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    Text Box: March 2008 News Page english french spanish International Day of Peace On 21 September the International Day of Peace was celebrated. Margareta from the International Team participated, with over 400 people from a variety of religious congregations, in the Dominican Justice and Peace walk ‘Wrap the world in prayer for peace’. Many national movements also organised special events and activities to mark this important day, please write to us at mail@iycs-jeci.org and share with us your action stories!   Students developing partnerships with Religious Congregations 18 – 22 September, Rome, Italy – Since the beginning of IYCS and IMCS both movements have had positive relationships with religious congregations, especially at the national and regional level. The International Teams decided that it is important for us to also strengthen our partnerships at an international level. For this reason Margareta (representing IYCS) and Kevin Ahern (president of IMCS – Pax Romana) visited together leaders from a number of religious congregations based in Rome.   European Committee 14 – 17 September, Rome, Italy – Eighteen students from seven different national movements in Europe gathered in Rome to discuss the future visions and activities of the JECI-MIEC European Coordination. A decision was taken to officially dissolve the coordination, however the national movements will continue to network together and organise specific programs that respond to the needs of the students. The thematic focus for the next year will be around sexuality.   Coordinating Committee of the Conference of International Catholic Organisations (ICO’s): 13 & 14 September, Paris, France – IYCS continues to play an important role in the Coordinating Committee of the Conference of ICO’s. Margareta shared with the committee the developments of the Youth ICO network, which is currently coordinated by the IYCS. The other members of the committee were impressed with the work of the Youth ICO’s and encourage the ongoing development of the network.   Celebrating 60 years of YCS Internationality: On the 9 September the International Team organised a celebration for to mark the 60th anniversary of the Internationality of YCS in Paris. The evening also marked the 85th anniversary of the beginning of IMCS – Pax Romana. Over 100 friends, former International Team and Regional Team members from around the world came to celebrate this important occasion. Following the Eucharist Celebration led by Bishop Francois Lapierre, PME (former IMCS International Chaplain), testimonies were given by Pierre Juneau and Rene Rémond, former members of YCS who were amongst those who founded the International YCS and … former member of the IMCS International Team. http://www.iycs-jeci.org/9_sept_2006_paris_photo.htm     JEC France Animators Formation 27 – 31 August, Pontigny, France – As part of the yearly formation session JEC France invited the International Team to share about the IYCS global campaign ‘Fight Poverty – Build Peace’, the 2007 World Council and other global issues.   World Council of Churches working to create an Ecumenical Youth Body: 26 – 28 August, Geneva, Switzerland – the IYCS International Team was invited to participate as advisors, representing the Catholic Youth organisations, in the World Council of Churches (WCC) Interim Youth Body meeting. The goal of this meeting was to create a proposal for the WCC Central Committee meeting 30 – 6 September, which Margareta Brosnan participated in on behalf of IYCS. The initiative was warmly accepted by the Central Committee and the IYCS look forward to continuing to work closely with the WCC on this initiative.   Solidarity with Lebanon and the Middle East When the war broke out in Lebanon in July, the IYCS International Team issued a statement http://www.iycs-jeci.org/act.htm in solidarity with our members and the people of Lebanon who have all suffered terribly. The war also forced our annual Middle East Summer Session (which Manoj was to attend) to be cancelled. Let us all continue to pray for peace in the Middle East.   10th IYCS Asian Session and Council 19-28 August, Colombo, Sri Lanka – ‘To turn on the channel of life; learn; Dialogue, Empower Now’, this theme brought 63 delegates from 11 countries to gather at Subodhi, Sri Lanka from 18 to 28 August for the 10th Asian Session and Council 2006. The following issues were studied 1) Student Poverty 2) Dialogue 3) Media 4) HIV/AIDS. Having discussed and reflected on these issues and challenges affecting students’ life, a meaningful orientation was developed for the coming three years to take positive and constructive action in our small but committed ways to address these issues. Manoj from the International Team was there to be with the Asian Team in the organisation and as a resource person focusing on HIV/AIDS. IYCS Asian Orientation for 2003-2006: www.iycs-jeci.org/asc2006.pdf   UNESCO celebrate 60 years of Acting with and for Youth 12-19 August, Paris – Beginning on International Youth Day with the theme of ‘Tackling Poverty Together’ UNESCO celebrated for one week their efforts in acting with and for youth. On the 16 August UNESCO opened their doors to young people, allowing them to visit the UNESCO buildings in Paris and exchange together on the issue of poverty. In the afternoon there were panel discussions on the topics of working with youth specifically in relation to the struggle to overcome poverty. Marysia, an intern in the international secretariat, participated in the day long program.   