Jain Digest 1995 04

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 37

Inside REPORT
tarting in the Spring of 1995, Young Jains of included are the past publications involving YJA such as Young America (YJA) is implementing a new pilot pro- Minds, Jain Digest, JAINA Focus, the YJA Convention '94
gram, FosterFocus, for YJA to work on at the grass Souvenir and national Indian newspaper and magazine articles. roots level and develop and nurture youth groups across Then a section describes a variety of pilot programs for local North America. The goals of FosterFocus are
youth groups to adopt and increase youth participation within - To foster and nourish local youth groups nationwide, their respective cities. Also, FosterFocus evaluation procedures - Increase networking and interaction among Jain youth and forms for local youth and YJA Coordinators to provide nationwide, and
regular feedback to maximize the success of FosterFocus. Fi-Prepare and develop Jain leaders of tomorrow.
nally, there is a list of all local youth representatives, who are the In the program a local youth group will be paired with
instrumental youth who form the foundation of YJA. These a YJA Coordinator through whom the youth group will have access to a wealth of resources and ideas with which the youth group can advance. This also ensures a one-to-one relationship between the youth group and YJA. Each youth group will also adopt a national project (i.e., a local project with national scope and
(FOCUS impact) to provide focus for the group and as a result
A New, All-Encompassing Visionary Program produce a self-sufficient youth group. FosterFocus is set up as a long term program for several years with cities and handbooks provide a wealth of information projects to be renewed periodically.
in themselves to assist the youth group. Each local youth representative and YJA coordinator is Initially, from twenty-five cities across North equipped with a comprehensive handbook, entitled YJA: The America, ten were chosen in which to implement Power of Vision. First are descriptions of the beginning of YJA, FosterFocus, based on telephone interviews with local youth the organization and structure of YJA, the minutes of past representatives. The cities participating in FosterFocus are Executive Board Meetings considering its current value. Also Boston, Massachusetts; Central/South New Jersey; Charlotte,
TUSIU...
Jainism Goes to School
continued from previous page sponsored student-run classes, ranging from "The Sociology of Gender and Sexuality" to "The Joy of Garbage." Surely a class on a religion emphasizing non-violence wouldn't cause any contro- versy.
tional persistence, we even found a discussion leader and some money to fund the class. The work was done, and the paperpushing followed with ease. Having had no prior experience, we had no idea what we were getting into, but we were confident that our efforts would be worthwhile.
Once I knew that there were still at least two dozen students who wanted to take the course, I had no problem getting Berkeley's Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies to sponsor the course. I then gathered a group of interested students to help plan the course. Under guidance from the department, we drafted the course curriculum, syllabus, and reading list. With some addi-
Thirty-five students came to the first day of class, about fifteen of whom weren't Jain. In my modesty (or naiveti), I thought that making 25 copies of the syllabus was an overkill. On day one, Kristi Wiley, a department graduate student and course discussion leader, presented a brief overview of Jain history and philosophy. However, the discussion was too fast-paced for many students, especially those knew nothing about Jainism before coming to
March 1995 Jain Education International
JAIN DIGEST For Private & Personal Use Only
35 www.jainelibrary.org