IJR

From JBPedia

Okay, enough with the former bo-ring IJR page on JBPedia. We want you guys to know the real us, so here goes an honest and friendly attempt to it!

Hello there, we're Kelly and Maru speaking, and we're your IJR Team for 2008-2009 (and effing excited about it). The acronym IJR stands for International Junior Representative, and this entails many fun things and responsibilities. If you want to know who were the previous IJRs, visit The Faces behind this. We're also hoping to set up a list of articles with each IJR Team (ie couple who shared a JB year together in this position), so that you can get a glimpse of which were their projects and challenges in this ever-changing role.

Aside from enjoying cold beers, having boyfriends and liking to sleep in, there's a number of things we do within wonderful IJB and the larger organisation of CISV. If you want to know more about our personal lives, make sure to check out our personal pages! We'll do our best to keep them updated and full of thoughts (and not-too-interesting facts about ourselves, haha).

So, going back to Junior Branch. As IJRs, we facilitate the IJB Committee - a group of JBers who work in order to help develop JB worldwide. The work in the Committee essentially gets done within its three sections: Connect, Growth & Development and Quality Lab, although ideas get tossed around in our email list for everyone's input and thoughts. Who are the people in the IJB Committee? Dedicated JBers outh there, just like you, who happened to say "hey, this idea rocks my socks off, I want to participate"! As simple as that, friends.

Given that we're chairing a Committee, we're then a part of the Expanded Executive Committee of CISV, which is a wacky bunch of Committee chairs who communicate throughout the year and have some meetings at each AIM too.

But wait - that's not all, then we're also members of of the Board of Trustees, so we get to sit in the International Board at each AIM, in stuffy hot plenaries discussing issues relevant to CISV, and having talks about the motions each year brings to the meeting. Luckily enough, it's not boring at all, and we also get the company of juniors who sit near to us during discussions and give us their input on the spot (and we think that's great). Also, every year after IJBC the juniors who are still around get together and make comments on each of the motions that are on the table, so then we can voice their ideas straight up during AIM!

Yes, our job implies a lot of emails, with people from all over the organisation: JBers, people working on programmes, people developing educational tools (we happen to love to engage in these processes), the IEC (we have Junko and Adam as our perpetual godparents who hear us out and advice us as IEC liaisons)... it can get a bit messy, but we love it!

Perhaps the most interesting and fun aspect of carrying out our role is to meet JBers from all over, the actual grassroots, the people who are out there on the streets, doing stuff to improve their societies. One (or sometimes both) of us attend all the Regional Meeting that happen each year, which currently are JASPARC, EJBM and ARMM, and we try to go to workshops and trainings to get in touch with as many people from JB as we can.

Right! We also edit the IJB Thinks publication! Kelly was the editor for 2007-2008 and now Maru is taking up the job for 2008-2009. Did you send in your article yet? You're still on time (until Nov 15th), send your thought to ijbthinks@ijb.cisv.org

As we said before, lots of emailing. But also we meet up on skype once (or twice!) a week to discuss the ongoing projects, tasks and upcoming events. We like brainstorming and exchanging ideas, but sometimes it gets quite lonely if it's just the two of us chatting and barking up the same old tree all the time, so we'd love to hear from you! Our joint email is ijr@cisv.org and we love receiving emails from you guys. So go for it!

Right now

...we're elaborating thoughts on how IJR Candidacy and IJBC planning take place,

...we're taking in articles for IJB Thinks,

...we're helping develop Gizmo, the new Educational Tool (soon to replace the Peace Education Circle),

...we're preparing for our Mid Way Meeting in Ottawa next January, and preparing an agenda,

...we're working on our font pictures for the EJB Neighbourhoods project, have you seen it?

...we're helping Growth & Development develop a Global Training Strategy,

...we're helping Tore and Alex develop a soon-to-come JB Goals Packet

...we're encouraging your JB to nominate for IJR,

...we're hoping to hear from you! Our email is ijr@cisv.org.

According to Infofile O-15:

Definiton

• There shall be two (2) International Junior Representatives (IJRs) on the CISV International Board at all times. Each IJR has the same rights and responsibilities as any of the National Association Representatives on the International Board.
• The IJRs shall have an Alternate Representative. An Alternate Representative will assume the responsibilities of the IJR in the case of resignation or inability to complete their term of office. If an IJR is unable to attend a Meeting of the CISV International Board or any other official CISV activity, the Alternate will serve during such meeting or activity.(Please see Section 7.A.3 below)
• The IJRs are considered to be officials of CISV International and members of the Expanded Executive Committee.

Qualifications

• The IJRs and Alternate Representatives must be members of CISV International in good standing who are at least age 18 at the date of election and no older than age 25 when completing their term of office as IJR.
• The IJR should be a mature, responsible and respectable person.
• The IJRs should have expertise in all issues relevant to Junior Branch work and should be an active Junior.
• The IJR should have the time to perform the required duties, including attending all meetings of the Expanded Executive Committee.
• During his/her term of office, the IJR may not serve asa National Association Representative on the CISV International Board (new constitutional documents), as Committee Chair, Taskforce Coordinator, Advisor or as a member of the International Executive Committee.

Responsibilities

• To represent Juniors in all CISV International matters;
• To facilitate the International Junior Branch;

Expenses As they are CISV International officials, all expenses of IJRs and Alternate Representatives which are approved by the CISV International Board, including expenses for attendance at and travel to Meetings of the CISV International Board and International Junior Branch Conference, shall be borne by CISV International.