JA Alumni Gather in Portugal for the Global Alumni Summit

August 22–24, 2024

EMERGE, the JA Global Alumni Summit, officially kicks off today! More than 300 JA alumni from over 70 nations are gathered in Porto, Portugal, to connect, engage, and unite with purpose.

The summit serves as a catalyst for change, empowering each participant to take action, big or small. This movement is truly in your hands. This is an opportunity for each alumnus to immerse themselves in diverse perspectives, explore new ways of living, and forge friendships that will last a lifetime. Of course, the summit is just the beginning; the journey of change continues with each JA alumnus.

Day 1: Emerge Opening

JA alumni leaders—presidents and vice presidents or board members—joined the first-ever Alumni Leaders Academy Global to hear keynotes and strategize ways to expand the JA alumni movement in their countries and regions.

In the afternoon, summit participants celebrated the official opening ceremony with a keynote from Cameron Sinclair, Founder of the Worldchanging Institute, and a workshop powered by Cortico and the MIT Center for Construction Communication.

Humanitarian entrepreneur Cameron Sinclair focuses on empowering and uplifting human lives. “The world desperately needs thoughtful and impassioned entrepreneurs,” he declared. “You don’t need high tech to make a difference.” He encouraged alumni to devise solutions that break boundaries and seek out problems that can be solved through entrepreneurship. He encouraged everyone to think about bettering the world for future generations: “You’re not just alumni for 2024, you’re alumni for 2044!”

Vy Dao, Director of Learning and Practice at Cortico discussed the organization’s work with the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (who work with JA to power YouthVoices.org) and upcoming projects. She also shared why communication and conversations matter: “Hearing the humanity in others is necessary for communities to function” because all people deserve to be heard, no matter how quiet they are.

In the evening, alumni networked and got to know each other over dinner on the Douro River.

Day 2: Emerge Beyond Borders

Alumni gathered in Porto’s Casa da Música early Friday for a day of keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, and masterclasses with leadership experts, coaches, executives, and fellow alumni.

INJAZ Lebanon alumnus, JA Worldwide Board of Governors member, and Nafda Lebanon founder Fahd Jamaleddine opened Day 2 with an invigorating an inspiring keynote about his personal journey and how JA (called INJAZ in the Middle East and North Africa) prepared him for a life of entrepreneurship, how he found purpose, and how he is making his dreams come true.

Leadership coach and marketing strategist Jenny Fernandez discussed essential skills and practices for entrepreneurs and leaders, including how to identify and define personal brand, how to find coaches and mentors, how to find balance and be resilient, and why all of it matters for success.

JA Worldwide CEO Asheesh Advani presented lessons from his new book Modern Achievement in an interactive workshop about leadership and entrepreneurship for young people. Vivian Lau, Chair and Group of CEO Pacific Air Holdings Ltd. and member of the JA Worldwide Board of Governors, who shared her story of leadership and how she identified and achieved her goals.

Camille Blair, Strategy Lead at Capital One and JA Worldwide Global Council member, led a panel called “Think Global, Act Local” with Daniel Abella, Director at Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF); Isabel Paiva, Sustainability Manager at Cofidis Portugal; Margarida Pintocorreia, External Affairs & Stakeholders Global Unit at Energias de Portugal (EDP); and Caroline Jenner, COO at JA Worldwide.

After lunch, participants split up to attend a variety of masterclasses. PMIEF, a main summit sponsor, hosted two masterclasses on project management for JA alumni and JA staff; Cofidis held a masterclass on innovation and design thinking; and EDP spoke about Change Management. JA alumni applied and were selected to host afternoon masterclasses for fellow participants:  

  • "The Neurochemistry of Collaboration: Creating Effective Connections in Any Environment," Federica Pereira Agosto, Global Youth Advocate and DESEM Uruguay alumna

  • “The Art of Presentations,” Salma Shaikho, INJAZ Bahrain alumna

  • “How to Inspire and Lead,” Viktor Petrov Tsvetanov, JA Alumni Bulgaria alumnus

  • “Agripreneurship,” JA Eswatini Start-Up Award Winner, Gcina Petros Dlamini, JA Eswatini alumna

In the evening, alumni shared their global cultures at the Palácio da Bolsa, the historic Portuguese stock exchange, and celebrated the first-ever JA Global Alumni Awards.

