Some of us at JCI Reading have recently returned from the annual JCI UK National Convention which was held in Belfast last weekend.

This was my first time attending a JCI UK National Convention and what a great experience it was!

The conference was held at the Hilton hotel in Belfast with a wide variety of events from training, business lectures, a treasure hunt around the city and, not to forget, the fantastic JCI Gala Dinner and Awards held in the recreation of the Titanic ballroom at the Titanic Belfast Museum.

The weekend started on Friday afternoon with registration, networking and catching up with fellow JCIers. I previously lived in Glasgow so it was great to catch up with my JCI Glasgow friends.

In the afternoon, I took part in a business mentoring session with young entrepreneurs from the Princes Trust. It was great to meet so many enthusiastic, like-minded young business people to share my experiences and offer advice of setting up a small business.

The evening entertainment was held at the Ulster reform club with traditional Irish music and food as well as an extempore competition (when you have to speak for two minutes about an object which you pick from a bag - much more difficult than it sounds!) Our very own Clare form JCI Reading participated in the competition and did a great job managing to talking about hair clips (!) for two minutes and making them sound interesting!

Our Saturday was filled with sightseeing, business and professional development lectures, networking as well as the all important JCI Gala Dinner and Awards. Everyone was dressed to the nines and had a fantastic evening…it’s not every Saturday night you get to attend a fantastic dinner and awards ceremony in a recreation of the Titanic ballroom!

Sunday was a time for recovering from the night before, some more sightseeing and shopping at the Christmas market next to the town hall. Then it was time to say our Goodbyes until we all get together at the next conference in Monaco in June.

As a first timer to the UK Convention, I had heard a lot beforehand about how good the conventions were. My expectations were high and JCI Belfast delivered with a fantastic JCI UK Convention in 2012! Well Done! I’m already thinking about the next UK convention in Leeds for November 2013….