JCI History Timeline

By the age of 18, Henry Giessenbier Jr. formed the Herculaneum Dance Club, a social outlet for the community’s youth. Unknown at the time, Giessenbier was laying the foundation for what would become a global movement. On October 13, 1915, the first JCI Movement was founded when 32 men joined to form the Young Men’s Progressive Association (YMPCA) at the Mission Inn located in their hometown of St. Louis, USA.

The Young Men’s Civic Progressive Association members received acknowledgement from the broader community, however on November 30, 1915 official recognition of the organization was granted after enrolling as a member of the Mayor’s Conference of Civic Organizations. One year later, the YMPCA became known as the Junior Citizens and soon the Junior Chamber of Commerce, after affiliating with the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce.

In June 1920, with 41 cities present, the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce held their first official convention, where their first constitution was adopted and the first President, Henry Giessenbier Jr., was elected. Giessenbier closed the ceremony with his expressed goals for the organization: “We have definitely launched a great institution into the world of progress. Let us hope that from this institution will emerge citizens of loftier ideals, higher privileges, greater opportunities, purer patriotism, broader ideas of service and greater capacity for happiness.” — Founder, Henry Giessenbier, Jr.

In 1926, after gaining Charles A. Lindbergh, commercial aviation pioneer, as a member, the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce pursued to expand aviation throughout the United States by working to establish and promote airport construction, encourage air mail usage and mark towns for easy identification from the air. That same year, the Get Out the Vote campaign was initiated in which the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce became the first national organization to conduct a systematic campaign to educate citizens of their civic duty to vote. As a result, 12 million more individuals voted in the 1928 election than in 1924.

On December 11, 1944, the Inter-American Congress was held in Mexico City. Representatives from the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama gathered to officially establish Henry Giessenbier’s 24-year-old civic association as an international organization, Junior Chamber International.

In 1946, with their new international presence recognized, the first JCI World Congress took place in Panama City, and included the adoption of a provisional Constitution.

During his presidency, Phil Pugsley led efforts to establish a permanent JCI Secretariat to strengthen global communication and maintain vital records. With free office space from the US Junior Chamber in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Secretariat officially began in 1950. Pictured to the right is the groundbreaking ceremony in 1950 for this building that would later contain the USJCC Headquarters and the first JCI Secretariat. Phillip Van Slyck became JCI’s first full-time Secretary General in 1953. Pugsley also introduced the JCI Senate as a cost-effective way to honor exceptional members, awarding JCI Senatorship No. 1 posthumously to former Secretary General Joaquin V. Gonzalez.

Written by C. William Brownfield, the JCI Creed, a six-line statement of the beliefs and principles of the JCI Movement, was officially adopted in 1948 uniting individual members across the world.

Exemplifying the value of brotherhood, JCI’s first international campaign launched in 1954. Operation Brotherhood was developed through collaborating with the United Nations to support refugees fleeing communism in Vietnam. The campaign included large-scale fundraising efforts that raised US $1 million, assisted more than 730,000 individuals through health and wellness programs and created more than 350 community living spaces for refugees.

In 1965, Project Concern was started to administer dental and primary care to underprivileged individuals in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Mexico and the Appalachian Mountains in the United States. While the program grew internationally in 1965, it was started by JCI Hong Kong in 1962, spreading to other National Organizations before its international adoption.

Throughout the 1970’s, membership growth among women soared and in 1971 the first female National President was elected in Nepal.

In 1954, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) granted JCI Special Consultative status, officially defining the supportive relationship between JCI and the UN. In the photo, 1981 JCI President Gary Nagao visited with the UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim at the United Nations to discuss the long-standing partnership between the two organizations.

Starting in the 1980’s, organizational themes focused heavily on equality, internationalism and world peace in response to civil conflicts, assassination attempts and acts of terror as well as increasing global inflation and an oil and energy crisis. At the 1982 JCI World Congress in Seoul, South Korea, delegates skipped lunch to raise funds and support for disadvantaged populations on the North and South Korean border.

