A new project by Fe y Alegría Internacional Federation will see traditionally excluded young people from seven countries undergo training in political leadership, advocacy and the production of youth-led knowledge.Photo: Fe y Alegría
The Board of Directors of Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) has approved a project that will train traditionally excluded youth from seven countries on influential and critical citizenship so that they can play a leading role in social and political transformation.
The project, Youth in Action: From Local Engagement to Global Transformation, by CJI Jesuit partner Fe y Alegría Internacional Federation (Faith and Joy International Federation), was one of 20 projects approved by the Board when it met on February 21. Fe y Alegría is an international Jesuit education and social development movement that offers quality education, vocational training, and social programs to poor and marginalized communities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
At least 2,200 young people from Argentina, Brazil, Chad, Colombia, Guatemala, Paraguay, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will undergo training in political leadership, youth-produced knowledge and youth advocacy. Forty-five young women, Indigenous youth, African youth, and youth with disabilities will be selected to represent Fe y Alegria in international decision-making forums. Participants from each country will also coordinate mobilization and advocacy actions on issues affecting their lives.
The CJI Board also approved a project by Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Syria that will provide access to quality education opportunities in a safe environment for 1, 950 vulnerable children in Jaramana, Kafroun, Bab Sbaa and Al-Sakhour.
Here are some of the projects approved per thematic area:
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
- Sowing Seeds for Transformation (Society of Jesus in South Sudan)
- Access to Education for the Vulnerable Population (Fe y Alegia, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
ECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABILITY
- Scale-up of Building Resilience in Women and Girls (African Jesuits AIDS Network, AJAN)
- Strengthening economic initiatives for better living conditions in Latin America (Comparte Network, Conference of Jesuit Provincials in Latin America and the Caribbean, CPAL)
- Consolidating agroecological alternatives for Indigenous Tseltal families in northern Chiapas (Centro de Formación Integral Para Promotores Indígenas(CEFIPI)/Centre for Integral Training of Indigenous Promoters, Mexico)
- Strengthening the hope that springs forth from Mother Earth: Developing new Indigenous women and youth leaders; defending ancestral territories; promoting community unity and social justice (Indigenous Solidarity and Apostolate Network, RSAI, Latin America)
- Implementation of the Pan-Amazonian Apostolic Plan, Phase II (Pan-Amazonian Jesuit Service)
HUMAN RIGHTS, CIVIC PARTICIPATION, AND PEACEBUILDING
- Communities in Motion: Territory, Cultural Identity and Social Justice (ERIC-Radio Progreso, Honduras)
- Strengthening community participation through social accountability at local levels in Lusaka Archdiocese (Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection, Zambia)
- Climate Justice and Sovereignty: Community Action Against Extractivism (Centro Montalvo, Dominican Republic)
RIGHTS OF FORCIBLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
- A Candle for a Woman: Support for Survivors of Atrocities in Goma (Jesuit Refugee Service, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Humanitarian Support for Haitian Migrants (Service Jésuite aux Migrants (SJM)/Jesuit Service for Migrants – Haiti)
- Strengthening Protection and Reconciliation (Jesuit Refugee Service, Venezuela)
