2015 Annual Report Junior Chamber International United Kingdom
www.jciuk.org.uk
Dear Members, 2015 was a special year for JCI both in the UK and globally. There are so many amazing memories that will always stay with me, but what will you remember as your highlights during the course of the year?
Welcome Drew Charman 2015 JCI UK National President Senator #73605 drew.charman@jciuk.org.uk
At the end of 2014 I outlined what the year ahead would hold for JCI UK and its members, as well as introducing the Feel Proud theme that we would embrace. Since then we’ve celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the birth of the JCI movement, we’ve reflected on JCI’s amazing history, the journey we’ve taken as an organisation, our achievements along the way & also paused to consider where we’re heading in the future. Now, following the conclusion of a great JCI UK National Convention in Barnsley at the end of November, it’s time for some reflection on JCI UK’s 2015 and I hope that this Annual Report will bring a smile to you as you remember some great moments that you and your chambers helped make happen. Our number of chambers across the UK grew yet again as we welcomed JCI Swindon and JCI Kensington to our family. Our Academy Suite – Marketing Academy, Public Speaking Academy & LEAP continued to build its reputation as one of the best across JCI globally with many members attending both from within JCI UK and indeed internationally, with other national organisations looking at it as an example of best practice and one to replicate in their own countries. We saw a strong set of key strategic partnerships established to help strengthen our organisation and to provide a collaborative platform upon which to flourish going forwards. We continued to build our links with the UK government via the Cabinet Office. We carried on working closely with the US Embassy seeing the Ambassador and his team visit local chambers across the UK and seek out JCI members to participate in the Embassy’s youth leadership programme. We also worked with other JCI national organisations such as JCI Malta on their amazing Small Talk inter-cultural exchange project – one of our most successful collaborations this year. I am in no doubt that these partnerships will enhance our offering as a membership organisation and will only help to assist in ensuring the survival of JCI within the UK. Of course, I can’t possibly look back over 2015’s achievements without mentioning the fantastic fun we had at international level. We were represented by great delegations at most international events during the year including the national conventions of JCI Scotland and JCI Ireland, European Conference in Istanbul, European Academy, JCI Academy, EU Know-How Transfer, the Global Partnership Summit in New York, and most recently at World Congress in Kanazawa, Japan. We continued to punch well above our weight in the international awards programme with the outcome being that we were shortlisted at World level, were close runners-up in the final of the global Debating competition and, arguably more importantly, recognised as the most successful organisation at European level as we witnessed our best haul of European awards in a very long time, winning more than any other National Organisation in Europe.
Contents 1 2 2-3 4-5 6 7-8 9 - 11 11 - 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Welcome Inspiration Day JCI UK Academies European Conference Small Talk TOYP National Convention World Congress Barnsley, Bradford Cambridge. Canary Wharf Doncaster, Kensington Leeds, London Manchester, Rotherham Sheffield, Southampton Swindon
My challenge to each and every one of JCI UK’s members and Senators was to carry on building our recent momentum, whilst also recognising what a great organisation JCI is and what great work we all complete on behalf of JCI on a daily basis. I wanted us all to Feel Proud to be a part of JCI and to show the rest of the world who we are, what we are and what we can achieve. Well, I hope that we went some way to achieving that! I’ve now signed off as JCI UK’s National President and handed over to 2016 National President Sarah Beckwith and her team. I know that 2016 will be an extraordinary one building on what we have achieved during 2015 and indeed over the past few years. It has been an absolute honour to serve as your National President and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for a truly great and memorable 12 months. Whilst 2015 may now have drawn to a close, our work continues. Let us keep building that momentum, let us keep challenging ourselves, let us keep achieving our goals, but most importantly let us all Feel Proud in everything we do and keep Choosing Extraordinary! Drew
Publisher: JCI United Kingdom, PO BOX 6638, Grantham NG31 9BX Designer & Editor: Ryan Pilkington, Drew Charman Printed by Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. The publishers cannot be held responsible for the statement or views expressed by the contributors.
JCI Manchester kicked off the year with JCI UK’s first national event, Inspiration Day. Held in Manchester on 31st January, the full day event saw members from across the UK come together to start the 100th year in style. Hosted by the JCI Manchester team the day consisted of a series of awards to recognise the success of the JCI teams in 2014 followed by talks from two of Manchester’s most renowned business faces. Joy Kingsley, JCI Senator and senior partner at JMW Solicitors talked of how JCI has impacted her life in such positive ways. Joy is a former president of the Manchester chamber and an inspiration to those just getting on their own JCI and career ladders. In the afternoon, we were joined by Vikas Shah, Swiscot entrepreneur, writer at Thought Economics and of course JCI TOYP award winner. Vikas shared the stories of his determination to push forward regardless of various challenges (both personal and professional), and was a true inspiration to all those in attendance. Vikas is one of the most celebrated businessmen in Manchester (and beyond) and it was a pleasure to hear his story and share his experiences. The 100th year of JCI started in true style and JCI Manchester thoroughly enjoyed hosting such a great event. Thank you to all those who attended, here’s to another 100 years!
