#whenyouthministrygoessocial

Contesting the Social in Youth Ministry in Social Media, Socialization, Socialism.

REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF YOUTH MINISTRY (IASYM)

Host Institution: University of South Africa (City of Tshwane)

Date: 6-8 Sept 2013 Call for papers Youth Ministry in Africa must have social significance. The plight of children and young people in, amongst others, the context of violence, family dislocation and disruption in communities and churches, calls for a particular social emphasis. What is the social significance of religious (specifically Christian) youth ministry or youth work? This question has to be addressed from different locations, theoretical frameworks and critically, different theological paradigms. We therefore invite young people, youthleaders, volunteers, practitioners, youth ministry students, scholars to join us in a conversation to explore what it means #whenyouthministrygoessocial. Questions that we might want to struggle with could be, 1) where is youth ministry going? 2) what does it mean to say youth ministry is en-route; 3) what would this mean in the context of social media and social networking, or in the context of youth socialisation, or for others, the structural realities that calls for a form of socialism perhaps. 4) Do we still need to use these terms or 5) is it enough, as some would suggest that we simply socialise for the sake of relationships and friendships. 5) what would notions like family, church, community, politics, etc., mean in the light of these questions? 6) Where is youth ministry in an (Southern) African context going? These are the kind of conversations and reflections that we want to stimulate. So, if you also ask these questions then #whenyouthministrygoessocial is for you.

Who are we? We are members of the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry (IASYM) and lecturers in youth ministry. We are fellow learners, searchers and dreamers.

We are commitment to the total spiritual, intellectual, physical, cultural development of children and young people. Lastly, we believe that children and young people are already making a difference in communities and countries, they question whether we willing to see it. Perhaps these two links can help start our journey process of seeing, because, whether we are ready or not, the world usually changes #whenyouthministrygoessocial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQmz6Rbpnu0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-bjOJzB7LY&feature=youtu.be

How can you be part of this? Send us your 150 word proposal, by 16 June 2013, on what you are doing and where you are in terms of this conversation and how your contribution might be. We are preparing a conference, 6-8 Sept 2013, in Pretoria, at UNISA and would love to include your stories, contributions and insights.

Rev. Reggie Nel rwnel@unisa.ac.za Dr. Nathan Chiroma nchiroma@gmail.com Dr. Anita Cloete acloete@sun.ac.za Mrs. Shantelle Weber smweber@sun.ac.za