The meeting, held from last 29 April to 2 May, brought together the representatives of education according to the Salesian charism of 5 countries that boast a large number of educational centers dedicated to the education of children, adolescents, young people and adults. The theme of the meeting - "Towards joint formation, Salesians and lay people, in view of a shared mission in Salesian schools" – centered on two objectives:
- Formation: deepening the Preventive System and learning about new educational trends.
- Evaluation: sharing good practices in the process of implementing the axes of the Salesian School meeting in America (ESA IV).
The meeting opened with the Eucharist presided over by the Provincial of Bolivia, Fr Javier Ortíz, and then the official greetings of Fr Ortíz himself and of the FMA Provincial of Bolivia, Sr. Lucila Guerra, the welcome of representatives of SDB and FMA for ESA, Fr. René Antonio Santos and Sr. Ivone Goulart Lopes, who recalled the 25th anniversary of the ESA Meeting in Cumbayá, Ecuador, which marked the beginning of joint work in the field of education on the American continent.
Other useful suggestions came from the messages of the General Councilors of SDB and FMA for Youth Ministry, Fr Fabio Attard and Sr. Runita Borja, with the keys to understanding Salesian education, starting from the conclusions of the Synod of Bishops on young people and from the apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit.
After reading the minutes of the previous year's meeting, the presentation of the progress made in the implementation of the ESA IV thematic axes in the various Provinces and networks began. Then followed a session on "Neuro-education", completed by a sharing of good practices on networking carried out in four Provinces, and, finally, a moment of reflection on what was heard, divided by congregations.
The day of 1st May was all centered on the Preventive System and educational trends. Finally, on the last day, there was a formative excursion to learn about the SDB and FMA educational experiences in Santa Cruz. Part of the afternoon was spent in identifying the subsequent commitments for the Provinces and the various networks.
The next meeting (2020) is scheduled in Chile, within the framework of the meeting of the Inter-American Congress of Catholic Education.
