Meeting JCI members of Goa

After a fantastic Goan lunch it was time to meet more members of JCI in Goa, for that we went to a city call Ponda, where around 20 member of several Local Organizations of JCI were waiting for us with a surprising program.

First I was invited to honour the JCI plaque at the entrance of the city of Ponda, next we went to retirement home were we gave some happiness, in a form of a distribution of food and sugar to 23 residents of that home in the small village Loutolim.

Finally JCI Ponda organized a dinner party for all the JCI members that came to Ponda to meet us. People treat me so well, it was for me a great emotion that so many members of JCI Goa gave their time to make me feel great in Goa.

Two special words for Sonia Shirsat, which went beyond any expectations to make my staying in Goa memorable and to my good friend Abdul Saleem made such a tremendous effort to meet me in Goa.

Going around in Goa

As soon as I arrived, my good friend Sonia from JCI Ponda (Goa) met me at the hotel, to show me Goa and to explain me everything about this beautiful state.

On the next morning arrived Abdul Saleem former VP of JCI and my colleague at Japan Academy, that came especially to Goa to meet me doing for that an 8 hours train trip. His presence in Goa made me very happy and honored by this token of friendship.

Abdul and my self under Sonia’s guidance did a fantastic tour of the Panaji (capital city of Goa). It was a privilege to have Sonia as our “tour guide” a true Goan with great love and respect for the Goan heritage. Also Sonia’s Portuguese is impressive.

Arriving in Goa

It’s very hard to describe the sensation of arriving in Goa, small state of India that was Portuguese India until 1961.

Being so far from home, seeing some many things written in Portuguese, so many Portuguese monuments and looking and talking to the people, I felt a true connection as a result of 463 years of common history.

Goa is without a doubt a place that deserves to be rediscovered by all, for its natural beauty, history and people. Also I see it as world reference in terms of tolerance and good relations between very different religious communities.

Being at the Asia Pacific HRM Congress in Mumbai

Like in a movie, when I entered for the first the venue of the Congress, the first person that I saw was my good friend Rumi, National President of JCI Bangladesh in 2006, quite a personality in the Congress, being very kind in presenting to everybody in the congress and even advertising my presentation on the last day of the congress.

To receive an award (with people like Bob Pike being one of the awardees with me), doing a presentation that got a lot of positive feed-beak from people of different countries, to enjoy a very professional organization and to meet great people, made my experience a dream come true.

In provisional figures the ASIA Pacific HRM Congress had more than 500 participants from 62 countries over three days. It was such a success that next edition will be called World HRM Congress.

“In Breaks We Trust” a Mumbai Motto

After having my first vegetarian meal with a colleague from JCI Mumbai Jayveer Rachh and his full briefing on the city I was ready for my radical program going around the city in taxi and motorized riquexo

It is a unique experience that is hard to described, let’s say that when you use this means of transportation is like being inside a racing computer game with a great player like my kids, where collisions are avoided in the last second with a tremendous faith in the breaks.

The First Impression of Mumbai

Arriving to Mumbai is by itself an experience, as soon as I came out of the plane you understand that you are really in a different country. Yet you see in small things the connections with the Portuguese. As I connected my cellular an operator of Airtel (Vodafone India) sent me a message because of the roaming, the funny thing was that her name is very Portuguese, like six in ten managers of hotels that I was advice to use by the congress organization.

In this 16 million inhabitants city, what impresses me the most is the huge gap between poor and rich, where the extreme poor are called the “untouchables “.

A visit to Mumbai is impossible without going to the Gateway of India at least once (in the photo)

New Adventure in India

I’m writing this text while waiting for my flight to Mumbai at Heathrow airport. This time is not only JCI activities I will receive the HR Leadership Award at the Asia Pacific HRM Congress to be held between the 12^th and 14^th of February in Mumbai.

I will take the opportunity to make contacts with JCI India member from Mumbai, Goa and other places of that big country that is India

I will arrive to India, 510 year after the great Portuguese navigator that was Vasco da Gama, actually it was the Portuguese that named it Bombaim (Bombay) because of the good bay. In 1995 it was changed to Mumbai.

I bet some things have change since Vasco da Gama was there. Let’s see!!!

Networking Seminar at Junior Chamber Kaunas

On November 30, Networking Seminar was delivered to 23 participants that were members and non-members of Junior Chamber Kaunas. The 3 hours seminar was held Graiciuno College of Management in Kaunas.

Participation was high. After seminar we were surprised with a tour to two well known institutions in Kaunas: Militaries House and Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union museum.

Both visits were to understand the importance of these two institutions in Lithuanian recent history, namely in resistance against soviet power. I was honoured to sign the guest book in both institutions.

Seminar and great Reception in Siauliai Romuvos Gymnasium

Right after the Networking seminar in Siauliai University Gymnasium, the same seminar by Filipe Carrera was made in Siauliai Romuvos Gymnasium (also, a pre-college education institute).

Like the seminar before, it was also part of a JCI Sostine project “School of Success”.