European Summer week 2006 a real life experience of inter-religious dialogue: 25-31 July, Poland – Located next to the former German Nazi KL Auschwitz-Birkenau, this was an ideal venue for the 32 Christian, Jewish and Muslim young people, aged 15-28 from eleven European countries to discuss ”Youth Inter-religious dialogue as a bridge to peace”. The summer week started with an introduction to the topic of Human Rights after which the participants shared the application of human rights within their own religious communities. Participants also explored the relationship between religion and society and had the opportunity to visit a number of important historical sites in Poland. For more information and to read the final statement visit www.jeci-miec-europe.org     Central African Chaplains Formation Session 1-6 August, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. Fr. Mike helped facilitate a formation session organised by the Pan African Team for 20 YCS Chaplains from 7 countries (Congo-Brazzaville, DR Congo, Chad, Gabon, Rwanda, and Burundi in Central Africa, plus Madagascar). The President of the Bishops Conference, Bishop Louis Portella, celebrated both the opening and closing Masses of the meeting. Fr. Mike was also able to meet a number of local YCS members, as well as several bishops, priests, and former members.   Visit to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 22-27 July, Kinshasa. Just prior to the Brazzaville Chaplains session, Fr. Mike paid a solidarity visit to Kinshasa in the DRC for some days immediately preceding the historic General Election in the country. He met several Church, educational and political leaders and several YCS members, leaders, animators, and chaplains.   International Catholic Youth Organisations developing a stronger network: 20-21 July, Paris – Representatives from five of the ten Youth ICO’s, including Margareta representing IYCS, met to deepen their awareness of each others organisations and to develop strategies for supporting each other on various challenges. One of the key challenges identified was the lack of chaplains made available to Youth ICO’s and the impact of one chaplain being responsible for numerous organisations. The Youth ICO’s also discussed preparations for the 2008 World Youth Day.   Broederlijk Delen 2006 World Camp ‘Nyam Dunde’: 10-15 July, Lichtaart, Belgium – Each year Broederlijk Delen organises a camp for young people with a country or issue as a focal point. This year the focus was on Food Security and Africa. The YCS movement in Belgium KSJ-KSA-VKSJ participated in this camp along with 14 YCSers from Vietnam. Margareta also joined them for the first 3 days and led a workshop on Drama as a form of social action. The camp is a great experience for the 200 + young people who participate, as it encourages them to assess the way in which they live to ensure that it is promoting justice and sustainability for the future.   Part two of the YCS Belgium-Vietnam Exchange: 7 – 31 July, Belgium/Paris – Last year members from KSJ-KSA-VKSJ Belgium journeyed to Vietnam to have an exchange with members of YCS Vietnam. This year 15 students from YCS Vietnam were able to travel to Belgium to have the same experience with their fellow YCSers. This exchange has been a fruitful experience for all those involved as it has opened their eyes and minds to different cultures, practices, understandings etc and helped strengthen the sense of internationality and solidarity that exists in the YCS. The Vietnamese students also passed through Paris and visited the International Secretariat.   ‘Confronting violence and advancing shared security’ 10-13 July, Geneva – Julia Koszewska, from Poland & a member of the European administration board, attended on behalf of the both IYCS & IMCS the Western European Regional Youth Preparatory Meeting along with 30 other young people representing various religions including: Bahá’í, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Zoroastrian and other related youth organisations and active participants in interfaith dialogue. This meeting was part of the preparations towards the 8th World Assembly of Religions for Peace which then took place 26-29 August 2006 in Kyoto, Japan. Kike from the Latin America Regional team was a participant in this assembly.   IYCS signed MoU with UN Millennium Campaign 11 July 2006, Paris. In order to better link strategies to educate and mobilize young people towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the UN Millennium Campaign, and the International Young Catholic Students (IYCS), signed the Memorandum of Understanding.   Journeying with Uganda for the World Council 2007 25 June-3 July 2006, Uganda: The preparations for the IYCS World Council 2007 are on swing in Kampala, so Manoj from the International Team was in Uganda. He attended several Local Organising Committees meetings to clarify many queries and to give assistance to the preparations.   