JADE - European Confederation of Junior Enterprises -
Gazette for Junior Entrepreneurs March 2010
Antonia Sariyska President Head of Public Affairs, Enlargement and Alumni Management antonia.sariyska@jadenet.org
EXBO CORNER
Moritz Beck Vice-President Head of Private Cooperation moritz.beck@jadenet.org
Adelina Peltea Secretary General Head of Communications, HR and Events adelina.peltea@jadenet.org Ricardo Ponce Treasurer Head of Finance, Legal and Inner Enhancement ricardo.ponce@jadenet.org Carlos Morales Senior Project Manager Head of IT carlos.morales@jadenet.org Miriam Ascenso Senior Project Manager Brazilian Ambassador miriam.ascenso@jadenet.org Luiz Angelo Senior Project Manager Brazilian Ambassador luiz.angelo@jadenet.org Naone Garcia Senior Project Manager Brazilian Ambassador naone.garcia@jadenet.org
March was definetely a month full of emotions, ambitions and changes in our network. It all started with Spring Meeting, an event that brought us new ideas of projects, the launch of a collaboration platform between Junior Enterprises (JE.net), the launch of the World Congerence website (www.jewc2010.com), a new member Confederation (JADE Romania), appreciation for the winners of the Excellence Awards, motivation to join the team working in JADE Headquarters and, of course, a closer contact with brilliant Junior Entrepreneurs from all over Europe. Continuing with HR changes inside JADE Headquarters, with lots of interesting National Meetings attended, with new collaborations and projects – it is very clear: JADE life is always restless! Adelina Peltea
Content o Upcoming events o Advertisements for Junior Enterprises o JADE Spring Meeting 2010 overview o Excellence Awards 2010 winners o A new Confederation – JADE Romania o UniPartners Netherlands National Meeting o JADE Italia National Meeting o JADE Belgium National Meeting o JADE France Regional Congress oVisiting JADE House – AFC o Brasil Junior Corner o Career opportunities
The Junior Enterprise World Conference is the most important event of the world network of Junior Enterprises. The world conference takes place every 2 years, each time in a different country of the network. It aims at reuniting in the same place roughly 400 Junior Entrepreneurs coming from Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia. Register now!
UPCOMING EVENTS
www.jewc2010.com
22nd – 25th April - National Meeting in San Sebastian
7th – 9th May - National Congress in Arles
7th – 9th May - National Meeting in Cracow
14th – 16th May - National Meeting in Vienna
13th – 16th May - National Meeting in Bayreuth
For more information about these events contact: Adelina Peltea (JADE Executive Board, Head of Events) adelina.peltea@jadenet.org
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS – JADE SPRING MEETING 2010 - OVERVIEW
5th
JADE Spring Meeting to 7th March 2010, Brussels
Every year, Spring is the time when the world is refreshing. This makes a good opportunity for Junior Entrepreneurs from all over Europe to meet and exchange business ideas, while also having some good leisure time together, in a very multicultural environment. JADE Spring Meeting is the event that made this possible – bringing together more than 150 Junior Entrepreneurs representing 15 European countries in one single place: Brussels – the capital of Europe. Every year, this event aims at strengthening the relations between European young entrepreneurs that share the same values and goals. Following the motto “Together we grow”, they contribute to each other’s development by sharing knowledge and experience and they lead the world to social and economical development by managing different projects in this sense. Moreover, the 2010 edition of Spring Meeting focused on Social Entrepreneurship, trying to lead the Junior Entrepreneurs towards social responsibility in their actions and projects. The Opening Ceremony took place inside the European Parliament. After a welcoming note by JADE President, Antonia Sariyska, and a Key Note Speech by Evelyne Gebhardt (MEP), a panel discussion was held on the key topic of Social Entrepreneurship as Key to Sustainable Development in Europe. Moderated by Hans Martens (Chief Executive of the European Policy Center), the panelists covered a wide range of stakeholders: Christian Weinberger (from DG Enterprise), Jan Noterdaeme (from CSR Europe), Pierre Jean Gire (from United Nations Academic Council), Brenda King (from European Economic and Social Committee). They highlighted the importance the young entrepreneurs, the leaders of tomorrow, play in the social aspect of the world’s economy. A very important part of the event was Junior Enterprise Excellence Awards Ceremony, a yearly contest between Junior Enterprises and Junior Entrepreneurs who showcase their best practices inside the network. This year, the Junior Enterprises competed in four categories: Most Innovative and Creative Project, Best CSR Practice, Most International Junior Enterprise and Most Engaged Junior Entrepreneur. The applicants had the opportunity to make a presentation in front of all the event participants and an external jury composed by representatives from ING, Ashoka, Think Young and UN. The presentations highlighted the diversity of Junior Enterprise projects, the quality and commitment of members to deliver the best results to their clients, the Social Responsibility of their actions and the engagement in the Network.
