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Experience as a "first timer" at a JCI European Conference PDF Print E-mail
Blog - Activities
Written by Enow Ebot   
Monday, 09 July 2007 15:44
Hi Jaycees,

I will like to share with you my experience as a "first timer" at the European Coference 2007 in Maastricht, Netherland.

My participation to the JCI European Conference 2007 began on the 12th of June 2007 with my arrival at Maastricht. I decided to arrive on this day although the official opening was to start on the 13th in order to be able to take part in some of the pre-training courses available but unfortunately, it wasn’t possible as there have been pre-registrations which I wasn’t aware.

Notwithstanding, I arrived Maastricht about 2pm with a train form Brussels airport. Took a Cab to Maastricht school of Business where the registration for the conference was supposed to take place. Did the registration formalities and received all the information together with materials that were to be used for the conference. Check-in at my hotel which was the Bastion (about 5Km from the conference centre) at about 4Pm. After checking-in, I got myself ready for the various activities that will either make my stay in Maastricht interesting or boring. I didn’t expect to encounter with the latter as there was excitement and expectations from my side.

The 12th of June was day 1 of my participation as a “first timer” (Jaycees refers to other member who are attending a JCI international conference for the first time as “first timer”.) in which I had to meet with the other Danish delegation at the Danish Hotel (the hotel where most of the Danish delegation were lodging) to be briefed for the day and days ahead and more on the Danish Night which was to take place on that same day. The Danish Night will be one of the many Nights organised by delegations from different countries and will be part of the conference “after party” as the conference days will be unfolding.

It was quite exciting to meet the other delegates from Denmark. Although most of them thought that a as member of JCI Copenhagen international they were compelled to speak English to me, I did make them to think otherwise as I responded most of the time in Danish. We had a couple of drinks while engaging in informal introductions and discussions.

While meeting the Danes at the Danish hotel, I realised that there is a lot of fun, fanfare and sense of belonging to be lodge in a Danish hotel as part of a Danish delegation. After the informal introduction and chatting we went to Café Charlemagne, where the Danish night was to be hosted. The fanfare really began at the Danish night. There was much to drink, eat and I had lengthy conversation with members of other chapters in Denmark. I came to know more about the other members of JCI Denmark and really started to feel like a Dane from that moment. We partied up till about 01.00am where I had to go back to my hotel to rest and prepare for the opening ceremony the next day.

On day 2 of my stay which was 13th and the day of the opening ceremony, I met the other Danish Delegates at the Danish hotel where we had the daily briefing on what has to happen and be done on that day. Most of the other delegates came on that day. We had to dress with a T-shirt promoting Denmark’s bid for the 2010 European Conference.

Attending the EC opening ceremony was like attending the opening ceremony of the Olympics. The different countries were dressed up in the colours of their national flags and singing of patriotic songs. I have never attended an Olympic opening ceremony before but felt I was in one. I’m sure the main difference with an Olympic opening ceremony is that we had one common goal which was to make JCI stronger by acquiring individual skills as well as skills to promote the organisation instead of crushing the opponent to become the victor.

While the Danish night gave me the opportunity to get familiar with my Danish delegates, the opening ceremony gave me the opportunity for an international familiarity and more networking. That was when the international networking started. After the formal introduction of the various delegations and the national executives, there were short speeches and the ceremony was declared open.

The opening gala was quite a fun and I was carried way in such way that I only realised myself dancing on a mounted stage outside. The wannabe Robbie William life band did thrill the crowd and brought out the “free style” dance from most of the delegates. One thing I realised with Jaycees is the degree of relaxation among its members. Although we are all coming form different works of life and different cultures, when it comes to relaxation there are no demarcations. There was enough to drink and eat while dancing continued right up to the early hours of the morning. I had to live at about 2.am in order to prepare myself for the next day which will be the workshops and seminars. I came to realised one thing that notwithstanding the partying people are always fresh and fit for the next day. This made me to realise that I have to keep to the JCI philosophy where partying and working goes hand in hand.

Thursday the 14th was the day for the seminars and workshops. I attended the Business networking seminar. Although the information as to where it will be held wasn’t precise, I still managed to attend it. It was quite enriching and it did help to concretise my Idea on the future business I’m intending to embark on. What I came to realised here was that one has to choose particular seminars and workshops to attend as most were running concurrently. I did manage to attend 3 although partly. This includes “Negotiate to win” and “the secret of body language”. I did learn a lot from those workshops. After the workshops, I went to see the exhibition from the different countries.
This day was like getting to business as a JCI member. More knowledge and networking was acquired. As you know the saying “learning without playing makes jack a dull boy”, the day ended with a Turkish night. It was a splendid night with drinking, dancing and off course more networking. The Turkish delegates were promoting the oncoming international conference in Antalaya.

Friday continued with workshops and seminars. I attended “successful writing and advertising” with Martin Hlavacek (CNT) and “Design your way to financial freedom by Ekaterina Zenina(CNT). They were quite educative. Unfortunately I couldn’t continue with the day as I started having problems with my stomach. I guess since I had been eating from different restaurant and had shrimps the previous day; it must have got something to do with my stomach. As it persisted I got back to my hotel and tried to get some rest and drank something to remedy the situation but it persisted. I had no other option but to look for the nearest flight back to Denmark. I couldn’t imagine myself leaving after waiting for this moment but there was no other way.

I left the conference on Saturday without attending the closing ceremony. I was really sad to leave but couldn’t do otherwise.

Although it was a tragic end for me, I was also happy that the few days I had spent were quite enriching both as concerns acquiring knowledge and also making new friends. I learned a lot as a first timer as regard scheduling my time in the conference and selecting particular seminars and workshops to attend. Every part of the conference was fun so it would be unfair to recommend some and exclude others. My main recommendation is to be present in any open and closing ceremony and try to attend as many workshops and seminars as possible. Being present in both the opening and closing ceremony is a pre-requisite of being part in the whole conference. I made a lot of friends and even had the opportunity to meet a delegate from Cameroon (I’m originally from Cameroon) where I got substantial and practical information on investing in Cameroon. It was worth attending. I enjoyed every penny of my money (except the shrimp I had at that restaurant).
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