During the 2022 JCI World Congress held in Hong Kong, at the beginning of November, JCI Malta senator and member, Annalisa Schembri was elected to the 2023 JCI International Board of Directors as JCI Vice President.
Ms Schembri’s new role sees her assigned to Europe with a special focus to assist and support JCI local and national organisations in Bulgaria, Turkey, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and Moldova.
JCI is an international leadership organisation for people aged 18-40 who want to develop their personal and professional skills within a local and international community. JCI explains this view clearly in its mission: to provide leadership development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change.
Based on this mindset and mantra, Ms Schembri, a full-time freelance professional in the arts, shared her views on leadership: “Leadership requires us to have a Head, a Heart and a Hand: A Head that gives us clarity of vision; A Heart that, with compassion, taps beyond the vision to make it concrete and sustainable; A Hand that allows us, to give it forward, to serve others.”
“We must align our passion, ideas and strengths to find an anchor in purpose, as this drives us to serve with the best version of ourselves. And this is what I bring to serve in this one year to lead position in 2023: the best version of myself – with a focused head, a resilient, caring heart and experienced hands to sow the right seeds in the right places,” she states. “This, paired with the passion I have for JCI and the experience I have as a global networker, a seasoned JCI member and a creative professional in the arts, gives me the tools and the strength to lead and give back.”
Ms Schembri has been involved in JCI since 2009 starting off as a JCI Malta member within JCI La Valette and playing a vital role in the planning and execution of the 2014 JCI European Conference that was hosted by JCI Malta. In 2014, she was awarded the prestigious role of JCI Senator – given to those members who have shown dedication to the organization and gone over and beyond their call of duty. She was elected as JCI Malta National President in 2015 and was a hands-on advisor for the 2020 European Conference in Dublin, Ireland, that turned out to be the first ever fully digital conference for JCI as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I know first-hand and will forever be a testimony of the radical, positive transformation that this organisation can bring to one’s life. One member at a time, one conversation at a time, one project at a time – this is how we re-imagine JCI to ensure that it is here for generations to come.”
JCI Malta is supported by its Corporate Partners: Chitzo, Content for Success, JA Malta, JPA, UP Your Level Performance Coaching, Veonio, Zaar, and Zampa Debattista.