The weekend of November 11, 12 and 13 marked a highlight for European Junior Entrepreneurs who were able to meet in Paris for the Junior Enterprises Europe Autumn Conferenceone of the four annual meetings of the European Junior Enterprise network.
What is Junior Entreprises Europe?
Founded in 1992, the European Confederation of Junior Enterprises, Junior Enterprises Europe (JEE), works with the national Confederations, in a bottom-up manner, to lead the network of European Junior Enterprises. With 380 Junior-Enterprises, the network has more than 34,000 Junior-Entrepreneurs who carry out more than 5,000 projects each year for 55 years.
The actions of the European Confederation are guided by three main objectives in order to boost the development of the European network of Junior Enterprises:
- development: expanding the concept of Junior Enterprise in a sustainable manner;
- integration: improve the exchange of good practices and promote synergies within the network;
- recognition: increasing the visibility of Junior Enterprises on the market, in order to acquire more project opportunities.
As part of its activity, Junior Enterprises Europe organizes four international conferences each year, in collaboration with a Junior, for Junior Enterprises in Europe:
- the fall conference (Junior Enterprises Europe Autumn Conference) in the month of November;
- the winter conference (Junior Enterprises Europe Winter Conference) in March;
- the spring conference (Junior Enterprises Europe Spring Conference) in the month of May;
- the summer conference (Junior Enterprises Europe Summer Conference) in July.
The Junior Enterprises Europe Autumn Conference
So this is the JEE fall conference, the Junior Enterprises Europe Autumn Conference, which took place on the weekend of November 11, 12 and 13. Organized jointly by JEE and the French Junior-Enterprise Junior ISIT, it brought together around 200 Junior-Entrepreneurs from all over Europe for the event in Paris. France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Romania, Belgium, Portugal, Austria and the Netherlands were there.
The event was organized in a hybrid format and in-person and remote participants had the opportunity to participate in workshops, exchange sessions and even conferences. ISIT, the Grande École of intercultural management and communication from which Junior ISIT comes, on this occasion welcomed the majority of participants who were in person on site in its premises and thus marked the first return in person of a conference of autumn since the Covid crisis.
Created in 2010, Junior ISIT is the first French Junior Enterprise specializing in linguistic and intercultural expertise, which aims to support each of its clients in the development of their activity in France and internationally. Alicia Garrigoux-Desmoulins, International manager of Junior ISIT, at the head of the organization of the event, testifies: “ What an experience! After more than 6 months of work, it was fantastic to see this project take shape, to see Junior Entrepreneurs from all over Europe come together, with a single goal: to exchange, to train, and to ‘evolve together around responsible, intercultural, daring and inclusive themes that are close to our hearts at Junior ISIT. This event could not better reflect our identity, and our team is very proud of it today.. »
An event beyond borders
The event revolved around the theme “Beyond Borders”, a mysterious title, behind which lies a reflection on the identity of Junior ISIT and European Junior Enterprises. Choosing this theme was for Junior ISIT “ choose to highlight interculturality and exchanges in order to create an inclusive hybrid event “.
The theme thus represents European Junior Entrepreneurs, crossing borders to come to the conference, with the desire to meet in a unique place that promotes diversity and inclusion. It also illustrates the desire to overcome limitations – material and non-material. Being a Junior Entrepreneur is represented as a challenge that helps one go beyond one’s comfort zone, with challenges not being seen as obstacles, but rather as an opportunity to learn and grow. Going “beyond borders” means trying to understand everyone’s point of view in a dynamic of promoting international cooperation.
The main objective of the event was for Europe’s Junior Entrepreneurs to work together, hand in hand, to meet the world’s biggest challenge: promoting just, peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.
On the program for the JEE Autumn Conference: workshops and conviviality
Workshops and conferences
Around this guideline, workshops were organized, in line with the values of the Junior-Enterprise hosting the weekend: daring, intercultural, human and responsible. From CSR to international issues, several training sessions were on the program.
Some sessions were led by external speakers, specialists or experts in their field:
- Become an actor of change in the world, by Time for the Planetan association investing in the fight against climate change in France and abroad
- Why code if you can model?, by Quidgesta software engineering company based in Lisbon, Munich, Maputo and Dili
- Responsible entrepreneurship and circular economy, by Eco-Friendly Web Alliancecreator of the world’s first ecological standard for websites and digital infrastructures.
- The challenges of digital transformation and green practices, for example OrangeFrench telecommunications company
Some Junior Enterprises also took part in the games and shared their experience with the other participants:
- How to make an impactful presentation, by Iscac Junior SolutionsJunior Enterprise from Coimbra Business School specializing in marketing.
- How to overcome the language barrier and create community in a foreign country?, by I Bolognathe Junior Enterprise of the University of Bologna and Outcitya startup that created an app for international students.
Three workshops were also presented by the National Confederation of Junior Enterprises (CNJE) French:
- Event organization: tools and logistics
- How to manage your team and maintain their engagement throughout the year?
- CSR in Junior Enterprises, through CSR Committee
Finally, Junior ISIT, organizer of the event, also led three sessions for participants:
- Management of international partnerships,
- Inclusion matters
- Management of Junior-Entrepreneurs members abroad
An international Business Game
The participants of the JEE Autumn Conference were encouraged to think collectively and interculturally within the framework of an international Business Game. The sixty participants in this workshop had to think, in groups of mixed nationalities, about ecological tourism in Bulgaria and its potential implementation, as if they were responding to a call for tenders from the local government. A presentation by group was then made in front of a jury made up of four members: two from Junior ISIT, one from the Quidgest company and a member of the CNJE.
Times of exchange and conviviality
Beyond the daytime working sessions, the event also included several discussion periods so that participants could meet, create their network and enjoy their stay in the capital. A networking session was therefore on the program, as well as team buildings, a cultural tourist tour in Paris and a gala dinner in a Parisian cinema.
Next stop: JEE Winter Conference
If the participants were delighted with this event, as Sancho Sampaio states, International Manager from ISCAC Junior Solutions: “ It was surely the best event I participated in during the two years of my Junior-Entrepreneur journey. », the European networks will soon meet again for the next meeting of the Movement, from March 10 to 13, 2023, during the JEE winter conference.
There Junior Enterprises Europe Winter Conference is the largest conference organized by Junior Entreprises Europe and the next one will also mark its big return in person, the last in this format having been that of 2020. The winter conference is held each year in Brussels and this year will bring together 400 participants from 16 different nationalities and countries.
It will also be an opportunity for European Junior Enterprises to stand out and inspire, during the presentation of European prizes awarded for:
- the project with the most impact;
- the most sustainable Junior Enterprise;
- the most European Junior Enterprise;
- the most promising Junior Enterprise;
- Junior Company of the Year.
