(ANS – Rome) – The Integral Ecology Course in English, entitled "Course on Integral Ecology: from Laudato si' to Laudate Deum", will start next Thursday, 25 January 2024, offered digitally thanks to the collaboration of the Pontifical Universities and Athenaeums in Rome. This is a common commitment in favour of our Common Home, in response to the appeals and magisterial indications of the Holy Father Pope Francis. The initiative also sees the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) in the front row and there is no shortage of personalities from the Salesian world on the teaching staff.

(ANS - Turin) – With an eager sense of anticipation at Valdocco, the preparations for the 42nd edition of the Salesian Family's Days of Spirituality are now complete. The event, which every year is already characterized by the sparkle of its dynamics and the family atmosphere among all those present, this year is even more special as it will be the last of this event with Ángel Fernández Artime as Rector Major, according to the Holy Father's dispositions due to his appointment as a Cardinal. The theme of the Strenna - the Dream of Don Bosco at the age of Nine, which will be the basis for the reflection and study at the event is indeed a founding element of the charism which is common to all the groups.

Turin, Italy – January 2024 - Don Bosco Network (DBN), the Salesian network of NGOs and non-profit organisations operating in the field of development cooperation, held its Board of Directors from 15 to 17 January in Valdocco, to begin preparing for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of this network, created in 2004. The Board of Directors was able to count on the presence of Fr Alfred Maravilla, General Councillor for Missions, during the entire meeting, and also had several working meetings with the members of the General Council, such as Fr Miguel Angel García Morcuende, General Councillor for Youth Ministry; Br. Jean Paul Muller, Economer General, and Fr Alphonse Owoudou, Councillor for the Africa and Madagascar Region. Among the various topics discussed: the redefinition of membership criteria, revision of the strategic plan, preparation of the 2024 activities, with particular attention to the anniversary celebrations to be held in June in Rome. It was also the occasion for a meeting with the Executive Committee of the  "International Volunteering for Development" (VIS)  NGO, meeting in Valdocco on the same days, to take stock of the technical support that VIS provides to the DBN and to get to know each other, given that some members of both institutions are new to their positions.

(ANS – Rome) – The Institute of Psychology at the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) is organising a formation and refresher course for the weekend of Friday 26 and Saturday 27 January 2024,  dedicated to innovative strategies to address the challenges of classroom management and to support students in the school environment.

(ANS - Turin) - The second edition of the animation on Don Bosco's Dream at the age of nine, in connection with the Rector Major's Strenna 2024, was held in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin-Valdocco on Monday, 15 January 2024. It consisted of a theological in-depth study by Fr Andrea Bozzolo, the Rector Magnificus of the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS) in Rome.

Italy - January 2024 - The Chapter process of the Salesian Province of Southern Italy (IME) officially began on Saturday 13 January: it is a process of listening and involvement of the entire Salesian community, consecrated and lay, in southern Italy, Albania and Kosovo. The houses in Salerno (Campania), Brindisi and Andria (Puglia), Soverato (Calabria) and Tirana (Albania) were the "outposts" of the first meeting, chosen to bring all the Salesians together in a morning of intense work around the first of the core theme of the General Chapter, "Animation and care for the real life of each Salesian", and to elect the delegates of the communities that will participate in Provincial Chapter 28. The methodology adopted is the "synodal tables", proposed by the Church to facilitate the sharing of each one's opinions and a community spiritual discernment; a method already tested by the participants during the Youth Ministry Conference in September. "The Chapter process is a privileged opportunity" says Fr Gianpaolo Roma -  to experience a community listening, in which confreres and committed lay people have the opportunity to converse with each other. But even more it is an opportunity to listen to the voice of the Spirit to live the Salesian mission with greater determination at the service of the poorest young people of our southern Italy, Albania and Kosovo." The pre-Chapter process will continue over the coming months: in February it will see the direct involvement of all the Educative and Pastoral Communities around the theme of shared responsibility for the mission between the Salesian Family and the laity. In March, however, it will focus on the governance of the Congregation, the Province and the reshaping of the latter. Thus, with the evidence acquired and the wider audience involved, the twenty-eighth Provincial Chapter will be held from 26 to 30 April in Bova Marina.