Why the Conference Organizing Academy was founded, in 2005.
- Know how transfer
- Same challenges for at least 5 conference organizing committees worldwide every year
- Exchange of experiences
- Simulations of critical scenarios
- Improvement of communication
- Motivation for conference organizing committees members
“The idea behind the Academy was to transfer and pass down the know-how, the experience, and the administrative layouts necessary to ease the task of organising an international JCI event,” said Wolfgang Winkler, creator of the Conference Organizing Academy concept and director of the first two academies in Austria.
“Every year, at least five Junior Chamber International, JCI Organising Committees around the world start their work completely from scratch! They have to deal with problems and conflicts every COC – Conference Organising Committee has had…!”
“To solve those problems, the Conference Organizing Academy provides practical information to make the task of organising an international JCI event easier, more effective and more enjoyable, as well as to ensure better organised and more productive JCI events.”
Conference Organizing Academy attendees receive first class training and take part in outdoor exercises. They go through several modules from team building exercises, conflict management, hard and soft skills in presentation techniques, leadership, project management, time management, marketing and communications and much much more; in summary, all the skills necessary to organise a successful international event, not only or necessarily a JCI Event.
The Conference Organizing Academy has evolved during the past years to get to the year 2020 edition – the 15th Edition of the Conference Organizing Academy.
The Academy nowadays has a clear focus on the betterment of skills around conference and event production and management and the organisation of international events within but also beyond the network of JCI.
Keynote speakers from inside and outside JCI cover relevant topics, including how to enhance self management, empower team members, obtain sponsorships through effective negotiating skills, delegate, and optimize preparation and organization of events. Attendees also learn how to minimise preparation time and effort, build knowledge that could be used in the future, and improve leadership skills and conflict management.
All of this might also inspire some or move others towards engaging also in entrepreneurial ventures around the topics or optimisation of processes for more effective teams, producing better events and conferences.