November 7-9, 2015, was the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, an event in Washington, DC, that brought together over 1700 students and educators from across Canada, the United States, Mexico, and El Salvador.
Students from Campion College (Taylor, Luke and Camila) along with Engaged Learning Coordinator Sarah Hannah (red coat) and College President Fr. John Meehan, SJ (white coat) on Capitol Hill.
Created to focus on injustices around the world, the Teach-In was an opportunity to ignite the fire of justice, reflect and pray. It offered workshops and keynote addresses around the three broad themes of the Ignatian Solidarity Network — immigration, US policy in Central America and environmental justice — and the event culminated in a public witness on Capitol Hill.
For a second year, Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) led the Canadian delegation. It was comprised of 34 students and educators from Campion College, St. Paul’s High School, Loyola High School, and St. Bonaventure’s College High School. Participants came with open hearts, and a passion for justice.
The theme of the Teach-In this year was Bridges, and the Canadian delegation had a pre-session that allowed the group to critically examine how they could build bridges in their community. The pre-session also included an opportunity to meet with students from Colegio Iberio in Mexico. Together they discussed issues of concern in their respective communities and had the opportunity to ask each other questions.
One of the issues that came up repeatedly was the treatment of Canada’s First Nations people. Many of the students had knowledge of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report and the learning which came from that, and had sought to work in their communities raising awareness and advocating for First Nations and Aboriginal rights.
The Teach-In was a great opportunity for Canadian students to learn about and advocate for social justice as part of a larger Ignatian community, tasked with building bridges between ourselves and those whose voices are not being heard. The public witness on Capitol Hill was an opportunity to act in solidarity with our American brothers and sisters. When they proceeded to advocacy visits with their elected representatives, it allowed the Canadian group to engage further and learn more about social justice and social justice advocacy.
Canadian delegation meets with Gary Doer, Canadian Ambassador to the United States (in dark suit)
Monday afternoon was spent at the Center of Concern and staff at the Center spoke to some members of the Canadian delegation about their work with multilateral financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as their work in education for social justice.
Our experience as a Canadian delegation was shared across our social media outlets, and a Storify page was created to summarize the event: https://storify.com/CJIyouth4others/iftj-2015-canadian-delegation.
If you are a member of a school, parish or institution and are interested in being part of the Canadian delegation next year, please contact us.
Jesuit Volunteer Josh Smith (at CJI and Seeds of Hope) in conversation with Fr John Meehan, SJ.
