My name is Tuomo Isokivijärvi and I am participating in JCI activities now for the first time. As a 27-year old entrepreneur and graduating student at University of Tampere, it was an interesting opportunity to join the new chapter, JCI United. Although I really had no idea whatsoever about what people actually do in JCI activities.
Why participate in something I do not know about, I asked myself. I guess I have always had that attraction towards something new and something that requires learning and meeting new people. And in the case of JCI United, the settings were just right as the focus is in being an international chapter and open to new views, ideas and new people. The chamber seemed really pleasant and inviting even to someone new like me and that might be the reason I jumped in and took this leap of faith.
When it comes to what people really do in JCI, I still don’t have a clear picture. However, as far as I can say, it does include all I mentioned earlier and a vast amount of other things, like challenging projects where people can improve their skills on practically anything we need in the future. Learning by doing is something not so familiar for various organizations or at least the concept is not so consciously accepted as in the JCI activities. I find this approach and experimental culture vital for people in the future organizations to grasp as the development is happening faster and faster. Internationalization, as I see it, is really something we would need to be able to grasp too.
What I’ve also learned from my short participation in JCI United is that people involved are more laid back than tense or proud. In addition they have this positive view on the world and they see things more from the opportunity than an obligation point of view. Likewise, I really prefer this approach in life. JCI United was established in Tampere, which really is like the cherry on the cake. After all, like we all know, Tampere is the world’s best city no matter how internationally you look at it.
JCI (United) Rookie
LOM
Tuomo Isokivijärvi