Common Vision for Marist Life and Mission in Asia
The councils of East Asia, South Asia and the District of Asia gathered in Bangkok last October 9-10 for another round of sharing on the Project New Models of Animation, Governance and Management. The meeting was aimed at designing a common vision of Marist Life and Mission in Asia for the next 10 years, specifying concrete initiatives for implementing that vision.
On the first day, Br. João Carlos do Prado, Br. Beto Rojas and Mr. Luca Olivari led the group in a journey that had 3 moments.
The first moment invited the Asian leaders to focus on the past. A period of reflection and sharing was spent as they reviewed the past 10 years, highlighting important events and experiences on the AU, regional and Institute levels. Each of the 3 small groups then built a timeline to visually present the output of their reflections.
Focus shifted to the present as the group moved to the second moment. Here the reflection concentrated on "what we are doing". Presentations and discussions were made on the trends beyond the current direction.
The third moment asked the participants to focus on the future, to take a look at the next 10 years and see "where we are going". This process required a lot of imagination as they attempted to describe the life and mission in Asia in 2026 and identify how the AU's, the region, the brothers and lay people were supposed to have gotten there.
The second day was dedicated to the Proposed Initiatives developed by the Asian New Models Team. It was intended to enable the regional leadership build a common ground by evaluating the proposed initiatives, make additions where needed and ultimately indicate their commitment to adopt and implement them.
The gathering was an opportune time to gain a further and deeper understanding of the New Models of Animation, Governance and Management. It allowed the Asian councils to better appreciate this project as questions were answered and important points were clarified. Moreover, they gained insights on what the other regions are doing and how they are moving forward.
The meeting ended in a positive note as the leadership of the three AU's in Asia signified by their response to the whole process their being on-board the New Models Project.