Solidary heart
FMSI participated in the 4th Inter-American Meeting of “Marist Hearts in Solidarity”, organized by the Sub-Commission of Solidarity of the Marist Institute’s Continental Mission Committee. The event took place in Mexico City from 10th to 16th June, and brought together the Marist solidarity organizations and offices of the Americas. The goals of the meeting were the following: to finalize the Marist Solidarity Inter-American Document; to identify strategies for the implementation of the Document at the regional level; to share meaningful experiences related to solidarity projects; to reflect on possible ways for activating the Marist Hearts in Solidarity Network. FMSI was invited to assist as an observer to the work on the Document, to get involved in the networking process and above all to introduce its advocacy work for the rights of the child.
FMSI illustrated the activities carried out by its two offices in Rome and Geneva, focussed respectively on educational projects for disadvantaged children and young people, and advocacy for children’s rights in the United Nations system. The Foundation stressed its role at the service of the Administrative Units of the Marist Institute. From this perspective, FMSI proposed to the participants the Cooperation Agreement, a document for reciprocal collaboration between the Foundation and the Administrative Units of the Institute. More specifically, the document lists the different forms of support that the Marist Provinces could offer FMSI to support its advocacy work for the rights of the child at the international institutional level, and the services that FMSI can place at the disposal of the Provinces, based on its presence in Geneva, in the UN system.
The 4th Inter-American Meeting “Marist Hearts in Solidarity” proved to be an excellent opportunity for FMSI to know the linkups of the Marist Institute in the Americas, to meet with people, to get informed about projects, to share the commitment and make its objectives and potential known.
The Inter-American Meeting held last June in Mexico City was the fourth of a series of gatherings bringing together the Marist solidarity entities of the American continent, on a regular basis. Previous meetings were organized in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia (2004), Belo Horizonte (2006) and Belem (2009), Brazil.
Read the 4th Inter-American Meeting “Marist Hearts in Solidarity” Report.