Beyond Book 5 brought together 24 animators from Friday, May 16^th – Sunday, May 18^th 2008. The purpose of the weekend was to assist animators to increase their understanding of the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program and to further develop the skills necessary to serve as an animator. The need to have such a gathering became increasingly clear as larger numbers of individuals gained experience serving as animators of junior youth groups. This experience has helped to make several things very clear to animators; serving as an animator is extremely challenging and equally complex. The need to engage in this type of “continuing education” is described to animators in Releasing the Powers of Junior Youth. While similar gatherings need to be carried out at the local level, by conducting a regional gathering we were able to share those things which we have been learning across the Carolinas and Georgia. Due to the pace and intensity of their service, animators often become so focused on addressing the short term challenges, that they can lose sight of the larger vision and purpose of the junior youth program.

Although the program was entitled “Beyond Book 5”, Releasing the Power of Junior Youth, was the primary point of reference for the weekend. Naturally, guidance from the Universal House of Justice, International Teaching Centre and Central Figures of the Baha’i Faith was also utilized to provide direction and insight as often as possible. Assisting animators to align their understanding and refocus their service on the vision of the junior youth program as outlined by these sources was the biggest focus of the weekend. Animators left feeling revitalized, energized and recommitted to serving the junior youth in their groups!