NEWS PHOTOS
Cuenca, Ecuador – June 2024 - The Provincial Community Day was celebrated on Saturday 8 June at the headquarters of the Salesian Polytechnic University (UPS) in Cuenca, a moment to thank God for the life of Fr Marcelo Farfán, Provincial; for the celebrations of the Salesians celebrating significant anniversaries; and for the mission entrusted to the young people of Ecuador. This year the celebration took on a special motivation: the 30 years of institutional life of the Ecuadorian UPS, which began its activity in October 1994. The event brought together Salesians from different communities in Ecuador, representatives of the different groups of the Salesian Family, lay collaborators from various works and young people from various communities. Everyone gathered to celebrate the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to which the ECU Province is consecrated and for which it is named. The Feast of the Provincial Community began with the Eucharist presided over by Fr Farfán, who during the homily stressed, among other things: "We renew the desire to be Salesians who love the young people whom God has entrusted to us. We renew the will to make our Province not so much a great institution as a sign of God's loving presence in our Nation. Finally, we renew our vocation to serve the poorest who today have so many faces and who ask us for bold answers beyond our pessimism and our comforts." At the end of the Mass, a cultural arts programme took place in the UPS theatre.
Avellaneda, Argentina – June 2024 - On Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June, the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM) team from the Gran Buenos Aires Sud area held the “Formation Meeting: Dreams, Utopias and Reality” at the María Auxiliadora School in Avellaneda under the motto “I Believe in Your Voice”. The formation event was attended by 110 leaders from the houses of the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Daughters of Mary Help in Bernal, Avellaneda, Don Bosco Itatí and Esperanza Grande. This edition closed the first cycle of the experience, which consists of three levels, and welcomed the first graduates. Different workshops are held at each level in the areas of evangelisation, Salesianity, socio-community animation and socio-political commitment. It was a commitment to the formation of leaders to continue caring for and accompanying the lives of young people.
Krakow, Poland – May 2022 – The 22nd edition of Orawa for the Children of Africa was held on 28 May, at the initiative of the Salesian Młodzi Światu Missionary Volunteer Movement (SWM) in Krakow, in the Salesian Province of Krakow (PLS), and in collaboration with the municipalities of Jabłonka and Lipnica Wielka. It was linked, as always, to a charitable purpose. The volunteers, accompanied by Salesian priests, went to the 12 parishes in Orawa and, during the Masses, offered their testimonies, asking for support for street children in Sierra Leone, and precisely for the girls who were involved in prostitution, and also for homeless boys. All of them have found a safe home with the Salesians, which brings a new life for them. And this year's initiative aims to support their education and also the construction of a chapel at the Don Bosco Fambul work in Sierra Leone. A special guest of this edition was Fr Siergiej Ghoman, SDB, who works in Sierra Leone.
Photo: SWM Archive
San José, Costa Rica – June 2024 - As part of the Don Bosco Global Youth Film Festival promotional activities, the Don Bosco Salesian Education Centre - CEDES Don Bosco has organised a series of training sessions so that students are encouraged to participate and have the necessary tools to make their videos. The training was offered by Julio Zúñiga, assistant of the Club House and graphic designer with extensive experience in multimedia production. Zúñiga provided audiovisual resources and taught techniques to create shots, manage light effects and focus on different planes, underlining the importance of maintaining the thematic context in the execution of the videos. Topics of retouching and editing photos and videos and film techniques were also discussed. In addition, there was the support of Michelle Marchena, environmental manager of CEDES Don Bosco, who spoke to the young people about actions to combat climate change. Their goal was to raise students' awareness of the festival's theme: “I have a dream! Young people and climate change ". The activity, organised by the Department of Social Communication, was very motivating for young people. In 2021, CEDES Don Bosco won an award at DBGYFF with student Nazareth Cascante, who also sent a motivational video to students to encourage them to participate.