April Regional Round-Up: Highlights from Our Six Regions
April 12, 2022
There’s always so much happening in the six JA regions that it can be hard to keep up! That’s why we’ve compiled some of our favorite stories from each regional operating center from last month.
INJAZ Al-Arab JA MENA
INJAZ Al-Arab celebrated International Women’s Day in a regional campaign highlighting the remarkable efforts in female growth in the workforce. Females make up 20.8% of the labor force participation rate in the MENA region (Ages 15+ modeled ILO estimate for MENA region). To bridge the gender gap and ensure equal opportunities across the region, INJAZ realizes the value of inclusivity and diversity within its various educational journeys. At INJAZ, 62% of annual student reach are females; by accessing new opportunities through diverse Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, and Workforce Readiness programs, an empowered generation of young female leaders is always in the making at INJAZ.
JA Europe
Together with JA members, JA Europe organized a series of pan-European activities to celebrate Global Money Week. The activities targeted students in the JA Company Program and JA Start-Up Program and focused on various aspects of financial literacy and capability and inspires young people to learn more about the sector and its job opportunities. Arrow Global and BNP Paribas Personal Finance invited volunteers for career talks, while MUFG sponsored a hackathon on sustainable finance. A new partnership will be kick off with Bloomberg, focusing on women in finance, while JA Europe's Salvatore Nigro and Diana Filip will speak at external events by the European Funds and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) and European Banking Federation (EBF).
Additionally, JA Europe and Euronext hosted a Blue Finance webinar as part of this year’s #BlueChallenge initiative, featuring Erik Giercksky from UN Global Compact. Topics addressed included the threats the oceans face, how companies can improve their impact on the planet, and how exchanges can play a role in financing the transition to sustainability. Read more about the Blue Challenge here.
Junior Achievement USA
Junior Achievement USA recently conducted a survey with The Hartford insurance company that found that 60 percent of U.S. teens would prefer to start a business over holding a traditional job. Teens cited social media influencers and celebrities as their top inspiration for wanting to become entrepreneurs. Despite this, 45 percent of survey respondents said they wanted to learn how to start a business from experienced entrepreneurs in their communities, and more than one-third wanted access to entrepreneurship education programs.
The survey was conducted to promote the launch of JA Company Program Pop-Up, which is sponsored by The Hartford. The program is designed to let teens start, run, and liquidate a student company in about half the time of a traditional JA Company Program. Read more.
JA Africa
JA Africa is honored to be listed as a Top 10 Leading NGO Shaping Africa’s Future by Avance Media. This recognition is an affirmation of the impact of JA Africa’s work across 13 African countries, which is equipping young people for economic success. Read more.
Additionally, JA Africa CEO, Simi Nwogugu, has been awarded the Bert King Award for Service at the African American Student Union’s (AASU) 49th Annual H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference at Harvard Business School. The Bert King award is presented annually to recognize exemplary contributions to the community, recalling the life and legacy of Bert King (MBA 1970) and for the first time in its history, an African woman has won this prestigious award. Read more.
JA Americas
Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Ndaba Mandela, confirmed his participation as keynote speaker of the first-ever NAU Fest of JA Americas, sponsored by the Project Management Institute Foundation (PMIEF). Ndaba will inspire and connect more than 50,000 students, 16 to 25, with their future and the future of work in June. Pre-registration is open at naufest.org.
In addition, Yoritza Lujan has been appointed as new Executive Director of JA Honduras. Yoritza will lead a team committed to youth empowerment in Honduras and Central America.
Welcome on board, Yoritza!
JA Asia Pacific
Last month, JA Asia Pacific announced the Top Three Educators from each Cha-Ching Curriculum participating markets. These educators were chosen based on their outstanding participation and performance in the implementation of the Cha-Ching Curriculum in their respective countries.
Top Educators from Indonesia:
Dwi Nova Maulidah, S.Pd
Umi Alfiyah, S.Pd
Retno Pudjiastuti
Top Educators from the Philippines:
Nora Laguda
Vicky Sugino
Ramela Duyungan
Top Educators from Thailand:
Itsariya Klinsunthorn
Patchaneewan Trainarongsakul
Sakulrat Sukthaworn
Top Educators from Vietnam:
Dang Thi Duoc
Nguyen Trong Tung
Nguyen Thi Ngoc