The
JCI UK Academies
JCI UK’s suite of academies is a series of weekend events running throughout the year, where members from chambers across the country gather to learn new skills in a supportive, interactive and practical environment. The academies are designed to help members contribute to developing their local organisations and gain life skills that will be invaluable in their professional and personal lives. In short to be better: better communicators, better leaders, better citizens. Kicking off the year in March was our most established Academy. Set up in 2011 and therefore entering its 5th year in 2015, Marketing Academy seeks to address the complex question of marketing and has changed every year as the digital tools available to us develop and grow. Delegates from Barnsley to Southampton and from Birmingham to London took the opportunity to brush up their marketing skills and learn how to use an ever growing set of marketing tools to position their chambers and/or businesses effectively in the public arena. They were asked to really think about the organisation they need to market, what messages they wanted
to convey, how to utilise the tools available to them in order to do so and also how to effectively build and use strategic partnerships to help further their marketing reach. The delegates spent a packed weekend completing many practical tasks, writing their own marketing plans and even producing their own video clips – the first for many of them – before enjoying the chance to utilise what they had learnt when presenting to their fellow Academy attendees and the organising team as part of their graduation requirement. “I would recommend the course to anyone with an interest in marketing or if they’re thinking of getting more involved with their chamber. This weekend, not only did I learn more about the many different platforms that marketing has, but I also developed my confidence and made new friends who are passionate about JCI.” Leanne Bolan, JCI Barnsley
The ability to communicate orally is an essential life skill, but one that makes many people nervous. Back for the second year, JCI UK’s public speaking academy is all about increasing the confidence of the delegates in how they speak in public. The academy is kept purposefully small, so that the delegates get as much practice as possible, with each being asked to write and deliver a speech throughout the weekend. Professional voice coach, Cathleen McCarron, also joined us to teach the delegates about the physicality of the voice and the power of storytelling. “JCI UK PSA 2015 has been epic. The trainers were great and I have left feeling much more confident in my own skin when giving a speech. My improvisation has improved and I now feel more comfortable on the spot”. - Georgina Freeman, JCI Leeds. Our Leadership Excellence in Action Programme returned for the fourth year over the weekend of 21 to 23 August. The academy aims to develop the rising stars and future leaders of JCI UK. Through interactive seminars, team building exercises and group work, delegates learnt about their own natural personality style, how to work with those with different styles, team dynamics, motivation and conflict management. Succession planning, encouraging members to develop new skills and putting those skills into practice are strong themes of the academy. The organising and training team was made up of members who had been LEAP graduates in the past couple of years, plus experienced trainers who also acted as mentors. Before LEAP I used to say that I was “finding my feet” with regards to JCI. But this is no longer the case now as I’ve gained a much better appreciation of what the organisation has to offer. The magic worked its effect and I am now a fully fledged Jaycee convert! I am now very much looking forward to apply the skills I’ve learnt in LEAP. Be it as training director of the London chapter next year; in the two Toastmasters club I preside; Or in the workplace!
JCI European Conference 2015 A delegation of 39 intrepid JCI UK members and Senators attended the 2105 European Conference in the vibrant city of Istanbul where the East meets the West. With the sun shining in a warm welcome, the JCI UK delegation touched down and prepared themselves for a very full 5 day programme of training opportunities, seminars, workshops, business tours, cultural excursions, sports opportunities, speaking competitions, networking, and, of course, great social events. The first day started with training sessions offered before the Opening Ceremony in the evening, including an official JCI course run by JCI Sheffield’s very own Mark. Members of the JCI UK delegation eased themselves in with the traditional Welcome Drinks Reception organised by the National Board, where members and Senators gathered for drinks in order to get to know each other and be given information about what to expect during the conference and what key events to attend. That evening everyone dressed themselves in their finest Union Jackage for the Opening Ceremony. The theatre was a sea of colours with all Jaycees wearing their respective nation’s colours. The ceremony included welcoming the Chief Delegates from each country on stage, as well as performances of traditional Turkish dance. In a change from the norm, the order of the entrance of Chief Delegates was changed from alphabetical to affiliation date order and therefore National President Drew came out 3rd rather than towards the end, receiving big cheers and lots of flag waving as he revealed a Union Jack waistcoat in a particularly memorable flash on stage. Then, once the Conference was officially open, it was time for the first party! The second day of the Conference commenced with the Morning Show where JCI Barnsley, JCI Bradford and JCI Sheffield were all recognised for completing ‘Project Impact 100’ initiatives which had each impacted over 100 people in their local communities. During the second, third and fourth days the Conference had a full programme of training, keynote speakers, business tours and guided excursions around the historical city of Istanbul, all in addition to the General Assembly where loads of good decisions for JCI Europe were being discussed and taken and, of course, where National President Drew & Deputy National President Sarah unfortunately had to spend most of their time attending! With so much to see and do, the JCI UK delegation made the most of the many opportunities, throwing themselves into every activity and ensuring they had lots of fun along the way. JCI UK was represented in the Debating Competition by a strong team consisting of Captain Ben Hawley (JCI Barnsley), 1st Speaker Mark Smith (JCI Sheffield) and 2nd Speaker Charlotte Scothern (JCI Rotherham) who enjoyed their experience debating before succumbing to the somewhat enthusiastic antics of the team from JCI Latvia in the Semi Final. Charlotte also proudly represented JCI UK in the Public Speaking Competition following her win at the 2014 National Convention in Canary Wharf. On Friday night it was the Finlandia party night, hosted by JCI Finland - the host of this year’s European Conference in Tampere, Finland. The Finnish members certainly know how to throw a party and a good night was had by all. This was a real chance to get up close and personal with lots of other members in a vibrant little club, with many also taking to the street outside of the venue to enjoy their drinks in the warm air.
Come Saturday evening it was time to for the delegates to put on their dinner jackets and cocktail dresses for the European Awards ceremony and Farewell Ball. The UK delegation met for a Pre-Gala Drinks Reception where the tradition of the fun JCI UK ‘Not-theAwards’ Ceremony was continued with members being awarded for their antics during the Conference. Topping it all off, the JCI UK delegation experienced an exhilarating final night at the Farewell Ball and Awards Ceremony witnessing our best haul of European awards in a very long time and winning more than any other National Organisation in Europe – a truly sensational achievement! JCI UK won 5 main awards with 4 other entries also being shortlisted (making the Top 3 of their respective categories). If that wasn’t enough we also had a win in the First Timers Competition AND were recognised with a Gold Award from the UN Foundation for our Nothing But Nets fundraising! Details of our achievements are listed below: Awards Won Most Outstanding Local Project - JCI Sheffield (Time to Rise) Most Outstanding New Local Organisation - JCI Canary Wharf Best Local Economic Development Programme - JCI Sheffield (Time to Rise) Best Local Personal Skills Development Programme - JCI Sheffield (Be Better) Best National Growth & Development Programme - JCI UK (Chamber Taskforce) First Timers Awards – Heather Ransom (JCI London) UN Foundation Gold Award – JCI UK (Nothing But Nets fundraising) Shortlisted Entries (Top 3 placing) Most Outstanding Local President - Ben Hawley (JCI Barnsley) Most Outstanding Member - Ryan Pilkington (JCI Sheffield) Best Local Personal Skills Development Programme - JCI Rotherham Best Local Growth & Development Programme - JCI Manchester Following the Awards Ceremony was the Farewell Ball where members enjoyed a sumptuous sit-down buffet dinner with plenty of food to choose from and music to dance the night away to before heading home and preparing to return to the UK.
