Thirteen representatives from as many countries attended the meeting, which was hosted by the Maltese member organization SPYS (Salesian Pastoral Youth Service). The first day was an opportunity for the new representatives to get to know each other and for the more experienced members to meet again. They also took the time to present the member organizations and ask each other questions to learn more about their work and to get to know the other MOs better.
The group then visited St. Patrick’s Salesian School & Residential Care in the late morning and Valetta in the afternoon with several stops to get to know the work of SPYS and the Salesians in and around Malta (Friends of Don Bosco & Past pupils, YES - Youths Engaged in Senglea, the Oratories, SPYS).
On Saturday, the work of the G.E.B. began. The body met to look ahead to the activities scheduled for 2023 and to hear about the activities of each of the member organizations present. It was also an opportunity to look at the network’s current state of affairs.
The participants were introduced to Begoña Ros Gras, DBYN’s newest staff member. Begoña joins DBYN as a project coordinator and fundraising officer, and has been volunteering for DBYN as an international representative since 2019.
After the networking business, SPYS took participants to Dingli to watch the sunset from the Dingli cliffs, before visiting Savio College and sharing a delightful meal of Maltese specialties.
During the next G.E.B meeting in October, the elections for the Presidency and the Board will take place. They will also continue working together in and as a network to offer opportunities to young people.
All representatives enjoyed their stay in Malta and appreciated being able to get even more connected to each other than before. Participants thanked the whole hosting team for the preparation of the meeting and their warm welcome.
