This was a trip that started with a panic but ended with a massive celebration.....
Delighted with myself, I headed for my friend's house to check in to my flight! But, another disaster was on the cards. SAS pilots decided to strike and my flight was cancelled. The only thing for it was wine and an impromptu night out in Dublin where I gatecrashed a hen and an Accenture staff party and got to hangout with my sister and my ever so lovely men-tee Mary Kate.
The flight was rescheduled for Sunday evening, which resulted in missing the two nights planned for Stockholm. However, once I met up with my roomie for the week, Sara from JCI Galway, we put the inconvenience behind us and got super excited for the trip!
We had a quick 5 hour stopover in Oslo, where we enjoyed some overpriced wine and had a 2 hour nap. It was safe to say we were very thankful for the free coffee on the SAS flight to Stockholm
On arrival in Stockholm we wanted to make the most of the few hours we had, so with about two hours sleep, we grabbed a hot shower in a room crammed full of JCI people and suitcases and then hit the beautiful city for a walk and some lunch.
Over lunch, our hilarious waitress described the Irish as 'positively weird' (we weren't sure, but we took this as a compliment). In our short time we took in the cathedral, the hay market, the beautiful canal and the even more handsome and stylish locals.
Next stop was our cruise from Stockholm to Helsinki. The cabin was very small, but we were expecting that. I had never been on a cruise and was like a child in a candy shop taking it all in. So many shops, restaurants, casinos etc, anything that you could want. We spent the evening enjoying the Finnish sauna (they add beer and music to make it more fun), the outdoor Jacuzzi and sunbathing with cocktails on the top deck. After a quick change we enjoyed some music and dancing. One of our delegates found the 'dancing in heels' on a boat a bit tricky and she actually broke her foot, oops, (the Finnish drink could have had something to do with it as well, but we'll blame the boat)
Next stop Helsinki! To say we had to drag ourselves off the boat at 10am, is an understatement, but once we reached our fab hostel (it was college accommodation and was super roomy) and freshened up we were ready to explore the city. Helsinki didnt disappoint and we loved it. I also had the best strawberry daiquiri in this 'all you can eat' lunch buffet.
So that is the end of the 'pre Conference Tour', time to get down to the whole reason we were in Finland. The JCI EC 2016 in Tempera!
After a quick train journey, we were registered. Next up came the emotional reunions with friends from across the globe, most notably, UK, Scotland and Malta. Sara and the newbies went off to the First Timers Orientation, where they were given the run down of what happens at these conferences and what not to miss. They meet all the VIPs as well e.g. World President Paschal, Secretary General Arrey Obenson, EVP Jeff Hendrix and so on and so forth.
Opening Ceremony was that night. Everyone dresses to represent their country and it was said that with just 15, we were still the loudest delegation when our national president Brian Smyth took the stage. My mum made me a 'famous' tri colour dress, and I wear it with pride each year! Ole Ole Ole!!! The after party kicked off with a video, countdown and fireworks to which the curtain dropped and the band in the video were on stage, very cool!! Next was the after AFTER party, where we danced to our hearts content. Our girl Sara got the whole place rocking with her rendition of Zombie by the Cranberries, which evidently became the song of our delegation for the duration of the conference.
Next day there was some really good discussions at the Economic Forum, I also attended General Assembly to see some countries express their interest in bidding for upcoming conferences. I was also very proud to see my friend JJ from Malta bid to become Executive Vice President for 2017. He will do a fantastic job, I have no doubt.Our national president Brian, presented our bid to host European President's meeting and he did an awesome job. We are very much looking forward to welcoming National Presidents from around Europe to Dublin. After GA, I went along to support our representative, Laura Enache in the public speaking competition (we also raised a flag for Ilona from UK, and Stuart from Scotland). The standard this year was unbelievable and Laura did so well, we were so proud of her. Our good friend Ilona got through to the final.
That night was largely taken up with debate prep for the next day, but we did attend Canadian night and got in a few boogies.
Friday, for myself, Sara and Adrian was the debating championship all day. This year, eight countries (Ireland, Scotland, UK, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Norway and a mixed international team) took part in the English language debate and JCI Ireland was proud to be part of the line up. Adrian Corcoran was the captain, Sara was speaker 1 and I was speaker 2.
Traditionally JCI Scotland is a very strong contender and with multiple championships under their belt, they are the team to beat. After the draw this year, it was a possibility that Ireland and Scotland would meet in the final and everyone was very excited! In the first round, Ireland met Finland with the tongue-in-cheek topic of “Women are better on top”...Ireland were for this motion and won the first round. Next, we met Belgium with the topic “Technology discourages creativity and ingenuity in the workplace”. Ireland were opposing this motion and although it was a closer debate, we came through and secured our place in the final.
Meanwhile Scotland had also won their two rounds and to everyone’s delight, a proper Irish Scottish debate was on the cards. Ireland won the toss and decided to oppose the motion, which was then revealed as “This house believes that world peace is possible”. Disaster! We had to argue, in front of a crowd of JCI judges and members all involved in promoting world peace, that world peace is not possible!
The debate was extremely close and Scotland were very strong opponents. We had to wait a full 24 hours before we would find out the result. To ease the nerves, we went to the Bansi drinks first, (Bansi is made up of Britan, Ireland, Scotland, Malta, Australia & New Zealand), then the Swiss night. Safe to say the Swiss cheese smells worse than your Granda's socks, but it tastes amazing!! They were grilling it outside and the smell was wafting in. More dancing ensued and we forgot all about the nerves of debating.
On the final day we were invited to a reception by the Belgians to watch the football. Honestly, I think they invited us just to laugh at us, but they did put on a serious spread and gave us vouchers for some drinks. Thanks JCI Belgium! We had our own President's drinks, where as a delegation we thanked President Brian for his leadership. Brian thanked everyone personally for their contribution to the conference, especially Laura Enache, who is our international director who put so much work into logistically organising and supporting our delegation.
Next up, off to the Gala Awards ceremony. The announcement of the debating winners was made in front of almost 2,000 delegates. We had our head in our hands and everyone was anxiously waiting for our name to be called. 'JCI Ireland' was shouted and in a very surreal moment myself, Sara, Adrian and our president Brian proudly made our walk to the stage amongst applause and cheers to receive our award. I was so overwhelmed, I don't even know what I said to President Paschal. It was definitely an unforgettable moment, and one I'll cherish forever. That wasn't the end of the awards for JCI Ireland, as my mentee and inspirational colleague Mary Kate was awarded the 'Most Outstanding Local President'. Eabha O Leary Fitzpatrick was also shortlisted as 'Best New Member'. Congratulations to my friend Celestine from JCI Southhampton who took home this award. 
We celebrated the night dancing and singing to our hearts content. On the bus to the after party, we had the whole bus singing Olé, Olé, and I gave a rendition of the 'Rattlin Bog', much to the delight of the Norwegians. I got a chance to play Japanese poker with their President, and chatted to Vice President Seun Osikalu about the differences between Nigeria and Ireland. After a cheeky meal in Mc Donald's where we again had everyone singing Zombie, it was time for a very late/early teary good bye to my darling friends Annalisa and Celestine!
Thank you very much to Laura Enache for all her organsing, Brian Smyth for his leadership, Adrian Corcoran as our Captain, my darling Annalisa for just being you, and Sara Gilligan for not killing me xxxx
Next up World Congress in Quebec, time to bring home the World Debating Shield!!!
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