At Athens waiting for plane to Larnaca

My plane left with 2,5 hours delay to Athens and guess what another delay to Larnaca. The great thing is that I have the company of Andreas Christophides from JCI Cyprus that will go in the same plane.

So see you soon Cyprus :-)

On my way to Cyprus

I'm waiting at Barcelona airport for my plane that will take me to Athens and from there to Larnaca where I will go to Limassol to deliver JCI Presenter.

This will be the 41 country that I will visit, still a lot of world to cover.

Gala Night: A reward for a work well done

Gala Night at the European Conference in Budapest was fabulous. It was a night full of contacts and a big joy to have one of the members of my training team Elena Beskinskaya from JCI Russia awarded the “Most Outstanding Trainer in Europe” an award that I won in 2008.

Also I had the opportunity to take great photos with friends across Europe and the world.

See you all in Tunisia :-)

Living the JCI European Conference Experience

The JCI European Conference Experience has different for me from the previous ones that I attended, because I was in this conference as trainer but also as JCI Training Commissioner for Europe, what gave me an inside look of the making of a conference of this magnitude.

It was for me great to launch my video tips for trainers project among all trainers in Europe.

Almost 2,500 people attend this conference in the beautiful city of Budapest, a city well prepared to receive visitors. Also JCI Hungary did a great work in the organization of this big event, from them I got the best of cooperation and friendship.

Also it was a great opportunity to meet friends from all over the world that came to Budapest to celebrate the international values of JCI and also to meet in a very good social program, that started with a great Hungarian night, passed by Serbian and Danish night, followed by a very original German night and closed by a impressive Gala Night.

On the way to Budapest!

I’m very happy take part in the JCI European Conference that will be held in Budapest between June 10 and 14. I will be present as trainer and as JCI Training Commissioner for Europe, having among others the responsibility being the chairman of the Trainers Forum that will be held on June 13.

This conference will be a great opportunity to meet many, many friends from JCI from all over Europe and some even from outside Europe, getting that wonderful global felling that you only get in JCI.

See you in Budapest :-)

First JCI Trainer in Portugal: Moment of Joy

On May 23 and 24 I had the honour of being Assistant Trainer of Walter Labres for the second time in two weeks in JCI Trainer, held in Carcavelos (Lisbon area), an official course of JCI that aims to train trainers. My friend Ronald Goovaerts was the other Assistant Trainer.

The quality of the participants was very impressive, creating great learning experience; they really deserve being the first JCI Trainer graduates in Portugal.

With this course I put together all the conditions to be Head Trainer of JCI Trainer, what is for me a great joy.

Being Head Trainer at JCI Presenter in Porto

As part of a strategy of delivering training to JCI Portugal members I had the invitation to deliver JCI Presenter in Porto on May 17.

I found a group highly motivate that help me to overcome the flu that affected my performance.

Some of these participants will be at JCI Trainer on the 23 and 24 of May.

A special thanks to Sonia Brochado and Pedro Caramez by the effort in putting together this course.

Book signing of “Marketing Digital na Versão 2.0” by Filipe Carrera

On May 13 took place on the famous book store FNAC in Lisbon the book signing of “Marketing Digital na versão 2.0 – O que não pode ignorar” (Digital Marketing in the 2.0 Version – What you can’t ignore), edited by Edições Sílabo 2009, by Filipe Carrera.

This book is for the reader that wants to know how he can use the digital means (Internet, cellular, etc.) to generate and to grow business, but at the same time doesn’t want to loose time with theory and useless technical language. That is, he wants to know in a very short and simple way how to start to use the new technologies that are available.

For a better understanding of the subject, the structural changes that are happening in terms of consumer behaviour and the way companies are performing are one of the focuses of this book.

Because of the speed of the technological and behavioural changes is big, the book has a virtual community that works as a virtual companion of the book that is available at http://dmarketing.ning.com, this is a space of interactivity between readers and the author, and where is possible to find more information about the subjects that are handled in this book and useful resources in multiple formats.

This book is available in the best book stores in Portugal.

Training in Sibiu for JCI Romania

It was my pleasure to deliver JCI Presenter as Head Trainer and JCI Trainer as Assistant Trainer of Walter Labres (from JCI Austria), in the beautiful city of Sibiu, between May 7 and 10.

We were gifted with group of participants with great motivation and quality and organization that created all the conditions for a great training event. A special thanks to Rodica, Felicia and Mihaela (and family).

Personally it was a lot of fun to work with a outstanding trainer like Walter Labres with whom I had the opportunity to learn to be a better trainer.

