Launch of the Guide for Children and Young People’s Participation in the Marist Mission
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The Marist Institute on March 20 launched the document “Stand Up, Speak Up, and Act: A Guide for Children and Young People’s Participation in the Marist Mission.” The launch, held online, was attended by Brother Ernesto Sánchez Barba, Superior General, Brother Luis Carlos Gutiérrez Blanco, Vicar General, and brothers José Sánchez Bravo and Niño Pizarro, directors of the Secretariat of Education and Evangelization.
The launch, beyond celebrating the publication of the document, had the following objectives:
- To inform all Marists in the world about the essence of the document, “Stand Up, Speak Up, and Act”; its salient points and some ways on how to use it.
- To encourage both institutions and individuals to utilize the document and establish Marist communities that foster education and empowerment, enabling young people to develop into “virtuous citizens and good Christians” in the modern world.
To promote more listening, closeness, accompaniment
In his opening speech, Brother Ernesto Sánchez Barba, Superior General, thanked all the brothers and lay people who made the document possible, especially the current and former directors of the Secretariat of Education and Evangelization, and the liaison brothers, Luis Carlos Gutiérrez Blanco, Vicar General and Ben Consigli, of the General Council. Likewise, he thanked consultants, translators and the International Mission Commission for their support.
“The last general chapters of the Institute, the International and Mission assemblies have invited us to connect, more and more, our mission with children and young people, to promote more listening, closeness, and accompaniment. And the invitation is that we do this as the Global Marist family that we are…This is interesting because a consultation process was carried out, in which around 10 thousand Marist children and young people from the 5 continents took part, and a group of 400 educators. . That is to say, this has been a very rich process of global family participation. Thank you all”, said the Superior General.
Facilitating the exercise of children’s rights and their participation
During his participation, Brother Luis Carlos highlighted the importance of the document, which prepares the Marists “to respond to a perspective of rights in the diverse realities that the institute experiences, and which include great cultural differences and diversities of educational and social perspectives, but which has a call to convocation and unity, open, so that all Marists respond from these realities, offering a social and evangelical educational perspective to facilitate the exercise of the rights of children and their participation in all the processes that concern them.”
Our mission: support and accompany children and young people
Referring to the subject, Brother Ben Consigli said that “in the current reality of children and young people, “Stand Up, Speak Up, and Act” resonates with their experiences of navigating complex social, political, and environmental challenges. It empowers them to exercise their autonomy, to advocate for their rights, and to contribute to building a more inclusive and compassionate world. As Marists, it is our mission to support and accompany children and young people on this journey, providing them with the guidance, resources, and opportunities they need to become leaders and change-makers in their own right.” (video)
For his part, Brother Niño Pizarro, Assistant Director of the Secretariat of Education and Evangelization, who facilitated the launch, said that it was important to “integrate the document into our practices is that it will “give us a strong impetus to our collective commitment to guarantee, promote, protect, and defend the rights of children and young people”.
To hear the cry of children and young people
At the conclusion of the online launch, Brother José Sánchez Bravo, Director of the Secretariat for Education and Evangelisation, thanked everyone and said: “We take this as a starting point, the beginning of a journey to make real the call posted to us by the Spirit of God in our XXII General Chapter: “to open the eyes of our hearts and listen to the cry of children and young people, especially those who are voiceless and homeless”, to experience a new beginning by committing ourselves to the mission, and to the “promotion, protection and defence of the rights of children and young people, and their empowerment as agents of transformation”.
PDF and print
Some copies were sent to the Administrative Units. The pdf for reading and the files for printing in typography are available on the Institute’s website. The communications department can facilitate the process for those who wish to print more copies.
What is this document about?
The document serves as a response to the mandates outlined in recent General Chapters and Marist International Mission Assemblies. It echoes the call from the XXI General Chapter (2009) to “become experts and advocates for the rights of children and young people in public forums,” and from the XXII General Chapter (2017) to “open the eyes of our hearts and listen to their cry; to promote, protect and defend them and empower them as agents of transformation.”