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Fourth day of the International Education Session: 23 March 2023
At the invitation of Sr. Générose MUKEBA, facilitator of the day, a time of silence to reconnect us to the source, set us off to begin the fourth day of our session.
Three Sisters spoke in the three languages: French, Spanish and English, to express their gratitude to God, the Heart of heaven and earth, the Merciful One. Thank God for the Global Educational Compact and for the Assumption
Educational Pact which is strengthened in the mission of listening to the Spirit.
After this beautiful prayer, four participants gave an echo of the third day. They all appreciated the sharing of Acharn Chainarong Monthienvichienchai on the implementation of the Global Educational Pact, at the level of ecclesiastical leaders and in our school in Thabom in Thailand.
We were then treated to an extensive presentation of the speakers of the day by Sr. Ascension of Spain. They were Sister Ana Senties from Mexico, Sister Ana Pilar and Mrs. Veronica Prieto Banco professor in Ponferrada, Spain, women steeped in human, spiritual and educational values. All passionate about God, man and committed to transformative education in Assumption structures and in network with others. Women animated by prophetic apostolic zeal.
Sister Ana Pilar and Mrs. Veronica Prieto shared the experience of the nine schools in Spain, an experience that stems first of all from a desire carried by the Provincial Council of Spain following Pope Francis' call to work together to make a global pact for education. A good preparation of strategies, planning methods and collective participation made it possible to implement this educational pact in all the schools. A great conviction "The person is at the center of the entire educational process", rejecting the throw-away culture so as to be open, through education and hospitality, to the most vulnerable and marginalized. Listening to the voices of children, adolescents and young people, in order to build a future of justice and peace, where dignity is respected. Collaboration with families, the perspective of an integral ecology. Safeguard and cultivate our common home by following the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity and the circular economy.
As for Sr. Ana Senties, she shared with us the experience of the network "En-RED-a-LA", a network of Assumption schools in Latin America. This idea dates back to 2018 inspired by the international meeting of Transformative Education in Manila 2018. The establishment of a "steering team" with representatives from Mexico, Ecuador and Brazil facilitated the organization of activities and the linking of all members of the network through Whatsapp and video meetings, a very beautiful experience that inspires and takes into account all areas in the application of the global educational pact.
Following these rich sharing, three questions were proposed to us for group reflection: what does today's sharing inspire in us? What questions arise? How does this align with our mission of transformative education? After a time of reflection in small groups, the sharing in the large group was very interesting.
We also discovered the Wooclap.com, an initiative of students from Belgium, which consists of sharing our feelings and appreciations. We were invited to pray the Lord's Prayer in our different languages to mark the end of today's meeting. Thank you to Sr. Générose and the entire organizing team for the substantiality of this fourth day.
Sister Marie Claire ISSIFI of the West Africa Province
Reflection for Day 3:
HAVING A BETTER WORLD IS POSSIBLE THROUGH EDUCATION
Have you ever dreamed about a world where we find no war, no conflict, no hatred, no violence? Have you ever dreamed about a world where we only see peace, happiness, joy, and love? Do you think it can be possible? For me, I always dream about it and I believe we can do it.
We can make that dream happen through our education. My conviction is assured when I listened to the talk of Chainarong Monthienvichienchai, our speaker on the third day of the International Session on Education 2023. He is an educator, who devotes his life to the mission of education and is working in partnership with the Religious of the Assumption Sisters since 2000. Through his sharing about the Global Compact on Education, I have come to learn new ways of having a deeper understanding of the Assumption Transformative Education.
The Holy Father calls all educators to become a bridge to connect everyone to come closer to peace, fraternity, and justice. To educate the young generation to pay attention to grave social injustice, violations of rights, terrible forms of poverty, and the waste of human lives. I was struck when I heard his sharing about nurturing the youth of the African culture that “takes a whole village to raise a child”. This African proverb reminds that each one of us has a role to nurture a child. We must consider all the people who are involved in this child’s life. They could be his/her neighbors, friends, teachers, and other members of the community, who play a specific role in the life of the child.
As the Pope said, we must create such a village before we can educate. Therefore, we have to fill up that village with an atmosphere of love and service. I also wish the project of The Human Library which is currently in Denmark, spread throughout the whole world. It is a new way of sharing knowledge and experiences in the world effectively.
I was so impressed hearing about their experience in Thailand. It is also my dream for our schools in Vietnam. It is inspiring to hear how they made this work through webinars and other sessions based on their context. It was great to know that Saint John’s School in a small village of Thabom in the northeast part of Thailand has responded. The school was able to involve the parents, families, students, faculty and staff to participate actively in the school’s programs. The said experience was very interesting so, I really took time to re- read and reflect on the said project. The school can transform the atmosphere of selfishness and indifference into an ambiance of loving and caring for one another.
Listening to Ajan Chainarong, I came to know their struggle when they began. It took time and we have to be patient in this work. At the end of the session for the day we had another group sharing, another enriching experience from each other.
I can proudly say that we can do better to have a new world through Transformative Education. I would like to quote the words of our Mother Marie Eugenie, “Every one of us has been given a mission: To bring the Father’s Kingdom into the lives of others.”, to remind myself that my role and each one’s role in this earth can make our dream come true, that is, “HAVING A BETTER WORLD IS POSSIBLE, THROUGH EDUCATION.”
Sr. Angeline Thomas
ASIA
Day 2
EDUCATION AS SEEN BY POPE FRANCIS AND OUR ASSUMPTION EDUCATIONAL CHARISM
The international session of the sisters dans and laymen of the Assumption is a unique opportunity for people from all over the world involved in the same project to discuss their vision of education in connection with our charism.
The technology, perfectly mastered by the organizers of this session, allows you to fully experience this unique moment comparable to a tower of Babel. The videoconferencing system provides simultaneous translations in English, Spanish and French, so everyone can enjoy everything!
Then, working groups of 6-7 people in sub-rooms allow people located in the 4 corners of the world and who share the same language to interact. In my group, people from the Philippines, Denmark, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, reflected, exchanged, shared their practices, experiences, questions around the vision of Pope Francis on the challenges of education. We listened to each other, discussed and agreed on the summary to be presented in the large group under the watchful eye of our moderator who checks that everyone has the same opportunity to speak to share their ideas.
Thanks to these fruitful exchanges, we leave every day with a broader horizon, new perspectives, precious sharing and the desire to experiment and implement new practices.
A new impetus is blowing in this international communion of the Assumption!
Sabine Claudio (France)
Our international Transformative Education session, via Zoom, will welcome 57 participants from across our provinces, will begin on Monday, March 20, 2023 and end on Friday, March 24, 2023. We will have two external speakers (Juan Luis Hernández Avedaño from Mexico, and Ajan Chainarong from Thailand) who will help us deepen our reflection, times of exchanges by groups of languages (3 in English, 3 in Spanish and 3 in French) and also a sharing of our experiences....
We are also pleased with the participation of our General Council and Sr. Rekha also welcome for the opening of the session and the conclusion of it.
The International Commission for Assumative Transformative Education has been preparing this session for several months now.
The theme: " Journeying Together Towards Becoming a Village of Care", aims to:
It is with great joy that we look forward to starting our session!