Hello, hello, hello! My name is Oliver Deane, I’m 21 from Great Britain and also senior NJR of Great Britain (I will be stepping down on the 3rd of September 2016). I currently live in Leeds and have been part of the local chapter & Local Junior Branch, Leeds & West Yorkshire, since 2005 and involved in International Junior Branch since 2013. I’m a big fan of sport, mainly cricket (most of you might not know what this is and will be confusing it with croquet) and skiing. But I also enjoy watching and playing most sports. As most of you probably are, I’m also a keen traveller, so let me know if there is anywhere I have to visit! I have tried to keep my answers short, sweet and to the point, but if you have any questions for me or would like to know anything else don’t hesitate to drop me an email at oliver.deane@gb.cisv.org.
The position of IJR is one for a two-year term. Over the course of those two years, what do you expect to learn and how will that help you grow in your everyday life? Over the 2 years I expect to learn a lot more about CISV; how it functions at an organisational level, more about how the whole organisation fits and works together, more about who is responsible for different jobs within the organisation. I feel like I have a good knowledge of CISV & JB though I’m not going to pretend I know everything, I will however work towards learning as much as I can. I would also like to improve my communication, as I believe communication can always be improved, and this is key to any role in CISV as well as in my everyday life, being able to get my point across and make sure everything is understandable and everyone is on the same page.
What does being an International Junior Representative mean to you? To me, being IJR is exactly what it says, it means representing juniors from all over the world, no matter how old or how experienced they are. It means doing what is best for the JBers all over the world, taking in as many opinions as possible and collating them in order to do what is best for all. It also means making sure that everyone knows what is happening in the organisation and making sure everyone understands, this may be by running sessions at regional meetings or making sure information is transferred to the regional teams for them to distribute. More personally, being IJR would be a great honour, something I never really thought I’d be nominated for a couple of years ago. It would be a great opportunity to be more involved in an organisation I thoroughly enjoy being active in, and give me the ability to have more of an impact. It would also be a wonderful learning experience and be a great position to say I have held for my professional future, outside CISV.
International Junior Branch is structured with 3 Regional Junior Branch Teams and 1 IJB Team. What are your thoughts on the contribution of those Teams to the development of CISV and how they should work together to achieve this goal? Regional teams are very close to National Junior Branches and to an extent Local Junior Branches which means they have a lot of direct contact to NJRs and JBers. I think this helps the regional teams develop communication and cooperation between NJBs, which help NJBs share common issues and solutions. Therefore, helping each JB grow and develop faster than if solutions to common issues weren’t shared. This cooperation also helps promote projects and working groups within regions, again meaning JB and CISV do more and achieve more of its goals, though this does still need improvement in some areas. The IJB teams’ current structure is still relatively new, and because of the teams’ structure their contribution is effectively split in two, between the specialists and the committee representatives. The specialists have more of a direct impact on JB, though not as much as the regional teams. They are key to linking JB together as a whole, especially the cooperation between the regional teams, and making sure there are great international projects and quality activities and events. The specialists are there to make sure JB’s voice is heard, though I believe JB’s voice needs to be louder, making sure decisions made by the committees are the best for all and help grow and develop CISV as a whole. The Regional Teams and IJB Team need to work closely in order to develop CISV, the same way the regional teams’ help NJBs work together, they need to communicate and share best practices. The IJB Team should be working with the regional teams to develop collaboration between countries. The regional teams can only do so much on their own and need the support especially when it comes to cross regional cooperation. There is a lot of potential for JB to develop, and if everyone works closely together it will be a lot easier to achieve.
It is anticipated that in 2017 the Junior Branch Review Team will put forward proposals to improve the integration of Junior Branch in the organisation. As International Junior Representative, how do you see your contribution to this process? I think my main contribution to this process would be after the proposals have been released, making sure all of the information is distributed and, very importantly, understood. I would also have a contribution before the proposals are released, bringing in views of JBers to the Junior Branch Review Team to make sure the proposals concentrate on the specific issues that JBers have with integration.
At the end of 2016, International Junior Branch will have run yearly projects on the 4 content areas of CISV. What do you think these projects brought to our organisation and how could International Junior Branch continue to contribute to CISV’s approach on those 4 content of areas? At a base level these projects brought a feeling of community, knowing that the same project is being run in JBs all over the world. The fact that the project is happening in so many diverse JBs means that you can get a wide range of views and in the end have fascinating discussions. It also means that everyone has had the opportunity to be involved in great educational activities no matter what JB they are from, this also helps develop everyone’s understanding of the 4 content areas and hopefully inspires people to educate themselves more on these areas. These projects have also created more opportunities for JBers, giving them the opportunity to plan these activities for IJB. IJB can continue to contribute by developing new projects for the 4 content areas, I’m sure there will be many ideas out there and more will appear at IJBC in Colombia. IJB can also help by focusing educational content activities at International, national and local events on the content areas and encouraging JBers to develop their knowledge on them.
To you, how is Junior Branch contributing to the development of our organisation? Junior Branch is contributing by providing more opportunity to people in the organisation, Junior Branch is a playground where many projects are set up, and this doesn’t just help build leadership but also builds our reach. It gives youth the opportunity to educate youth. Junior Branch is helping CISV develop not only through its regular Junior Branch events, but also through the local work so many JBs have been organising lately, this means CISV is having more of an impact on the communities around it and not just educating about these issues.
My CISV Story My CISV story started in the summer of 2005 when I took the 2 hour drive from my home to my village in Manchester. I could have been anywhere, especially with the surprisingly good British weather that summer! It took me a few days to settle in after that I was hooked, and went on to attend many other programmes and CISV events throughout the years, before getting more involved in my National Junior Branch before becoming NJR. Throughout this time, I can honestly say, CISV moulded me as a person and has had a huge impact on my life. Through helping me see the world in a different light and understanding the world around me, by making me challenge my views and ideas and listening to other people opinions, and by helping me recognise people’s similarities and cherishing their differences. It has also helped develop me as a person by helping grow my leadership skills as well as my organisation and people skills as I started to get more involved in the organisation. That is why I am still involved, to help others grow and develop, as well as to continue my growth into a better person and a global citizen. I could not choose just one moment or memory for my CISV story as there have been so many and too many to choose from, all impacting me and my life in many different ways. I hope there are many more of these moments to come and that my CISV story is far from over. (Picture: Me, 11, at my village in Manchester in a shirt I will grow into!)