UGANDA: The 2nd IYCS Pan African Chaplains and Animators Meeting kicks-off in Uganda
In an effort to empower Chaplains and Animators from various National Movements in Africa to take action towards promoting effective youth apostolate, the 2nd International Young Catholic Students (IYCS) Pan African Meeting has kicked-off in Uganda.
The Meeting, which is underway in Kisubi, began on 7th August, 2018, and will continue until 13th August, 2018. The theme guiding the Meeting is: “A call to be a prophet in the Students’ Milieu: Students education for good governance and democratic citizenship, for Sustainable Development in Africa”.
The IYCS Pan African Regional Coordinator, Innocent Odongo said the theme was drawn from the 2nd IYCS International Chaplains and Animators Formation and Exchange (I-CAFÉ) that was held in March 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand, as it emphases on the mission of accompanying students to play their part in the evangelization of the student environment.
“The purpose of this meeting, therefore, is to help them distinguish what are hungers and thirsts of the world of youth and students in particular, and to answer their questioning. Facing the complexity and the evolution of these questions, chaplains and animators need to be trained to the realities of the youth and adequately assume the functions of the mission given to them,” he said.
He emphasized that Chaplains and Animators whose mission is to help young people have a role in the evangelization for the growth of the Church, and are a vital part of the movement and efficiently contribute to the construction of YCS, and its actual involvement in the life of society for a more just and peaceful world.
“The presence of adults is necessary to help young people to grow up in a holistic way because young people need the presence of an adult to be able to blossom. Therefore, leaders should not only guide them but also go along with young people, sharing with them the richness of their experience. In that way, the youth can also help them achieve their dreams by preparing them to be men and women in dignity and sense of responsibilities for tomorrow,”.
The seven-day meeting will include panel sessions and discussions with experts from across Africa, experience sharing among participants from different African countries, networking opportunities and site visits to exciting places in Kampala city working closely with young people. A number of methods ranging from visual presentations, lectures, small group activities, role plays, small studies, media reporting, and homework exercises, project planning sessions, work and creative approaches as well global education (non-formal education) will also be applied.
Focus areas of the Meeting include providing chaplains and animators a better understanding of the movement and its ambitions for youth/students pastoral, and the deepening and broadening of their understanding and practice of the YCS Review of the Life methodology See-Judge-Act and the reality of IYCS movement today. They will also seek ways to provide the youth with platforms to develop the necessary skills for their role of accompaniment and guidance, and to develop strategies to better approach the new and emerging issues in students and youth milieu among other topics.
The event has attracted over 50 participants including YCS chaplains, Youth Chaplain, YCS animators, sub regional coordinators, national coordinators and national YCS leaders committed to serve the movement for the two next years from all across the 34 IYCS Member Countries in Africa. It has been organized by IYCS) Africa in collaboration with the Uganda YCS Movement.
The IYCS is a faith-based youth apostolate movement committed to the principles and values of Evangelization, Formation, Social Justice and Advocacy in its Education and Policy-oriented work. The history of YCS movement in Africa can be traced back to 1937 in Madagascar and has spread to 34 other countries with a membership of over 3.2 million students in secondary schools and tertiary institutions. Its Regional Secretariat is established in Nairobi, Kenya.
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By Jacinta W. Odongo,
