SPEAK UP – IT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
August 4, 2017The right to health
August 18, 2017August and September mark the time when many of us come back from CISV programmes. We’ve just arrived home and we’re reflecting on the past month, the people we met, the activities, and what we’ve learned and lived. But CISV is not only about the programme we just attended! Now we can start to apply everything we’ve just learned into our communities and our day to day lives; to take our new attitudes, skills and knowledge and use them to become active global citizens.
Many of you are familiar with the way we work in CISV, which is through experiential learning, or “learning by doing”. That is, we ‘Do’ ‘Reflect’ ‘Generalise’ and ‘Apply’. Mostly, during programmes, we ‘Do’, ‘Reflect’ and ‘Generalise’ on important topics, but the best time to actually ‘Apply’ them is later on, back at home, in our communities.
What is being an active global citizen? What does it mean to apply everything we’ve just learned about human rights? How can we apply it? How do we start?
You can be an active global citizen by taking personal actions in your daily life but you can also look to join with others and increase the impact of your actions.
A great way to stop talking and start walking is to get involved in your local CISV Chapter, which might organize Mosaic projects and Junior Branch (JB) activities. If they don’t, who better to start doing it than yourself?
Mosaic projects use CISV’s educational approach, and each one responds to local needs and interests in a meaningful way. Most Mosaic projects are designed and run in cooperation with Like-Minded Organizations (LMOs). Junior Branch members (JBers), also develop their intercultural and leadership skills through organizing and taking part in educational and social activities. You can learn more about Mosaic by reading some stories here, and you can always email your Chapter to better understand how to get involved in these areas of CISV.
You don’t have to participate in a Mosaic project to work with an LMO. You can always contact a local or national organization that works to address the issues that you are interested in, and look to join them. It’s a great way to put your skills into action and learn new ones, and contribute in whichever way is needed.
Working with LMOs could sit across several or even all of the four ‘learning by doing‘ steps, but could be considered closest to ‘Apply’; that is, taking what has been learned during a programme and applying it outside of CISV. Sometimes, as is the case with Step Up and Seminar Camp programmes, as well as Mosaics and IPPs, the interaction with an LMO takes place within the context of a CISV programme.
There is more than one way to go about working together with an LMO. While one possibility is a fruitful collaboration that is mutually beneficial for both the LMO and your Chapter, the whole idea of CISV is for our participants to apply their attitudes, skills and knowledge outside of CISV too. Don’t hesitate to engage fully with an LMO – even if it means taking a step back from CISV for a period. CISV will still be there for you later on, and getting involved with an LMO will help you to deepen your attitude, skills, and knowledge and also further CISVs ultimate goal, a more just and peaceful world.
Why is this relevant to human rights?
Working with an LMO that concentrates specifically on a human rights issue will also give you a deeper insight into the topic. There may be an organization in your hometown that is doing specific work to help address a specific problem around a human rights issue. Why don’t you join them and help them to fulfil their goals? If your Chapter is willing, why not see if you can team up and develop and run a Mosaic activity?
Other ideas include: inviting a LMO to a minicamp or Chapter meeting to give a talk; encouraging CISVers to share their time and volunteer for that LMO; or running a collaborative workshop to share ideas.
In my experience, LMOs are exactly that, like-minded, and they are more than willing to share their people and resources. We should be the same; not afraid to branch out and share CISV, and in return, have a chance to reflect on our own work and discover the amazing work of others around us.
Now that you’re back home, inspired and willing to help – it’s the best time to do it! To start applying and doing what you’ve learned. You can also exchange ideas with your camp mates on how to get more and more involved. Don’t be afraid to try out new and different things, start new adventures. Just do it! Contact your Chapter and see what you can get involved with, research organizations and find out how you can join them, and see what you can do to become an active global citizen.
Flor Lança de Morais, CISV Portugal, on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign Team
