Junior Chamber International

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Junior Chamber International

Founder(s)	Henry Giessenbier, Jr.
Type	Service / NGO
Founded	December 11th, 1944
Headquarters	Chesterfield, Missouri, USA
Origins	St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Key people	World President Graham Hanlon Secretary General Edson A. Kodama
Area served	Worldwide
Focus	Individual, Community, International, Business
Method	Community service
Members	200,000
Slogan	Be Better
Website	www.jci.cc

Junior Chamber International (JCI) is a worldwide federation of young leaders and entrepreneurs, with nearly a quarter of a million members and millions of alumni. It’s an organization in which leaders meet, learn and grow.

[edit] Philosophy

[edit] Mission

The Purpose of JCI shall be to contribute to the advancement of the global community by providing the opportunity for young people to develop the leadership skills, social responsibility, entrepreneurship and fellowship necessary to create positive change.

[edit] Vision

"From within the walls of the soul of this organization, where in the foundation of character and citizenship are laid, we hope a message will come forth in the sometime of tomorrow that will stir the people toward the establishment of a permanent and everlasting world peace."

[edit] Values (Creed)

We believe:
That faith in god gives meaning and purpose to humand life;
That the brotherhood of man transcends the sovereignty of nations;
That economic justice can best be won by free men through free enterprise;
That governments should be of laws rather then of men;
That earth's great treasure lies in human personality;
And that service to humanity is the best work of life.

[edit] History

*Quoted from the Junior Chamber International Website History Page*

The origin of JCI (Junior Chamber International, Inc.) can be traced as far back as 1910 to the city of St. Louis, Missouri, USA, where a young man named Henry "Hy" Giessenbier dared to dream "impossible dreams." Giessenbier was born June 26, 1892, and was raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He was one of six children in the Giessenbier family.

The son of a German father and a kind-hearted mother was to rise out of this tapestry with a vision that would lead to the establishment of the world's foremost organization for young people. Henry Giessenbier was to create the structure that would motivate young adults across the country (and later, around the world) to blend their voices to create improvements in themselves and their communities.

In 1910, Giessenbier and his friends first formed the Herculaneum Dance Club with the main objective of advancing the social standing of its members. He frequently invited community leaders to speak to the group at its regular meetings. In 1915, Colonel Huse N. Morgan, a powerful orator, argued to the Federation the case for constructing a major parkway through the city. In so doing, he struck a responsive chord with Giessenbier who was realizing that there was more to life than dancing. That objective changed when Giessenbier realized how much more young people could accomplish for their communities and for themselves if, inspired by noble ideals, they worked together. About a week later, the young banker was telling Morgan about an "idea" he had to organize a group of men, ages 18 to 30, with the purpose of: "... bringing the young men of our great city together into one grand body with that great purpose of fellowship, advancement and everything which would make a good boy a better boy, a good student a more proficient scholar and a good citizen a better citizen."

Morgan, whose parkway hopes would ultimately fail, recognized the potential in the 21-year-old's concept and offered his help. Following a trip to Cleveland to look into the young men's business club there, and investigating similar clubs in other cities, Giessenbier felt that none matched his lofty intentions.

Five years later, encouraged by Colonel Morgan, Giessenbier and 32 other young men formed the Young Men's Progressive Civic Association (YMPCA) on October 13, 1915. Giessenbier envisioned young people participating in the civic affairs of their communities to help and benefit people of all ages. YMPCA grew to a membership of 750 in less than five months. The association went on to dedicate itself to bringing about civic improvements and giving young people a constructive approach to civic problems.

Extending Locally and Nationally

The very next year, 1916, saw another name change as the YMPCA became "Junior Citizens," commonly called "JCs," which later became "Jaycees." Their work so impressed the St. Louis Junior Chamber of Commerce that they asked these young men in 1918 to adopt the name �Junior Chamber of Commerce� which was done despite some members objecting to the word Junior and some objecting to the word Commerce.

After World War I, Giessenbier contacted other cities in the United States with similar young businessmen's groups. St. Louis members had enthusiastically spread the news of their organization while off to war and, as a result, questions began pouring in from all over the country about how to form similar groups.

A pamphlet describing the "St. Louis Plan" was sent in response and caucus invitations were issued to all existing young men's groups. When the proceedings opened in St. Louis on January 21, 1920, 30 cities were represented. With the adoption of a provisional constitution until a convention could be held in June, and the election of officers, the national Junior Chamber movement was born.

The caucus-adopted constitution permitted wide latitude for member groups in regard to age of members and the name of their organizations. Names varied greatly from the Strollers Club and the Young Men's Business Club of New Orleans to the Under Forty Division of the Detroit Board of Commerce. Some clubs accepted men in their 40s, while others welcomed teenagers. These points would cause controversy and debate for years to come.

