officer

Laura Borlea represented JCI Dublin and the National Youth Council at a recent EU Youth Event organised by the current Czech Presidency of EU. The conference on future youth policy took place between 2nd - 5th June in Prague, Czech Republic.
120 Participants from all over Europe discussed the new Youth Policy Communication, which will be adopted by the EU Commission in November this year. They had the chance to discuss with government representatives from all EU countries and to suggest ways of implementation of the  youth strategy.
The thematic fields were Volunteering, Education, Better understanding of Youth, Research, Information and Participation, Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship, Employment, Social inclusion, Health and Sport.
If you are interested in these topics and how they affect your life and the lives of young people in Ireland, there is an opportunity to express your opinion and make your voice heard.
The National Youth Council of Ireland will organise a consultation meeting with young people on the 5th September in the European Parliament House on Dawson Street, Dublin 2.
Details will be posted here and on the International NYCI website.

• Dublin Georgian Door
• Trinity College
• National Library of Ireland
• National Gallery of Ireland

Don't miss the chance to win the sketch competition! The prize will be given to the most creative sketch.
Lunch will be served at the National Gallery of Ireland, followed by a training session in the afternoon: Selling Yourself in a Recession - Techniques to improve your self confidence and assertiveness.
Registration will start soon. Watch out for updates or contact us for more information at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Be part of the organising committee! It promises to be a great experience. Members, trial members and potential members are all welcome.
Contact Laura for more info ( This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it )

Download the flyer here >>

JCI Dublin welcomed a number of speakers to Dublin Monthly meetings in
London College Dublin in the past three months including Tony Bates,
CEO of Headstrong.ie who spoke about Mental Health for Young People in
Ireland and intriduced members to the organisation www.headstrong.ie.
In April Lisa O Shea, Fundraising Director at GOAL was in house to
talk about the activities of GOAL in Ireland and across the world.
Members of JCI Dublin were volunteers subsequently at The Goal Ball on
May 15th 2009.
Goal has been chosen as JCI Dublin Charity of the Year.
In May Frank Rock, Director of Harvest.ie spoke about Motivation in
the Current Climate. His words have really envigorated the members of
JCI Dublin to get involved in GOAL and in Down Syndrome Ireland
projects over the summer.

Also visiting JCI Dublin in April was national president Orla Ryng and
international Vice President Berthold Deeks. Both of these guests were
presented with small tokens to honour their visit by JCI Dublin 2009
President Michelle Daly.

Spring Conference was well attended by JCI Dublin this year, President
Michelle Daly and International Director of JCi Dublin Vincent Rives
were at the event in Galway. Mark Kelly was there as national deputy
president and took part in the National Public Speaking Competition.
Mark, Michelle and Vincent all took part in the National Debating
Competition, losing out to a victorious Fingal team in the final.

By Michelle Daly,
JCI Dublin President

  A large project for JCI Dublin this quarter was the Down Syndrome
Ireland Ice Cream Sunday which was held in Dundrum Shopping Centre on
Sunday the 17th of May. The chapter had no less than ten members and
prospective members volunteering for the charity on the day in
question. Two members from JCI Dun Laghoaire also were involved in the
fundraisng activity and it was a good opportunity for co-operation
between the two chapters. Patron of JCI Dublin, The Lord Mayor,
Councillor Eibhilin Bryne was on hand also to view the festivities and
members got to meet The Lord Mayor, who thanked them for their
volunteering work. Over €7,000 euro was collected by the tireless
members of the JCI Dublin team on the day. Down Syndrome Ireland are
currently appealing for individuals and families to host their own ice
cream party and to raise funds for the organisation. Contact
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it for any details.
 

By Michelle Daly
JCI Dublin President

JCI Dublin has been busy over the past few weeks organising it's
twinning project with JCI Chateau Gontier in France.
The Twinning Project idea originated from the trip to Chateau Gontier,
which was organized by JCI Dublin President in 2008, Mr Kevin Guerin.
It is his home chapter although he has not been involved in it. JCI
Chateau Gontier is one of the most active and the most involved and
successful chapters in the world. Almost all JCI Dublin members who
took part in the trip last year decided that they wish to establish a
mutual cooperation with the French chapter. The objective is to
exchange personal visits, ideas, projects and culture. Together with
JCees from Chateau Gontier we are trying to find out if it is possible
to launch an exchange program between students of Horse Riding Schools
in France and in Ireland.

