In the Philippines, a group of young people reminded the world that faith can be creative, daring, and deeply transformative. At the end of October 2025, Assumption Antipolo hosted the Philippine edition of the Mission Possible Youth Social Hackathon, bringing together students from twelve Catholic schools to tackle the country’s social challenges through innovation, collaboration, and faith.
Behind this initiative stood the Asia-Pacific Province of the Religious of the Assumption, closely accompanying the youth in their desire to translate faith into concrete projects that serve others.
Over three days, the participants became true hackers for good. Not in front of a computer, but before reality itself: they examined issues such as public transportation safety, gender inequality, and educational exclusion. In small teams, they designed creative solutions that combined technology, social engagement, and Gospel values.
One of the winning teams—an all-girl group from Assumption Antipolo—designed a security device for commuters. Beyond the technical aspect, what stood out was their motivation: “We want people to travel without fear, with dignity. This is our way of caring for others,” the young creators said.
The event was more than a competition of ideas. It was, in the words of one of the sisters present, a living experience of synodality. Young people from diverse backgrounds—some Catholic, others of different faiths—worked side by side, listening, discerning, and deciding together.
A 16-year-old Muslim student expressed it simply:
“At first I felt out of place. But I discovered that faith can also unite us in the desire to do good. We have learned to walk together.”
This openness and fraternity embody the spirit of the Assumption charism: to educate in order to transform, forming hearts and minds capable of building communion in a divided world.
What happened in the Philippines is not an isolated event. It is a sign of what the Spirit is awakening in our educational mission across Asia-Pacific: a movement beyond classrooms, toward a pastoral approach that connects faith with social action, spirituality with innovation.
This experience may invite us all to reflect: Are we offering young people spaces where they can discover that their faith can change the world? Do we help them see that the Gospel is lived not only in the chapel but also in the streets and digital spaces where humanity seeks new paths? Are we ourselves willing to be “hacked” by the Spirit, who calls us to see with new eyes?
At the closing of the event, Sr. Mary Joseph Concepción, R.A., encouraged the participants with these words:
“Your creativity is an act of faith. When you use your intelligence and your heart to serve, you make God’s face visible.”
Perhaps this is the message for us today: to truly believe that the mission lives on through the hands, ideas, and dreams of the young. Our task is not to act for them but to walk with them—as educators, companions, and witnesses of hope.
The hackathon ended, but the conviction born there—that love itself can be innovative—is only beginning. It can reach any school, community, or group where an Assumption sister is ready to listen and encourage.
Because when education becomes encounter, when faith turns into action, and when love takes the form of creativity… then, as the youth in the Philippines say, mission becomes possible.
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