Empowering Alumni with the JA Community Builders Certificate Course

December 18, 2024

JA Worldwide designed the JA Community Builders Certificate Course to empower JA alumni to lead, connect, and make an impact across the global JA network. We launched the course in October. Over 1,000 JA alumni signed up to take the course, and more than 450 earned their certificate as community builders. Today, JA Community Builders are actively organizing events, creating communities, and strengthening cross-cultural alumni connections.

JA Community Builders is a digital learning experience aimed at empowering JA alumni to become active leaders within the global JA community. It bridges the gap between newly graduated alumni and their integration into the global alumni community while also enhancing the skills of current alumni and alumni leaders. This program offers a comprehensive leadership, organization, and community engagement curriculum. Through micro-learning modules, participants earn a badge (displayed on Gather, the JA Alumni Community) and a certificate to reflect their status as “JA Community Builders.” This certificate enables them to organize community events and strengthen the JA alumni network across regions.

Training alumni as JA Community Builders creates a sustainable model for alumni engagement, improves student-to-alumni transition rates, and fosters a global network of empowered youth who serve as JA ambassadors, brand advocates, and leaders in their communities.

Course Goals

  • Empower alumni with leadership and community-building skills

  • Facilitate a seamless transition from JA student to active JA alumnus

  • Establish a network of JA Community Builders who can . . .

    • Organize and lead local alumni events

    • Serve as JA ambassadors in their communities.

    • Contribute to the growth and engagement of the global alumni network.

  • Pilot an effective model for direct-to-youth engagement that can be scaled globally

Course Requirements

  • Completion of a JA program

  • Commitment to . . .

    • Being an active member of the JA Community Builder network

    • Community leadership and engagement

    • Representing JA values

    • Organizing local alumni activities with your alumni network (or leading efforts if a network doesn’t exist)

  • Access to the internet for online course completion

  • Ability to dedicate 1–2 hours to complete the course

Module Details

Module 1: Global Citizenship

Content Overview: Understanding global citizenship and cross-cultural communication

  • Video speaker: Howard Leong, Research Strategist at JA Worldwide, shares his experiences in global citizenship

  • Shares personal experiences in global citizenship

  • Discusses the importance of cross-cultural communication in building communities

Module 2: Growth and Impact

Content Overview: Fostering a growth mindset for entrepreneurship and social impact.

  • Video speakers (two perspectives):

    • Entrepreneurship path: Maya Bezubiak and Cainwyn Clark, founders of ELVTE Apparel, share their experiences as entrepreneurs who are now collaborating with JA Worldwide.

    • Social-impact path: Jonas Dreier and Federica Pereira, part of the JA alumni boards in Europe and Uruguay, share their experiences as individuals who chose non-entrepreneurial careers while dedicating time to social impact.

  • Action: Discuss creating and navigating impact while pursuing non-entrepreneurial career paths

Module 3: Gather and Engage

Content Overview: Building networks and utilizing the Gather platform effectively

  • Video speaker: JA Greater Boston office discusses its unique use of Gather to benefit alumni and staff, sharing strategies and successful implementation

  • Demonstrates successful use of Gather for alumni engagement

  • Action: Share best practices and success stories

So far, over 450 participants have become official JA Community Builders, leading and committing to at least one call to action annually. This initiative fosters a “by alumni, for alumni” approach, empowering alumni to organize events and create communities that sustain and grow the JA network.

Stay tuned for more updates, including the next round of applications for the JA Community Builder course, as we continue to build and strengthen our global JA community!

Alumni, 2024December, FeaturedJA Worldwide