JCI Dublin - Junior Chamber International Dublin

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)