The inaugural ceremony began on 16 August with an artistic performance  by the young Korean artists. The presence of ecclesial, political and communications authorities of Korea, such as, Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-Taic; the prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Paolo Ruffini; the President of  SIGNIS, Helen Osman; the President of the Organizing Committee of the SIGNIS Congress, Daniel Hang Seung-soo; and the Deputy Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Korea, Kim Hyun-hwan made the inaugural ceremony very memorable with their meaningful messages. The study days had three specific themes.

Day one, had the theme, “Hyper-connected yet alone”, with the keynote address of Dr. Paolo Ruffini followed by the Panel speakers, who brought into awareness the strange yet real phenomenon of being hyper-connected and yet disconnected, and highlighted all the  socioeconomic, cultural, political, religious, spiritual, and ecological disconnections, leading to isolation, confusion and hopelessness. Online games, pornography addiction, overexposure to violence, and contents of divisive nature in media induced the viewers to destructive behaviors and the need to address these challenges was well expressed.

Day two, dedicated to the theme, “Fake news and loss of trust”, began with the keynote speaker, Mr. Dmitry Muratov, the Nobel prize journalist from Russia, who in a recorded video message spoke of Fake news during the wartime and how journalists need to respond. A panel of speakers followed, sharing their perspectives and concerns on the devastating effects of fake news on contemporary society, which has created more  communal clashes and more victims from vulnerable groups.

Day three, dedicated to the theme, “Protection of our Common home”, began with the Keynote address by prof. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda from the United States, followed by the other panel speakers who highlighted the problems and challenges that face our common home, and the need to respond with a great sense of responsibility and urgency. It was stressed that all efforts should find way to ensure and nurture a resilient environment that supports integral human development. The need to move from individual engagement to community building, and adopting  the style of closeness, compassion and tenderness, proposed by Pope Francis was also stressed.

The afternoon sessions of day one and two were dedicated to the International Journalist Forum and International Youth Forum, which highlighted how Peace needs to be achieved by every journalist in the digital age. The rich and variety of experiences, inputs shared by the speakers from different parts of the world brought in lot of awareness of the current  trends and problems facing every one. The voices of young people engaged in media activities need to be listened to, as they have  a vital role  in building communities and promoting peace through creative and modern technologies.

The final statement of the SIGNIS World Congress affirmed that every Christian Communicator has to be an ambassador of peace, working together  with people of different cultures, beliefs, religions, and ideologies, and commit themselves for the empowerment and liberation of the  marginalized, by advocating justice and passing on the legacy of peace.

The presence of six Salesians at the SIGNIS World Congress, did also facilitate lot of interaction and networking with the SIGNIS members and also provided time for deep reflection and sharing. Fr. Klement Vaclav, the extraordinary visitor who also participated in the World Congress observed, “we Salesians need to join hands with SIGNIS in a much more deeper way and take forward the Communication mission together with them as a valuable partner in all the countries”. Fr. Ambrose Pereira, the Communication Coordinator of the EAO region, and also representing SIGNIS Papua New Guinea, commented: “We as Salesians need to network a lot and create a great level of synergy to share our resources and form  our Salesians and young people to meet the challenges of the digital age”.

Fr. Harris Pakkam, the director of ANS who represented the Communication Sector at the Congress affirmed: “SIGNIS World Congress has given us a lot of awareness of the challenges facing us in our rapport with the digital world, and we cannot be silent about it. We are in many ways being hyperconnected and disconnected. We need to become synodal in our attitudes and strategies, and respond intelligently and wisely.” The presence of three Korean Salesians at the Congress and the joint interaction and sharing among the six Salesians on the takeaways of the World Congress, did bring in lot of reflections and  concrete suggestions.

SIGNIS members live and work in 100 countries and the World Congress was an opportunity to meet together face-to-face to renew and reinvigorate the members of SIGNIS to explore common themes, share experiences and find solutions to the challenges faced in Communication mission.

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