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS – JADE SPRING MEETING 2010 - OVERVIEW
In addition, the participants could attend different sessions of workshops on social entrepreneurship, business ethics, sales skills and international career development provided by representatives from: ING (the main sponsor of the event), Ashoka, WON, UN, Youth Action for Change, Think Young and JADE Executive Board. Being very interactive and practical, the workshops connected the members of different Junior Enterprises from different countries to build common solutions to the cases and to learn more useful information. The meeting hosted the first JADE General Assembly for 2010 that brought together all the representatives from National Confederations (members of JADE) in order to discuss the future of the Network and make necessary decisions. During these sessions, the representatives of the European network could see and debate on the results of several internal projects such as Confederations Development Programme (a project aiming at auditing and improving the structures of the National Confederations) and Enlargement (a project aiming at expanding the network in a sustainable way), or on the recent launch of the JE.net platform (an online platform aiming to connect Junior Enterprises from JADE and Brasil Junior for easier cooperation on international projects). A very important decision was taken regarding the application of three Romanian Junior Enterprises that were willing to join JADE as a new Confederation. After debates, the voting turned out positive and now the network has a new member in Eastern Europe: JADE Romania. Also, the Assembly gave a warm welcome to the presentation of a new applicant: Albania. In addition to the business activities, the participants had the opportunity to network, while sightseeing the city of Brussels and partying during the nights energized by RedBull, showing they are always young and restless. The event was concluded with the Gala Dinner and Party inside the amazing auto museum (Autoworld). This was a good opportunity to thank to the organising team, and congratulate the new member – JADE Romania, and to announce the winners of the Excellence Awards: ConQuest from JADE Poland for Most Innovative and Creative Project, AFC from JADE Belgium for Best CSR Practice, WBC from JADE UK for Most International Junior Enterprise, and Thomas Sadzot from N-HiTec, JADE Belgium, for Most Engaged Junior Entrepreneur. Overall, the event was a real success, with lots of positive outcomes, and a good networking opportunity for the participants that could now feel more engaged at the European level in JADE. Written by Adelina Peltea, JADE Executive Board
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS – JADE SPRING MEETING 2010 – EXCELLENCE AWARDS
JADE Executive Board proudly announces the winners of the 2010 edition of the contest “Excellence Awards for Junior Enterprises”: Most Innovative and Creative Project ConQuest (JADE Poland) - www.conquest.pl/en JIT Management in e-commerce is a computer application invented by ConQuest to facilitate the flow of information in an e-commerce business (their client). The application gathers information from the market and from the company itself (it monitors the prices of suppliers and competitors, allowing to choose the cheapest distributor and the most suitable price level, calculating possible profit margins; monitors the warehouse and availability of products at suppliers, guaranteeing the promised delivery). Best CSR Practice AFC (JADE Belgium) – www.afcleuven.be Besides the entrepreneurship, AFC caries important values for future development, one of which is sustainability. They developed a project called “Energy Tomorrow Challenge”, a competition that challenges students to work out ideas on clean technologies into a viable business model. Most International Junior Enterprise WBC (JADE UK) - www.wbc-uk.com WBC has diversity and internationalization as strength. Their current 20 members represent 11 nationalities, making them experience the work in a very multicultural environment. WBC had regular attendance to JADE meetings, visited JADE House and organized together with JADE ExBo the Winter Meeting 2009. In the same time, WBC worked on international projects and exchanged knowledge and experience, in cooperation with other Junior Enterprises from Europe. Most Engaged Junior Entrepreneur Thomas Sadzot from N-HiTec (JADE Belgium) - www.nhitec.com Thomas is an active Junior Entrepreneur since 2007. He managed to improve N-HiTec structure and processes and lead his team to a more professional organization. He is also ensuring national and international contacts, strengthening the network connections.
