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Article
Practicing Ubuntu Among International Students
Practical Theology (2016)
  • Darren Cronshaw, Baptist Union of Victoria
  • Brad Jackel, Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)
Abstract
This article uses the concept of Ubuntu to analyse the experience of international students studying in Australia with the ‘AuburnHub’ initiative of AuburnLife Baptist Church. The Hub was instituted to cater to international students’ need for community, hospitality and conversational English. We propose that ‘I am because we are’ is a valid way of understanding being. International students, dislocated from their previous networks, present an opportunity for churches to utilize the concept of Ubuntu to guide community-building initiatives as well as an opportunity to investigate the utility of this understanding of being. AuburnHub presents a model for a Western application of Ubuntu in a globalised context. ‘I am because we are’ helps us to welcome the fact that as we change the makeup of our ‘we’ through effective ministry we will also be changed ourselves.
Keywords
  • International students,
  • Chaplaincy,
  • Multiculturalism,
  • Student support services,
  • Student welfare,
  • Religion,
  • Religious factors,
  • Community development,
  • Interfaith relations
Publication Date
September 26, 2016
DOI
10.1080/1756073X.2016.1235440
Citation Information
Darren Cronshaw and Brad Jackel. "Practicing Ubuntu Among International Students" Practical Theology (2016) p. 1 - 13 ISSN: 1756-073X
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/brad_jackel/32/