JCI UK members fly the flag during JCI Malta’s Small Talk programme During late September 2015, 10 lucky JCI UK members participated in a fantastic ‘nearly-all-paid-for’ cultural exchange training programme in Rabat, Malta that focussed on inter-cultural dialogue and inclusion.
therefore learnt a lot on that day, bringing new perspectives and a reconsideration of opinions on the current migration and political situation within Europe.
Initiated and led by JCI Malta, the Small Talk programme saw the JCI UK participants join others from JCI Estonia, JCI Jordan & JCI Morocco, as well as JCI Malta, to reflect on issues which are common to all of us; a Europe which is made up of different cultural minorities and how we can improve dialogue between the different cultures co-existing in one country. The programme focused mainly on three issues:
On the fifth day the participants attended a symposium on the opportunities and challenges of an intercultural society where they had to the opportunity to discuss those issues with a MEP, journalist and an NGO President. They also took part in a best practice sharing session where the delegates delivered presentations on topics they care about, had previously mastered or wanted to discuss with their peers. This provided an interesting opportunity to hear about different projects, opinions and skills that JCI members have and can bring to the wider organisation. The sixth and final day witnessed the culmination of the programme, with the delegates attending a graduation ceremony where they were awarded the Youth Pass – an official European certificate which assesses key competencies to be better 21st Century citizens. To top the whole week off they were treated with the amazing opportunity of meeting the President of Malta, Her Excellency Marie Louise Caleiro Preca, discussing with her what they had learnt throughout the week and showcasing how JCI is working towards finding sustainable solutions to the issues highlighted by the programme.
1. Inter-cultural dialogue enhanced through inter-cultural communication 2. Inclusion and young people within a European context 3. Project Management and active participation of young people During the week long programme the participants discussed the opportunities and challenges of an intercultural society - inclusion, immigration, cultural resemblances and diversities – and took part in various team-building and team work activities specifically designed to highlight these issues. Arriving on Saturday night, the first day of the programme allowed the delegates to settle into their sunny surroundings, meet their fellow participants and prepare for a busy week ahead. Fully refreshed following a group meal and some sleep (!), the second official day saw the attendees participate in a team building activity in Valetta where they had to achieve some specific challenges whilst finding out more about the city, its history and culture as well as learning how to work in team environment. The third day was more challenging and saw the attendees participate in a ‘LOST’ simulation, where they were split into five different teams with instructions to build a bridge to get water but with the added difficulty of each team being given particular cultural characteristics, values and behaviours that no other team knew about. The JCI UK members remarked that it proved very interesting to take into account all those new elements to eventually work all together and build the bridge in the allocated time whilst ensuring they were respecting their new cultures as well as that of others. Later that evening, the JCI UK members had the honour to meet 2013 World President Chiara Milani for a JCI Fair. She spent time explaining her experiences during her year as World President, her achievements and provided the participants a great opportunity to ask her questions about JCI, its history, and the various projects and goals of the organisation. President Milani made a very interesting point about leadership on that day when she stated that “a leader has the responsibility to do what is right; not what is popular”. The fourth day brought emotional challenges as the attendees visited a refugee camp in order to talk to some of the migrants there and find out more about their experiences. Some of the JCI UK members later reflected that they were not really prepared for this particular element given the little exposure the UK has to this type of situation and that they
The Ten Outstanding Young Persons programme is designed to recognise the accomplishments of ten individuals who are truly outstanding in their chosen field and demonstrate the JCI values in what they do. During 2015 JCI UK ran a national programme to search for TOYP honourees and, for the first time, this culminated with an awards ceremony which took place during the JCI UK National Convention in Barnsley in November 2015. The 2015 Honourees were as follows:
LUKE ADDISON
Humanitarian and/or voluntary leadership. Whilst at University in Winchester Luke was inspired to set up a branch of Rotary Rotaract. Through Rotaract Luke arranged Charity collections for the Philippines Hurricane disaster, End Polio Now and Children in Need and collaborated with other young people in similar organizations –to establish a charity Sports Day, a music festival for Oxfam, a direct-action approach to homelessness and various events for a local children’s hospice.
LEWIS BOWEN
Business, economic, and/or entrepreneurial accomplishment. Lewis Bowen is the founder of AIR (previously known as Geco Industries), a cleaner fuel company set up to make alternative energy affordable and accessible. Having entrepreneurial spirit since a very young age, Bowen incorporated AIR on the same day of his last exam at Sheffield Hallam University. His idea was to create a business that can change the way the world uses fuel, tackling the challenge of 2 million deaths a year from indoor air pollution.
ZAFRAN MOHAMMED Moral and/or Environmental leadership. Zaf is a Community Liaison Officer at South and City College. He is a Pride Of Birmingham Award Winner and a National Diversity Award Winner. His passion is to change lives and he has 13000 youths signed up for his academy. Youths who lacked direction in life and were engaged in crime. In June Zaf was awarded the British Empire Medal after being nominated by Prime Minister David Cameron for setting up All 4 Youth And Community and other initiatives.
JANE BURSTON
Moral and/or Environmental leadership. Jane Burston is Head of Climate and Environment at the National Physical Laboratory, the UK’s national measurement institute. She manages the Environment Division, a team of over 90 scientists who deliver metrology research and scientific R&D for government and commercial stakeholders, in gas metrology, trace analysis, emissions monitoring, atmospheric metrology, earth observation and optical metrology. Jane also manages the Centre for Carbon Measurement at NPL, which represents all of the climate change and low carbon technology across the lab.
