Dear JCI Members and Friends,

The year 2016 is getting to an end and we are all preparing to celebrate the arrival of 2017!

I would first like to thank the Council Team 2016 for the great efforts and commitment they put in making this year a success! Thank you also to the National Board and Senators for their continuous support along the way! You all were instrumental in making JCI London living the JCI mission of “Providing development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change”.

The Council Team 2017 is getting ready to bring JCI London to the next level under the leadership of President 2017, David Khanna.

As the year is ending, I would like to share with you some of the 2016 highlights. Those achievements wouldn’t have been possible without the building blocks set by Team 2015 and previous years.

Some of the 2016 key highlights:

·         Hosting more than 70 local events covering all areas of opportunity.

·         We have send 300 kids’ books to a Kids’ library in Ghana and have fundraised over £1,000 to purchase computers and send them to Ghana in early 2017.

·         Initiating a project for the Refugees that included volunteering in Calais for a weekend as well as sending over kid’s books for refugees’ children’s in France.

·         JCI London reaching over 4,800 likes on the Facebook fan page and over 3,600 followers to the Twitter account.

·         Organising an exciting and well attended series of training events under the theme of ‘Jet Set your Career’

·         JCI London being well represented internationally, attending among other the European Conference in Finland, European Academy in Sweden, Global Partnership Summit in New York, Know How Transfer in Brussels, World Congress in Canada.

·         Organising an inspiring London Peace Conference, within the context of the JCI Global Peace is Possible initiative.

·         Strengthening our existing partnerships and developing a new partnership with the London School of Business and Finance.

·         Running an annual Gala Dinner with guests from across the world and a Summerfest with regional guests.

·         Having entrants in the JCI UK National Public Speaking, Debating and Extempore competitions.

·         Being awarded eight National Awards at JCI UK National Convention and one award at JCI European Convention in Finland.

Do you want to get involved, develop new skills, build your network and make a positive difference in 2017? Join us at the Kick Off on January 17th: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jci-london-kick-off-2017-tickets-26856543645

Happy New Year to All!

Rafael

JCI London President 2016