A NEW CONFEDERATION – JADE ROMANIA
When one thinks of Romania, they have in mind South-eastern, an area which is still underdeveloped because of the scars the Communist regime has made up to 1989, a country with an upper-middle income economy due to its high economical potential. Since 2000, Romania has attracted increasing amounts of foreign investment, becoming the single largest investment destination in South-eastern. When one thinks of JADE Romania, they have in mind three very workaholic JIs, with a strong passion for entrepreneurship. Even though these JIs are widely spread across Romania (we’re talking about three important cities in Romania: Bucharest, Cluj and Iasi), we have managed to create a strong team that will work on developing the concept of JADE inside Romania. Seven people were chosen to form this team, as follows: Simona Lascu (B.O.S, International Manager), Ruxandra Bocsaneanu (T&P Consult, International Manager), Andreea Paraschiv (B.O.S, PR), Ciprian Vintila (B.O.S, Finance), Roxana Demian (T&P Consult, Legal), Roxana Muscalu (TEACH ING, Internal Communication) and Andreea Sufaru (TEACH ING, Development Strategies). We have had a really intense summer, an autumn during which a lot of emails were exchanged and Skype conferences held, we have had our hopes high during winter because we all knew that all of our efforts will materialize in spring. We have worked together for one year, which might seem short to some, but we lived every second of it. We have realized the power of internationalization right from the point where our paths crossed: our teams (BOS and T&P Consult, as these two JIs were the first to commit to this project) have met in Brussels, during Spring Meeting of 2009. Then our relationship become stronger during Summer JADE Meeting in Kosovo, because the enlargement team was created. We met in Cluj and Bucharest and had long, long brainstorming sessions. Each hour spent together made us realize how enthusiastic and full of potential these two JIs were and made the team stronger.
A NEW CONFEDERATION – JADE ROMANIA
We researched and interviewed some NGOs in order to find the third missing piece of our puzzle called JADE Romania. That’s how we found TEACH ING. After, we worked even harder so that on the 6th of March we could present ourselves as a team in Spring Meeting in Brussels. We can’t express the thrills we had during the vote of the confederations regarding our future! It seemed to be the longest day ever! We have worked really hard to get here. Who can’t forget the Skype meetings with our team members located all across the world? Ruxandra was in Frankfurt, Germany, Simona and Andreea in Bucharest, Roxana in Cluj, Roxana in Iasi and our dearest mentor, Elena Sotropa, in Edinburgh, UK! There have been many persons helping us in the process, like Raluca Hritcu, BOS Alumnus, Antonia Sariyska, JADE ExBo, Adelina Peltea, JADE ExBO, Diana Bereczky, T&P Consult Alumnus… There were some problems in our journey of building up JADE Romania, like the experience Ruxandra and Roxana from T&P Consult had in Brussels, at their arrival for Spring Meeting 2010: they had train problems and their journey was delayed with 2 hours; and, later that night, they got lost in Brussels and walked around for 3 hours until they managed to find the hotel. We had problems with the plugs, both in Brussels and in London, a part of our team spent several good hours in a police station because they had their camera stolen. But all these are now just memories. And when it comes to future plans, we want (and we will) change the student NGOs in Romania and turn them into profitable JEs, we will spread the word about JADE and we will enrich the entrepreneurial skills of students all across Romania. There are many talented and high potential students, but they are not given enough opportunities to transform their ideas into real businesses. This is where JADE Romania will interfere and help them in becoming real junior entrepreneurs. There’s still a lot to be done, but we will build a strong confederation here and make sure that the JADE spirit will be successfully spread to Eastern Europe. Written by Andreea Paraschiv, PR Manager at JADE Romania
NATIONAL EVENTS – UNIPARTNERS NETHERLANDS
From March 12th till March 14th the UniPartners Network, consisting of ten Junior Enterprises, gathered in Rotterdam for our second National Weekend this board year. The goal of the National Weekend was to strengthen the social bond we so much thrive on. A strong social connection is the base, so we believe, of a strong network that has the goal to work together intensively. Friday started off with, after checking in at the hostel, with a presentation in Holland Casino. A presentation on commercial skills and cooperation by Palm Professionals. After the presentation there was a small workshop, which used an surviving skills example as base for the importance of cooperation. After this workshop it was time to for a well earned drink, some tapas and an opportunity to visit the casino. Some money wasted, but that was of insignificant level. The evening proceeded in a local bar, where the alumni gathered as well. It was a very pleasant evening that lasted until the early hours. On Saturday the alarm clock woke us up around eight for an early breakfast. The functionmeetings (president, quality and acquisition) started around 09.30 hours at the Erasmus University. The meetings were difficult, especially because most of us are no early birds, but nonetheless they were useful. After this meetings, which ended around twelve, everybody had some leisure time. Some of us used it to sleep off their hangovers, others used it to visit the city of Rotterdam and his harbor. Two groups, the HR-managers and the Audit TaskTeam, had another meeting.