By Aga Legowizik

Eight of Ireland’s most inspirational young people were honoured on 16th of May at an Award Ceremony in Marlay House, Dublin. The Outstanding Young Persons of the Year Awards, presented by Junior Chamber International (JCI) Ireland, are part of an international awards programme whose past winners include John F Kennedy, Bill Clinton and Hector Ó’hEochagáin.

JCI Dublin had two winners at this years event. Sean Keenan, an avid athlete from Longford and Sean Coughlan, CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland.

Seán Keenan was nominated for his outstanding achievements in sports over the last number of years. These achievements range from playing basketball for Ireland in at the Boston Celtic Stadium in 1999 to setting a Connaught record for the 1500 meters in Claremorris for the Connaught games. In 2001 he defended his title and took one minute off his previous best. He was also selected to be part of an elite Athletic team to partake in the European Championships in Debrecen in Hungary in August that year and to travel to Shanghai, China for the World Games in October 2007. Sean has achieved all of these amazing accomplishments, despite his prognosis at birth that he would never walk. He is a great ambassador for Down Syndrome Ireland and has achieved a number of accolades.

Another JCI Dublin nominee, Sean Coughlan is the Chief Executive of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, an Irish not-for-profit organisation established to encourage and support the development of social entrepreneurship.
Sean believes that by launching Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and by encouraging others to join the movement, he can help to create a space for social entrepreneurship in modern Ireland. Social Entrepreneurs Ireland supports the early stage development of social entrepreneurs and consists of technical training, peer networking, mentoring and links to other social entrepreneur networks. 
Sean personally helps to keep Social Entrepreneurs Ireland funded through both private foundations and individual donations.

The ceremony in Marlay House was a great success. JCI Dublin members Louise Walsh, Mark Kelly and Emma Hickey were actively involved in the organisation of the event. Michelle Daly, the JCI Dublin President and Stephen Murray from Galway were MCs for the night. 
JCI Dublin members Laura Borlea, Kevin Guerin and Anthony Moran supported the organisers team and enjoyed the awards ceremony and inspiring speeches of the winners.

By Laura Borlea,
JCI Dublin Business Officer

Five runners representing JCI Dublin completed the 2009 Paris Marathon
on April 5th last raising €450 for Nothing But Nets in the process.
The four members also met with JCI Paris as part of their weekend trip
to Paris. The runners who completed the race were Laura Borlea, Tudor
Borlea, Vincent Rives , JCi Dublin International Director who
organised the trip and the event, Kristy Clarke and Farouk Habibi. JCI
Dublin is very proud to have runner who have raised thousands for
Nothing but Nets and who have completed the Paris and Dublin Marathons
in the last twelve months.

By Michelle Daly
JCI Dublin President

Dear Friend,

I am writing to you as President of Junior Chamber international Dublin. We are a youth organisation that celebrates young people in Ireland and across the world today.

Junior Chamber International Dublin are currently searching for Dublin nominees for this years JCI Dublin Most Outstanding Young Person of the Year. The Outstanding Young Person of the Year awards are an annual initiative by Junior Chamber International to recognise outstanding endeavour and achievement by young people both nationally and internationally. The awards have been in existence for over 50 years internationally and for nearly 30 in Ireland and continue to recognise the true potential of our young people.

As an organisation that specialises in helping the community and in developing Dublins philanthropic heritage we think that you might have a couple of people who are worthy of such a title. Entrants must be living in Dublin and must be between the ages of 18 to 40 year

They should have excelled in their field whether it’s helping the community, research or education, musical ability, contribution to politics, or excelling in Sport. Past winners in Ireland have been Caroline Casey ‘Kimchi’, Mark Pollack, Adventurer, in the global competition past winners have been Elvis Presley and JFK.

We would really appreciate your help in finding someone to enter this year’s competition. Just send us their name and contact details and a paragraph as to why they would be a perfect candidate to the Most Outstanding Young Person of the Year 2009.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Michelle Daly,

President 2008, JCI Dublin.