I SIMPLY WANT TO GIVE IT BACK TO FUTURE GENERATIONS.
I MEAN, THAT’S MY PRIMARY MOTIVATION TO BECOME A
YOUTH LEADER.
1. What inspired you to become a youth leader, and how did you get started in this field?
This is my 13th year in the JCI. I joined this organization when I was 27 years old. And before that, I lived in the States for seven years. I came back to my hometown and started working for a German company. I simply wanted to have friends, play golf and do business together. So my friends introduced me to JCI.
My local chapter has about 700 members. And each ward has a local community. So at first, I joined the local community meeting, and I got to know people. After that, I went to JCI Tokyo, where over 500 members attended, to talk about leadership development and exchange ideas. I was inspired to join this organization and at first I did not really think about taking a position like JCI President whatsoever.
Year by year, I met new people because we have a unique system. Every year, it gives me new experiences, it gives me the opportunity to acquire new skills and meet new friends. So gradually, I got into the JCI path and this year is my last year as an active member. I gained so much from this organization. I simply want to give it back to future generations. I mean, that is my primary motivation to become a youth leader.
2. In your opinion, what are some of the key qualities that make a successful youth leader?
The key elements of a leader. I mean, we all live in a society where people work closely with others. Good leaders must be able to care about others. He or she should have a kind of vision, you know, able to have a broader vision, with experiences, capable of leading others, and capable of nurturing others. I mean, there is usually a comparison between being a boss and being a leader. The boss is like someone who is always standing on the top of a mountain and it gives hierarchy or not. The leader is someone who is guiding others, you know, to create the movement.
So as long as the leaders have the motivation to guide others and ambition to be better. I mean, that pretty much, they’re qualified.
3. What are some of the biggest challenges that young leaders face in today’s world, and how can they overcome them?
Young leaders in general, like in terms of like JCI, many organizations, national organizations and local organizations struggle to recruit members and retain members. Because now we have many different organizations in the community. And when people ask, well, what are you doing, JCI? Many people cannot answer that in one phrase. So we should be able to answer at the drop of the heart. And we create the leaders for changing the world. We create leaders who can nurture the next generation. And the biggest challenges would be, I cannot really generalize because we all have different backgrounds, financial status, job occupation and stuff like that.
I think the biggest challenge is within yourself. Like you need to balance your family life. And the family needs to understand what you do. And the world also needs to understand what you’re doing. And I think we have to work on that. We do not really show what we do.
I mean, what impact do we have? We should be proud of ourselves, proud of what we do, and express ourselves outside of JCI, and so that we can enhance our visibility, and then you build your network for your business.
You know, we will understand what you guys have done. So that’s the biggest challenge. We are introverts. We need to step out and then show the world what we are capable of. We should jump out of the box, connect to other people and then show your ability so that other people actually know what you have, what is your quality, and then you can actually overcome a lot of problems.
4. What advice would you give to a young person who is interested in becoming a leader but doesn’t know where to start?
Don’t know where to start? I would say if you do not know what to do to become a better leader.
Follow your friend. First, you know, I always refer to JCI as a sports gym or dojo, where members learn new skills and knowledge. But when you go to the gym, do you go to the gym? Yeah? So when you start on the first day, you will be able to lift like 100 kg, right? Definitely not, right? No, no, no bench. At first you start from step by step.
You can lift more, you know, heavier weight. And you have friends at the gym who started before you and then lifted heavier than you. You basically watch how he or she does, and then copy, right? I mean, if you don’t know what to do, you can learn. I mean, everyone has to start work from some point. And then once you learn, you can tailor-made the style.
You can tailor-made your own style. And then finally, you will know what to do. If you don’t know, just follow your friend, or senior members, senpai, or your friends, and gradually you will find your own path. Yeah, off the show, meaning there are people in front, that you can take experience, get experience, because they’re already a leader.
And then it will then inspire you and also will develop your own path to become a leader.Of course, not just copy in case of what, right, the friends or people’s leader, but more, there’s guidance there. And then from that, you can take on and then become a unique leader. Yeah, I mean, that’s called good mentorship. And of course, if you don’t go to a gym, you wouldn’t get a nice booking. So the first criteria prerequisite would be to do the JCI. Join JCI activities.Get involved.
5. What message would you like to share with young people in HK who are striving to make a positive change in their communities and beyond?
I mean, you’re already a great leader. I mean, a lot of people, a lot of young people, many young people struggle these days, subscribe these days just to survive.
But you’re already caring about, not only about yourself, but also your communities. So I mean, that already constitutes the…
but one thing, if I may, I would like to advise young people to make good use of JCI. The JCI is a platform.
It’s merely a platform where you can learn new skills and apply those new skills and lessons to your everyday life and businesses.
You can only stay in this organization until the age of 40. So why don’t you just make good use of it?
You know, just like I said, it’s a platform. You can attend any event. You can make friends outside Hong Kong and exchange ideas. We only have a limited amount of time. And said, like you have a unique notion called “one year to lead”. Every year, you get to try something new. And it is absolutely okay to make mistakes in working on adjacent.
You can learn from mistakes and apply lessons and skills to make your life. And then you will have a better quality of life for sure. Because this is a dojo, a sports job.
6. What do you think are the strengths of Hong Kong’s youth population, and how can these strengths be leveraged to attract more international talent to collaborate and exchange ideas with young people in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong, notably Hong Kong, has been one of the biggest hubs in international cities around the world. So an international mindset is already in your blood. People are fluent in many different languages. So, JCIHK is one of the leading national organizations.