Around 16.30 hours we had to gather at a different location, again by tram, for a presentation by JADE and the Brazilian Ambassadors as well as from our Alumni association. Right after we had our evening dinner, consisting of French fries and sate, something even the JADE-people really liked! The evening proceeded with a pub crawl trough Rotterdam. It was a very nice evening, which again ended at a reasonable time… Sunday morning….again really really early . A social bonding surprise activity. With all of our luggage we followed the organizing team to a dojo….a martial arts training for the guys and an intensive (some sort of) yoga training for the ladies. This training meant discipline, sweat, endurance and relinquish but also a lot of fun. The weekend was closed with bowling. We can look back on a successful weekend in which we re-established the social character that we find so important! UniPartners Rotterdam, as the organizing team, did a great job despite all the setbacks they had to face. We are now looking forward to the next weekend which will take place in Nijmegen! Written by Joris van der Krogt, International Manager at UniPartners
NATIONAL EVENTS – JADE ITALIA
Made in Parma: tradition and innovation in food industry
Between a piece of tasty “Parmigiano Reggiano” and a discussion about Italian network, between a workshop about quality system in food industry and a delicious “Prosciutto di Parma”, fifty Italian junior entrepreneurs met each other from 26th to 28th March in Parma, a beautiful city situated in Emilia Romagna and, from 2004, seat of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Parma has one of the oldest university in the world and hosts since 1996 JEParma, the organizing team of the meeting. As you can imagine, the topic was food industry: “Made in Parma: innovation and tradition” and a huge part of the working sessions has been in charge of entrepreneur, consultant and professor who work in this industry. After the presentation of the Business Faculty’s Rector and of the main sponsor of the event (Nuova Castelli Spa), the first working session started. The representative of the sponsor described the development of his company and the motivations behind industrial choices during the last years, in order to overcome the difficulties related to new technologies, standards, the generation turnover and the competition in the international market. Then an useful deepening about “the culture of food” in the European and American area in order to understand how food was so important in the economic, social and political system during the last centuries and how this affect today life in these countries. The second day has been dedicated to JADE Italia General Assembly where a lot of stuff has been discussed in and the board explained its activity report. After the assembly we had time for another workshop about quality system and certification in food industry and the more practical one dedicate to recruiting, held by our JADE President Antonia Saryiska, former HR manager in WBC. It was really useful for the JEs to exchange and compare their HR processes and methods. However those two days full of activities, we kept lot of energy for the evenings, both full of tasty food, fun, networking opportunities (especially with the Brazilian Ambassadors Miriam and Luiz but also with Antonia, Moritz and Adelina form JADE Exbo) and music, as any JADE meeting : work hard, party harder! Written by Francesca Giladorni, Vice-President at JADE Italia
NATIONAL EVENTS – JADE BELGIUM
2ND BELGIUM NATIONAL MEETING IN LOUVAIN LA NEUVE: INTENSIVE AND COSY DAY
“It is amazing how sometimes when we get back from meetings we bring back with us a lot of ideas to implement, a long extension to our to-do list”. Those words in their variations were coming from the Belgian Junior Entrepreneurs at the end of this 2nd National meeting! The different workshops - CIEL training on accountancy, Project simulation provided by JADE, Strategy in J.E. and Strategy in Confederation - were all pieces that were focused on same objectives: Professionalize JADE Belgium Network Optimize the exchange between JEs in order to learn all best Practices Have fun in a multicultural network (Wallonian and Flemish representatives). Not only was this event structured and organized to the maximum effectiveness, but it was also quite intensive and interesting. On Saturday 27th of March JADE Belgium succeeded to gather the most proactive JEs in the magic place of Louvain la Neuve. This city was the perfect place to illustrate what students can bring to their environment as Junior Enterprise can do. Established 20 years ago, the city of Louvain la Neuve started to grow due to the development of Universities. To make the parallel Junior Enterprises managed by student, develop and amend their environment depending on their activities. One of the great surprises was the workshop of 1 day of JQM (Junior Quality Manager) provided by JADE Belgium to Junior Entrepreneurs. After some years of development, JADE Belgium is now tackling with success the audit of their JEs. Due to their international network, JADE Belgium is unique. Native French and Dutch speakers attend the national activities, and English is sometimes the most adequate option to communicate thus developing the skills of business foreign languages.
