Twinning with JCI Cluj

On Saturday, August 27, eight members from JCI Cluj arrived at the Euroairport in Basel. This was the start of the second part of the Twinning program between JCI Cluj and JCI Basel. The initial Twinning was brought into life with the aim of reducing the school dropout rates among Gypsy children, improving the children’s conditions and developing a collaborative, intercultural relationship between JCI Cluj and JCI Basel. This first part of the Twinning took place in Romania in June 2019. Three years later, JCI Basel finally welcomed Ioana Bora, Ioana Pirlea, Daniel Oltean, Sergiu Liogchii, Alexandra Pop, Edith Karda, Andreea Florea and Gabriela Paval in Basel. 

On the arrival day, we welcomed our guests at the airport and drove them to their hosts in Basel, Birsfelden and Leymen in France. Later that night, we all met again and visited THE Swiss alpine and wrestling festival, called ESAF (Eidgenössisches Schwing und Älplerfest) in Pratteln. This festival takes place every 3 years in a different location in Switzerland. Our guests could enjoy a first Swiss “Bratwurst” with beer and live music with our most important Swiss sing star Beatrice Egli. 

The next day, we had an adventurous drive up to Älggialp which is the geographical middle point of Switzerland. After a sandwich lunch, a short hike, picture stops and buying Swiss cheese directly from the farmer’s, the group made its way to Lucerne. Simon, a local friend, awaited us in Lucerne and showed us beautiful spots in this amazing city. We were able to walk on the remaining city walls and visited the few remaining towers where we had a fantastic view over the city. The day ended with some cheese bread (Kässchnitte) and BBQ at Julia and Michael’s place in Binningen. 

Monday was our business day. We were able to visit three different and very local companies. It started at 4Eyes where Markus gave us insights of his journey as an entrepreneur. We continued then to SUAN Concept and listened to the interesting facts and figures from André’s company. Enjoying the most local Pizza’s from Vito, we refreshed and gained energy to visit the world’s leading healthcare company, Roche. Oliver made sure we had a fantastic view from the 47th floor of Tower 2, the highest building in Switzerland. In the evening, we all gathered at Startup Academy for a presentation from Cluj. In spring this year, JCI Basel did a fundraiser for Cluj. With this money, Cluj was able to open up a TechHub for refugees from Ukraine. It was breathtaking to see what was done with the money. Furthermore, options for further collaborations were discussed and many ideas brainstormed for future common projects. 

Tuesday was already the last day in Basel. Starting the day with a city tour by Christian, where JCI Cluj members were able to enjoy the most scenic spots in town including a ride with the very traditional Basel ferry. The last official program point was the JCI Basel lunch at Cantina e9 where even more people came together to get to know our guests from Cluj. 

We had an incredible exchange, made lots of new friends and came up with many ideas on how to continue this unique friendship. Thanks to all the helpers who made this program possible. The next touchpoint was already fixed for October to virtually check in with each other. We cannot wait to see them again and to continue to collaborate.