WE EDUCATE TO TRANSFORM OUR WORLD
Within the frame of the preparation of the 21st General Chapter, we have celebrated last April 28 the 2nd Encounter of the Directors/Directresses and Management Teams of all the Spínola Schools.
We started as usual with the joy of meeting so many educators who were connected with each other from their own countries, so as to spend some time as a family sharing the principal theme of the majority of those present – the education.
We began the Encounter with a grateful and motivating greeting of Sister Rosario Fernandez; and during the moment for prayer, with the words of Pope Francis concerning dreams: “I invite you all to dream, and to dream big, Know that the rest will be given to you”.
And our Encounter has been precisely that, to dream together.
The meditation-visualization guided us all, in our own language, and interiorly prepared us very well to answer some questions about how we are visualizing our future, the educative Global pact which is already a reality we are living.
What do you feel to see the ideal? How do you see yourself contributing to it? What is your longing? What fundamental aspects are you visualizing in your dream for the year 2026?...
Among other interesting questions, there flew from within many sincere desires and big dreams.
Thereafter, we have group work in which we share our dreams through the appreciative methodology that we are learning to practice these past months.
We shared and it was a delight to listen to each educator in the 14 groups that were formed. After having finished the sharing, we elaborated a final product that was collected in the common space online.
https://padlet.com/xxicapitulogeneraladc/sj3g61ggkd7qf3lf
In our group, we enjoyed much placing ourselves in the shoes of the different members of the United Nations Organization (UNO). We were representing the different nations of the world; namely, India, New Zeeland, Angola, Argentina, Uruguay, Benin, Ecuador, Philippines and Ukraine in a working session of the UNO, where we were dealing with “the education in 2026”. The representative of Ukraine shared with us the following:
“In Ukraine, all the schools have been rebuilt a hundred percent; it has been a priority after the end of the war; persons are also gradually being rebuilt within with much inner strength and solidarity. All the Educative Institutions of the country are united as they have never been before. The objective is TO EDUCATE children and youth FOR PEACE AND FRATERNITY FOREVER, IN EUROPE AND IN THE WHOLE WORLD”.
As a way of ending the Encounter, we were invited to make a visible gesture of our commitment to the Educative Pact this coming May 26, which is the World Day of Catholic Education.
Thank you for this new pre-chapter opportunity of uniting ourselves to live deeper and with meaning our vocation as educators so necessary today in all the places of the world.
Concha Cazorla, ADC