Summit at a Glance

IGNITE FELLOWS SUMMIT AT A GLANCE

The Summit at a Glance

The program is divided into the four phases of faith-based organizing that Faith in Action calls the Theology of Resistance: Encounter, Disruption, Re-imagination and Prophetic Action. The sessions will be grounded in Ignatian spirituality as a tool for grounding ourselves in God's love and mercy, seeking freedom from the bias of disordered attachments, confronting sins of privilege and inequality in our society, and discerning our role in a common call to action.

The dates for this summit are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (July 20-23) with two 2-hour sessions--a morning session (theory) and an afternoon session (practice). In addition to the seminars and hands-on projects, there will be opportunities for e-immersion that are engaged in the work of service and organizing.

Tuesday, July 21^st, 2020: Day II

Dismantling Cycles of Inequality: Challenging Dominant Ideologies of Power and Privilege

Challenging normative or dominant ideology is paramount in dismantling the cycle of inequality. Challenges are made to the traditional claims of the educational system: meritocracy, equal opportunity, color-blindness, and objectivity (Austin, 1992; Montoya, 1994; Solorzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001). Challenging a dominant ideology requires a counter-narrative or story told as a means of exposing the dominant narrative’s inequities. This knowledge attempts to draw on the lived experiences of others using story-telling (“cuentos”) or consejos” (wisdom sayings or proverbs) as a means of reconciling two realities. In essence, story-telling relies on the centrality of experiential knowledge and the stories that have resided on the margins of life’s history (Greene, 1993). Using selected readings and activities, participants will explore the ways power may be used to access opportunities for change after exposing the cycle of inequality.

Wednesday, July 22^nd, 2020: Day III

Expanding our Understanding: Encounters and Social Analysis as Tools for Disruption

People change in the contexts of deep relationships and profound encounters. The first step in the Theology of Organizing is building relationships-surfacing issues. From this encounter with others, disruption or an awakening and reorganizing of our relationships with self, others, and the Sacred is possible. This session will provide training on engaging in 1:1’s and learning from students on ways to disrupt the campus and awaken the students to the realities of lives of undocumented students in a Jesuit secondary school setting.

Thursday, July 23^rd, 2020: Day IV

Igniting the World on Fire: A Youth’s Way of Proceeding with Reimagination, Hope and Prophetic Action

Like counter-narratives, reimagination is the cultivation of a moral imagination and new way of looking (and doing) things. It is an invitation into prophetic action; into next steps where we demonstrate power and hold accountable those that can lead further change. This final session will bring together a panel of organizers across the province and share key aspects or elements of different organizing models and the relationships between organizers and communities. Participants will also be guided on next steps in the program.