As 2024 draws to a close, JA Asia Pacific reflects on a year marked by innovation, collaboration, and significant milestones in youth education and empowerment across the region. We embarked on executing and improving existing and new programs at the regional level, focused on building the JA community internally as well as with partners, and celebrated some significant milestones achieved by our global organization, Members and individuals.
Education through Programs
Igniting the Spirit of Young Entrepreneurs
In March, JA Asia Pacific, in partnership with PMIEF, held the 14th JA Asia Pacific Company of the Year (COY) Competition hosted by JA Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. This event brought together 21 Student Companies from 12 JA markets in the region, showcasing their entrepreneurial acumen and innovative business solutions. The 1st place winners, O'BGE, from JA Korea will represent the Asia Pacific at the upcoming De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award in April 2025. Read more.
August witnessed the culmination of the 18th FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge (ITC) Asia Pacific finals in Singapore. Engaging over 4,500 students from 10 markets, this initiative emphasized the importance of global trade education. Participants demonstrated exceptional creativity and strategic thinking, preparing them for future roles in international business. Read more.
Expanding Financial Literacy Awareness
JA Asia Pacific participated in Global Money Week through interviews with partners from HSBC and BNY Mellon. Their insights on learning about money management at a young age reinforced JA's commitment to financial literacy among youth.
Championing Women in Finance A new program by Bloomberg: APAC Women in Finance was held in Singapore and involved students from Japan, India and Singapore. The in-person program aimed at inspiring and empowering future generations of women; demystifying the world of finance, with a specific focus on emerging fields such as ESG and Fintech, and providing access to senior women leaders who have achieved remarkable success in their careers.
Raising Awareness on Various Global Industries
Our joint adventure with Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement and JA Europe, marked a significant milestone in increasing awareness about the multi-disciplinary maritime industry and the diverse career paths it offers young people across Europe and Asia. A Global Innovation Camp was held from 15th to 20th March, 2024 in conjunction with Asia Pacific Maritime week. This Camp brought together students aged 15-18 from Cyprus, Greece, Ukraine, India, Singapore, and the Philippines, equipping them with essential skills for thriving in the maritime industry. Read more.
Fostering Social Innovation
The JA SparktheDream Social Challenge Asia Pacific Finals celebrated young changemakers dedicated to social innovation. In partnership with FWD Group, this challenge, taken on by students after engaging in the program, highlighted the creative solutions proposed by students to address pressing societal issues, underscoring the potential of youth-led initiatives in driving positive change. Read more.
Modernizing JA Company Program for Asia Pacific
Over the past year, the AP ROC worked closely with JA Worldwide and INJAZ Al-Arab to modernize JA Company Program for the Asia Pacific Region. The process was collaborative, taking on feedback and localization suggestions from our Members, and emphasizing the “Fixed, Flexible, Freestyle” approach to ensure a balance between regionalization and localization. Key changes to the program include a more prominent role for project management as well as other master classes. Moreover, considerable attention went into including case studies of small, medium and large enterprises from across the region.
Building Community
Harmonizing Regional Leadership for Greater Impact
JA Leaders from the Asia Pacific region gathered in Kuala Lumpur for a Senior Leadership Team Retreat to discuss strategic plans, AI's potential, business development, and the modernization of JA’s signature Company Program. The retreat fostered collaboration, leaving participants energized and equipped to navigate the evolving landscape with resilience and innovation. Read more.
Reuniting, Inspiring, Sparking, and Engaging Alumni
The first ever Asia Pacific JA Alumni Conference was held in Bali, hosted by Prestasi Junior Indonesia Alumni Committee. This inaugural conference brought together JA alumni from across the region to reflect and consider their contribution individually and collectively to the wider community. Read more.
Recognising Outstanding Educators
The Cha-Ching Financial Accreditation (CCFA) Teacher Recognition Conference was held as a virtual live event. Fifteen teachers amongst the five JA Members in the Asia Pacific region involved in the Cha-Ching program by Prudence Foundation were honoured with the CCFA Top Educator Award. The conference featured best practice sessions by the awardees and a high-profile panel discussion on "Making Financial Literacy part of the 21st Century School Curriculum." Check out the Conference Website here.
Engaging in Global Environmental Discourse
At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, JA Asia Pacific in collaboration with JA Azerbaijan, emphasized the role of youth in shaping a sustainable future in a panel session at the Deloitte pavilion. Through the JA Short Video Showcase, alumni from various countries shared their initiatives, demonstrating a commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable development through the JA programs. Read more.
Building Bridges in Educational Collaboration
The Third EECOLE Roundtable held in Jakarta this year, convened representatives from diverse sectors to discuss the transformative role of AI in entrepreneurship education. This event allowed JA to share our work, especially in Indonesia by Prestasi Junior Indonesia, to integrate advanced technologies into our programs to better prepare students for the evolving digital economy. Read more.
Cultivating Partnerships
As one of the four strategic goals for JA Asia Pacific’s current 3-year strategic plan, the ROC is driving new partnerships beyond grant-based giving.
Introduced JA alumni / students in the Asia Pacific network to further learning experiences that are aligned with JA’s values and mission offered by The Knowledge Society.
Clinton School of International Public Service opened an opportunity to JA Members for aspiring development-focused professionals to serve as interns.
McKinsey.org: (collaboration in-progress) is embarking on plan to take Asia Pacific JA Members through a rigorous professional development program: “Ability to Execute (A2E) Essentials for Non-Profits”.
Kolibri For Impact: In 2024, JA Asia Pacific was tasked by Prudence Foundation to undertake original, multi-stakeholder research, to map and understand the pathway to sustainable, scalable impact for the Cha-Ching Program moving forward. The ROC led and worked closely with an Indonesia-based research group, Kolibri For Impact, to run this project, which has successfully concluded, lending to future collaborations with this research partner.
Celebrating Milestones
Marking Milestones
A significant achievement this year was JA Philippines reaching over 1 million students through the Cha-Ching program by Prudence Foundation, reflecting the organization's expansive reach and impact in nurturing future leaders and entrepreneurs. Read more.
Recognition of Efforts through Awards & Nominations
JA Worldwide awarded for the 6th year, thedotgood Top Ten NGO/SGO winner.
JA Philippines awarded with two Stevie® Awards for Innovative Achievement in Corporate Social Responsibility:
Silver Stevie Award – for “Beyond Boundaries: Cha-Ching's Pursuit of a Million Students, Transforming Lives One at a Time” and
Bronze Stevie Award – for “Dreams Ignited: JA SparktheDream's Revolutionary Approach to Financial Literacy”
Asia Pacific Alumni winning awards at the JA Global Alumni Summit 2024:
Raine Nakpil, JA Philippines Alumni for The Leadership Award;
Prestasi Junior Alumni for The Global Citizen Award; and
Stevia Anlena Putri, Prestasi Junior Indonesia for The Innovation Award.
JA Worldwide received for the 3rd year in a row, the Nobel Peace Prize nomination.
2024 Community Business Awards for "Creating Social Impact in Asia: Partnership Award" nominee with partner FWD Group for JA Asia Pacific's JA SparktheDream program.
These accomplishments were made possible through the unwavering support of our partners, dedicated Members and alumni, visionary educators, and enthusiastic students and their caregivers. Our immense gratitude goes out to all of you! As we look forward to 2025, JA Asia Pacific remains steadfast in its mission to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy, building on the solid foundation established.