It is with great enthusiasm that we acknowledge JADE Belgium Board for their professionalism, friendship, kindness during the event, which for sure brought strong added value to their Junior Entrepreneurs. We wish that next time, we will have double of motivated and dynamic Belgium Junior Entrepreneur. Written by Ricardo Ponce, JADE Executive Board
NATIONAL EVENTS – JADE FRANCE (Regional Congress)
How a Regional Congress can become International ? The French Confederation of Junior Enterprises (CNJE), created in 1969, is still evolving with the creation of new and attracting concepts as internationally opened Regional Congresses! Each year, there are 14 Regional Congresses and 2 National Congresses dedicated to French Junior Entrepreneurs. This is a real tool to strengthen our Network so why not opening them to International Junior Entrepreneurs? This question was answered by 2 French Junior Enterprises in Center-East Region of France that decided to organize one from 27th March to 28th March 2010. Therefore, during each workshop session, there was a workshop on an international topic such as: -“How to do an international project ?” -“How to create an International Department in my Junior Enterprise ?” -“ What is JADE, Brasil Junior and JE.NET” All these workshops were in English and gathered around 70 Junior Entrepreneurs from France, Portugal and Brazil! Apart from that, we had still workshops on legal information, management of a Junior Enterprise, treasury… A Regional Congress is also a good tool to strengthen relationship that is why we all enjoyed Saturday evening. On Sunday, some of the participants played paintball that was another part of the teambuilding of the event! Congratulations to SEGMA and APE, Junior Enterprises from CNJE, but also to their partners and friends FEP Junior Consulting from Portugal and a Brasil Junior ! We are confident that this was not the last internationally opened Regional Congress of the year, be up to date on coming events writing to international@cnje.org ! Written by Adeline Lajoinie, International Manager at JADE France
VISITING JADE HOUSE
Academics for Companies visit of the Jade House Brussels, 24/03/2010 It’s Wednesday morning and the three of us (Michiel, Michiel and Frédéric) are on our way to visit the Jade House in the heart of Brussels. Traffic is surprisingly doable and after a brief time searching we manage to arrive where we’re supposed to be. Adelina opens the door and shows around the ground floor, a more recreational living space with a kitchen and even a small garden. The tour then continues to the first floor, the work space. Here, around 7 people are working hard from morning ‘til evening to ensure Jade Europe keeps functioning and, even more importantly, improving. What immediately struck the three of us as very interesting is the multitude of different nationalities and cultures present. Just like the events organized by Jade, living in the Jade house seems to be a truly multicultural experience. As we didn’t want to keep these busy people from their work too much, we continued the tour of the house upstairs where we were shown the bedrooms. In the attic we found a lot of bunk beds, ideal for sleepovers by young entrepreneurs visiting Brussels. The purpose of our visit wasn’t single fold however, Frédéric and myself very much liked to get to know more about the way Jade Executive board operates and Michiel had a business proposal to make. The three of us were joined by Antonia and Adelina downstairs and we listened attentively as they passionately explained to us what life in the Jade House involves. We then split up so Antonia could explain more about what the life of Jade Executive Board members looks like and Adelina could listen to Michiel’s proposal to use a proven benchmark study to audit Junior Enterprises. With a nice cup of coffee (thanks Antonia ) Frédéric and myself got so carried away that we lost track of time. Just like most Junior entrepreneurs we have a very busy schedule so we had to leave for another appointment. As we said goodbye, we invited the ExBo to our Microsoft on Campus event in Leuven, an invitation which was accepted so goodbye was only temporarily. AFC had a great time at the Jade House. We really got to experience the pleasant atmosphere, we learned a lot about the Jade organization and we would like to encourage other Junior Enterpreneurs to visit the house as well. You’ll be welcomed by a group of passionate people who are very good hosts. Moreover a visit to the Jade House will allow you to visit Brussels most interesting places due to its ideal location. Written by Michiel, Michiel and Frédéric, Board members of AFC (Academics for Companies), Leuven, Belgium
