I have learned so much about leadership, JCI and about myself throughout 2010. I know as a person I have grown and I really know now how I react in certain situations. JCI really is a great organisation that gives young people opportunities to find these things out about ourselves.

Today during First National event and AGM, I was surprised when I realised how fast my year as president had went. Then when I thought about it I was also surprised at how much we managed to fit into the year. It is a strange feeling that something can go so fast but you can still fit so much into it.

I am looking forward to 2011 and helping support JCI Ireland president Louise and hopefully we will see her here blogging on here experience of 2011.

Thank you all for the help during 2010 and I am looking forward to a positive and action packed 2011.

Mark Kelly

JCI Ireland Immediate past President 2011

It is so important for Ireland and the world to make role models of people who are making a real difference in making the world a better place to live in. I find it hard to believe that people like Wane Rooney gets paid in excess of €200,000 per week and he is idolised while sometimes it is so hard for people like our great TOYP winners to get recognised.

Read about this years TOYP winners here http://www.jci.cc/news/home.php?news=16861

JCI TOYP Winner Melanie Hennessy

This week I would ask you that if you come across someone who is doing something good to make a difference that you tell them you appreciate what they are doing.

I was so proud of our TOYP winner Melanie for the great work she is doing in Nepal when she gave her heart felt speech at the awards ceremony last. It made me so happy to be Irish and a JCI member who can help encourage great young people who are making a real difference in the world.

http://www.jci.cc/events/en/worldcongress/osaka

Last night we had an excellent opening ceremony where we had River Dance meets Japan.

Last night the Irish delegation went for some drinks on the 5th floor bar in Tennoji and this was a great chance to take stock of the week so far.

I gave a presentation to all the JCI presidents from around Europe on JCI Ireland Fifty Ways to Active Citizenship and the schools project in Limerick. This was very well received and I have been approached by Finland and Russia who are looking to run a similar project.

I am looking forward to the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) ceremony tonight where our winner Melanie will be awarded with her award.Mark

First Tatami Mat House

Golden House by Lake

I got to see some gorgeous rock gardens, Shinto / Buddhist temples and some amazing gardens. On Sunday I caught a cable car up a mountain where they train monks that is meant to have splendid views but the rain and fog rolled in so the views did not happen for me. Have a look at some of the photos below of the places I visited in Kyoto.

I caught the train to Osaka today and met up with Michelle and Louise and we met our JCI friends from UK, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand and some other places also. We all had to meet up for a very important meeting to discuss some critical maters. See the picture below.

Important JCI Meeting In Osaka

Just a reminder to everyone that JCI Ireland leadership Academy will be happening in Roscrey on the weekend of the 12^th 13^th and 14^th of November. It will cost €50 for the full weekend of training, food and accommodation. This is great value for what will be a great weekend of leadership development. If you want to go contact Emmeline on emmeline@ireland.com

Konbanwa

Kelly San

It makes me so proud that I will be able to tell people this and also that we had two branches affiliate at the start of the year while I am in Japan at the JCI World convention next week. I am so looking forward to representing Ireland in Japan and meeting all the great JCI friends I have from around the world.

Since my last post we have also had our National Convention in Malahide. This was a great event and there were so many highlights for me from the weekend. We had the final of the JCI Ireland Friendly Business Awards, 70’s fancy dress karaoke, splendid training sessions, keynote speakers, reimagining Ireland as a better place, JCI Cork winning all the awards in their first year as a branch, the launch of Active Citizenship week and the tripartite debate. All of this mixed in with great fun, great people and a sense that as JCI members that we can make a difference.

We had JCI Ireland Active Citizenship week where people from all over Ireland got down and dirty and got stuck into being Active Citizens. The JCI World president visited us on the Tuesday of Active Citizenship week and we brought him to Dublin, Limerick and Galway where he was interviewed by RTE about our world TOYP winner.

Like I did at the JCI European conference in Denmark I am planning on blogging quite a bit from Japan so as to give all the JCI Ireland members a feeling of what is going on in Japan so expect to see quite a few blog entries from me over the next week.

