Champagnat global: A new beginning for the Marist Education Mission
The week 25th to 29th of October 2021 marked the historic events on the launch of the Marist Global Network of Schools. More than 400 Marists of Champagnat comprising of the General Council, some provincials and regional leaders, Marist schools’ system leaders or education coordinators, educators, present and former students, parents, and others gathered online via zoom. The technical sessions centered on the areas of opportunities discovered during the presummit of the launch formed the locus of discussion. Different participants had opportunities to further develop the twenty-four topics in an atmosphere of friendship and Marist family spirit.
Another mind-blowing event was the video episodes that x-rayed the Marist mission all over the world. The creativity and the inclusion of all the continent of the world bore witness to our global family.
All Marists are invited too to continue to visit the works done throughout the week of the launch of the Network and to deepen their experiences with others who were not opportune to follow from their respective schools and countries.
To continue the dreams of Saint Marcellin Champagnat
The Superior General, Brother Ernesto Sánchez, in his opening address reminded the participants and all Marist of Champagnat the importance of the Network in uniting all the schools to continue the dreams of Saint Marcellin Champagnat. He continued to call on all involved in Marist education to see this as a new invitation to strengthen the journey together as a global family as invited by the last General Chapter.
There were testimonies to the experiences lived throughout the week. Representatives of the various Regions or continent expressed the joy of been part of the history and the greater collaboration, exchange, connection, solidarity, social transformation, and the cooperation that will result from the Network.
Platform Agorá
Brother Carlos Alberto Rojas, the Director of the Secretariat for Education and Evangelization, in his closing remarks invited all the participants and the entire Marist Schools Community to commit themselves to the project by logging onto the Champagnat Global platform and registering on the “Agorá” to continue the reflection and the development of the 24 topics that serves as the areas of opportunities. He reminded all the opportunities available through the platform to create new groups and topics by following the instructions provided on the platform.
The Marist Global Network of Schools project is a dream come true. Your local Marist action could be shared with the regions and even with the global team that may result in something greater for the benefit of the whole Institute, hence, don’t keep it to yourself, province, or region alone, share with the global body as a contribution to the building together of the network for the common good.
From now on, you are a bigger part of the network, don’t wait to be invited, show your feeling of belonging through your participation in the online network activities.
Thanks
The Secretariat for Education and Evangelization is grateful to all who work round the clock to make the events realizable and a huge success. Thanks to IDEIA Institute that facilitated the whole process of dialogue through the various meetings and summits with the Appreciative Inquiry methodology. In the same vain, thanks to Fluir Eventos that prepared the three (3) video-episodes, and to the Marist publishing houses (Edelvives, FTD and Gram) for the support and creative ideas that made the project possible.