We are honoured to have welcomed 2025 JCI President Keisuke Shimoyamada in Lebanon, from May 30th until June 2nd. President Keisuke spent 4 days in Lebanon, a few days after attending the 2025 JCI Africa & the Middle East Conference in Durban, South Africa, and right before flying out to the European Conference! He was ccompanied by his assistants Takashi Yamanaka and Yuki Fukada.
DAY 1 RECAP 🔥ahla w sahla, welcome to Lebanon!
After a red-eye flight from Zambia, President Keisuke kickstarted his Friday visit with a meeting with the Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs, Haneen Sayyed! An efficient and fruitful meeting, which put JCI Lebanon on the map for future potential collaborations. Following that, President Keisuke had a beachside members lunch, and spent the afternoon meeting with our members. To wrap up the day, a partners dinner was held - it included the Lebanese Entrepreneurs Network, as well as representatives from the the Ministry of Public Health's Mental Health & Psychosocial Support Network.
DAY 2 RECAP 🔥time to meet the members
We brought back the joy of school trips — just like the good old days, but with better playlists... JCI Lebanon hosted its Midyear Retreat in Shouf, on Sat. 31st of May, with a nature-filled escape to Deir el Qamar, Beiteddine Palace, and Shouf Cedar Reserve. This was an amazing opportunity for President Keisuke to discuss with our members, while also discovering Lebanon's beautiful landscapes and rich history! We were also joined by a Tunisian family - a perfect opportunity to get everyone hyped up for World Congress!
DAY 3 RECAP 🔥 it's Sunday, let's get some well-deserved "time off"
The time off brought us to Jbeil, for a guided tour of the citadel, the old town and souk, where JCI Lebanon gifted our WP a fossil from Memory of Time - an ode to Lebanon's resilience and longlasting history. The lunch and afternoon were spent with JCI Lebanon Senators Rania Haddad, Aline Chirinian and Maria-Zahra Farhat. To wrap up this special day, everyone headed to JCI Lebanon President Marie Khalife's birthday party!
DAY 4 RECAP 🔥 back to business
Right before President Keisuke's flight to EC, we held an introductory meeting with the Lebanese Minister of Youth & Sports Nora Bayrakdarian, which discussed notably how to best involve the youth in decision making. Then, we headed to the American University of Beirut, to meet with the Office of Students Affairs, as well as the upcoming JCI AUB cabinet members. After a campus tour held by upcoming JCI AUB President Sarra Fassekh, it was time to say our goodbyes and head to the airport.
JCI Lebanon would like to extend its gratitude to President Keisuke for his visit. We were truly honoured to host you, and look forward to doing so again!