JA Global Alumni Awards

The Innovation Award celebrates JA alumni and alumni network that have used innovative and creative approaches to engage and grow their alumni network. This award honors those who have successfully implemented unique strategies to enhance alumni involvement and expand their community.
Winner: Stevia Anlena Putri, Prestasi Junior Indonesia

The Community Award recognizes JA alumni and alumni networks that have contributed to building and strengthening communities through various initiatives or community projects. This award honors efforts that foster community spirit, engagement, and support.
Winner: JA México Alumni

The Global Citizen Award celebrates JA alumni and alumni networks that have made remarkable contributions on an international scale (virtual or in person), promoting global citizenship and collaboration across borders. This award recognizes efforts that have significantly impacted the global alumni community through both virtual and in-person initiatives.
Winner: Presasti Junior Alumni

The Leadership Award honors JA alumni and alumni networks that have demonstrated outstanding leadership and innovation within their alumni chapter or local area. This award recognizes those who have shown exceptional ability to inspire, lead, and drive positive change within their community.
Winner: Raine Nakpil, JA Philippines Alumni

Day 3

The third and final day of the JA Global Alumni Summit started with a keynote from JA Europe CEO Salvatore Nigro on the future of JA alumni business owners. Sal highlighted inspiring JA alumni like Global Business Hall of Fame Laureate Cornel Amariei, a JA Romania alumnus, and others, and discussed the impact their JA experiences had on their entrepreneurial journeys.

Next, the Gather Business Pitch Competition showcased six JA alumni and their business, giving each two minutes on stage to pitch, followed by three minutes of Q&A from the panel of judges. The competition was inspired by JA USA alumnus David Meltzer’s pitch competition television 2 Minute Drill (watch JA alumni compete on the show in season 3, season 4, and season 5). Ted Mwatha, President, JA Kenya Alumni, and Eleni Kisiri, Partnerships Manager at JA Alumni Europe, hosted. 

Alumni Pitches

Million Peacemakers Chief Executive Peacemaker Stephen Hecht and Alexandra Sevillano Dahlqvist, Co-Chair of the Million Peacemakers Youth Team, presented a nonflict workshop, giving actionable and immediately implementable practices to avoid or handle conflict.

JA Alumni Europe Honoris members took to the stage next to discuss founding the JA network’s oldest alumni community. Panel host and founding member Mikko Jaatinen, a JA Finland alumnus, spoke with Louise Vang Edwards, Director, Head of Department at CREADIS; Ricardo Martins Cost, Partner at turnU; Bastian Zarske Bueno, Venture Capital Investor and Advisor to Corporates, Banks, Fos, and Startups; Ragna Jebsen, Working Student Digital Transformation at Dicide GmbH about their experiences as JA alumni and how the network has impacted their lives.

Opening day speaker Cameron Sinclair returned to the stage for the final conference session to discuss creating a life you love with Bethany Halbreich.

The summit concluded with a celebration of 20 years of JA Alumni Europe. The network honored JA alumni national coordinators from around the region and announced that JA Alumni Europe President Loran Geskens will return to serve as president for another year. JA Worldwide’s Sarah Rapp, Director of Alumni and People and Engagement, was also honored as one of the network’s Alumni of the Year.

Special thanks to summit gold sponsors—PMIEF and FedEx—and silver sponsors—Cofidis, Hivebright, the city of Porto, EDP, Cortico, and the MIT Center for Constructive Communication—who helped make this event possible. We also couldn’t have done it without JA Alumni Europe, JA Alumni Portugal, and our hosts JA Portugal.

Featured, Alumni, 2024AugustJA Worldwide