Virtual JA Events Take Center Stage in 2020

May 13, 2020

Difficult and uncertain times call for innovation, and JA offices have responded with enthusiasm and heart. We often say that resilience is built into JA’s DNA, but the shift in the way JA locations offer programs in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic has proven that it’s not only in the DNA of the organization, but in those who make up the organization—from staff to volunteers and, of course, JA students. 

At the global level, JA Worldwide launched our #KeepLearning initiative in March, shortly after much of the world close schools and workplaces. The collection has curated more than 50 digital-learning experiences from JA member countries around the world in nearly a dozen languages, and continues to grow every week. All programs are available free of charge to global youth.

In addition to hands-on learning experiences, JA is known for our events, ranging from Company of the Year competitions to business challenges, in which face-to-face teams are given a problem to solve and, in real-time, develop a business solution, pitch it, and compete for top prizes. These, too, have gone digital in the face of COVID-19.

INJAZ Beyond Borders

On April 16, 2020, INJAZ Al-Arab JA MENA, with support of Citi Foundation, held a virtual innovation challenge during which 280 young people between the ages of 18 and 24 worked together to imagine innovative solutions to education and healthcare challenges created by the COVID-19 crisis. Here are just a few of the winning solutions teams put forth in the competition:

Challenge topic: Education
Question: How might we develop a more open & flexible educational system in the future that allows learning to go uninterrupted?
Solution: Provide services that are affordable (and even free of charge) and accessible through a reliable and an efficient communication program for all students, such as on TV, through the internet for computers and laptops, and via telephone, all with an app connected to the communication channel.
Winning team: EDB1

Challenge topic: Health
Question: How might we rapidly equip and empower the healthcare community to fight COVID-19?
Solution: Create a mobile app for all devices accessible from anywhere in the MENA region that connects patients to general practitioners.
Winning team: Team Homies

Challenge topic: Education
Question: How might we improve the delivery of educational content and increase access to that content and/or instructors through technological means in the future?
Solution: Through governmental action, gamification, and partnerships.

  • Governmental action: Decrease the cost of internet connectivity to support a wider range of students

  • Gamification: Increase learners’ motivation and engagement by incorporating game design elements into educational environments

  • Partnerships: Build partnerships between states (education ministries), social services, NGOs, industries (such as electronic device manufacturers), mobile/internet service providers, web app and software developers

Winning team: BeYouthers

Company of the Year Competitions

At the beginning of each calendar year and continuing through the spring and summer, JA locations around the world start holding Company of the Year competitions at the national levels. The winners of these competitions go on to compete against other students from their regions in the six regional Company of the Year competitions in Asia Pacific, Europe, USA, MENA, the Americas, and Africa. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 competitions have taken an innovative turn.

Traditional aspects of the annual multi-day events included face-to-face interactions, student company trade fairs, and on-stage presentations, along with domestic and international travel. How can these hallmark JA events be replicated? With six regions holding Company of the Year competitions annually, each finds itself in a unique situation with major decisions to be made. Fortunately, global partners like Avanade responded to support JA in this sudden shift and, with resilience, innovation, and an abundance of entrepreneurial minds on our side, the JA network has responded with ingenuity and enthusiasm.

JA USA

Originally scheduled for a June conference in Washington, D.C. in June, the JA USA National Student Leadership Conference will be held entirely online. Still spanning three days, the event will include student networking sessions, Company of the Year team interviews with judges, and student company presentations. Sponsors EY, FedEx, and Delta will still hold their key seminars as well—the EY Innovation Seminar, the FedEx Global Possibilities Seminar, and the Delta Social Impact Seminar—to go along with the sponsors’ annual signature awards. The 2020 National Student Leadership Summit student company applications must be submitted by May 15, 2020. JA USA will announce the elite selection of 15 companies that will compete in the region’s Company of the Year competition on May 22, 2020. 

JA Europe

Portugal was slated to play host to the 2020 JA Europe Company of the Year competition in July. With novel coronavirus severely disrupting life on the continent, the event has been moved to be entirely digital. But before the regional competition comes the national competitions. Local organizations including JA Greece, Nuori Yrittäjyys (JA Finland), and JAYE Malta have held their events entirely online, further proving that it can be done.

 Nuori Yrittäjyys (JA Finland), April 23, 2020

JAYE Malta, May 6, 2020

JA Greece, May 8, 2020

Watch the JA Greece 2020 Company of the Year awards ceremony on YouTube.

JA Asia Pacific 

JA Asia Pacific originally planned to hold its regional Company of the Year competition in March 2020. JA students had been running their companies and preparing to compete in Guam for the coveted title of Company of the Year, but with the regional spread of what would become a global pandemic, plans needed to change, and the event was put on hold. Many towns and provinces began to reopen in the Asia Pacific region starting in April, so the region hopes to hold its Company of the Year competition live from August 23–27, 2020.

INJAZ Al-Arab, JA Americas, and JA Africa

At this point in time, the INJAZ Al-Arab Young Entrepreneurs Competition is still scheduled to take place in Morocco in November, JA Americas Company of the Year competition is still expected to occur in December in Guatemala, and JA Africa’s Company of the Year competition is on track for December in Eswatini. These events are, however, all dependent on the COVID-19 situation in the respective regions and host countries toward the end of 2020.

Global Support

In the face of uncertainty, JA is fortunate to have hundreds of thousands of steadfast supporters around the world. In particular, FedEx, a sponsor of all six regional competitions, where the global delivery company also hosts a seminar for students. Previously called the FedEx Access Seminar and FedEx Access Award, in 2020 participants will work together in the 60-minute seminar to respond to a series of challenges designed to demonstrate how entrepreneurs and businesses build connections that power the world. Like the competitions, these seminars will be held virtually with FedEx professionals as part of the regional events. At the end of the event, the student company that best demonstrates the principles of global connectivity put forth in the seminar, as judged by FedEx representative, will win the new Global Possibilities Award.

Be on the lookout for more news about the virtual online Company of the Year competitions. We’ll be covering all six on the JA Worldwide blog.