On the Edge of Success: Discovering the Path Forward 9th JA-YE Alumni Europe Annual Conference
Final Report
Thank you to all the participants, speakers and friends who contributed for the success of this event. JA Alumni Portugal
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> On the Edge of Success: Discovering the Path Forward 9th JA-YE Alumni Europe International Conference, Porto, Portugal
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JA-YE Alumni Europe
JA-YE Alumni Europe
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The Alumni Conference
The European Alumni Organisation, JA-YE Alumni Europe, is a Pan-European non-profit network existing of young entrepreneurial people across 24 active European membership countries. Today the organisation counts around +4,000 registered members and has a high potential for future growth.
Participants and new countries
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The Team
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The Agenda
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Feedback Communication, logistics, food, key note speakers, Workshop Event “Remember the Programme”, cultural agenda, overall evaluation
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Accounting
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Thanking notes
At JA-YE Alumni Europe we do our best to provide events of the highest level, where the participants leave inspired and motivated. We do this to encourage the young people to push themselves to be extraordinary and believe in their ability to make a difference. This year, the most important annual event of the youth network took place in the city of Porto, Portugal. It gathered 85 of the best young entrepreneurs and business leaders from 22 countries. Under the heading: “On the Edge of Success: Discovering the Path Forward” the event inspired, fostered networking and self-development opportunities for all the participants and gave our partners the unique chance to strengthen their relations with innovative and creative people.
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Participant’s Impressions
“Porto, you set the bar very high!!”
> The Alumni Conference The adventure of organising the 9th JA-YE Alumni Conference started in October 2011 when JA Alumni Portugal was invited to welcome this event. The main work started in January 2012, when a small core of people started the preparations. After several months of work, registrations opened in the last week of May and just after one month they were closed. Only a hand full of participants had the chance to be accepted after this, for specific reasons.
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Participants & New Countries The 9th International Conference counted 108 registrations, from which 85 were accepted, the biggest number of attendees accepted in the history of this event. Plus, for the first time ever, participants from outside Europe were welcomed in a narrow collaboration with Intel and HP. New countries were also part of this conference: Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Romania and the United Kingdom made their debut in Porto Conference, becoming the newest members of this organization – raising the number of member countries to 24. Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and Zimbabwe participated in the Conference.
Participant’s Impressions
The organizing team rocks! They were always smiling, helpful and very well coordinated.
> The Team Ricardo Martins Costa, 23 Vice President, JA-YE Alumni Europe Pedro Espírito Santo, 21 President, JA Alumni Portugal Artur Dias, 23 Board, JA Alumni Portugal Bernardo Santos, 20 Board, JA Alumni Portugal David Eiras, 25 Board, JA Alumni Portugal Francisco Matos, 20 Board, JA Alumni Portugal
Maria Lemos, 21 Board, JA Alumni Portugal Carolina Beja, 21 Board, JA Alumni Portugal Mariana Ramos, 21 JA Alumni Portugal Luís Vieira, 23 JA Alumni Portugal Pedro Quintas, 21 JA Alumni Portugal Tiago Carvalho, 21 Photographer, JA Alumni Portugal
Diogo Lopes, 21 Board, JA Alumni Portugal
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Participant’s Impressions
“Thanks a lot for this amazing conference! It was a pleasure to be there!!”
> The Agenda Several lectures were held between 29th of August and 2nd September. Some of the best and renowned speakers of the country were present. Paulo Gray, António Lucena de Faria, Miguel Gonçalves, Nuno Arroteia, João Aroso, Nuno Freitas, Pedro Gonçalves and Ricardo Pereira were the responsibles for these moments that brought an insightful perspective over the entrepreneurial world. Graça Lacerda was responsible for a wonderful lecture about the typical dish called “Francesinha”. Bento Amaral gave all the participants details about an ancient business that has been the Porto’s flag in World: Port Wine. One of the highlights of the Conference was the visit to Casa da Música were architecture and music were fused in an unforgettable tour.
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A tour where networking was the goal made the Douro River trip the perfect ending for this adventure. Actually, networking was one of the goals for this Conference and several moments were created to guarantee this – longer lunches and dinners were established to achieve it. Also, the workshop “Remember the Programme” was another highlight of the Conference and it was classified as “attractive and different“, “important to remember the reason why we are in this organisation” and “awesome combination of business work and handicraft work” by some of the participants in the feedback form. Paulo Gray, Verónica Couto and Mikko Jaatinen were part of the jury.
Participant’s Impressions
“We all made a lot of new friends at the conference and we learned a lot of new things. I totally enjoyed it!”
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Participant’s Impressions
“It was fantastic!”