The first Earth Run at the 1986 JCI World Congress promoted UNICEF and “Global Peace for Children.” Later, in the 1990s JCI officially established a partnership with UNICEF based on the organizations’ mutual commitment to protect and support children. In another project dedicated to child development, members of JCI Hong Kong established the first children’s library and provided mobile libraries to the Social Welfare Office in 1986.

In 1989, JCI Presidents signed “The Independent” describing the fall of the Berlin Wall and presented it to JCI Germany.

Throughout the 1990’s, JCI and its long-time partner the United Nations organized JCI Day annually on December 11th at the UN to educate young people on global challenges and how their history of cooperation can inspire local collaborations.

Half a century after the JCI Movement expanded internationally, JCI celebrated its 50th anniversary. JCI leadership blows out candles to celebrate this momentous occasion. Other celebrations included publishing a JCI Golden Anniversary Book to commemorate 50 years of history since founding internationally in 1944.

On November 30, 2002, JCI stakeholders attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new location of the JCI World Headquarters. After nearly 50 years of being located in Tulsa, Miami or Coral Gables, USA, the headquarters relocated back to the city where the JCI Movement was founded, St. Louis, USA. The building was inaugurated on June 23, 2004.

First a resolution of the JCI-UN Leadership Summit, in 2004 JCI members committed to join leaders around the world to advance the Millennium Development Goals. Members globally continued to run national and local projects aimed to advance these eight global development goals, which ranged from eradicating extreme hunger and poverty to combating HIV/AIDS and malaria.

To advance the Millennium Development Goal #6, combat malaria, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases, JCI formalized a partnership with the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign in 2008, which focused JCI members’ actions to raise global awareness, advocate for government funding and fundraise to support the fight against malaria through prevention. Over the next eight years, JCI raised over US $3.5 million for malaria prevention. JCI members and organizations around the world continue to support the Nothing But Nets initiative as Champion donors.

To increase the quantity of projects that result in sustainable solutions, the General Assembly of the 2010 JCI World Congress adopted the JCI Active Citizen Framework, a roadmap of actionable, results-driven steps to produce sustainable impact. This framework has been a guiding force behind impactful grassroots projects around the world, r such as a medical camp in Bangladesh slums for expectant mothers lacking prenatal resources, community farming in the Dutch Caribbean, apprenticeships for unemployed youth in Europe and voter awareness campaigns across African nations.

As JCI celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the JCI Movement, the moment presented itself for the organization to reflect upon and celebrate 100 Years of Impact. Celebrations included parties, 100th Anniversary documentary screenings and a commemorative monument and unveiling at the JCI World Headquarters. JCI members across the globe participated in Project Impact 100 with the goal of empowering young people and their communities to impact the lives of 100 individuals by taking grassroots action to create positive change; 467,540 individuals were impacted globally.

2016 was the first year of implementation for the 15-year global development agenda—The Global Goals for Sustainable Development. These 17 ambitious goals aim at achieving three extraordinary tasks: end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and combat climate change. During the 2015 JCI World Congress in Kanazawa, Japan, JCI leaders committed to advancing these goals by creating awareness, taking action on the goals most relevant in their communities and taking responsibility to hold JCI members as well as all sectors of society accountable to implement and monitor the progress of the Global Goals. In the same year, JCI launched the Peace is Possible campaign, an inter-generational movement to promote peace in every country and community that focuses on SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

The Global Youth Empowerment Fund, a joint initiative from JCI and the United Nations SDG Action Campaign, begins funding projects that advance one or more of the SDGs. During its first cycle, the Fund provided financial resources of up to $5,000 to three projects. In the same year, JCI began the I Am Africa campaign, a pan-African movement meant to inspire African youth into taking action for grassroots change. 

JCI launched Step Up for Europe, a movement that mobilizes young Europeans to participate in the political process and take part in shaping the future of their continent. The flagship project, the JCI European Know-How Transfer, gives youth hands-on experience with policy makers in the European Union.