The National Convention is always the highlight of the JCI UK year and this year was no exception with a brilliant event organised by JCI Manchester.  It was fantastic to see members from all across the UK converge on Innside Manchester for a weekend of inspiration, celebration and fun.

Since I first found out about the TOYP (Ten Outstanding Young Persons) Programme, I have been a massive fan.  I have been blown away by the stories and achievements of young people in the UK and around the world year after year.  This year's TOYP ceremony was an emotional and inspiring session, hearing about how the honourees had overcome heartache and obstacles and used their talent and determination to achieve some extraordinary feats. 

JCI UK 2016 TOYP Honourees with their Awards

I was personally incredibly proud of all the competitors in the speaking competitions.  It is not easy to get up in front of a room full of people and speak.  Public speaking is amongst the core skills many members have developed through JCI and it was wonderful to see such great progress from the entrants in the extempore, public speaking and debating.

Entrants in the extempore, public speaking and debating competitions
 

The quality of speakers throughout the weekend was superb.  We were lucky to hear from the following:

• Our 2012 National President, Solveig Malvik, who gave a training session on executive presence, giving leaders tools on how to use non-verbal communication to convey charisma and build trust.
• Rich Jones, Nicky Lidbetter and Sam Jones, who shared their candid and thought provoking stories on mental health.
• Quinton Fortune, former Manchester United footballer, who told us about his journey from humble beginnings to follow his passion to achieve his dreams.
• Paralympian David Weir.  During his Q&A session, he answered numerous questions from interviewer Vikas Shah and he audience on topics including the origin of his nickname, the atmosphere at the London Olympics and his legacy project helping other disabled athletes.
• Dr Luke Blazejewski who made us think by showing us some of his stunning wildlife photography and pointing out that we are now more likely to know about the animals on other continents than those in our own back gardens.
• JCI Vice President Kaspar Ilves told us the interesting story of the Let's Do It World campaign in Estonia and how JCI has partnered with the organisation to attempt a record breaking world clean up in 2018.

Quinton Fortune and David Weir share their inspirational stories

The climax of the event was the gala dinner and national awards ceremony, where we celebrated everything that JCI UK, our chambers and members have achieved in 2016.  What made the evening so special, was the incredible atmosphere.  Everyone there was on a high from the inspiring sessions of the weekend and was just so supportive of everyone who was recognised throughout the evening.  I loved handing out the awards to our deserving winners, giving my final speech as national president and handing over the chain of office into the very capable hands of 2017 National President Michael Steel. 

JCI UK's Past Presidents pass the chain of office to 2017 National President Michael Steel

The standard of awards entries this year was extremely high.  This is a testament to the hard work taking place in all the chambers in JCI UK.  Congratulations again to all our winners:

• Extempore Champion - Oliver Hyde from JCI Barnsley
• Public Speaking Champion - Oliver Rieche from JCI London
• Debating Champions - JCI Sheffield (Mark Smith, Neal Stirk and Ryan Pilkington)
• Best Speaker in Debating - Rachael Shah from JCI Manchester
• Best Local Community Empowerment Programme - JCI Manchester for Charity Impact
• Best Long-term Local Community Programme - JCI London for London 2 Ghana
• Best Local Economic Development Programme - JCI Manchester for Manchester Young Talent Awards
• Best Local Personal Skill Development Programme - JCI Manchester for Ultimate You
• Best Local Growth & Development Programme - JCI Manchester
• Best Local OMOIYARI Project - JCI London for Peace Week 
• Best Inter-Organisational Collaboration Project - JCI London for London 4 Refugees
• Most Outstanding Social Project - JCI Leeds for The Alternative Quiz of the Year
• Most Outstanding Regular Local Publication - JCI Sheffield for Steel City News
• Most Outstanding Programme - JCI London for Outstanding Leaders Programme 
• Most Outstanding New Member - Anne Homer from JCI Sheffield
• Most Outstanding Member - Sophie Delaporte from JCI Southampton
• Most Outstanding Preparation by a Deputy President - David Khanna from JCI London
• Most Outstanding Local President - Paul Widger from JCI Manchester
• Most Outstanding New Local Organisation - JCI Greenwich
• Most Outstanding Local Organisation - JCI London
• Most Outstanding Senator - Andrew Thompson 
• Most Outstanding Leader - Sammuel Kitone from JCI Greenwich
• Most Outstanding Legacy - Rafael Tselikas from JCI London 

Look out for our National Award Winners 2016 (NAW16) series of blogs coming up over the next month, which will tell you about the projects, members and chambers that won.  

See all the picutres from the weekend at JCI Manchester's Facebook Page.

JCI London celebrate their award for Most Outstanding Local Chamber