If you are interested to visit JADE House, just send an email to Adelina Peltea (JADE Executive Board): adelina.peltea@jadenet.org
BRASIL JUNIOR CORNER
Alumni of Brazilian Junior Enterprise Movement will participate at World Economic Forum
Rodrigo de Méllo Brito, 28, was selected to participate in the group Young Global Leaders 2010, organized by the World Economic Forum. He is the co-founder of the Aliança Empreendedora, organization from Curitiba-PR which works nationally in support for entrepreneurial communities of people with low income. He was in JR Consultoria, a Junior Enterprise from Universidade Federal do Paraná. He remained in the JE between 2000 and 2001, working as Project Consultant and Director of Human Development. He was the Project Manager of the Brazilian National Meeting in 2001. Between 2nd and 7th May, Rodrigo Brito will attend the annual summir in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania together with with young leaders from 72 countries. This meeting recognizes young people for being example in leadership, professional achievements and commitment with to society. Rodrigo says: “Further to alignment of theory to practice, the Junior Enterprise must be seen as a lab, a place to create, to test, to innovate and to be an entrepreneur. That’s why my tips are: participate in as many congress and activities as possible, and increase your network. This will make all the difference after your career in the Junior Enterprise”. Source: Communication Department – Publicity Coordination - Pedro Guedes (Acesso Comunicação Jr) - www.brasiljunior.org.br – http://www.aliancaempreendedora.org.br
Key Account Manager (Fundraising Project Manager) Time frame and location: 5 months, Brussels (JADE House) Apply until 25th April by sending your CV and Motivational Letter to adelina.peltea@jadenet.org Objectives: Strenghtening existing business contacts and searching for new ones at European level; Develop a CRM system and a Knowledge Database for JADE fundraising.
Benefits: Experience in working with multicultural team; Expanding your business network; Improve your professional English
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Profile: Sales and negotiating skills; Attention to details; Good presentation skills
IT Project Manager Time frame and location: 5 months, Brussels (JADE House) Deadline for application: 25th April Objectives: Website development and maintainance. IT support in all the Headquarters activities. Benefits: Experience in working with multicultural team; Flexibility in working style Profile: IT knowledge (basic HTML, Joomla, networks)
JADE Enlargement Task Team has open places and will launch a call on 12th April! If you are interested and you would like to receive more information about it, send an email to enlargement@jadenet.org
Are you a Junior Entrepreneur, who wants to: Gain Top Management experience at European level?
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Improve soft and technical skills; get better in resource and strategic management, team work and presentation?
Boost your personal and professional development! Take the big challenge and apply for JADE Executive Board 2011!
Work and live in a multicultural environment that reveals endless diverse ideas, opportunities and challenges? Travel across Europe and beyond seeking for new opportunities? Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of working at home, yet be professional at all times? Promote the Junior Enterprise concept and spirit; feel important when doing so? Develop and expand an international network of contacts: meet the decisionmakers of the world, and potential future friends? If yes, then think about taking the opportunity JADE offers you to achieve all these at a very fresh age by becoming a member of JADE Executive Board 2011!
More Info at www.jadenet.org/career/exbo2011
For any questions don‘t hesitate to contact: Adelina Peltea, Head of HR, JADE Executive Board 2010 Email: adelina.peltea@jadenet.org Skype: adelina.peltea