Spain – International Seminar on the Reception of Migrants and Refugees in Salesian Centres

05 October 2023

(ANS – Malaga) – In recent years, the initiatives of Salesian presences dedicated to the reception and integration of migrants and refugees have multiplied, especially in the countries bordering the Mediterranean. To reflect on these activities, unify strategies and respond to the needs of the people involved in these often dramatic processes, the National Youth Ministry Centres of Italy and Spain have decided to organise an international seminar focusing on this theme.

The event is already scheduled for mid-October 2023 – from Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 October – and will serve to further explore the Salesian work of reception and accompaniment, particularly focused on young migrants and refugees in the Congregation's Mediterranean Region. In this way, an account will be given of the activities and programmes in place in the Salesian presences in Portugal, Spain, Italy and in the countries of the Middle East, all marked, in different ways, by the phenomenon of migration.

"The seminar, which will be held at the diocesan house at Malaga, is mainly designed for Salesians and lay people engaged in carrying out initiatives aimed at welcoming and integrating migrants and refugees into the various educational and pastoral environments" explained the seminar organisers, who are currently engaged in the final phase of preparations.

"With this working meeting we intend to take stock of the reality of the Salesian service in the Mediterranean basin in terms of migratory flows and processes of reception, protection, promotion and integration in Europe of people arriving on the continent and in the outermost provincial realities, such as the Canary Islands." "In this way, we also want to highlight the challenges posed by the current reality and, consequently, make new commitments on behalf of people who are in search of more dignified living conditions."

The international event will bring together more than a hundred participants from different countries of the reference area, together with various authorities and representatives of important organisations.

The work programme will include fundamental reports, by experts in the field, on the state of the art migratory flows in the Mediterranean, for a theological reinterpretation of the migratory phenomenon, and for a contextualised analysis of the socio-educational aspects in pastoral work and of the pastoral aspects in social work. To enrich and complete the seminar's offer, there will be several thematic workshops (mini-courses), the presentation of various best practices already in place in the Mediterranean context, and a round table that will also involve several international authorities.

For more detailed information, please visit: https://pastoraljuvenil.es/seminario-migraciones 

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ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

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