Values, Vision & Goals

The Steering Committee Values

The members of the Ignite Steering Committee, comprised of school leadership from our Jesuit Secondary Education Institutions within Jesuits West Province, value:

• Learning and the development of the whole young person;

• Contributions to the professional practices of one another;

• The development of leaders (future community youth organizers) in our young people;

• A respect for diverse perspectives; and

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Service, Justice, and Spiritual Development and Prayer.

Vision and Mission for the Program

We are committed to the continuous reflection and improvement of all aspects of student formation that supports learning and the development of young people as community youth organizers within Jesuits West and beyond.

• The vision for Ignite is: To build a dynamic, inclusive, welcoming, and supportive training seminar on community youth organizing for a cohort of young people representing the diversity that is Jesuits West.

• The mission of Ignite is: To provide a cohort of young people representing the diversity that is Jesuits West with the skills and reflective practice to successfully explore, discuss and engage in community youth organizing.

The Goals for the Week

As a community of practitioners, guided by the wisdom and spirituality of Ignatius of Loyola, we are committed to advancing the mission and vision of our provincial in offering to the “beloved” all the gifts we are truly in possession of especially our power to dream, lead and organize within the Province of Jesuits West and beyond. In realizing this purpose, the goals of Ignite are to:

• Introduce students to some of the basic capacities central to community organizing work, including outreach, listening, building relationships, issue development, strategy and campaign development, leadership development and movement building through readings and workshop style exercises;

• Expose students to a range of community organizing approaches and issues taken up by social justice organizations in the province and beyond;

• Provide opportunities to reflect on their own political development, assumptions and understanding in relationship to the principles of community organizing and Catholic Social Teaching; and

• Develop “spaces open to youthful creativity” around community youth organizing.

Expected Learning Outcomes

Upon completing the training seminar, fellows will be able to:

• Understand the basic capacities central to community organizing work such as outreach, listening, building relationships, and issue development;

• Discuss their own political development, assumptions and understanding in relationship to the principles of community organizing and Catholic Social Teaching;

• Analyze and challenge dominant ideologies of power and privilege;

• Illustrate the principles of organizing and apply concepts to a collaborative project to enhance new critical thinking skills and problem solving related to adopting new skills and strategies;

• Use concepts such as power-mapping and social analysis to critique issues; and

• Design or engage in a campaign that applies the learned concepts.