JB Essentials
From JBPedia
The Junior Branch Essentials are, basically, the charateristics of Junior Branch.
They are the ideas that are fundamental to every JB, everywhere. "How can they be so fundamental to JB if I've never even heard them before?" you might think. Well, here's the trick: you HAVE heard them before. You've probably said them before, you've probably done trainings on them before in fact, you might just not have known it.
At the IJR Mid Way Meeting in 2008, IJRs Marcos Tourinho and Kelly Bowden sat down to conceptualise what JB is, what JB does, what are the essentials of Junior Branch. They then put these into clear words, because we all want things to be clear and understandable don't we?
It is important to know that these were not their ideas. The development of these concepts is long-standing , and is based on the effort of thousands of volunteers that spent a huge quantity of time conceptualising and recording all kinds of ideas and experiences within the International Junior Branch. Considering almost four decades of development, and after a lot of thinking, four main ideas were articulated.
Here they are. Check them out, and have a fun time realizing "Hey, that is what JB is".
Contents |
JBs are part of a Global Movement
Take a minute and reflect.
Did you know that there are thousands of people around the world that are a part of Junior Branch? That there are people around the world thinking about the same topics as you, facing the same challenges as you, asking the same questions, and running educational activities, taking actions, just like you? You are part of a group of people working together that reaches across hundreds of cities, dozens of countries and almost every time zone in the world. Now that is a global movement.
We are not a global movement simply because there are alot of us spread around the world (although that is pretty magical to imagine huh?). We are also a global movement because of the way that we act and react together, because of the ways we are connected and communicating and because of the ways we share information and ideas.
Initiatives like the IJB Educational Themes, IJB Thinks, Peace Day and cooperation groups such as Regions consistently contribute to increase our capacity to take actions at the same moment, mobilise people and have them on the streets as a collective body to address important issues. In doing this, Junior Branch is following the urges of the CISV Statement on Peace which “encourag[es] its members to act upon [...] concerns, consistent with CISV philosophy”. What we are doing here is increasing our ability to act unitedly, and that, my friends, is a big part of what being a global movement is all about.
- The idea of JB as a global movement is part of the JB Essentials Packet.
JBs work towards the JB Goals
The purpose of Junior Branch is to contribute, in its own unique ways, to the achievement of the CISV Education Purpose which is, in summary, to prepare individuals to become active and contributing members of a peaceful society.
The Goals of Junior Branch were created and approved in 2005, as part of a reform on the Infofile O-15 - the main guiding document of the Junior Branch. They were created from the need to simplify and clarify what JBs exist to accomplish. It is understood that they are a just break-down of the main purpose of Junior Branch, as stated above. You can find more about it on this JB Goals page.
The Goals of JB are:
- Building an Inclusive Community: JB aims to build an inclusive community in which members feel ownership and participate in decision-making.
- Developing our Organisation: JB aims to build capacity among its members to take an active role within CISV at various levels including programs and administration.
- Advancing Leadership: JB aims to develop leadership skills which empower individuals to become contributing members of a peaceful society.
- Educating by Experience: JB aims to educate by organizing activities which stimulate knowledge, teach skills and foster positive attitudes toward a more peaceful society.
- Empowering to Reflect and Act: JB aims to be a creative force by empowering its members to think critically and take action to create positive change.
This version of the JB Goals is a revised product of their first revision. The IJB Committee worked on this task with Alex Neuman to simplify the wording and to turn the ideas behind the goals into more accessible ideas.
- The JB Goals are part of the JB Essentials Packet.
JBs are Constantly Developing
Development can be simply defined as increasing the quality and quantity of actions taken in order to achieve the JB Goals
Sometimes we all feel like our JBs aren't getting any better, aren't developing at all. We feel like we've been doing the same old things over and over, and like it isn't as good as it should be, or that it is not getting any better. But you know what? You feel it's not as good as it should be. You feel like something needs to be changed. And you're probably right. But the very fact that you have that feeling, that idea, means that your JB is getting better already. Because thinking about how something needs to change is a big part of what developing JB is all about. So congratulations, you're already part way there.
Junior Branches are constantly developing, and not even knowing it. This is just like the situation above. All the time in JB we try things, we experiment with things. Then we learn what we like about them and repeat them or make them better, and discard what wasn't so good along the way. This is a process of constant development.
JB has also created some conscious strategies to help us develop, these include the creation of JB Regions as well as the creation of JB Training strategies.
All of the ways in which we are developing, consciously and unconsciously, are part of a three step development process:
- Plan : consider the JB Goals and develop a plan
- Act : put your plan into action
- Reflect : evaluate how well your action did in aceiving the goals you set out to begin with, and think about how next time could be improved
- The Constant Development process is part of the JB Essentials Packet.
JBs are Integral yet Self Governing Entities
JB is an integral part of CISV. JB creates leaders for the organisations' programs and administration. JB is constantly challenging the status quo and injects innovation and creativity into CISV. In short, there are many diverse, and important ways, in which JB is a part of CISV. However, JB is also separate.
JBs operate on their own, because by being in charge of what we do, we something from this experience. One of the most unique parts of developing skills and ideas within Junior Branch is through people having the experience of organizing Junior Branch itself. In fact, sometimes the places you learn most are not from the experiences JB provides, but from being the one responsible for providing the experiences for others.
To be self-governing means, basically, to have enough space. Space to allow the JB to perform as much as they think they should; as much as they see as responsibility within their scope of action. Having this space, not only allows for the formation of skills for those participating in Junior Branch, but it also results in those skills (that creativity, innovation, leadership and hard work) being applied in diverse ways across the organisation.
- The idea of self-governance is part of the JB Essentials Packet.
...and what do you say?
What do you think? Is there anything else you think Junior Branch is? Write it here - In other words... - A funky collection of everything everyone thinks JB is!