25th Anniversary celebration of YCS in Mbarara Arch-diocese in Uganda 2 July 200- Mbarara: A grand celebration was attended by 800 students from 25 schools. The guest of honour was the Honorable Sarapio Rukundo, Minister of State: Tourism and Wild Life, Government of Uganda and the auxillary bishop Lambert Bainomugisha. The theme of the celebration was on the world Council 2007 theme Dialogue, Learn, Live: Students Make a Difference. The National Team and Manoj Mathew from IYCS were present along with various other former members of Uganda YCS.   Kenya YCS National Rally brings together thousands of YCS members 24 June 2006, Nairobi: The Annual National Rally brought over three thousand students from various dioceses of Kenya. It was held in Nairobi on the theme of the next World Council 'Dialogue, Learn, Live: Students Make a Difference'. The various speakers focused on issues related to the theme including Behavioral change towards fighting HIV/AIDS and role of students and improving self esteem. Manoj was invited to brief on the theme of the World Council to the gathering.   Students facing HIV and AIDS reality with solidarity in action 19-23 June 2006, Nairobi: HIV/AIDS training program in Africa was organised for the East African Regional movements and Zambia. There were very fruitful resource inputs, interactions, group discussions and exposure programs.  Around 32 participants were present for this workshop organised by the Pan African Coordination and assisted by the International Team. Manoj was present at this workshop and a resource document for the participants was developed which can be accessed online. www.iycs-jeci.org/AIDS-IYCS.pdf   Reflecting on the future of the Conference of International Catholic Organisations 23 June, Paris – Leaders of the various ICO’s based in Paris, including IYCS represented by Margareta, gathered to reflect together on the Future of the Conference of ICO’s. Discussions about the restructuring of the Conference are ongoing and will be finalised by the next General Assembly of the Conference which is scheduled to take place in June 2007.   Youth Joint Programmatic Commission preparing for UNESCO Youth week 20 June, Paris – Members of the Youth JPC, including IYCS represented by Margareta, met to prepare together the week focussed on Youth at UNESCO which is part of the 60 years of UNESCO celebrations.   Marriage of Middle East Coordinator We are delighted to announce the marriage of our Middle East Coordinator, Shaden Sayegh, from Syria, to Adnan Kaba on 30 June in Aleppo, Syria. Congratulations and best wishes to you both!   Visitors to the International Secretariat Br. Raoul Masseur, the Chaplain of Brock University in Canada; Bishop Emmanuel Lafont, Bishop of Cayenne, French Guyana; 15 members of Vietnamese YCS.       Other updates!   Stand Up Against Poverty YCSers are called on October 15/16 to set the first ever Guinness World Record for the largest number of people to Stand Up Against Poverty! www.millenniumcampaign.org/standup   World Council Registration deadline! A reminder to all national movements that the deadline for registering your representatives for the World Council is rapidly approaching. Please ensure that all registration forms are returned to the International Secretariat by the 31 December 2006.   World Social Forum 2007 – Kenya: From the 20-25 January 2007 the VII edition of the World Social Forum will take place in Nairobi, Kenya. This will be the first global edition of the WSF to take place in Africa. IYCS will organise workshops in collaboration with IMCS. IYCS will also participate in the World Theologians Forum which is scheduled to take place from the 15-19 January 2007 in preparation for the WSF. More information to come soon!   Final Meeting of the World Council Organising Team: From 27-31 January 2007 the members of the World Council Organising Team will meet for the last time before the World Council. This meeting will take place in Kampala to enable the members to visit the venue and finalise preparations with the Local Organising Committees.   IYCS International Secretariat is moving! For many years there have been attempts to move the International Secretariat and finally the International Teams of both IYCS and IMCS have been able to find together a suitable space with the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary Sisters in Paris. The teams will be moving in October first week and the new address will be circulated soon.   Call for international team members and international chaplain: Recently the International Team sent the call for candidates for the next international team and international chaplain. The deadline for nominations is 1 December 2006. If you require more information please contact the International Secretariat.   Membership fees reminder: A reminder to all national movements that IYCS membership fees of 50 USD per year are due. For guidance on how these fees can be transferred please contact the International Secretariat at mail@iycs-jeci.org     IYCS News Page June 2006    IYCS News Page March 2006   IYCS News Page January 2006    IYCS News Page 2005 January to October Archives                   Enter your e-mail for E-News Update