II Regional Forum of Marist Teams and Networks in América Sur
Around 100 participants from the Marist regions of South America and Arco Norte attended the II Regional Forum of Marist Teams and Networks of “América Sur”, which was held virtually on 13 and 14 May. Alberto Aparicio, executive secretary of the South America Region, stated that “we can see that meeting together has given us vitality and synergy to continue moving ahead… and it challenged us to continue weaving networks with other Teams/Networks of the Region and beyond, with a great awareness of being a Regional body and acting as a Global Family”.
Representatives of the General Administration in Rome, the members of the Regional Committee, the Vocation Ministry teams, the Network of Schools, Initial Formation, the Post-Novitiate, the Finance Network, the Spirituality Network, the Solidarity Network and the Higher Education Network, the Marist Laity, the Marist Patrimony Centres, Specialists and Communication teams took part in the meeting.
The objective of the Forum was to give an update on our different Marist initiatives and to evaluate together the progress made by the South America Region (RAS) in recent years. Among the topics discussed were the general vision of the region, the status of our initiatives and networks, and team meetings. On this occasion, the evaluation included how our strategic plans have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first day began with a prayer led by a group from the Province of Santa María de los Andes, who invited everyone to feel united and to give thanks for the opportunity of this meeting. Afterwards, the different teams and networks had the chance to present the projects they are running, evaluate their progress and determine the next goals to be achieved. During the day, the common projects between the regional teams during these years were also given space to enhance coordination of efforts.
On the second day of the forum, the different teams and networks met separately in breakout rooms to discuss emerging issues in the regional context and propose some next steps to be taken by the South American bloc.
Afterwards, gathered again in a single group, participants had a few minutes to express their opinions and ideas on the thrust of the “América Sur” Region, inviting all Marists to be more active in the fight against inequality and poverty, as called for in the encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti.
Links to some videos uploaded on Youtube:
Opening Prayer: https://youtu.be/0KbVZgOJYbw
Progress as a Region: https://youtu.be/ErCClK74rN0
Progress of respective teams and networks: https://youtu.be/9Qanf_ltLfE
Looking to the future: https://youtu.be/8k6jgLNeXBQ
———————-
The “América Sur” Region is made up of the Administrative Units present in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay (Brasil Centro-Norte, Brasil Centro-Sul, Brasil Sul-Amazônia, Cruz del Sur and Santa María de los Andes).