Regards

Mark

ACW

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for attending and organising a very successful active citizenship week. We had 9 events in just 6 days.
We at JCI have been out pledging, giving blood, visiting, reading, cleaning, mentoring, painting, volunteering and achieved so much in the last 6 days!

It was wonderful and our World President got to witness some amazingly active young citizens getting into the spirit of ACW in Limerick too.

I announced a competition for every branch at convention. Just send in photos from your active citizenship week events.
We have two digital cameras to give away, one to a member whose photography wins and one to the branch with the best photos. So I hope you’ve been snapping and papping!

Send all the photos with the details of the event and photographer to me. micha.daly@gmail.com.

Don’t forget that you can still pledge and encourage all of your friends to pledge at www.fifty-ways.com

Thanks again for a great active citizenship week and let’s get planning to have an even better one next year…

Kind Regards,

Michelle

–
Michelle DALY

Community Director, JCI Ireland

http://www.jci-ireland.org

http://blog.jci-ireland.org

http://www.fifty-ways.com

It is all about being an Active Citizen!

• The great news that one of JCI Ireland’s TOYP winners Melanie Hennessy has been named as a one of the JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons.      It is great when we can highlight the great work being done by young Irish Active Citizens.  
• JCI Galway hosted president’s day in ST Brigit’s gardens just outside of Galway City. The gardens were splendid and a great day was had. In the morning there was a great training on selecting herbs while National Executive had our board meeting. In the afternoon there was a great training on setting goals.
• The last few months has seen loads of work going into planning for Active Citizenship Week 3^rd – 10^th of October. www.fifty-ways.com this will be launched on the Sunday of our National Convention in Malahide and we will have Mary Davis, Richard Bruton talking about the importance of Active Citizenship at the launch.
• JCI Fingal have been working around the clock to organise this year’s National convention from the 1^st – 3^rd of October. The highlights of the weekend will be the JCI Friendly Business Awards on the Friday night, training by some excellent IMI trainers on the Saturday, debating the Gala dinner and the launch of Active Citizenship week.
• I was in Leitrim this month for the launch of JCI in Leitrim and this was great for me. I love it when I am asked to speak to new people about JCI.

I have really enjoyed listening to this video and would love your opinion on it. Statements like  You have a mind and you have other people, start with those and change the world!

Bennington president Liz Coleman delivers a call-to-arms for radical reform in higher education. Bucking the trend to push students toward increasingly narrow areas of study, she proposes a truly cross-disciplinary education — one that dynamically combines all areas of study to address the great problems of our day.

What do you think? Are wo doing the right thing with Active Citizenship week? http://www.fifty-ways.com 3rd to 10th of October!

They asked me did I want to buy something and that the money was going to a good cause. I asked them what the cause was and they told me all the profits were going to help the people that were affected by the Haiti earthquake.

Needless to say I was delighted as this is the same cause the JCI Dublin are currently fundraising for here in conjunction with UNICEF.

http://www.unicef.ie/jci.aspx

I paid €10 for a bar of chocolate and the young girls were delighted and I was so happy to see some young active citizens on my street and budding TOYP winners.

This was a great example to me that sometimes we can overcomplicate things and that it can be good to just get out and do something simple like selling chocolate bars.

 
JCI Ireland will be displaying at the European Employment Circus  at Nimmos Pier in Galway this weekend, to promote jobs, skills and opportunities from local to European level. The EU is looking to help its citizens tackle the current crisis by finding new employment perspectives and by addressing issues that are on everyone’s agenda: jobs, unemployment, skills and equal opportunities.
The fair, themed as a circus tent, is a fun and accessible way to bring the opportunities of Social Europe to as many people as possible. This is a great example of Active Citizenship in action and is a good warm up for Active Citizenship week in October. http://www.fifty-ways.com

 
Let your children enjoy the clowns and jugglers while you find out more about what JCI & Europe can do for you.

Opens 1.00 pm

Traditional Irish music entertainment from 4.30-6.30