Brophy College Preparatory 2009 Summit on Human Dignity

One People, One Planet, One Mission:
Renewing Our Commitment to Sustainability and Stewardship

A Forum to Examine Global Environmental Issues in Light of Our Gospel Call
to Respect and Promote the Human Dignity of Each Person.

 

Summits like this are frequent occurrences at universities and colleges around the world; oftentimes the goal of these summits is to bring influential voices together to effect change in policy, procedure and the world in which we live. These summits serve as an immersion experience through which students are asked to reflect on how their faith calls them to respond to a complicated world.  While we realize the majority of our students are not yet of voting age, we nonetheless recognize their capacity for change as young people who are in formation.  And so, it is Brophy’s hope that our annual summit might contribute to the formation of our students such that they become young men of conscience and conviction, willing to stand up against a culture that too often values expediency and efficiency at the expense of human dignity. Ultimately, Brophy hopes to graduate young men who will one day participate in summits at colleges and universities, young men who will have voices that can positively influence real change in policy, procedure, and the world in which we live.

For Brophy’s 2009 Summit on Human Dignity, speakers and presenters have been invited to address global environmental issues as they relate to human dignity.

Environmental consciousness is a local, national, and global issue. In light of the positive “green” trend in our media and popular culture, we seek to examine the deeper realities to which this trend alludes. Students will be challenged to consider how human impact on the environment affects the dignity and rights of the human person today and into the future. Issues such as environmental racism, socio-economic injustice, environmental inequalities, sustainability, and stewardship will be primary areas of concern addressed by Summit speakers and explored further in Summit workshops and classroom discussions.

In addition, we will explore efforts being made by other communities and governments around the world in the area of environmental consciousness and protection as a means for understanding the global response in which we are invited to participate. 

In light of the complexities of environmental issues and the questions they elicit, students will be invited to consider four primary questions: What is the true state of the environment? How is what I’m doing affecting others? What is currently being done? and What is my personal responsibility as a member of the global community?  It is Brophy’s hope that through this educational experience we might come to view environmental integrity not merely as a political, scientific, or economic issue, but as one of human dignity.

Meaningful learning should cause discomfort. This year’s summit offers a forum to raise the consciousness of our community about the rising concern of environmental degradation. It is hoped that we can begin to acknowledge our inner voices, come to understand our discomfort, and begin to engage and transform our world—a world still waiting to hear our much needed voices.