SOPHIE CARRIGILL Personal improvement and/or accomplishment. Sophie first started playing wheelchair basketball in September 2010 after having a severe car accident at the age of 18 which left her with life threatening injuries, fighting for her life and also paralysis. Her doctors believed it was a miracle that she survived at all. Within three years of starting to play Wheelchair Basketball she represented Great Britain in the European championships, her first international tournament and then was selected as the team Captain for the World Championships in Canada last year.
NATHANIEL PEAT
Personal improvement and/or accomplishment. Nathaniel Peat is multi-award winning entrepreneur, and international professional. He is the co-founder of GeNNex a renewable energy company operating in Africa and the Caribbean, CEO of The Safety Box and also Chairman of JamIn UK. In 2015 was invited to a special leadership gathering on Necker Island where he spent a week with Sir Richard Branson, was awarded the 2015 JCi TYOP Award and was a finalist in the British Black Business Awards. Nathaniel is a Board member & Trustee to the EY (Ernst & Young) Foundation, a qualified Pilot and has a passion for youth development.
ELIZA REBEIRO Humanitarian and/or voluntary leadership.
MATTHEW OTUBU Political, legal, and/or governmental affairs.
Eliza Rebeiro founded the charity LIVES NOT KNIVES at the age of just 14 as a campaign to make people aware of the dangers of knife crime. It has since moved towards supporting young people into education, employment and training.
Matthew Otubu serves as a Trustee and NonExecutive Director of the International NGO and youth-led development agency, Restless Development. He is a 2014 Global Scholar at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, as well as an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). He is a UNICEF UK Children’s Champion, and an #iwill Ambassador for Step Up To Serve, a national campaign led by HRH Prince of Wales- to increase the number of young people involved in meaningful social action by 50% by the year 2020. He also sits on the Step Up To Serve Business Pioneer Representative Group.
Lives not Knives works with a broad range of young people up to the age of 24, as well as a great number of local businesses – forging the connection between young people and prospective employers. The charity aims to assist young people by developing their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as independent, mature and responsible individuals.
ALICE DRIVER
Personal improvement and/or accomplishment. Alice Driver is a theatre producer who uses her experience that she has gained in the West End of London and combined this with her previous life within training and development to deliver theatre productions and projects to inspire and develop individuals. For the last five years she has utilised this to support the recovery of Wounded British soldiers alongside the MOD and the Royal British Legion. This was a first for the MOD and since then the work has been seen by 50,000 audience members around the UK and Canada, won the Amnesty Award for Freedom of Expression and had a BBC1 documentary made of the work, Theatre of War, but most importantly it has helped to change the lives and support the recovery of over 200 soldiers and veterans.
VIKAS SHAH
Business, economic, and/or entrepreneurial accomplishment. Vikas started his first business aged just 14, he’s since been the founder and CEO of a number of successful ventures, and currently has interests in textiles, commodities trading, brands, film production and consulting. He is also Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship with MIT Sloan on one of the world’s most prestigious MBA programmes, and holds board seats on a number of government, private and public sector panels, managing £ billions in assets. Vikas is an award winning writer, and now spends about one third of his total time actively working in philanthropy, and works with charities around the world.”
JCI UK National Convention – a fantastic way to finish off the 100th Year of JCI! Between 20th - 22nd November, over 120 JCI members from around the UK and Europe came to Barnsley to attend the 2015 JCI UK National Convention. They were also joined by National President Drew’s VIP guests – Executive Vice President Steven Wilson, Vice President Nikola Cvetkovic and fellow National Presidents from JCI Scotland, JCI Ireland, JCI Malta, JCI Sweden and JCI The Netherlands. National Convention is always the flagship event in the JCI UK calendar and bids a fond farewell to the year, celebrating the achievements and successes through the year from across all of the UK chambers. The precedence of the event was even more so in 2015 as it also marked the end of the JCI organisation’s 100th Anniversary celebrations within JCI UK, so Conference Director Ben Hawley and his Conference Organising Committee really wanted to make sure the weekend was a truly memorable one and one which everyone could Feel Proud of. Whilst the event only ran over the weekend, the planning for it had actually started over 18 months before. Both the COC team and the entire membership of JCI Barnsley, along with the JCI UK National Board, really wanted to make sure that members who came along to the Convention had a truly memorable time, whist using the opportunity of hosting such a big national event to help promote JCI on a local level. The Convention commenced on Friday with a Business Day, witnessing an additional 100 attendees from the surrounding business community arriving throughout the day. With key note speeches from a medal winning Paralympian, sales experts, leadership trainers who work with sports stars and top companies, and the TOYP Awards ceremony, there was something for everyone. Delegates also had the opportunity to hear the entries for the annual Public Speaking competition. These were, yet again, completed at a very high standard, making the judging panel’s decision on a winner a very hard one. Congratulations to Ilona Alcock, representing JCI Manchester, on her win – we look forward to cheering her on at the 2016 European Conference as she represents JCI UK. Friday evening is always Party Night, and this was no exception as delegates dressed to the occasion for a toga themed party. Members were treated to some fantastic fancy dress, the Extempore contest, Beer pong and Battle shots, which witnessed a renewal of the ‘Old Enemy’ rivalry between JCI UK and JCI Scotland as National President’s Drew & Stan went head-to-head. It may be a little partisan for us to say so, but we were proud to see Drew come out as the triumphant victor! Saturday was the main day where the Morning Show, a range of training sessions, National Council, and the Debating competition
all took place alongside a full day’s Senate programme during which the Senators visited a local brewery and the local museum. An hour of free time then commenced during which the delegates got ready for the glittering gala dinner and National Awards ceremony. Saturday evening was all about celebrating the past year of success for JCI UK’s chambers and members alike, and everyone was treated to a truly memorable evening in a beautifully decorated room. A list of the National Award winners, the winners of the speaking competitions and also the recipients of the National President’s Discretionary Awards can be found at the bottom of this article. Before the Awards ceremony got going fully, however, everyone was treated to the unique entertainment of two reenactors demonstrating the art of gladiatorial fighting. It’s fair to say that they both really got into the spirit of the fight! Delegates were also treated to the traditional Friendship Speeches from the National Presidents of JCI Ireland and JCI Scotland, reflecting on their year of impact and fun alongside JCI UK National President Drew, which of course also provided a good opportunity to have a few laughs as Drew’s expense! Sunday was held at a slower pace, with a couple of training sessions and the chance for delegates to relax and catch up with friend old and new before they departed home. A big ‘thank you’ goes out to Conference Director Ben and his team for the execution of a fantastic National Convention weekend. Feedback received from attendees confirmed that the weekend witnessed one of the best National Conventions they have been to. The conference baton has now been passed on to JCI Manchester who will host the 2016 JCI UK National Convention – whilst they have a very hard act to follow, we know they run a really good event so make sure you’re there!
