(ANS - Florence) - On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, immediately after the inaugural ceremony of the "Didacta Italia" trade fair, a discussion took place between the Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara, and Fr Giuliano Giacomazzi, the Director General of the Centro Nazionale Opere Salesiane - Formazione e Aggiornamento Professionale (CNOS-FAP: Salesian National Centre for Technical Training). The meeting, organized at the behest of Dr. Lorenzo Becattini, President of 'Firenze Fiere SPA', centered on various challenges facing schools and vocational training. These included topics such as the '4+2' reform and the experimentation of technical and vocational schools, the role of Artificial Intelligence, and the relevance of Don Bosco's educational proposal, which is the focus of this year's "Didacta Italia."
Milan, Italy – March 2024 - The students of the Salesian Rainerum Institute in Bolzano, continue to make milestones and confirm South Tyrolean excellence in the field of robotics. "This time it is Augusto Martino, Elisa Aricò and Elia Vismara, with the collaboration of their comrades Arianna Marrone, Matteo Colaone and Noah Perli, who won second place at the 35th FAST (Youth and Science) competition held in Milan from 16 to 18 March, earning the opportunity to represent Italy at the Genius Olympiad in Rochester (NY) in the USA from 10 to 14 June. The young South Tyroleans, led by professors Prof. Monfalcon, Prof. Finotti, Prof. Sanin and Prof. Bertotto, won the final selections with a bold and current project that looks to the future: R.E.I (Robotic Emphatic Intelligence). R.E.I. is a robot that represents an evolutionary leap in the interaction between man and machine. Through the integration of facial recognition technologies, neural networks and artificial intelligence, R.E.I. stands out as a humanoid robot capable of perceiving and communicating emotions", as stated by the Dean, Prof. Stefano Monfalcon.
Mornese, Italy – March 2024 - From Sunday 10 to Saturday 16 March, the Rectors of the Salesians of Don Bosco and Superiors of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Piedmont, Valle d 'Aosta and Lithuania gathered in Mornese for the joint Spiritual Exercises. Very intense days led by Fr Giuseppe Roggia who proposed the morning reflections starting from the Letter to the Colossians and in the afternoon the historical-spiritual reading of Don Bosco's Dream at nine years of age. The day in silence, except for dinner and after dinner, created the environment to receive the contents in reflection and prayer, but also in spiritual exchanges. Prayer together was a moment of great benefit because the seriousness and harmony of spiritual styles and needs between the SDB and the FMA was "spontaneously" verified.
Perosa Argentina, Italy – March 2024 – On 19 March, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, presided over the Eucharist that concluded the jubilee year for the 270th anniversary of the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta in Pinasca. On the occasion, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime went to the cemetery in Perosa Argentina to pay tribute to three deceased Salesian priests: Fr Emilio Galliano and brothers Frs Pietro (Peter) and Luigi Zago, in the presence of their families. The Rector Major also paid tribute to Sister Ausilia Lussana Perosina, FMA, who died at a young age.
(ANS – Rome) – Registration is officially open for auditions for the Salesian Symphony Orchestra, a project coming from an intuition by Salesians and the young Orchestra Director Giuseppe Lo Presti. Beneficiaries of the project are young musicians from 16 to 30 years of age.
(ANS – Turin) – Among the skills with which Don Bosco was able to educate was the Strenna, that message that he announced at the end of the year to all the young people of the Oratory. His successors continued this tradition. The most recent of them by Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, for the 2024 Strenna, "The dream that makes you dream. A heart that transforms ‘wolves’ into ‘lambs’", was inspired by the famous dream that young John Bosco had at the age of nine, exactly 200 years ago.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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Italy – A Salesian on the front line of the war in Ukraine: "Being close counts, words come later"(ANS - Rome) - As he tells with a gentleness that does not seem to come from horror, he is "resting a little bit" in Rome these days. Fr Oleh Ladnyuk is a Ukrainian Salesian priest who is a military chaplain at the front, among the soldiers who fight in defence of their country and among the civilians who for over two years have seen their lives wiped out. He brings humanitarian aid where the missiles fall and from those places he helps with the evacuation of young people and adults - so far at least 500 people, but there are probably many more. These days the Salesian – who carries out his ministry in Dnipro and teaches History in a state school in the city – is in Rome to take part with two other priests and a dozen lay people from his country in the "Accompanying when Trauma Hits" course hosted by the Pontifical Salesian University in collaboration with the Faculty of Educational Sciences, with the DON BOSCO NEL MONDO Foundation and the Don Bosco Network. A project that aims to provide theoretical and methodological tools to deal with the traumas caused by war.
EDITORIAL
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Myanmar – Tragedy of Innocent Children in the midst of Armed Conflicts(ANS – Naypyidaw) - Myanmar finds itself immersed in profound grief and anguish as innocent lives, particularly those of children, continue to be mercilessly lost in the enduring armed conflicts. Families are left devastated by the tragic loss of their loved ones while the relentless violence shows no signs of abating. This week, a heartfelt plea from Myanmar reached our community, shedding light on the heart-wrenching death of a young girl Juliet in a military airstrike, prompting a unified call for prayers and action.
EVENTS
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Italy – "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of protection and prevention models": PGS conference with UPS(ANS – Rome) – The synergy between the Salesian Youth Sports Centres (PGS) and the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) in Rome gave rise to the conference on "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of models of protection and prevention", which will take place on 13 April, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., at the UPS facilities in Rome.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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United States – INT’L DAY FOR STREET CHILDREN: Salesian Missions highlights programs that provide shelter and support(ANS – New Rochelle) – Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian and international organizations around the globe in highlighting the plight of homeless children on the International Day for Street Children. The day provides organizations and the millions of street children in countries worldwide with an opportunity to have their voices heard while ensuring that their rights are not ignored.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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I’M A SALESIAN AND I’M A BOROROTHE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB
Diary of a Happy and Blessed Missionary Day
Dear friends , I’m writing to you from Meruri in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. I write this greeting almost as if it were a journalistic report, because it has been only 24 hours since I arrived in the middle of this Brazilian state.