K 'Long, Vietnam – April 2024 – The Formation Sector for the Salesian Province of Vietnam organised the Annual Formation Program for Salesians in their Quinquennium, held from 15-19 April at the Salesian Retreat Centre in K'Long, in the presence of Fr Barnabas Le An Phong, Provincial and Fr Joseph Do Duc Dung, Provincial Delegate for Formation. The theme chosen for this year was: "Practical Spiritual Accompaniment", shared by Father Michael Truong Thanh Tung, SJ. The course was divided into three parts. In the first, the concepts, characteristics and bases of the spiritual life were illustrated and the peculiarities of spiritual accompaniment were examined. In the second part, the participants were guided to grasp the necessary knowledge on the pedagogy of prayer, discernment, the search for the will of God, accompaniment through the stages of spiritual development and spiritual accompaniment through the psychological stages. Finally, in the third, the course focused on the following points: an overview of Spiritual Accompaniment in Formation to religious life; the role of the spiritual guide specialised in the stages of formation to religious life and important knowledge related to inner and outer areas, in guiding religious life.

Maynooth, Ireland – April 2024 – Some young volunteers and students of Salesian Youth Ministry from the Pontifical University of Maynooth experienced a day of formation on 20 April, held at the Salesian community in Maynooth. The reflections concerned the experience of Salesian volunteering, both in Ireland and abroad, in preparation for the 2024 summer camp that will take place with the TGS group from Veneto (Italy) from 14 to 29 July. The day was also an opportunity to explore the dream at nine years of age, in the year in which it celebrates its bicentenary. Facilitators of this meeting included Martin McCormack, Dan Carol, and Salesian Matthew Alfino from the Maynooth House of Formation.

Alcalá de Henares, Spain - April 2024 - The "Pinardi Forum" was held in Alcalá de on Wednesday, 17 April as a meeting space for young people attending the Vocational Training courses carried out by the different social platforms of the Pinardi Federation, run by the Salesians in Spain's St James the Greater Province (SSM). About 250 young people from four of the nine centres that the Pinardi Federation coordinates participated in the event. After words of welcome by Farruco Rodríguez, Provincial Coordinator of Social Platforms, the day included workshops on cooking, photography and traditional Batucada dance, which fostered the integral learning and socialisation of young people. The day ended with a time for games in the playground.