The
Award Winners
Public Speaking Competitions Public Speaking Champion = Ilona Alcock (JCI Manchester)
Best Social Project: JCI Rotherham (Come Dine with Us)
Debating Champions: JCI Yorkshire (Mark Smith, Amy Melody & Charlotte Scothern)
Most Outstanding Programme: JCI Barnsley (Shine, Laugh, Challenge, Grow, Connect)
Best Debater: Kathryn Haines (JCI Southampton)
Most Outstanding Regular Local Publication: JCI Sheffield (Steel City News)
Extempore Champion: Stephanie Smith (JCI Sheffield) First Timer Competition First Timer Award = Lindsey McAteer (JCI Doncaster) Main Awards Best Local Community Empowerment Programme: JCI Manchester (Charity Programme) Best Long-term Local Community Programme: JCI London (London to Ghana Project) Best Local Growth & Development Programme: JCI Manchester Best Inter-Organisation Collaboration Project: JCI Sheffield (Twinning Is Winning with JCI Mayo) Best Local UN MDG Project: JCI Sheffield (Nothing But Nets fundraising)
Most Outstanding New Member: Célestine Onomo (JCI Southampton) Most Outstanding Preparation by a Deputy: Victoria Odey (JCI Southampton) Most Outstanding Member: Neal Stirk (JCI Sheffield) Most Outstanding Local President: Mark Smith (JCI Sheffield) Most Outstanding Local Organisation: JCI Sheffield National President’s Discretionary Awards Most Outstanding Senator = Julia Lea, #63407 Most Outstanding Leader = Ben Hawley (JCI Barnsley) Most Outstanding Legacy = Sarah Beckwith (JCI London) Senatorship Awarded Dan Senter, #74665
JCI World Congress 2015 A 32 strong delegation of JCI UK members and Senators made the long-haul trip to Japan in November to attend the 2015 World Congress. Lasting six days, the Congress was an extra-special affair - with a predicted 14,000 delegates expected to attend, it was billed as one of the biggest conferences that current JCI members would ever attend. The Congress also witnessed the culmination of the year-long celebrations of the 100th Anniversary of the birth of the JCI movement adding to the uniqueness of the event. We’re sure most of you will have kept up with the posts on Facebook & Twitter at the time, but what happened during those fun-filled days in the Far East? Commencing on a Tuesday afternoon with the JCI UK Welcome Meeting at the APA Hotel Kanazawa Ekimae, our base hotel, lots of action-packed days and great nights were had with the JCI UK delegation making the most of the many opportunities, throwing themselves into every activity and ensuring they had lots of
fun along the way. Whether it was National President-spotting at the Opening Ceremony (you couldn’t miss our National President Drew as he made one of the more memorable entrances with his Union Flag umbrella - typically British!), attending the 4 Morning Shows, joining our BANSI friends for dinner and drinks (which made the local press!), participating in training sessions and workshops, going on cultural excursions, watching the Public Speaking & Debating competitions, catching up with friends old and new whilst enjoying the various party nights hosted by different countries, attending the Awards Ceremony or enjoying the final night’s spectacular gala – there really was something for everyone. Many members of the delegation extended their time in Japan by heading onto Tokyo via bullet train after the Congress had finished. Here, cocktails in the sky bar at the Park Hyatt hotel (famous from the film ‘Lost in Translation’), trips to karaoke booths every
night and excursions to DisneySea seemed to be the order of the day. Many memorable adventures were had before happy, but tired JCI UK members and Senators touched back in good Ol’ Blighty – some not helped by the ongoing strikes by Lufthansa crew at the time. National President Drew managed a round-the-world trip in making his way back home – that’s commitment for you! We asked JCI Sheffield’s Matthew Wong to provide an account of his experience of this amazing event. Here’s what he had to say: “I participated in the JCI World Congress in Kanazawa, Japan. I knew this was going to be a special event because it also marked the 100th Anniversary of the JCI movement and boy, was I not disappointed! I have to admit, the 9 hour time difference threw me somewhat but, who has time for jetlag when there are training sessions, excursions, keynote speeches, the trade show, General Assembly, competitions and yes, even parties to get to!? Zooming in on a Shinkansen (bullet train), we made it just in time for the JCI UK Welcome Meeting. There, we were given an outline of what to expect throughout the week, what some of the National Board would be getting up to, as well as a chance to meet with members of JCI I had not met before. The rest of the day consisted of settling in to my new home in Kanazawa and preparing for the Opening Ceremony later that evening. If you attend no other element at a JCI international conference, make sure you attend the Opening Ceremony. It’s like the Olympics where you get people from (almost) every country in the world dressed up in national dress and waving LOTS and LOTS of flags!! Countries get to cheer as their National Presidents come on to stage. There were speeches from the Organising Committee, senior figures within JCI, the local government and even a member of royalty, Princess Mako of Akishino, granddaughter of the Emperor of Japan! JCI conferences are great because you are able to choose which events you’d like to go to based on your preferences and what you want to get out of it. The first training session I attended was “Japan for Beginners”. This was really great as we got an introduction to the language (came in very handy for finding the loo!) and the culture (I absolutely love Japanese culture, I’m from Asia myself but I’ve never experienced anything like it!). Other training sessions I attended included a motivational talk on “Finding the Magic in You” as well as a session on “Turning your passion into wealth”. One of my highlights of the Congress was watching JCI Sheffield Local President, Mark Smith, lead the JCI UK team of debaters in the Debating Competition. It was inspirational and I am so proud of them for making it to the finals. Another highlight (as is the case with almost every World Congress) was the“Global Village” night. This is an event where every JCI member country gets the opportunity to man a stall to showcase something (usually culinary) from their corner of the globe. Naturally, JCI UK served Gin & Tonic (shaken, not stirred) and chocolate. Popular consensus declared our stall to be the favourite in the hall. Okay, this may be a
bit biased, but hey, we were still buzzing with people when most other stalls had finished! An element of every JCI international conference is the opportunity to go on excursions. My experience involved visiting the neighbouring town, Kotmatsu, and making Udon noodles from scratch! Yes, flour did get everywhere, and yes, some pieces of noodle were fatter than the others, but it was realluy fun to make and even tastier to eat!! I could go on and on and on about everything that happened at the JCI World Congress but really, unless you experience it for yourself, you may not fully appreciate the value, the buzz and the realisation that JCI really is an international organisation and JCI members are making a difference in every part of the world each and every day. JCI World Congress (and the same applies to other conferences) provides an opportunity to celebrate our success.”