Giessenbier won election as provisional president of the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce (USJCC) by acclamation, and was joined by other officers from St. Louis; El Paso and Dallas Texas; Terre Haute, Indiana; and Springfield, Massachusetts. The United States Junior Chamber of Commerce (now JCI USA) was established with 29 clubs from around the nation. Henry Giessenbier was elected as the first President of the national organization. Becoming International

The first local organization outside the United States that had similar nature with that of the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce was the Winnipeg Board of Trade, which was established in 1923.

In 1924, Sir Gilbert Vyle and Mr. R.B. Dunwoody, President and Secretary respectively of the Association of British Chambers of Commerce had attended an international meeting of chambers of commerce in America and had seen the work of the Junior Chamber there.

Mr. Dunwoody speaking at an annual dinner of Lincoln Chamber of Commerce said �In the United States they are forming Junior Chambers of Commerce where lads and youths may be enrolled for the study of industrial and commercial questions and prepared for the future to become members of the Senior Chambers and useful citizens. There is a great future, in my opinion, for such a movement and I hope to see it started in connection with our chambers here.�

Shortly after, on May 14, 1925, Lincoln Junior Chamber was formed, thought to be the first actual Junior Chamber outside the United States, although as we have seen above a similar type of organization had been formed in Winnipeg. Birmingham was formed in 1927, followed the same year by Sheffield and by Nottingham in early 1928.

By the time officials from the U.S. Junior Chamber visited England in 1928, there were already eleven functioning chambers. In 1929, Douglas Jelley, President of Northampton Jaycees visited the United States for the first time, which was followed by a visit by a delegation of three Sheffield Members led by W.G. Ibberson to the annual convention of the U.S. Junior Chamber in Brooklyn in 1930. Because the national organization did not have, in the early days, the present structure of a full team of national officers carrying out functional responsibilities, many national activities were conducted by assigned chambers on behalf of the organization.

The first formal attempts to form an international organization came at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1932 when an International Executive Committee was formed. However, even the U.S Junior Chamber was not sure whether this was a separate organization or one of their own committees. The U.S. Junior Chamber official history does not record that the group evolved into anything more than a loose grouping of member nations with the U.S., Canada, England, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia and Colombia. In 1936, at the national conference in Liverpool representatives from several countries determined to form an International Junior Chamber, but this appears to have been overlooked when JCI was eventually formed.

In 1940, a resolution was passed by JCI USA approving a program to further mutual interests among countries in Central and South America. This led to the establishment of JCI organizations in Mexico City, Guatemala City, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama City in 1943.

A meeting took place in Mexico City in December 1944 which was billed as an Inter-America Meeting at which representatives of the U.S.A. and seven Latin American countries attended and it was at this meeting that the decision to form Junior Chamber International (JCI) was taken. It was resolved to hold a further meeting in Panama City in 1946.

New Zealand was unable to attend and asked the Chicago President to protest on their behalf about not having been included in the original decision to form an international organization as they had been active pioneers in international cooperation. The British delegation failed to attend having only got as far as New York.

The establishment of JCI as an international organization had begun. In 1944, the first international conference was held in Mexico City. Raul Garcia Vidal of Mexico was elected JCI's first President. The countries that originally formed JCI were Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and the United States of America.

The First JCI World Congress

Junior Chamber International would come into formal being at the First World Congress in Panama at the end of February in 1946. It was attended by 44 delegates from 16 different countries. Presided over by Erasmo Chambonnet of Panama, since JCI President Raul Garcia Vidal was ill and unable to attend, the delegates approved a temporary Constitution and set for themselves a list of purposeful resolutions which all in attendance agreed to follow.

Erasmo Chambonnet of Panama was elected the second JCI President at that JCI Congress, and Australia and Canada were officially affiliated.

In 1948, the JCI Creed was officially adopted at the IV JCI World Congress in Rio de Janeiro, and in 1952 a permanent JCI Headquarters was established. In 2002, after more than 30 years in Coral Gables, Florida, the JCI Headquarters moved to Chesterfield, Missouri.

Over the years, the organization developed and became known as "Junior Chamber," "Junior Chamber of Commerce," "Jaycees International," and their multiple translations in various languages. Since 2004, however, JCI organizations worldwide are incorporating "JCI" in their names.
*Quoted from the Junior Chamber International Website History Page*

[edit] Events

[edit] Area Conferences

Every year JCI hosts regional meetings (Known as Area Conference). This give each Local and National Organization of that area the oppertunity to participate in trainings, conduct regional and global business, as well as address global issues.

