African Regional Meeting
The News Models Regional Meeting for Africa took place from July 23 to 25 at Roussel House in Nairobi (Kenya) in an atmosphere of fraternity, cooperation and openness.
The project – a General Council initiative – aims at ensuring the development and viability of Marist life and mission by proposing and implementing a set of principles, guidelines, and possible models of animation, governance and management for the General Administration and the Administrative Units.
There were two other regional meetings in May: Arco Norte and Brazil/Cono Sur. Oceania will meet at the end of August, and the meetings for Europe and Asia will take place in October.
There were 39 participants in this meeting: the Provincials of the four African Provinces (Madagascar, Nigeria, PACE and Southern Africa); the District Superior of West Africa; the members of their councils; brothers Antonio Ramalho, Ernesto Sánchez and Víctor Preciado from the General Council; brother Mario Meuti (FMSI) , June Alisson Cruz from the International Finance Commission and Lawrence Ndawala (MIC); Luca Olivari and Francesco Fusco from AT Kearney; and brothers João Carlos do Prado and Gabriel Villa-Real from the New Models Commission.
The meeting had the following objectives:
- Getting to know the New Models Project: its origin, development, final scope, rationale, the proposed process, and the expected results.
- Developing the first phase, diagnosis, by collecting information regarding the current situation of the Provinces and the Region, and about the current projections for the future (at the level of works, Provinces, Region, General Administration and Institute).
- Promoting a better understanding between the Provinces in each Region regarding the aspects related to the Project.
- Encouraging the Administrative Units’ participation in the development of the Project.
The methodology and facilitation allowed the participants to reflect on the Provinces’ current models of animation, governance and management, and about Marist life and mission today and its projection for the future, understanding the Institute as an international body.
The message from Brother Emili Turú SG at the feast of San Marcellin Champagnat this year inviting us to a new beginning inspired and motivated our reflection and sharing: “As we look back in time, we will realize that this need to start over again has been a constant in our Marist Institute. New historical, social or even internal circumstances have forced us, on a number of occasions, to be profoundly creative; they challenged us to find responses to new emerging needs. There have been, in fact, several new beginnings before this we are facing at the onset of the 21st century”.