Introducing See Judge Act 2020
The purpose of this program is to provide a resource to assist newly formed community groups or teams, particularly of young people – students, young workers, unemployed – who wish to work together to take action to change their own lives, to contribute to and develop their local communities and even eventually to help change the world.
It is based on the “See-Judge-Act” (SJA), a method with a long and illustrious history, that was first made famous by the Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne (JOC) or Young Christian Workers (YCW) movement. It is a method of personal and leadership formation that has been successfully implemented across the world by people of many ages, ethnic groups, religions and experience.
Indeed, the philosophical roots of the SJA can be traced as far back as the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, who first sought to investigate and explain how political leaders in ancient Athens came to make good (or bad) decisions.
First, they familiarised themselves with the facts (see), Aristotle noted. Then, they evaluated the choices that they would need to make (judge) before finally coming to a conclusion or decision (act).
Much later, during the 19th century, the French philosopher, Léon Ollé-Laprune began to study how to apply the Aristotle’s analysis in a modern emerging democracy. He concluded that in a democracy, not only political leaders, but each citizen must learn “to see clearly, judge well and decide,” he found. Young people in particular needed to learn to do this, he argued.
Taking up Olle-Laprune’s challenge, a group of French students from Stanislas University College in Paris, began to systematically apply this concept in “Study Circles” to promote democracy and teach young people to become “conscious and responsible” citizens.
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| 1909 National Congress of the democratic movement, Le Sillon (The Furrow) |
Under the leadership of the charismatic Marc Sangnier, they developed a definition of democracy as “the social system that tends to maximise the consciousness and the responsibility of everyone.”
Within five years, their study circles had spread across France and developed into a movement known as Le Sillon (The Furrow). These groups and their method were the inspiration for Fr Joseph Cardijn and the young people with whom he founded the Young Christian Workers (YCW) movement.
As the name implies, Cardijn’s movement which developed between 1912 and 1925, focused on young workers, many of whom were working in the factories and mines of industrialising Europe. The emerging YCW also borrowed and improved the Sillon’s methods of democratic education, synthesising them in the iconic triptych “see, judge, act.”
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| Trade unionist, Victoire Cappe, worked with Cardijn from 1912, organised her work under the headings "facts, principles, solutions." |
From the mid-1920s, groups of high school and university students (Young Christian Students - YCS) began to apply the YCW methods as did young farmers in rural areas. By 1939, the eve of the outbreak of World War II, the method had already spread to 50 countries. It spread further over the following decades as it was adopted by many more groups and movements.
During the 1960s, the Catholic Church as a whole adopted the SJA method at its Second Vatican Council from 1962-65. Today, Pope Francis continues to follow the same method as illustrated by his encyclical letter on the environment, Laudato Si’. Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire, was another who incorporated the SJA method into literacy programs for peasants and slum dwellers in Latin America.
Today, the YCW, the YCS, YPD (Young People for Development) and many other movements, churches and community groups also continue to make use of the method in over 100 countries around the world.
Who is this program for?
This program “See Judge Act 2020” is addressed principally to the leader who takes the initiative to start a new group. The program suggests that they do not work alone but co–opt a small team to work together.
• It outlines the steps of the journey to initiate a group that will make use of the SJA.
• A summary of the main works to be done in each of these steps.
• Resources that the initiating team may find useful as further reading and to deepen their understanding of the method.
It is our hope that those who use this program will do so with moderation and common sense – neither following the program as a strict blueprint, nor changing and modifying it in such a way that it is no longer an SJA-based program.
Groups planning to use this program
Karen Young People for Development