So, if you’re a JCIHK member, you can meet anyone from around the world. And at JCI, Junior Chamber International, international is our strength. I mean, that is how we can differentiate ourselves from other organizations. And the JCIHK will provide you with unlimited opportunities that unleash your capacity. Why don’t you just join JCIHK activities? attend international events. In terms of business, Hong Kong offers a variety of advantages, especially when conducting international businesses.
JCI is a platform where you can also find business partners outside Hong Kong. So this is an opportunity for you to grow and expand your businesses via JCI is the best network because we have a JCI in more than 106 countries.
7.How can organizations like JCI help to promote cross-cultural exchange and collaboration between young people in Hong Kong and other countries, and what are some specific initiatives that JCI has undertaken in this area?
One of the advantages of JCIHK is that JCIHK has a strong connection with the government sectors. So once you have, you obtain business idea, or you can talk to government sectors for endorsement, support, sort of stuff like that, and the cultural exchange, JCI Hong Kong, China normally host the JCI Hong Kong, China
night at the area conference. So your organization already provides you with the opportunities.
8. As an International leader, how much time do you spend on JCI work per week ? How do you balance your life and work to keep being motivated
That’s a good question, actually, because I’ve never served as a JCI president. And this is my third day as JCI president. My journey just started.
This is definitely a challenging year for me as well. Since I run a small and medium-sized company, and I am the CEO, I also have a family to look after. But this year, I am committed to serve for all the members around the world, because I believe in this organization. And balancing it out is definitely one of the key elements to pursue a sustainable JC career. Because everyone is, you know, we, all of us, have a common goal to graduate from this organization at the age of forty.
Everyone has a different background, but since we only have a limited amount of time, you can step up in your comfort zone and try hard, work hard, and that will help you grow. So this year, I’m going to be serving as a JCI president for 365 days pretty much. I don’t regret it. Because this is a once in a lifetime of change.
This is, you know, a perfect example of one year to leave. Definitely would be also a good opportunity to, I mean, to leave at JCI. Because now that I’m president, there will be a lot more things to learn, or not learn, but like pick up and then a lot of things. True. I mean, you’ve met, I mean, you’ve already met wonderful people in your JCI career, right? Yeah. And you received so much. And so have I. I really need to give it back to our future generations. So I know that this year, I think that JCI is focusing more on human duty.
9.What does Human Duties Day mean to you? Can you share an example of a duty you believe everyone should prioritize?
Human Duties Day is one of our prioritized projects. We have like 3 big projects that take place around the world. One of them is the International Human Duties Day.
And the second one is the 110th anniversary. And the third one is a sustainable impact report. Sustainable impact measurement and reporting.
And all of them are designed to enhance JCI’s brand awareness and visibility. And International Human Duties is scheduled on the 10th of July. And what we can expect from this initiative is to create the world a better place to be where people not only embrace human rights, but also their duties to help each other. So now, like, when you look around the world today, we have so many issues. If you can help others, if others can help each other, we can create a role and a better place to be. And so by doing so, we can pursue our front desk’s ultimate goal to establish everlasting world peace.
And the International Human Deeds Day is a first step. It’s basically composed of seven elements. So it’s very easy to follow. And what you can do as a member is to promote International Human Goods Day petitions. When we have a substantial number of petitions, we can submit those petitions to the United Nations General Assembly. and they will consider recognizing the death of July as an international human state.
And also, as for local organization, national organizations, you can ask your local government sectors to adopt human beings, the declaration of international humanity. The city of New York has already adopted the proclamation of international human beings. I mean, this is like a great achievement. The city of New York, the biggest city in the world, only yet accounted for human beings. So you can use this as a self-talk to reach out to your local government.
And if we have more cities, nations, and a door to human duties, we can actually create bigger, more movement around the world. I mean, out of them, I know there’s several areas of human beauty, so out of those few different areas, which area do you think you should prioritize first?
All of them are important, but it’s also up to your national, local organization, national organization or individual.
I mean, individual level, you can create a movement, a project. If you’re a director, you can create a project relevant to what you’re interested in. But if you’re a local president, you can also talk to the local government sector and get them involved so that they can create a bigger movement.
10. How does the theme “Rise Up” resonate with JCI’s mission and vision for 2025?
In your opinion, what skills or qualities are essential for JCI leaders in the coming years?
The theme “Rise Up” is my wish for all the members and all the local organizations, nationalizations to be there. And back in 1981, we had the highest number of members. And we have Vision 2040, which we aim to have 500,000 members by 2040, and we only have like 150,000 members now, so it’s not an easy path, it’s not an easy way to achieve that.
I would like you to use 2025, I would like you to make it a turning point. Then JCI will do such great things, not only for sales firms, communities, businesses, development sectors, and so on. So I would like you to work closely with all the stakeholders in the way to enhance our awareness and recruitment. And in doing JCI, in carrying out JCI activities, project activities, I would like our members to become better leaders so that they can pursue a better quality of life.
Like I said, JCI is merely a platform. I would like you to use JCI to rise up, to become a better person, to make a better organization, to build better communities. And you are capable of doing that because you already have the ambition and vision and passion to be part of the JCI right now. So I would like you to be proud of being a JCI member and pursue your lifetime journey.