The
Chambers
President: Tracy Anderson Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • Planted over 500 trees in a locally deprived area and in doing so chamber was recognised on an international level for a Project Impact 100 initiative. • Raising nearly £600 and increasing awareness of our charity of the year, Barnsley Independent Alzheimer and Dementia Society (BIADS) throughout the year. Money has been raised from the annual dinner, bake off and Biking 100 miles in the Alhambra shopping centre. • Delivering a varied personal development programme to include professional skills such as time management to something a bit different like crocheting and golf! • Hosted the 2015 JCI UK National Convention. • The chamber has strengthened links with the chamber of commerce and increased the JCI brand awareness within the local businesses community by actively networking. What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? This year’s community programme is one to be proud of. The chamber has built a relationship with the charity BIADS. They have been active supporters of our fundraising events by judging at the bake off and selling their calendars while we biked at the shopping centre. We have helped create awareness of the charity by handing out leaflets at the mayor’s parade. Not only have we raised money in our community programme but we have logged nearly 200 ACE hours this year, by planting trees and volunteering at the Rainbow run. Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: JCI Barnsley is known as the social chamber and in 2015 we kept up that reputation up by having at least one social a month, including regular favourites such as our pub quiz and the annual train pub crawl. JCI Barnsley members have been engaged and love to travel to other chambers events, with attendance at both international conferences in Turkey and Japan, all regional and national events. Members have stepped outside their comfort zones to try something new, During the year members had a go at the public speaking events such as extempore, debating and public speaking through to the Not the Vicious Circle event President’s Comments JCI Barnsley is one of the strongest chambers in the UK and this is because of its members. I have been a very proud president this year, especially because of the packed programme we have delivered alongside organising the JCI UK National Convention. Our programme has also attracted members from other chambers and we are very grateful of the support. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported JCI Barnsley this year.
President: Philip Cockayne Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • Managing to put on a dedicated training session every month on a variety of different topics from Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) to marketing to leadership • Succession planning and putting in place a plan to ensure a smooth handover to the 2016 council team • Building relationships with Bradford University, the Student Union, Bradford Young Professionals Network and Bradford Young Entrepreneurs Society • Launching a monthly Public Speaking Group where members and non-members can gather in a friendly and constructive environment to practice public speaking. Headed up by Phil Cavalier Lumley, this sees between 5 and 10 members attending each month. What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? Bradford is well known for its success around the community work we do, headed up by our exceptional Community Director, Michelle. The four projects we’ve run this year (of which we are all equally proud of) are: • Easter Egg Appeal – collecting Easter Eggs via local businesses and individual donations and distributing them out amongst local charities (over 2200 collected this year) • Knitting Project – new project for this year collecting knitting squares for pre-mature babies and Leeds and Bradford infirmaries. Collected over 200 from members, local knitting groups and other chambers from across Yorksire • Harvest Festival Our series of training this year have been well run and very well attended. Ranging from NLP, Marketing, Leadership and Management, PR, Social Media, Successful Living and Sales – these sessions saw between 5 and 10 members and non-members attending and engaging with the chamber. We also launched our monthly Public Speaking Group – designed to provide a frequent set of structured yet informal training sessions for members and non-members to practice public speaking in a friendly and constructive environment. Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: JCI Bradford has built on 2014 and managed to continue growing its membership base (largely thanks to a very successful relationship with West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce). Our training and community events for this year have been a great success and we’re in a great position for the new 2016 team to continue our growth strategy and continue reaching wider, more diverse audiences to deliver the message and benefits from JCI. President’s Comments: Despite some bumps along the way, the success of this year in terms of membership growth, more well attended training events and a bigger and more engaged council team has shown how JCI Bradford has gone from strength to strength. We’re likely to finish the year in excess of 20 members and ready for 2016 with a very new and diverse council
www.jcibarnsley.org.uk
team. In two years we’ve gone from 4 to 20 members and will continue growing through 2016 due a firm set of partnerships, better exposure across the city, some new, well-engaged members and a great team to drive it forward. Bring on 2016!
Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: • A chamber focussing on learning and development through workshops. • A diverse range of professionals in finance, legal, engineering, computing, business, marketing and the arts. • A supportive and engaging group of individuals. President’s Comments: I am proud of what each member brings to JCI Cambridge and what has been learnt through the course of the year, with the key theme of the workshops having been the mind and the self. I am pleased that members have become more engaged and willing to organise events as the year has passed on and that Abishek Reddy has been successfully appointed as next year’s president, ensuring continuation of the chamber, with a successful handover of information and further engagement of members being needed in the remaining couple of months of 2015.
