What is the AMDEC?
AMDEC stands for Africa and Middle East Development Council. It is split into five regions: north, south, east, west, and center. Each year, five regional meetings are held for the NOM's in each region. The 2010 AMDEC meetings are scheduled as follows:
- AMDEC West Meeting: Accra, Ghana / January 28 - 31, 2010
- AMDEC Center Meeting: Lambarene, Gabon / February 4 - 7, 2010
- AMDEC East Meeting: Kigali, Rwanda / February 11 - 14, 2010
- AMDEC South Meeting: Antananarivo, Madagascar / February 18 - 21, 2010
- AMDEC North Meeting: Beirut, Lebanon / February 25 - 28, 2010
History
At the 40th JCI World Congress held in Cartagena, Colombia, back in 1985, the first African JCI President Moncef Barouni from JCI Tunisia was elected to lead JCI. At the same World Congress, the "African Jaycees Association" (AJA) was formed. Gabriel Idahosa from JCI Nigeria was elected as the first chairman.
The goal of the association as envisaged by the founding fathers was to "implement area plan of action made by Africans for Africa." Major accomplishments of AJA since its inception include:
- Organization of African nights at the Miami (1992), Kobe (1994), and Glasgow (1995) JCI World Congresses.
- Hosting the first ever AJA strategic meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1994 with a grant from JCI.
- Establishment of a permanent AJA secretariat in Tunis sponsored by the JCE de Tunisia since 1996.
- Reunion LOM of JCE Française was accepted as bonafide members.
- The name AJA was changed to ADEC at the 1999 Cannes, France, JCI World Congress.
- At the 2002 World Congress in Las Vegas, ADEC was restructured and split in four regional councils, notably: South, North, Central and West.
- The Name ADEC has been revised to AMDEC to include the Middle East that officially became part of Area A.
Early Beginnings
In March 2002, the NOM's in the South African Region led in the initiative to host a regional conference of all the NOM's in the area. The success of this meeting was resounding. The SADC Regional Council Meeting provided the opportunity for an international training school to be organized. Over 20 delegates attended and graduated from JCI PRIME. Several other leadership-training seminars were organized. It was an opportunity for members to participate in world-class international training seminars. The SADC Conference set very precedence for the regional meetings and equally set very high standards.
At the 2002 JCI World Congress in Las Vegas, USA, ADEC was split up into regions. A Regional Councilor chairs each AMDEC region. Each Regional Councilor is mandated to convene and chair a regional conference prior to the JCI Africa and Middle East Area Conference.
Objectives
The objectives of the AMDEC regional meetings are to:
- provide an opportunity for exchange of ideas and projects between the NOM's of the region.
- provide international training opportunities for members and trainers.
- provide an effective forum for identifying typical problems of the NOM's in the region, as well as finding solutions to these problems.
- provide an opportunity for growth through motivation, competition, and exchange.
- promote the international aspect of the organization to the members.
- promote cultural diversity and understanding among members through training and interaction.
- provide world-class training to members.
- provide an opportunity for NOM's undergoing affiliation to discover the organization.
Regional Council Meeting Themes
Each year, the Executive Committee of AMDEC will propose a theme, which shall serve as a theme for the Regional Council Meeting.
Hopefully over the years, the Regional Council Meetings will become institutions and members of the regional meeting of countries in their region. The meetings will provide an opportunity for young leaders, entrepreneurs, and members of the civil society to play a significant role in the socio- economic development of the region and Africa, as a whole. It shall be the focus of the Regional Council to convince governments and corporations that developing young leaders is fundamental towards building a brighter future for Africa.
AMDEC North NOM's
The NOM's belonging to the AMDEC North are JCI Tunisia, JCI Morocco, JCI Syria, and JCI Lebanon.
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