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European Conference in Maastricht

I attended the Junior Chamber European Conference in Maastricht in June 2007. This was my first conference and indeed my first international experience with JCI in general. I had heard from many people of the tremendous experiences they had at such events in such places as Tallinn and Vienna and I was anxious to experience it for myself. I was assured by those ‘in the know’ that it would be an incredible experience so my expectations for the week were high.

Cormac O’Connell – JCI Dublin

Pre-conference training – LEAD

I decided well before the conference that I wanted to meet as many fellow European ‘Jaycees’ as possible. Not only to get different points of view and experiences but also to develop future links and friendships between the Dublin chapter and our European neighbours. For this reason I decided to attend the 2 day LEAD training course on the Tuesday and Wednesday before the Conference began. LEAD was being run by Mcdara Hosty in the Maastricht Business School. He was assisted by two other trainers; Deniz Senelt from Turkey and Katie Ridland from Scotland.

I was pleased to see that amongst the 18 attendees there was quite a diverse range of nationalities including Finnish, Swedish, Icelandic, English, Catalan, Austrian and Belgian. The trainer, Mcdara got everyone started with the ultimate icebreaker which involved each delegate hugging each other in turn and wishing each other a good conference. Once that was out of the way we got down to the business of training. I was a little apprehensive at first as I heard that JCI training courses could be quite intense involving long hours and little sleep! However, I need not have worried.

We were split into groups and we went through a series of models and techniques for ‘reaching the top’ with regards to our leadership goals within JCI. One exercise that I found particularly useful was the ‘Climbing to the top’ model. This imagined that your goal was akin to getting to the top of a mountain and you identify the tools you need and the opportunities you can exploit as well as the threats you identify along the way. As homework, each group were to identify a goal and design a plan to reach this goal using the ‘Climbing to the top’ model. Each group then would have the opportunity to make a 5 minute presentation to the class on the morning of the second day. Our group identified the following goal: ‘to make our chapter the organisation of choice for young people in their twenties and thirties’. We created our model and put a presentation together using PowerPoint. We were finished by 10.30 that night – not too late! We made our presentation bright and early on Wednesday morning. We did quite well considering we went well over our allotted five minutes.

Other modules in the LEAD course examined the hand of the JCI Leader. This identified the five roles of a good leader including: Manager, Visionary, Coach, Educator and Ambassador. We then spent a bit of time examining each role and did a series of role plays identifying the characteristics of each one. As a practical exercise, one of our trainers, Deniz, took us outside with a ball of string and a stopwatch. The group were to create a web of 18 holes using the string, tied between two trees, and once created each member had to be able to pass through one of the holes without touching the sides. This was quite a challenge and was designed to test not only our leadership skills but also our ability to work together as a team. It took some time to come together but we managed it in the end.
Back in the classroom again we finished up by looking at the eight core competencies of the leader – IMAGINE. These could be broken down (alongside Imagination) as:
Innovative
Motivate
Action
Genuine
Integrate
Negotiate
Empathic

We then proceeded to link these competencies with the five roles of the JCI Leader in order to know the relevance that the competency has in the success of the chosen role. In order to better understand the linkage we were split into pairs and given role plays to carry out where each pair would present one of the leadership roles and competencies and the group had to determine which ones they were.

We ended the training at 4pm on Wednesday, 2 ½ hours before the opening ceremony. Each participant was awarded a certificate by the trainers and we were sent off on Wednesday evening with a renewed vigour and a positive outlook about our futures in JCI.

Conference Training/Seminars

First Timers meeting
Once the opening ceremony was complete and the conference was underway properly, the only problem seemed to be deciding which of the myriad number of training courses and seminars to attend. There seemed to be a training course for every taste whether it was for business or personal development. In order to get my bearings, I attended a first timers meeting in the Business School on Thursday morning. There was quite a large group of people there who appeared to be as lost as I was. The meeting was hosted by Hendrik Odman, Vice President of Area D. He filled us in on JCI in general and informed us of what to expect during the week. We were also privileged to have the World President, Scott Greenlee visit us as well and he also welcomed us to our first conference.

The Secrets of Body Language
This training session was run by Niko Visuri from Finland. This proved to be a very popular training session, so popular in fact that he decided to move the location from a training room to the foyer outside. This made it difficult at times to hear what the trainer was saying, however as the subject was quite visual in nature, that did not pose a big problem. The trainer explained the various types of body language and how they could be interpreted in a given situation. He also covered how certain gestures can be interpreted completely differently in different languages and cultures. This was a very entertaining session which made me very self conscious about how I fold my arms and use my hands!

Designing your way to financial freedom
This also proved to be a popular training session with attendees and was run by Katerina Zenina. This training was designed to get you thinking about your own financial situation, identify your financial goals and what steps you could take to reach them. What was unique about this training session was, rather than stand there and tell us what to do or how to do it, the trainer facilitated the training session and encouraged participants to come up with their own goals and the pathways to achieving these goals through a series of visualization techniques. I’m sure many people left the session with new financial goals and ways of achieving them.

Functional Food Seminar
I also attended a seminar in the main conference hall entitled ‘Interactive seminar with Functional Food: What can we expect from food’. This was a presentation on different types of healthy foods and was at times quite technical and hard to follow. However, what was unique about this training session was that there were a couple of cooks on stage who cooked up various types of food and these were then served to the audience by an army of waiting staff. I’m sure the logistics of doing this provided quite a challenge for the organisers.

Debate on Europe
I also attended a debate on the future of Europe which was also held in the main conference hall. This debate was hosted by Graham Hanlon, European Conference Chairman.

Social Maastricht

As well as attending seminars and debates, there were also ample opportunities to socialise and meet new people. After the opening ceremony there was a Dutch night held in Maastricht with food, drink and a Robbie Williams look-alike. Each night there was an after party held either by the Turks, the Germans or the Finnish. I also took the opportunity to go on a walking tour of Maastricht wit ha native tour guide. There is a lot of history in this ancient city with the Romans establishing themselves there in 00AD. Finally the black tie ball held in a castle in the countryside marked the end of the conference and proved to be very enjoyable with looks to eat and drink and great entertainment to be had.

Conclusion

My first JCI international conference was quite a positive experience and lived up to my expectations. Not only did I get to meet JCI people from every corner of Europe and beyond but I also gained valuable insights into how JCI functioned and the people who worked hard to make it work. The training seminars were fascinating and my only regret is that I did not have time to attend more. JCI conferences are a great opportunity for socialising and I am glad to say that I have made a number of new friends and contacts that I fully intend to meet again at the next conference I attend.

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Junior Chamber International (JCI)

... is a worldwide network of nearly a quarter of a million members – young leaders in their 20s and 30s – in over one hundred countries and territories. Through various local, national and international projects and events, JCI members meet, learn and grow. JCI also has millions of alumni, many of whom support active members.