The event was aimed primarily at Rectors, Principals, Vice-Principals, Catechists and School Councillors, and involved over 30 people from NGOs in Salesian Italy.
After greetings from Fr Stefano Mascazzini and Fr Elio Cesari, those present were able to listen to an impactful speech by Bernhard Scholz – for years president of the Compagnia delle Opere, an Italian business association of Catholic inspiration linked to the "Communion and Liberation" movement, and currently Deputy Director of the "Meeting of Rimini" event. He focused his reflection on the meaning of guidance and its characteristics: "The guide must be authentic, have the courage to be himself, must have passion for what he represents, must possess the virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice, must have a propensity for something and the ‘physique du role’".
He also said that a guide must possess certain skills which can be learned: "The ability to listen and observe, to attribute responsibility, that is, to delegate, to encourage involvement and collaboration, and finally the ability to decide."
In the afternoon, several workshops were held to delve into issues relevant to those with administrative responsibilities in Salesian educational centres such as effective communication, conflict resolution, teamwork, innovative culture, the promotion of a collaborative environment, flexibility and time management, project perspective and change management.
In the workshop on conflict management, for example, curated by Anna Desanso, "we reflected on the fact that conflict is inevitable, because it is one of the possible relational modalities. However, it is important to manage it, so that it becomes an opportunity and allows us to see diversity as a value. Without adequate listening to the needs of the other, words tend to shout and the attitude becomes aggressive", said one of the participants, Paola Pirani, Vice -Principal of the Saint Ambrose school in Milan.
The day ended with Evening Prayer and the goodnight from the Superior of the Lombard-Emilian Province of Italy (ILE), Fr Roberto Dal Molin, who stressed the value of being together to pray in the church of St Francis de Sales, on 10 May, exactly 140 years after the letter from Rome, in which Don Bosco stressed the importance that: "young people are not only loved, but that they know that they are loved".
"I believe that this assembly was a valuable opportunity for didactic and personal formation, as well as for fraternal sharing, as happened in the group work on the synergy between Salesians and lay people" Prof. Pirani said.
Source: Don Bosco Italia
