On 25 January JCI London hosted the first two official training courses of the year.  Two participants tell us about their experiences of JCI Achieve and JCI Impact:

Egle Valeikaite

I first heard about JCI from a close friend of mine who suggested I join. After attending a few events as a newbie, I was advised to participate in the Achieve & Impact workshop which was held on a Saturday morning and how glad am I that I went.

Not only did I get to meet other new JCI members, but also have the chance to find out more about the organisation itself.

Never mind Saturday, the workshop organisers achieved a great success in attendance. We even had someone who flew from Malta especially for the workshop!

During the two part seminar, we were thoroughly guided through the ideology and principles that stem from JCI's history. JCI's mission to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change had been delivered year after year for more than a century. I could see the enthusiasm in our workshop trainers. JCI has given even more: aspiring to teach others of what they learned themselves.

The interactive model of a workshop meant we could all get a taste of what it's like to be a part of a team-effort based project.We had to discuss the most prominent local communitie's problem in groups and find a cause by simply asking "why". That way we were able to peel down the issue to its root cause and come up with a solution to eradicate it. Finally, each group presented their own proposals, which were: culture rejuvenation centre for people to integrate and thus eliminate loneliness and alienation; workshops on how to be happy and make people smile more and support small businesses in order to prevent new betting shops springing into the market.

The workshop truly delivered what it promised and even more. It not only explained how JCI works and what opportunities it holds, it also inspired us to act and become active citizens of the world, be it on a national, international or an individual level.

Adedunmade Onibokun 

JCI London has been organising great events and trainings; we have also succeeded in raising thousands of pounds for buying malaria treated mosquito nets which will be delivered to families in Tamale, Ghana later in the year. It's been an awesome experience and it gets more exciting when you think that it's just the beginning of the year. Recently, on 25th January, 2014 we had the JCI Achieve and Impact training sessions at London Bridge. Every JCI event is always unique and special, so I was super excited to attend. It was also nice to see members of JCI Canary Wharf there too.

One of the questions Soraya and Sarah asked the participants at the JCI London 2014 Achieve and Impact session was "what is our greatest value"? That worth, merit, or importance that stands every one of us out from the crowd. My greatest value is my unsatisfiable urge to contribute to social growth and development, I derive fulfilment from knowing I am not only living but contributing to making the world a better place, naturally in JCI, a worldwide network of young individuals dedicated in service to humanity, I find like minds and through this active citizens framework we actualise this dream together.

The room was filled with really nice and friendly faces and in no time Soraya had written down a long list of incredible values which represented the contributions of everyone, wow, the energy was amazing. Attending JCI Achieve helps you learn the values of JCI, that faith in God gives meaning and purpose to human 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 government should be of laws rather than of men; that earth's great treasure lies in human personality and that service to humanity is the best work of life.

The trainers, Soraya Bowen and Sarah Beckwith conducted the training amazingly. Each participant had a great time, role playing on identifying the various challenges in our communities and coming up with great ideas on how to mitigate them was one of the many highlights of the training, as usual networking was great, plus the lunch and opportunity to get together for drinks at the local pub later in the evening was amazing. I made a lot of new amazing friends which I look forward to seeing at other JCI functions and events. It was a brilliant way to spend the Saturday and I had an incredible time. A very special shout-out to the organisers, they did a great job.

The JCI Mission is to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change and our Vision is to be the leading global network of young active citizens. We believe young people have the power to change the world and we take action. If you are in London and will like to learn more about JCI or participate in any events, follow this link to our calendar, here you go; http://www.jcilondon.org.uk/events