Welcome to Recap Monday! Over the weekend, the JHC crew ended up at the Jewish & Muslim Documentary Fundraiser put on by our very own Rabia Sheikh and Maigan van der Geissen. Part of the Ignite Change Now! Team, these youth leaders threw a fundraiser to help raise awareness and money for their documentary (of the same title as this post right now) which aims to create a dialogue between Jewish and Muslims in Edmonton.
The fundraiser was intimate and the afternoon was passed in discussion about the subject itself. Rabia and Maigan expressed their surprise and pleasure at their own journeys of self-discovery as they made this documentary. The documentary isn’t done yet but it sounds like Jews and Muslims in Edmonton have far more in common with each other than the differences would suggest. Curtis, the filmmaker, also said that he didn’t have a background in understanding the Jewish & Muslim conflict but working on this documentary has engaged his interest, both in the subject matter and learning more to take action.
This Documentary project is an excellent example of youth leaders engaged in subjects near and dear to their hearts and coming out with a better understanding, not just of the issues, but also of themselves. I don’t think it can ever be understated just how invaluable self-discovery is in human rights activism. The popular perception of human rights activism for youth focuses on tackling the issues: homelessness, poverty, climate change, etc. Don’t get me wrong–these issues are of absolute priority for different people but there are days when we forget that personal development is important too.
Without personal development, the sincerity of the passionate that drives our work rings hollow. Self-reflection and critical evaluations are crucial to understanding our own motives, fears and hopes and why we do the work that we do. So it is always encouraging when youth leaders set out to do a project to create positive change the world and ends up finding a positive change in themselves.
