{"id":75,"date":"2012-07-26T17:37:06","date_gmt":"2012-07-26T14:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oaic.org\/?page_id=75"},"modified":"2012-07-26T17:37:06","modified_gmt":"2012-07-26T14:37:06","slug":"just-communities-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oaic.org\/newsite\/?page_id=75","title":{"rendered":"Just Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

AIC’s visions and struggles for social justice are based on a philosophy that all of us should be well and that this wellbeing is the basis on which each person can stand in community with others. The Just Communities program seeks to raise the capacity of our members and communities to call to account the various institutions of society \u2013 the family, economy, politics, government, culture and others in order to evaluate them for how well they enable each one of us to live life in dignity.<\/p>\n

OAIC believes in the ability of our members and their communities to create social change. \u00a0Members are involved in decision making at all levels of the organization for the benefit of their own communities, which is a core value of AICs. \u00a0Through community building and organizing, OAIC members are able to take direct actions to address their own challenges.\u00a0Through the founding visions of AICs, we equip communities with the values and methods of achieving social justice for all. This is the charge of Just Communities.<\/p>\n

What we do<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Just Communities program works to enable AICs and their communities to recover their voice and\u00a0speak out effectively on issues of social justice and good governance. \u00a0Just Communities does this by facilitating AICs to acquire or to recover critical capabilities in community\u00a0building and organizing, and to appraise what it is in their beliefs that strengthens or weakens their\u00a0competence to play a responsible role as citizens.<\/p>\n

Through effective organizing and community building, AICs members are sure to achieve sustainable\u00a0improvements in individual and collective wellbeing. Collaboration and networking presents a clear\u00a0strategy and opportunity for us to advance our work on social justice, governance and peace.\u00a0Through our partnerships and initiatives, we\u00a0have realized that much can be achieved with minimal resources through strategic collaboration and\u00a0networking. These tools will also help us \u00a0enhance our media presence, widen support for strategic\u00a0goals and objectives as well rationalize and\u00a0optimize resources by avoiding duplicating efforts with\u00a0collaborating organizations.<\/p>\n

Just Communities welcomes and actively seeks collaboration and partnership on identified issues with\u00a0other like-minded or inclined faith groups, advocacy groups, universities, foundations, government\u00a0agencies and media.<\/p>\n

Strategy and Initiatives<\/strong><\/p>\n

The OAIC conceptualization of social change is profoundly spiritual \u2013 social justice is an expression of\u00a0the work of the Holy Spirit operating spontaneously through many local actors. The OAIC perceives itself\u00a0as having a role to harness this by equipping AICs and their communities with the proper tools so they\u00a0can act on these visions. In this formulation, the primary role of driving social change is left and carried\u00a0by these communities through their own organizing. Community organizing is a transforming experience\u00a0for those involved, as it engages community members normally excluded from public life in strategic\u00a0organization building and direct action.<\/p>\n

At the heart of community organizing is the building of a team of community leaders that are accountable, capable of defining their self-interest and able to exercise power in increasingly complex\u00a0situations. Community organizing groups have the potential to build enormous clout and bring a powerful and\u00a0diverse voice into local, provincial, national, regional and international campaigns. \u00a0They offer a critical\u00a0resource for engaging policy discussions on a variety of issues.<\/p>\n

Community organizing thus presents Just Communities with a clear means of building the power of\u00a0the OAIC and its membership. Just Communities works by helping AICs and community organizations\u00a0initiate and carry out an analysis of their realities relative to desired states of wellbeing. Just Communities\u00a0thereafter works with these AICs and community organizations to plan and execute community building\u00a0and organizing efforts needed to resolve emerging issues. The program also enables and facilitates\u00a0dialogue with and within communities to support sustainable policy and decision making processes.<\/p>\n

Goals<\/strong><\/p>\n

OAIC’s Just Communities Program aims to:<\/p>\n