In 1984 the Universal House of Justice called upon the Bahá'í youth of the world to "give attention to the idea of volunteering a set period, say, one or two years, to some Baha'i service, on the home front or abroad, in the teaching or development field." Baha'i youth have an essential role to play in advancing the Cause; indeed, Shoghi Effendi stated that Bahá'í youth can contribute "decisively to the virility, the purity, and the driving force of the life of the Bahá'í community," adding that upon Bahá'í youth "must depend the future orientation" of the community's "destiny, and the complete unfoldment of the potentialities with which God has endowed it."  While youth have tremendous potential to serve the Cause and humanity they also face grave dangers and formidable obstacles in a society experiencing an accelerated state of decline.

With cluster after cluster experiencing a revival in the teaching work and a focus on core activities andinstitute training, the need for youth to advance to the forefront of the work of the Cause – to accelerating the process of entry by troops – is great.  Without doubt, the presence of a contingent of well trained and prepared youth serving in various capacities at the cluster level would lend impetus to the advancing the process of entry by troops, whether they serve as children's class teachers, animators, tutors, labor primarily in the work of direct teaching as members of teaching teams and assist with cluster level coordination.

Program

The Lights of Fortitude initiative is a formal youth year of service program that seeks to train, deploy and practically support youth willing and able to serve for a sustained period of time at the level of the cluster, whether on the home front or abroad. The initiative is open to all those between 17 and 25 years of age who are able to serve in the field for at least three consecutive months, although it is hoped that the majority of those participating will be able to serve for six to twelve months.

The training consists of study of the main sequence of courses and practice in the field. At the end of this period, participants will be deployed to their posts, either nationally or internationally. For those serving in Canada, participants will be deployed to particular clusters in consultation with national and regional institutions. Participants will gather together periodically at the regional level to reflect on their service and will all join together at the end of the year for a final reflection and consultation on future plans. Throughout the period of service the Institute will strive to ensure participating youth are supported and accompanied.

Dates

29 June - 23 July, Toronto

The cost of the program is $400.00 which includes accommodation, food and materials.

Participants are responsible to cover the cost of traveling to Toronto for the training, the cost of travel to their service post, as well as for living expenses while abroad. There is a possibility of financial assistance; should this be required you are encouraged to write to the coordinator.

Application

The program is open to those between 17 and 25 years of age who are able to dedicate at least 3 consecutive months of service on the homefront or overseas. Participants must be able to attend the entire training and orientation uninterrupted.

Please note that space is limited and that not everyone who applies may necessarily be accepted. All applications will be read carefully and each applicant will be contacted. Please complete and email your registration form to youthyearofservice@gmail.com.  The application deadline is May 15, 2010.

Contact

Please email youthyearofservice@gmail.com for any further questions.