GLOBAL TRAINING SESSION

GLOBAL TRAINING SESSION and WORLD COUNCIL/WORLD ASSEMBLY

24 July to 3 August 2015 | Mariapolis Peace, Tagaytay City PHILIPPINES

 

The International Young Catholic Students (IYCS) and the International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS) have organized a joint plenary assembly. The gathering dubbed a joint Global Training Session is organized under the theme:

“Salt of the Earth, Light of the World – Students building the Kingdom of God”.

It will consist a joint study session and separate statutory sessions; where each movement will retreat for separate session in accordance with their respective Statutes and traditions.

IYCS Africa is represented by the two Pan African Coordinators and several other National Movements.

GLOBAL TRAINING SESSION

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Mathew, 5, 13-16)

By choosing this biblical quotation for the theme of our project, we opt to show to the World that there is hope that youth and students alike aren’t giving up in building a global society that lives in harmony and serves the common good of all and Creation itself. That leadership is more than having a position of power of others, it is an example of justice and peace one gives, without wanting recognition or compensation, simply because they are the values one defends and upholds. Even more so, Leadership can only be attained when respecting and cooperating with others, be-cause without thinking of the neighbour, it becomes self-centred and destructive. To be an example of Light, in a World full of darkness is an aim that Christians should always prioritize and base their faith on.

To be the way Jesus Christ told us we should is within our reach as Catholic Students. Like salt, students have the ability to preserve their propriety of savouriness while being integrated in a group, community, society. This flavour we give is their energy, innovation and creativity that is of use to the World today, and not only tomorrow. As Catholics we personify the nature of purification and preservation of salt through our ability to go against what is wrong, unjust and leads to poverty and to favour that which leads to a more just, peaceful and understanding society. To live our faith in our actions towards the ones who suffer and in building a more inclusive community we become the Light that shines for all humans to be able to better understand each other and develop unity.

The objective of this meeting is therefore to train the delegates of national movements or organizations in order to develop their ability to become “Salt of the Earth, Light of the World” in their own communities but also in the larger international reality. At the same time that experiences and realities throughout the World are shared between them, specially the negative and positive examples, their empowerment is made not only through the program but also bilaterally through each other. This in turn leads to being a starting point for a brighter future, best exemplified by an excerpt of Evangelii Gaudium: “It is the convergence of peoples who, within the universal order, maintain their own individuality; it is the sum total of persons within a society which pursues the common good, which truly has a place for everyone. To Christians, this principle also evokes the totality or integrity of the Gospel which the Church passes down to us and sends us forth to proclaim. (…)The Gospel is the leaven which causes the dough to rise and the city on the hill whose light illumines all peoples.”

Goals:

• The participants of the meeting in terms of training of their leadership qualities and their theological formation;
• The national movements represented through their respective delegates, which will be affected through the follow-up of the program.
• Alongside these, there are also indirect targets, such as:
• The International Institutions, especially what concerns the sustainable development topic and the Post-2015 Development Agenda;
• Each country represented by the delegates of the national movements present by the actions and projects that will be a result of the meeting itself and will be reproduced in each own reality;
• Our partners, the Vatican and the Church in general, in terms of the receivers of our conclusions and our actions during the Global Training Session.

IYCS WORLD COUNCIL

The World Council is the supreme decision-making body of International YCS. It meets in ordinary session every four (4) years at a date and location determined by the International Team. This year it will be held in Philippines and some of its expected out comes will include revising the statutes of ICYS where necessary, set thematic areas for the next 4 years and of course the election of the new team that will be mandate to lead the two movement for the next 4 years.