By Dr Ann Marie Mealey, Director of Catholic Mission, LTU
Being a Catholic University in today’s complex global society is no easy task. With many feeling that values are akin to subjective preference and not at all the result of carefully discerning the truth which involves the sources of morality, it can be tricky to convince some that leadership programmes with a faith element can genuinely enhance skills, ethical thinking and help to create a better global world.
At Leeds Trinity, we have teamed up with CAFOD to deliver a leadership programme that will help students to develop their own leadership style, reflect carefully on some of the most pressing global issues affecting our communities at this time as well as finding out what they can do to help. Understanding advocacy and how it works is a key plank of the University’s strategy. We seek to help students not only to develop skills for their specific careers but also to develop their ability to contribute to the collective conscience of the society. In short, we help students to ‘dream the world differently’ and then show them how to make that dream a reality for the betterment of society – especially those who are most vulnerable.
In short, our leadership day invites all students of faith and those of none to join us in trying to understand what unity of mission and purpose might look like in a post-Covid setting. Written during the pandemic when the global community suffered loss, sickness, vulnerability and uncertainly, Pope Francis’s book ‘Let us Dream’ reminds us that: “This is a moment to dream big” […] “to rethink our priorities – what we value, what we want, what we seek – and commit to act in our daily life on what we have dreamed of.”
As our Higher Education Institutions face many challenges including those that create an air of uncertainly about international students, funding, research, and the impact of cost-of-living crisis on students choosing to go to university, there is no better time to reflect together on what values the world needs now. Therefore, all are invited and welcome to join us at Leeds Trinity on the 15th of
April in order to learn and grow together and to bring the dream of a better world closer to being a reality.