www.jcibradford.org.uk www.jcicambridge.org.uk
President: Ben Goddard Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • Holding a successful workshop every month, including: Goal Setting Session; Brief Mindfulness; Positive Psychology; Negotiation Skills; Improvisation; Growth Coaching, Motivational Mapping; Facet5 Personality Profiling; Managing People’s Performance; and Music Mixing. • Bringing the members and senators closer together through events, a mid-year planning session and generally greater dialogue • Keeping the members informed about upcoming events and more about JCI through the very frequent mailchimp newsletters. • Holding the JCI South Summerfest this year. • Holding interesting socials, including: Chinese New Year Feast, Comedy Club and the Cambridge Beer Festival meetup. What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? JCI South Summerfest – Having roughly 70 attendees (50 attendees at peak) through the day session, including a number of senators. This day included talks from two JCI Cambridge senators, punting, a tour of the town, games in the park and an evening meal. This was a well-run event, requiring the support and efforts of a number of members of the chamber and helped to bring members closer together
President: Andy Hessey Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • The key achievement of the year has been the chamber continuing to build on its strong launch in 2014 despite a number of challenges through 2015 such as a change in President half way through the year. • The other key achievement was being shortlisted as one of the four “Most Outstanding New Local Organisations in the world” in Kanazawa after winning the “Most Outstanding New Local Organisations in Europe” What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? I am most proud of the last social drinks evening we held at the beginning of November. This was a turning point in the year for our chamber and
there are a number of reasons for this including the fact that we had a couple of highly motivated JCI people (Marco Van der Heuvel and Simon Ong) in attendance along with two very interested potential new members. Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: 2015 was a challenging year for JCI Canary Wharf but the chamber has shown its resilience with new members coming along to events and joining. We continue to work hard to show how much JCI Canary Wharf can give to the young people in the area and look forward to a great 2016. President’s Comments: We have some amazing members and some wonderful ideas. JCI Canary Wharf is aiming to build on successfully navigating a challenging year to become a bigger and better chamber in 2016 with a strong team and great events. Watch out world, we are coming to get ya!
www.jciuk.org.uk/canarywharf
by members who were new to the JCI organisation. Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: The chamber had to almost start from scratch with an entirely new committee team after losing a lot of members who moved out of the area. 2015 has seen development of our members, especially the committee team who have worked hard to create a schedule of interesting and successful events. Overall we have seen some good progress this year and look to continue it into 2016. President’s Comments: 2015 has been a year of learning the ropes for most of the members and committee however the hard work put in by all of our members means that we are in a good position to grow Doncaster into a successful and busy chamber in 2016.
www.jciuk.org.uk/doncaster
President: Kris Kerins
President: Nisaa Jetha
Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • Establishing a new and focused committee • Organising a successful Regional Event for Yorkshire Day • Establishing monthly training sessions as part of a development and training scheme • Getting 2 additional patrons for JCI Doncaster • Getting active members back into double figures
Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • Launched in the House of Lords with Baroness Verma • Energy Governance Campaign aligned to SDGS • International summit on Career Development in strategic partnership with “Career Breakthrough Conference 2015” • Being recognised by multiple thought leaders in the industry • Having other chambers travel down to attend our event and host international speakers
What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? The event we are most proud of was our event for Yorkshire Day. We had attendees from around the UK including Southampton, Bradford, Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley. It was our most attended event of the calendar year and was organised
What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? The House of Lords Event was quite substantial as we were able to do something on energy governance and the SDGs before the JCI-GPS and the Adoption of the Post 2015 Agenda. We had the key- players on our platform at the top of their field and launched our first initiative in the
highest House of Parliament. Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: The Chamber is new and seeks to provide an outlet for young entrepreneurs in the start-up scene located in West-London. Our council team comes from an array of backgrounds from: Legal/governance, Marketing, Strategy and Pharmaceuticals. Our moto is “No limits” as there are no limits to what we can achieve and seek to provide disruptive innovative outlets for young professionals in new industry sectors. President’s Comments: I founded the Chamber in order to provide an outlet for the West-London based JCI. We are starting slowly and seek to affiliate once we have a strong membership base but have various tangible projects we seek to pursue this year.
Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: 1. Our chamber is a welcoming place where everyone is respected and appreciated for who they are and what they can bring to the team. 2. The success of our events now reflects the budding relationships between our members. 3. JCI Leeds is now an environment for young people to strive to succeed to become the best active young citizen into their community. President’s Comments: I’ll keep this short otherwise I’ll be here hours but in a nutshell, we have learnt a great deal this year and all I can see now for 2016 is positivity. I feel that although there have been lots of great ups and some not so great downs this year we have developed as a chamber to make 2016 the best is can possibly be. Everyone has been a credit to each other and if I’m honest I don’t think if each member would have played their part as well as they have then JCI Leeds would not be where it is now! I’m proud of everything and everyone this year and I hope this will continue. Here’s to a great 2016! Comments provided by Georgina Freeman (2016 President).
www.jcikensington.org.uk
www.jcileeds.org.uk
President: Alex Byers
President: Soraya Bowen
Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • Increase of engagement from members • New strategic partnerships • The workability of the council team • Marketing strategy and improvement of marketing methods • Great regularity of events has been established throughout the year.
Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • London2Ghana project continuing to impact and delivering 700 books • Three members graduating from European Academy and one graduate, David Khanna, now 2016 Deputy President • Abdul Kader Jandali now International Director on 2016 JCI UK National Board • Our corporate partnership with Commonwealth Bank of Australia • Having a TOYP honouree
What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? I have been most proud of our launch event that we carried out in January. The majority of the people that attended the event were not JCI members and it was lovely to see new faces becoming interested. It has been great to see how some of these people have become members and also see how they have grown over the year.
