During the opening Mass, Fr Davis invited the delegates to be the voice of the voiceless, to ensure the message of peace and harmony is heard; the message of ilent young people is voiced and become empowerers of the silent, the oppressed and the weak ones.
The official opening began with a colourful ceremony of washing the hands of dignitaries, delegates and young people and donning shawls. The boys from Ashalyam performed a message programme through a dance.
In his words of welcome, the Rector of the Provincial House Fr Varghese Palattykoonathan welcomed the dignitaries, delegates and young people and wished all of them a very fruitful and meaningful experience.
The mission and vision of the VOICES project were explained by Fr Harris Pakkam. Speaking on the objectives of the project VOICES, he said, “The purpose is to listen to the unheard and silent cries of the young, to give voice to the voiceless of the young people of South Asia region through a process of sharing experiences, discussions and dialogue on some of the very important and vital matters of unemployment, digital addiction, substance addiction and migrants that would give rise to some concrete lines of actions and provide a platform for the young people through the communication ministry to give responses to their voices”. “We are called to be the megaphone for the voiceless”, he added.
During the opening function, Fr Davis highlighted the vulnerabilities of the young and said, “The vulnerabilities are never extraneous to the sensibility and pain of every son of Don Bosco. All these touch the heart of the Salesians, for our hearts, beat for you. Our DNA includes a very special predilection for the young who are poor and vulnerable”. Quoting the Apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, Evangeli Gaudium, Fr Davis reminded us about the profound guidelines to take care of the vulnerable, to listen to the voices of children and young people to whom we pass on values and knowledge to build together a future of justice, peace and dignified life for every person. He wished that VOICES be a learning experience for the delegates and young people, the protagonists of transformation in society today. “Let every effort be made by the Social Communication team to make known the voice of young people especially those marked by real tragedies of substance abuse, of being migrants, unemployed and those who are silently praying to be heard”, he said. Fr Davis assured the young people that the Salesians are with them to feel their suffering and pain. He said, “We want to affirm your right to make your voice heard.”
The keynote address was delivered by senior Catholic journalist and columnist AJ Philip. Culling thoughts from the pages of his journalistic experience he said that all are called to be a communicator, a journalist, a reporter and editor, and gave insights into the theme of VOICES from a historical and holistic perspective adding that all are migrants on this earth, and exhorted everyone to take forward this prophetic role of being the voice of the voiceless in all their communication activities.
Addressing the delegates and young people online at the inauguration of the first VOICE project of Salesian Congregation, the General Councillor for Social Communication Fr Gildasio thanked and congratulated the delegates for very professionally arranging the launch of the VOICES project and for taking the leadership to promote and make visible VOICES in South Asia. To the young people who came to attend VOICES, he said, “We don't want you only to come today and go back and then we forget you. No. We want to walk side by side with you”. Emphasising the partnership with the young he said, “We walk together. We join our voices to your voices so that all the voices will be heard. VOICES is a journey that we walk together”. Looking at the VOICES project across the Salesian presence in the world, Fr Gildasio said, “VOICES is going to be a very important channel, a phase for young people to speak out and share their vision, struggles and rights.”
Kudos to Fr Ashok Kujur, the Communication delegate of the Delhi Province, who with his team looked into the meticulous organization of the programme. After the formal opening, the day unfolded with the presentation of topics like Migrants, Unemployment, Digital Addiction and Substance Addiction by the young people.
https://www.infoans.org/en/sections/news/item/18483-india-salesian-south-asia-inaugurates-voices#sigProId8ab40a5d69
