April Regional Round-Up: Highlights from Our Six Regions
May 3, 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.
JA Americas
The Organization of American States (OAS) has endorsed the Entrepreneurial Skills Pass (ESP) in the Americas region. As part of the partnership, JA Americas President Leo Martellotto, JA Americas Business & Partnerships Development Director Jasmin Eymery, and JA Worldwide CEO Asheesh Advani met with OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro in Washington, DC. The organizations discussed new ways to collaborate and empower young people across the region. OAS plans to endorse NAU Fest (see the article below), and JA Americas will endorse the upcoming Summit of the Americas.
JA Americas selected metaverse-style SpatialChat as the official platform for NAU Fest. In June, 50,000 students will gather on the platform for the first-ever NAU Fest. SpatialChat allows users to work in groups during workshops and hands-on challenges, network, attend inspirational keynote speeches at the main stage, and enjoy the many activities scheduled for NAU Fest, which takes place June 10–22. Young people ages 16–25 can register for free at naufest.org. Learn more.
INJAZ Al-Arab JA MENA
INJAZ Day is an annual regional campaign held on April 10 that commemorates the tremendous efforts throughout the year to reach goals and accomplish the success the region has strived for. Last academic year, the region and its member locations reached 657,470 students through INJAZ learning experiences, the highest in its history.
All total, 18 years of INJAZ celebrates 4.3 million youth economically empowered across MENA, where INJAZ has successfully accelerated Arab youth's ability to become business leaders and entrepreneurs in their communities. This year, a campaign was launched on Instagram, through which nine member locations from JA MENA took over INJAZ Al-Arab's Instagram stories to share their success, milestones, live interviews, and video testimonials from youth, alumni, volunteers, teachers, and partners who created significant online engagement under the theme, "What INJAZ means to you."
Junior Achievement USA
April is Financial Literacy Month in the United States, which resulted in several initiatives for Junior Achievement and its partners. First, JA and Citizens have teamed up for the annual JA Teens & Personal Finance Survey. This year's survey found that 69% of teens say rising education costs are impacting their plans for higher education, including how and where they go to college. The survey also explores the digital divide and how many teens are concerned about their ability to use technology for higher ed.
Next, JA USA announced its partnership with Gallaudet University and the Washington Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for a new video series that uses American Sign Language (ASL) to teach financial literacy to students.
Finally, earlier this week, Junior Achievement and KPMG presented a Virtual Town Hall that explored crypto, NFTs, and more for a panel discussion with industry, investment, and influencer business leaders about how students can use financial literacy and data and analytics to turn their financial gaming into mindful gaining.
JA Africa
Simi Nwogugu, CEO of JA Africa, has called on Nigeria’s changemakers to apply or be nominated for the inaugural Africa Education Medal, launched by T4 Education in collaboration with HP and Intel.
Simi joins leading figures from across Africa in support of the new award, which will be given to an outstanding individual who has demonstrated impact, leadership, and advocacy in the field of education.
In the decades leading up to the pandemic, Africa had been making great strides in boosting school enrollment. To protect and expand upon these vital gains in the wake of COVID, teachers, NGOs, politicians, tech entrepreneurs, and figures from the public and private sectors need to work together to build a future where every child in Africa can achieve the quality education that is their birthright. Read more about the nomination process, which closes June 3.
JA Europe
JA Europe is proud to present the 35 schools from the JA network that have been nominated for the 2022 Entrepreneurial School Awards. The winning schools have been invited to the July Gen-E European Entrepreneurship Event in Tallinn, Estonia, for a dedicated teachers’ session featuring AI in the classroom by Intel, a JA Europe partner.
You can also vote for the top two VET (vocational education and training) schools competing under the European Vocational Skills Week 2022: The Laboratory of Special Vocational Education of Agios Dimitrios (Greece) and The Vocational Education Competence Centre Riga State Technical School (Latvia). Vote your favorite.
Finally, next week, JA Europe will launch its brand new #Gen_E podcast series. Check out the first episode on entrepreneurship in the metaverse with its European and Technology partner, Avanade!
JA Asia Pacific
This month, JA Philippines received one of the most influential and honorable recognitions given in the Asia Pacific region, the prestigious Bronze Stevie Award. JA Philippines won the Award for Innovation in Community Relations or Public Service Communications for the Cha-Ching Curriculum under the leadership of Executive Director Krishna Alejandrino. The program was made possible through the combined efforts of JA Philippines and its Cha-Ching advocates: corporate partners, the Philippines Department of Education, teachers, parents, and students, as well as partners the Prudence Foundation and Pru Life UK.