Potential and Risks

There may be many benefits to be gained from developing a school partnership and conducting a student immersion if:

• Catholic Social Teaching principles are adhered to, 
• there is the time and investment available to sustain and monitor the program, and
• the arrangement is mutually beneficial.

Some potential benefits of a student immersion include:

• cultivating an openness to new thinking and ideas
• inspiring a desire for positive change, locally and globally.
• developing self-awareness
• developing respect for others
• developing skills of inquiry and critical thinking, and the ability to apply these to local and global issues
• developing the ability to communicate in different ways and settings
• developing an appreciation of diversity
• deepening a sense of injustice and a commitment to tackling it
• fostering an understanding of how local and global are interconnected, and of the impacts that actions have at both levels. 

While local or global student immersions can develop social justice and cross cultural awareness, they are not necessarily an action that achieve the above.

I grew up in Alice Springs. So it was interesting taking a group of students to be "tourists" in a place that was my home. I saw the same thing but with different eyes. I realised that without proper preparation our students wouldn't be clear about why they came here. Most would think they come here to help. But I don't believe the Arrernte people need help - they are a self sufficient community. It is more about what Lila Watson says, about 'our liberation being bound together working together' Immersions are essentially about relationships. We have to look at the reality - and ensure that it is not poverty tourism.

Next: Preparing to maximise potential