Speaking at the 5th Global Conference & Exhibition of ASTD South Africa

From April 21 till April 23 ASTD South Africa held in Cape Town its Global Conference & Exhibition, around 250 participants converged to hear a great group of South African and foreigner speakers, in which I had the privilege to be included.

The conference had a brilliant organization that even had to handle the challenge of a general election in South Africa, right in the middle of the conference days.

I made a presentation to more than 120 people about Informal Training that caught much attention and questions during and after the session.

Looking Around South Africa

My friends Juanita and Robin Probart were great hosts to me, with them and another speaker from the Philippines, Moje Ramos-Aquino, I had the opportunity to visit wonderful places like the Cradle of Humankind, Pilasnesberg National Park, Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope and Table Mountain.

As a Portuguese Cape Town has a special meaning because it was discovered by the Portuguese sailor Bartolomeu Dias in 1487, opening the way for the famous trip of Vasco da Gama to India in 1498.

South Africa is a country that is full of amazing surprises that deserves not only a visit, but several visits, because of its diversity and dimension.

On my way to South Africa

Today I have a long trip. Start from Lisbon and now I’m at the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport waiting for my flight to Johannesburg. I only have to wait for 5.5 hours.

Time to update my blog :-)


On May 21 I will be speaking at the ASTD South Africa Annual Conference that will be held in the beautiful city of Cape Town. Also a very historical place in terms of the Portuguese Discoveries.


I will speak about Informal Training, for more on that check here


Next stop Johannesburg, where I will meet my good friends Robin Probart and his wife Juanita.

Training Networking in Freiburg

To finish a great March I did my Networking training to JCI Freiburg (Germany), it was a opportunity to meet members of JCI of Switzerland, Germany and France.

It was a fun training with a very good social program that allow me to live the history and tradition of Freiburg.

My host Uli Wiener and family were very kind in having me at their home. I believe that I will return to Germany for trainings again this year.

The Breakfast Club in Frankfurt

After a wonderful adventure in Mongolia that was extend because of cancellation of my flight to Beijing, I finnally arrived to Frankfurt for a breakfast appointment with my friend Andreas.

To my surprise Andreas was not alone, Kai from Norway was also there and also join us our friend Anke. It was a typical JCI reunion, somewhere in the world, with a lot of friendship.

It was great to meet them!!!

Meeting JCI Leader

After a wonderful Mongolian Barbecue it was time to return to Ulan Bator and have dinner party with JCI Leader, a chapter of JCI of Ulan Bator.

This is the chapter of my good friend Sayanaa (Vice President of JCI) that made sure during stay in Mongolia that everything was great for me.

I had the opportunity to explain my experience in JCI and also to welcome two new members to JCI.

A True Mongolia Barbecue

Thanks to my friends Batbayar (National President of JCI Mongolia) and Ody (President of JCI Ulan Bator) I had the amazing opportunity to do some sightseeing of the Mongolian countryside to finish of with a true Mongolian barbecue on the mountains.

Mongolia is truly a country that deserves to be known by its natural beauty, for its great people and traditions.

Delivering Traininig to two Major Mongolian Companies

It was quite an experience to deliver training to two major Mongolian Companies in the same day, NewTel (mobile communications and Internet) and APU (beverages).

Both companies sent to my Networking top and middle management and it was a great success.

I specially liked the experience of delivering training in a Ger (traditional nomadic house) in APU company. This Ger was the same used by the Mongolia's President to welcome the US President.

First JCI Presenter in Mongolia Ever

The next honor and challenge was to be Head Trainer of the first JCI Presenter course in Mongolia that was held in Ulan Bator, on March 17, to a class of 18 ambitious JCI members of several LOMs.

I had as Assistant Trainer my friend Amga, by the way a great Mongolian trainer, that puts much of his professional experience into the training, creating a unique experience.

Also my friends Amca and Bayan of JCI Mongolia gave a great logistical support creating the conditions for a very successful course.

7th Presidential Academy of JCI Mongolia

Being Head Trainer of the 7th Presidential Academy of JCI Mongolia was for me an honor and a challenge. The academy was held on March 14 and 15 in the mining city of Erdenet.

Thanks to great participants, excellent team of Mongolian trainers and a very professional organization team this Academy was a success.

I had the opportunity to meet JCI Vice-President Farzana, from Bangladesh, that also deliver training during the academy.

The social program of the Academy was also lots of fun!

A train trip in Mongolia

I arrived to Ulan Bator at 16.00 and after a great dinner with my good friend Batbayar at 20.00 I was already in train to Erdenet, where the JCI Mongolia Presidential Academy.

Erdenet is a mining city 400 Km north of Ulan Bator, close to the Russian border. It was 12 hours train trip with a lot of talks to pass the time and with a great reception at the end.