The days of work began with the greetings of the General Councilors of Youth Ministry SDB - Fr Miguel Angel García - and FMA - Sister Runita Borja; as well as those of Fr José Pastor Ramirez and Sister Cesarina Batista, Provincials of the Antilles (ANT).
The meeting was attended by 24 leaders of Salesian education in Central America, Mexico, the Antilles, and North America, representing a total of 16 provinces - including SDB, FMA, and HDS - and 13 countries, which altogether animate hundreds of schools. In addition to the school leaders, 6 young people from the educational teams of the Dominican Republic, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the Salesians of Don Bosco were also present.
Fr Carlos Alberto Montoya (SDB) and Sister Flora Fanfan (FMA), contact persons for the CIMAC/NAC-MESOAMERICA region, welcomed the participants and thanked them for their participation, both in presence and online. Fr William Batista and Sister Aracelys Infante were the hosts of this meeting, taking care of the logistical organization and all the necessities for the smooth running of the meeting.
The contact persons for the Salesian School in America (ESA), Fr Claudio Cartes, SDB, and Sister Ivone Goulart, FMA, animated a formative moment on the profile of the ESA, the activities carried out in 2021 and its educational-pastoral action, which is carried out in the light of the Magisterium of the Church, the Salesian charism and the context in which the Salesian mission is developed.
Sister Patricia Parraguez, FMA of Chile, presented the strategic planning of ESA and the steps taken so far, while Ana Paula Costa e Silva (RSB) presented the results of the survey carried out in 2021 to know the profile and training needs of ESA educators.
The regional representatives then illustrated the path of the CIMAC/NAC Region - MESOAMERICA.
During the work sessions, it was possible to review the strategic planning document and discuss the actions that are already being implemented, along with the priorities and challenges posed by the 4 axes issued by the IV Continental Encounter of the Salesian School in America (ESA IV).
There was no shortage of formative moments, thanks to two conferences: one dedicated to "The educational reality in Latin America during the pandemic", presented by the 512 Institute, and "All for love, naught by force" by Fr Carlos Nabel, SDB. The reality of the "Salesian Ecological Movement" active in the ANT province of the Salesians was also presented as good practice, and each province shared how it is working on this issue, identified as a priority in the development of SDB and FMA programs, following their respective General Chapters.
The meeting made it possible to continue to strengthen the identity of the network of Salesian Schools in America, in which religious and laity share a charism and a style of management, with projects, processes and programs that arise from the convergence of regional work axes and multi-year scope.
https://www.infoans.org/en/component/k2/item/14829#sigProId33af01bcac