> The Feedback
4,7 > Communication
Feedback is very important to know the real opinion of those who have participated in the event. We asked the participants to fill the feedback form anonymously and rate the several moments of the Conference from 1 (Poor) to 5 (Excellent). Plus we gave them freedom to express their good or bad opinion of each moment. The results will be presented according to each part of the form. The main points were communication, logistics, food, keynote speakers, workshop event, cultural activities and general conference. All the following information presented intends to represent the majority of comments of the Feedback Form.
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5
It was considered by many the best Conference ever in terms of communication. A large amount of time was devoted to this matter and all the participants got an answer to every question in a maximum of 24 hours. More than 200 emails were sent and several calls were made. “It was great! Something that will be hard to beat by other countries!” “Probably you've done more than expected, more than we needed!” “Absolutely no suggestions, since the communication went smoothly and professionally” “All instruction before the Conference was clear and professional. During the Conference nearly everything was on time and well organized.”
Participant’s Impressions
“We all made a lot of new friends at the conference and we learned a lot of new things. I totally enjoyed it!”
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Participant’s Impressions
“No comments, well organized”
4,8 > Logistics
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4,6 > Food
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In a dicey choice, the Porto conference was held in several different venues. Taking into account the hotel location, the organization chose Palácio de Cristal, Pharmacy Faculty, Casa do Infante and Soares dos Reis Museum to hold the lectures.
With several different cultures around Europe, it is hard to please everyone. With a wide variety of food, the organization tried to satisfy the crowd. With a positive review of 92% of the participants, the Portuguese cuisine seemed to thrill even the most exquisite tastes.
The hotel was also one of the main concerns: quality and location were top priorities. From the feedback we had from the participants, it was an overall consensus that we made the right choice. A 4.8 average grade makes us believe that it was near perfection.
During the event, only traditional food was served: from duck rice, to some cod dishes, fresh fish and the famous francesinha. Plus, the schedules for dinners were in Portuguese time, meaning a little late for middle and northern Europeans – but when in Rome…
“I loved the different venues every day. The atmosphere was amazing especially the first and the third day!”
“Brilliant!!! Loved the dinners!!!”
“Do it the same way! Everything was very near, easy to find and we didn’t have to take bus or be divided into groups to reach the locations.”
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“This is so far the best conference and overall official JAYE Alumni event regarding this topic!”
Participant’s Impressions
“I loved it, the hotel was very beautiful and the other facilities as well”
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Participant’s Impressions
“Very good”
4 > Keynote Speakers
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The keynote speakers in Porto conference were carefully chosen. Their experience and knowledge were put to the test to a sharp-eyed audience. Events like the Alumni Conference, mix people with very different backgrounds, meaning that the content has to be general and interesting enough for everyone to understand. Following JA-YE Alumni Europe plan for 2012 year, our focus was on entrepreneurship and even Caroline Jenner 1 stated that is the way to go. The organization wanted to go back to the roots by focusing on a topic that was forgotten and that has to be revived. The main advices from the feedback pointed to the need of having more time for Q&A and for reducing the number of speakers during one day.
1 Caroline
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Jenner, CEO JA-YE Europe, during the European Board Meeting 2012 (12-10-2012)
4,6 > Workshop Event “Remember the Programme” In a unique celebration of the 10th anniversary of JA-YE Europe, its former students decided to remember their common experience: the JA programme. A very different day with a very different workshop made the participants divide into groups and create a company from scratch. In 7 hours they had to form the best egg package company to present to a group of fictional investors/ jury (Paulo Gray, Verónica Couto and Mikko Jaatinen). The twist was that they would have to produce the package with a limited amount of supplies and the egg would have to survive to a 1.5 meter fall. The event was a fun, entertaining and knowledgeable moment. “I loved it; we need more of that… We need to remember why we are in this organization… That we love entrepreneurship and innovation and that we have the JA-YE background!”
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Participant’s Impressions
“Business work in combination with handicraft work awesome!”
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Participant’s Impressions
“The cultural side of the agenda was just awesome. Good job Alumni Portugal” ”
4,9 > Cultural Agenda
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With an amazing 4.9 average grade, this was indeed a victory for the city of Porto. The performance of Coro de Farmácia (Pharmacy Choir of University of Porto) was a remarkable moment that allowed the participants to relax and interact with a Portuguese university tradition. Casa da Música impressed all the participants with its unique fusion of architecture and music. Port vineyards and cellars showed that tradition can also mean business and finally the boat trip on Douro River seemed to have conquered the heart of every participant. “Truly amazing and unforgettable! This type of the experiences is what a conference participant remembers for good. Huge plus!” “Porto is an awesome city so I was glad to have the chance to see some of its monuments. I really enjoyed it!”
