Young Adult Colombian Learning Tour

August 11-29, 2008

General Objective

Participate in a 3 week learning experience/exchange between young adults from Colombia, Canada and the U.S. with a focus on the parallel realities of governments implementing military policies to respond to social and political problems. The analysis will be complemented by an exploration of the alternative that churches are proposing in the name of christ as peace-builders and in working towards a just peace for their communities.

The experience aims to create an atmosphere of participative learning in which the young adults share and exchange experiences and generate concrete and creative responses to the current contexts, as it informs the Anabaptist peace perspective(s).

 

For Whom

Young adults aged 20-26, from across Canada. Group size will be 10-12 participants, including two co-facilitators. The Canadian group will participate with and learn from a group of Colombian young adults who will be selected by MCC and Mencoldes in Colombia.

When

August 11-29, 2008

Cost

$3000 Cdn.

MCC will contact you regarding payment after we receive your registration.

 

 

Objectives

1. Foster a deeper awareness and increased sensitivity in Canadian and Colombian Anabaptist young adults of economic and peace realities informing particular world views and ways of living.
2. Cultivate a deeper formation of the Anabaptist peace perspective, more particularly with regard to economic justice and solidarity, alternative economic models, fair trade, and the economy of God.
3. Develop an understanding of how Christian churches and individuals can live and witness in sometimes challenging contexts.
4. Encourage cross-cultural learning while co-articulating a follow-up process with the Colombian participants, committed to creating communication and solidarity networks between the two groups.

This venture will support the Micah Challenge in an attempt to raise awareness of global poverty and to advocate for debt cancellation and trade justice. Through interaction and shared story with the Colombian young adults and the Colombian Mennonite Church, the event will address theological and practical analysis of the experience. Justice and justification by faith, worship and political action, the spiritual and the material, personal change and structural change belong together. As in the life of Jesus, being, doing and saying are at the heart of our integral task

As 'sharing story' is a central outcome of the tour, we would require the Canadian participants to identify 3-5 persons with whom they would be in email communication during the tour (minimum two reports per week — an informative communiqué to share events, stories, insights, etc.). Upon returning to the home province, local MCC staff will assist the participants in arranging for 3 speaking engagements and support other further areas of learning and application.

 

Tentative Outline

1. Canadian participants will receive reading and orientation materials in the months leading up to the August 7-25^th dates. The Canadian group will have the opportunity to spend a short time together en route to Colombia, as a one day (2 night) stopover in Miami. While in Miami, the time will be led by DOOR (Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection). This will help inform and prepare participants to consider some basics about Colombian culture and context while beginning to build group cohesion and orientation.
2. The participants arrive in Bogotá for joint Canadian-Colombian orientation and stay in the homes of Colombian youth and young adults in pairs or groups of three.
3. The first block (7-12 days) may consist of day visits to different Anabaptist churches and youth groups, various youth organizations in the city, social movements and organizations, Canadian business entrepreneurs, the Canadian embassy and NGOs working in the area of economic justice. The evenings will be time for seminars with both groups, with guest speakers addressing topics in relation to poverty, social inequality, neo-liberal policy, violence conflict, etc. In the seminars, the methodology will be participative, based on the experience and knowledge of the participants, as well as from material read beforehand.
4. The last block will consist of a trip outside of Bogotá to either La Valle del Cauca, or Barrancabermaja, where the participants will have the opportunity to learn of rural Colombian life, and experiences of peace and conflict as affected by economic injustices, governance and corruption, and human rights.
5. Participants will end the time with debriefing as a Canadian-Colombian group, and then in own country groups.

 

More Info

Janaya Letkeman, MCC Manitoba

(204) 925-1918