Author: Melany van Ommeren

Junior Chamber International is an international social organization that aims to address community issues
while creating development opportunities for its members.
Founded in 1915 the organization has since grown to over 1000+ local chapters in over 24 countries.
In Suriname, the national organization JCI Suriname was founded in 1961 and as of 2022 there are 6 local chapters under this umbrella.

JCI Paramaribo being the oldest chapter, followed by JCI Nilom, JCI Female, JCI Unify, JCI SYMA and JCI Urban.
I myself am a member of JCI Unify and a national officer within the board of JCI Suriname for 2022.
In order to execute long term and impactful community projects, we in part rely on the support of external organizations, may this be in the form of manpower, goods 7 services or financial funding.
Fernandes Autohandel N.V., a company that supports community development and social activism, has supported JCI Unify in 2021 during their fundraising event, JCI Unify Scavenger Hunt and Drive Through Tasting. This fundraising event was a big success and part of the profit was donated to the animal shelter. In 2022, Fernandes Autohandel N.V., once again showed their support by endorsing me, as a national officer of JCI Suriname.

After almost 3 years, JCI organized a physical international conference, hosted by the island of Curaçao.
The Conference of America, Networking, workshops, trainings, socializing, fun and relaxation were the focus of this conference.
It was a combination of strengthening partnerships and working together on global issues, while also encouraging friendships and recognizing projects and individuals who have created an impact within their organizations in the past year. After winning the award for Most Outstanding Local President in 2021 on a local lever, I was nominated for the same title but now on an international level.
The conference of America was held from May 17th till May 21st 2022 at the World Trade Center in Dushi Curaçao.

The mornings and afternoons were packed with workshops and trainings, where each day ended in a themed
party for the participants. Two of the highlights were definitely the Global Village Night, where each represented country had a booth
with their national drinks and various national snacks and the Awards Ceremony. Out of the possible 21 candidates I was chosen as part of the top 3 contenders for the award of Most Outstanding Local President. However, Brazil took home the win.
Overall this conference was an amazing experience after not having been able to travel for the past 2, almost 3
years.

I am grateful to have been a part of it and grateful to Fernandes Autohandel N.V. who made it possible for me to attend. JCI is an amazing organization with members that keep working towards positive change and impact. May other organizations and companies take notice of the support that Fernandes Autohandel N.V. provides to such hardworking social organizations, so we can keep on growing and bringing about meaningful impact within our communities.