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4,8 > The Conference
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The 9th Annual JA-YE Alumni Europe Conference, On the Edge of Success: Discovering the Path Forward, scored exceptionally positive remarks. A mix between new and more experienced participants had the chance to meet in a four day event that offered a unique experience to all the alumni, guests and speakers. In the review, Porto conference was rated with a 4.8 average grade in a scale of 1 to 5, having 98% of the reviews rated with 4 (Very Good) or 5 (Outstanding). This was an indicator of an especially successful event. “Everything was great: from the organizing team, to the agenda, the speakers and the food. I can continue a lot with things that I have enjoyed. The most important thing is that we all made a lot of new friends at the conference and we learned a lot of new things. I totally enjoyed it!”
Participant’s Impressions
“Great job, guys! There was so much more than I actually expected and I enjoyed it soooo much!”
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Participant’s Impressions
“Thank you to the awesome team!”
> Accounting The following results represent the expenses occurred during all stages of the event and its preparation. Offers (like lectures venues) and goods (like coffee breaks) were estimated according to the price sold to the public. With a positive result, the conference was sustainable and proved that the best quality/price choices were made.
Expenses Food Transports Accommodation Graphic & Office Supplies Website Telecommunications Cultural Activities Workshop Venues & Gifts Others Total
Goods/Offers
9.437,75 € 1050,98 € 9.940,00 € 1.072,52 € 52,30 € 80,00 € 831,00 € 21,77 € 26,50 € 19,00 € - 22.531,82€
725,00€ 4.000,00€ 510,00€ 3.200,00€ - 8.435,00€
Sponsorships (including goods) & Fees Fees Bata EM Group University of Porto Cerealis Unicer Museu Soares dos Reis Câmara Municipal do Porto DUE Taylor’s Port Casa da Música Faculty of Pharmacy Total
12.860,59 € 10.000,00€ 1.000,00€ 500,00€
+ 24.360,59€
Final Result Sponsorships - Expenses
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Goods & Venues
+1.828,77€
500,00€ 225,00€ 800,00€ 1.600,00€ 4.000,00€ 255,00€ 255,00€ 800,00€ + 8.435,00€
Participant’s Impressions
“Pity that there wasn't enough time to see even more from Porto and his cultural side!”
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Participant’s Impressions
“Thanks a lot for this amazing conference! It was a pleasure to be there!!”
> Thanking notes JA Alumni Portugal and JA-YE Alumni Europe have to express their greatest gratitude BATA, EM Group, University of Porto, Cerealis, Unicer, Museu Soares dos Reis, Câmara Municipal do Porto, Porto Cultura, DUE, Taylor’s Port, Casa da Música, Faculty of Pharmacy for their partnership and for making this possible!
short time. Maria Graça Lacerda from CM Porto deserves our highest consideration for her help on the venues and the extremely interesting Francesinha lecture and Ana Castro also from CM Porto and regarding the help on the venues. The help of Lari Raitavuo on the EM Group partnership was essential, thank you!
We would also like to thank The Next Big Idea for the media coverage and Intel and HP for being part of the project. Caetano Baviera – Mini Portugal was essential for the success of this event, plus we need to mention Douro Acima who has provided us a great service and a great view to Douro River, Crème Porto for providing us a great location for the Gala evening and HF Hotels for a distinguished accommodation service.
For last but definitely not least: this project could not have been carried without the help of an outstanding team. Mariana Ramos, Maria Lemos, Carolina Beja, Pedro Espírito Santo, Luís Vieira, Pedro Quintas e Tiago Carvalho did an amazing job and were absolutely unmatchable on their tasks.
Personally I want to thank the former Alumni Europe’s board for all their help – Mikko Jaatinen, Louise Edwards, Elena Tosheva, David Eiras, Sara Green Brodersen and Preslav Mitranov. A word of appreciation to Roxana Stefanescu for her help during several steps of the project and for António Alegre regarding all the customized material in such short . 18
Obviously my thanking notes could not be complete without a special thanks to four people that have shown a dazzling commitment to this network and event, their effort and professionalism deserve my highest appreciation and their patience seemed endless – thank you Bernardo Pequito dos Santos, Diogo Minhava Lopes, Francisco Matos and Artur Raimundo Dias! Ricardo Martins Costa
See you all next year!!! JA Alumni Portugal
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Feel free to contact JA-YE Alumni Europe or JA Alumni Portugal at any time http://alumni.ja-ye.org www.alumniportugal.org www.alumni-conference.com November, 2012 20