What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? It would have to be the London2Ghana project. The project is now in its third year this project continues to contribute to Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To date we have impacted over 2500 people from different areas of Ghana. We have built great relationships
with JCI Ghana and JCI Accra Royale and locals. We have focused on tackling malaria and now focusing on education to reduce poverty and support primary schools education. We delivered 700 books which means each child in LA primary school will have access to at least two books each. Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: JCI London is the most international chamber in the UK and possibly in the world. We pride ourselves on being engaging and bringing together a diverse audience, that want to create positive change in society. In an environment where we see much conflict we demonstrate that diversity can be unity. President’s Comments: I am pleased to see the continuation of the London2Ghana project and the support of the Sustainable Development Goals. I would like to see Peace Week grow into recognised movement in London and more UK chambers taking part in our project. It great to see more chambers in the London region working towards affiliation. Here’s to a great 2016!
www.jcilondon.org.uk
Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: JCI Manchester responds to the needs and wants of its core membership which is very different to the membership demographic of the rest of the UK chambers. We concentrate largely on professional development and focus on the business aspect when considering events and projects. Consequently we have secured new corporate members throughout the year and this increased event attendance figures, which results in membership growth and consequently sustainability. President’s Comments: I’d like to see the implementation of our new project ‘JCI Brilliance’ and it to follow in the footsteps of the MYTA and become a programme which is something that attracts news members to JCI Manchester and what JCI Manchester is known for. We plan to amend our corporate membership offering to make it more flexible for businesses and thus hopefully grow our corporate membership base. We’re very excited to be hosting National Convention 2016
www.jcimanchester.org.uk
President: Kim Holden
President: Charlotte Scothern
Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • Increasing membership by 25% • Attending an international event and hosting a national event (Inspiration Day) • Increasing awareness and publicity of our MYTA, having been reported by several local newspapers • Winning 2 national awards and a certificate of merit • Having a TOYP honouree
Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • Winning all the regional competitions • Representing JCI UK in the World Debating Competition • Our social programme Come Dine with Us winning a Yorkshire Award • Lewis Houghton winning Best New Member certificate of merit at National awards • Meeting the needs and goals of our own members
What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? It would have to be the MYTA. Although in its 6th year, we now feel it has a real place in the calendar of the business community and holds genuine credibility and kudos. Being the winner of a JCI MYTA really enhances an individuals CV and really assist in the advancement of their career.
What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? Most proud of our public speaking programme, the various training sessions allowing the chance to learn and practice frequently alongside the support to take part in regional competitions has lead to 60% of our members having taking part in competitions and the chamber winning all of them.
Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: We are a fun, friendly and exiting chamber. We have created links and partnerships within the borough. We are a small but strong chamber with passionate and engaged members. President’s Comments: 2015 was all about establishing our self as a chamber, finding our identity what works for us and our members. We have established great links within our local community and signed up new patrons. I am so proud to have seen the journey and development of our members, they have tried new things, challenged themselves and pushed their boundaries.
program and invited applications from small local community, voluntary and charity groups to apply for funding that JCI has raised years ago from running the Lord Mayors Parade. Applicants had to demonstrate how their organisation fits with the values and ethos of JCI and how the funding would have a positive impact on at least 100 people. Members joined the assessing panel where applicants pitched for the grant. Successful applicants included a dementia support group, a women in construction arts and technology organisation, a community development group and a group working with older people. Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: JCI Sheffield and our members have ‘been the change’. We have ‘felt proud’ for the impact we have made. We are well known nationally and internationally for our award winning activities. President’s Comments: I am extremely proud of the way in which our members have pushed themselves outside their comfort zones this year and there are so many examples where individuals have grown significantly in confidence, skills and abilities, getting involved with or leading on projects that they wouldn’t have imagined themselves doing. We have raised funds and given volunteering hours to support our official charities Age UK Sheffield, RSCPA Sheffield, SAFE@LAST and Nothing But Nets. We have aimed to raise our profile this year and we are pleased that more people know about JCI Sheffield through our online monthly magazine, social media presence and other PR activity. We look forward to ‘achieving awesome’ in 2016.
www.jcirotherham.org.uk
www.jcisheffield.org.uk President: Mark Smith Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • Launch of monthly online magazine Steel City News • Maintaining and further developing our strong twinning relationship with JCI Mayo in Ireland. • Recognising and celebrating 100 years of JCI movement for example, engagement with Past Presidents and members (Five Weirs Walk, Past Presidents Dinner, Debating Contest with current members Vs Alumni) • Award winning chamber – 3 European Awards and shortlisted in top 4 for most outstandingmember (Ryan Pilkington), 7 JCI UK National Awards including ‘Most Outstanding Chamber’, ‘Most Outstanding Member in the UK’ (Neal Stirk) and ‘Most Outstanding UK Local President’ • Running events and activities that were different to our usual program e.g. first aid training, street dance training, CV and interview techniques workshop. What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? There are so many to choose from but we were delighted with our Project Impact 100 Small Grants Program. We devised a small grants
President: Max Thompson Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • Membership Growth • Community Fundraising • Entrepreneurship Conference • Engaging Training Sessions • Gala Dinner.
What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? Entrepreneurship Conference because it was the first which we organised and we had 100 people attending. It exposed us to a great number of individuals and raised more awareness about JCI Southampton in our community. The speakers were amazing and their feedback was very constructive and supportive. Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: It has been an exciting year during which JCI Southampton strived for perfection once again. We worked very hard on organising monthly events and monthly training session to appeal to a wide range of individuals. Our members were very supportive in our journey to raise money for our charities and were very driven as well.
JCI Swindon is now known in Swindon by other key organisations, which includes the Swindon Borough Council, local Toastmasters club, Business West and even other young professional clubs in the region President’s Comments: 2015 has been a very challenging year and yet very rewarding. Although small, JCI Swindon has managed to organise monthly workshops, created a very ambitious project and got its first new member to the world congress. As we get closer to the end of the year, JCI Swindon is becoming a known brand in Swindon and has started generating a buzz. 2016 will be challenging but I look forward to active recruitment of new members and moving forward to affiliation.
President’s Comments: I would like to thank all my council for being very supportive and engaging in all our activities. I understand that to volunteer it takes time and effort but everyone showed a great amount of commitment to our cause, our organisation and our community.
www.jcisouthampton.org.uk
President: Faisal Mooraby Top 5 Achievements of 2015 • Launching the chamber • Linking with Business West, Forward Swindon and the Borough Council • Creating our first project • Linking with another chapter in Japan, through our project • Achieving milestone of first 4 members What event/project/programme have you been most proud of and why? Promoting Swindon to JCI Hamamatsu in Japan, by compiling a video with clips from our Sponsor’s videos. Sum up your chamber and its members in 2015 in three sentences: JCI Swindon is small but the members are keen to learn and explore.
www.jciswindon.org.uk