JCI RISE Series: 1. What is JCI RISE about?

JCI’s initiative to boost economies and workforce morale in the wake of COVID-19

We have all seen and felt the impact COVID-19 has had on small businesses and independent entrepreneurs. These businesses are essential to communities and economies worldwide, and many are struggling to adjust to the current reality. With lives and livelihoods at stake, now is the time to take an active role in our communities. JCI members can help businesses adapt and lead them towards a better future, whilst boosting our global organization’s economic relevance and credibility.

The JCI RISE (Rebuild, Invest, Sustain, Evolve) initiative, launched in 2020, is a platform for JCI members to share ideas, best practices and their unique efforts to sustain and rebuild economies around the world. JCI members have always prioritized understanding their communities to create sustainable solutions. When we partner with other organizations and sectors of society, we can reimagine what the future could look like.

In addition to the tremendous impact on physical and mental health we’ve seen from the COVID-19 pandemic, our economies have struggled as well. How will RISE help us overcome this challenge?

Past JCI World President President Itai Manyere says, "As an international leadership organization with thousands of members across the world, JCI is uniquely capable of creating impactful change on a global scale. Through targeted, effective leadership, RISE has the ability to reach people and businesses across borders."

We have three main goals with this new initiative:

• Sustaining and rebuilding businesses and economies

• Engaging and empowering our workforce

• Acknowledging, understanding and finding solutions to the mental health impacts COVID-19 has had on the global population

By focusing our efforts on these three areas, we can reimagine the way our businesses and communities work. We have the unique opportunity to look at our traditional ways of doing things and find new paths that will make the world a better place for all people.

Many members have already completed projects related to these points, like JCI Switzerland and their Think Global, Buy Local campaign or the Your Mental Health Matters Too project, a collaborative effort between several Local JCI Organizations in Tunisia.

By launching more projects on these topics, you will contribute to building a more impactful JCI, one anchored in providing economic solutions.

You can find resources for the RISE initiative on the JCI Library , as well as our Trello board . Don’t forget to use the hashtag #RISEwithJCI to be a part of the conversation!

It’s time to rise to our full potential as leaders. Time to rise to meet challenges with innovation. Time to lift each other up so we can rise above this crisis together. Time for JCI to rise again as the foremost global network of enterprising young leaders.