For the Year 2008 the Area Conferences are as follows

Africa and the Middle East - Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Held from May 14th-17th
Asia and Pacific - Busan, Korea Held from May 29th - June 1st
The Americas - Panama City, Panama Held from April 30th - May 3rd
European - Turku, Finland Held from June 4th - June 6th

[edit] World Congress

Also Every year in November JCI host the "JCI World Congress". This is a world wide international meeting when every National Organization from the four areas come together for training, events, and to cast their vote for the changes to be made the following year.

The 63rd World Congress to be hosted by JCI India in New Dehli, India. It will be held on November 4th-9th. At this meeting the the National Organizations will cast their votes towards the election for 2009. The items on the ballot include, 2009 Board of Directors, Conference and Congress Bids, Changes to the Constitution, etc... Among the massive amount of activities and events for members to attend there are training courses, debate copmetitions, an Awards Ceremony (Awards are presented to National and Local Organizations as well at Individuals )and much more.

In addition to Area Conferences and World Congresses JCI also host the JCI UN Summit held in New York City at the United Nations, JCI COC (Conference/Congress Organizing Committee) Academy hosted by JCI Austria, and the JCI Academy hosted by JCI Japan.

[edit] JCI UN Summit

*Quoted from the JCI UN Summit Webpage*

In the 2003 JCI Summit at the UN, JCI took over the responsibility to contribute to the efforts of the UN and presented a resolution supporting the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In the 2004 Summit, JCI decided to focus on the promotion of the MDGs 1 and 6 in Africa/Middle East, MDG 1 in Asia/Pacific, MDGs 4 and 8 in the Americas and MDG 8 in Europe.

*Quoted from the JCI UN Summit Webpage*

[edit] JCI COC Academy

*Quoted from the JCI COC Academy Website*

"The idea behind the Academy is to transport and pass down the know-how, the experience, and the administrative layouts necessary to ease the task of organizing an international JCI event," said Wolfgang Winkler, creator of the COC Academy concept and director of the two past academies. "Every year, at least five JCI Organizing Committees around the world start their work completely from scratch! They have to deal with problems and conflicts every COC has had…!"

To solve those problems, the COC Academy provided practical information to make the task of organizing an international JCI event easier, more effective and more enjoyable, as well as to ensure better organized and more productive JCI events.

COC Academy attendees receive class training and take part in outdoor exercises. They go through several modules consisting of teambuilding exercises, conflict management, hard and soft skills in presentation techniques, leadership, project management, time management, marketing and communications; in summary, all the skills necessary to organize a successful international event.

Keynote speakers from inside and outside JCI cover relevant topics, including how to enhance self management, empower team members, obtain sponsorships through effective negotiating skills, delegate, and optimize preparation and organization of events. Attendees also learn how to minimize preparation time and effort, build knowledge that could be used in the future, and improve leadership skills and conflict management.

*Quoted from the JCI COC Academy Website*

[edit] JCI Academy

*Quoted from the JCI Academy Website*

The JCI Academy provides an opportunity for highly motivated JCI members, specially selected by their NOM to experience training so that they may effectively fulfill their role as the global leaders of tomorrow. The course offers them the opportunity to develop a global perspective, establish lasting friendships, promote their engagement in the worldwide JCI network, and help to build a foundation from which they can work towards establishing a lasting world peace.

Participants from around 80 countries will be taking part in the program, interacting with each other and experiencing first-hand the JCI principles of "Personal Training, Service to the Community, and World Friendship." Having hosted the Academy since 1988, JCI Japan emphasizes the promotion and implementation of JCI's objectives throughout the Academy's activities. A wide variety of activities and projects are conducted utilizing the advantages of JCI's global network. These activities are often carried out by Academy graduates, working as "Global Networkers," and have as their goal the "Lasting World Peace." The promotion and development of this network is an important and necessary part of our movement.

*Quoted from the JCI Academy Website*

[edit] Programs

JCI Offers many oppertunities for its members to better themselves and their communities.

[edit] TOYP

*Quoted from the Junior Chamber International Website*
The Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP) Program serves to formally recognize young people who excel in their chosen fields and exemplify the best attributes of the world's young people.

By recognizing these young people, JCI encourages them and others to seek excellence and serve others.

Thus, JCI contributes to prepare better leaders, who will create better societies.

[edit] CYEA

*Quoted from the Junior Chamber International Website*
The JCI Creative Young Entrepreneur Award (JCI CYEA) is a new international award which was designed specifically to recognize outstanding young entrepreneurs. This award is administered by JCI in partnership with Flanders District of Creativity (FDC)...

This exciting new international award recognizes, honors and celebrates exceptional young entrepreneurs and the role of creativity in their success. Participating Organizations will not only raise their profile in the community, through organizing and administering the program, they will develop their own leadership skills, fostering fellowship across their communities.