About 70 participants attended this seminar that started in very warm atmosphere. Again, the trainer and the seminar organisers from JCI were invited to the gymnasium director’s office to have coffee with gymnasium authorities and to receive warm congratulations and invitations to come again and make more seminars in the near future when possible.

Carrera’s Seminar in Siauliai University Gymnasium

On November 27th, more than 250 participants attended Carrera’s seminar “Networking – Be the Best Performer” in Siauliai University Gymnasium (pre-college education institute) that was a great success.

This seminar was part of a JCI Sostine project “School of Success” under which famous speakers give lectures to high school students.

After the seminar the trainer and organisers were invited to the gymnasium director’s office to receive many thanks and congratulations for very interesting and interactive seminar.

Lithuanian Resistance Seminar to Portuguese Air Force

In the evening of November 27th, Mr. Albinas Kentra, the director of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters - Brothers of the Forest Association (further – “Brothers of the Forest”), did a Lithuanian Resistance seminar to the Portuguese Air Force troops in Siauliai. It was a very emotional presentation done by a former partisan who lost his 3 brothers in fighting the soviet power.

First part of presentation was about 1944-55 year period when Forest Brothers organised themselves to fight the Soviets by attacking them from forests.

Second part of seminar was about Singing Revolution that started in January 1991 and ended with the Lithuanian independence that year. It was footage of real soviet attacks on Lithuanian Press House Building and the TV Tower, also barricades on Lithuanian Parliament Building.

It was a privilege to listen to the person who played such an important and intensive role in the resistance movement against soviet power. It was a great history lesson with real life experience.

At the end of the seminar, the Commander of the Portuguese Detachment thanked a lot to Mr. Albinas and pointed out that Portuguese militaries were very touched by what they heard and saw.

The Commander also gave a patch of the mission as a symbol of Portuguese gratitude to Mr. Albinas.

More than 70 participants attended this presentation including a group of 8 Portuguese Eramus students that were studying at Siauliai University.

Visiting the Siauliai Air Base

JCI Lithuania members and Filipe Carrera (JCI Portugal) visited Portuguese detachment in Siauliai airbase in the morning of November 27.

We were very welcomed by Lithuanian and Portuguese troops who showed us the F-16 operating under the Baltic Air Policing mission.

Also we had opportunity to have a very typical Portuguese meal (Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo) together with the Portuguese troops.

Carrera Seminar and Portuguese Air Policing Mission Presentation in Siauliai Municipality

Under invitation of JCI Siauliai, about 60 members of Siauliai community attended Filipe Carrera’s seminar “Self Knowledge – The Key For Success” followed by a presentation of the Commander of Portuguese Air Policing mission in Baltics.

This event was organized by JCI Siauliai and was held in the afternoon of November 26 in Siauliai Town Hall. Both the seminar and presentation had a very warm environment thanks to good participation of the audience.

Coordination Meeting with Lithuanian and Portuguese Air Forces

In order to finish coordinating project activities, a meeting was held on the Monday morning (November 26) among Lieutenant Agné Balciauskyté (PR officer of Lithuanian Air Force), Major Gonçalves (PR Officer of Portuguese Air Force), Aurelija Muzaite-Zavanelli (JCI Lithuania) and Filipe Carrera (JCI Portugal) in Siauliai Air Base.

It was a very productive meeting done in high spirit of cooperation.

Back to Lithuania and this time with… NATO

Yes, I’m back to Lithuania, after JCI Lithuania winning the Best European Project Award for training project in which I had honour to be the trainer. This time the challenge was to do it again but in unusual way. Once again, I have the great support of Aurelija Muzaite-Zavanelli (JCI Lithuania) who was a coordinator of JCI/NATO project series.

This time Portuguese Air Force supported the project because they are in Lithuania from the 1^st of November till 15^th of December to defend the airspace of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia under NATO mission, using famous F-16 fighter planes.

Today, for the first time in my life I did two military flights to come to Lithuania. I came with the troops and tomorrow our work will start.

On the way to Maastricht

On the 11th of June I was on my way to Brussels and then train to Maastricht, almost a whole day trave, to arrive to the EC 2007.

Filipe Carrera back in Lithuania

Continuing the International Training Project in Lithuania Filipe Carrera was back on Lithuania to carry out more training on Networking and Self-Knowledge, this time in Siauliai, Panevezys and Vilnius. The seminars were a great success.

In the beginning of the Networking seminar, Aurelija Zavanelli, a coordinator of the project, made a speech that explained the purpose of the Filipe Carrera’s visit:

"After our country has entered European Union it clearly became a part of the world. That means that we will face many more possibilities than we did before as well as more threats. The world outside is not better or worse than here; there is just much more of everything, including good and bad. This may look scary in the beginning, especially for those who had no contact with the “outside” world before. Fortunately, in JCI organisation we have a possibility to learn about the outside world without really taking a risk of leaving our home country. In this case, we won’t even leave Siauliai. Today we will learn about networking from a Portuguese lector who calls the world his home for already many years.”