Fr. Gildasio thanked all the delegates for the work they do in their respective provinces and stressed that communication is about persons. He invited all the participants to work with a strong institutional sense, together with CIVAM and operate with a project mentality, continuing to elaborate the communication plan. The General Councilor invited to walk together in diversity, that always create unity in our communication mission. He emphasized the importance of acting together with the communication lines of the Church and the Salesian Congregation. His reassuring presence encouraged all the delegates to be more committed in their work of communication.
This was followed by sharing by each delegate about what is happening in the field of Communication and the future plans of their province. It was wonderful to hear the different initiatives by the delegates and their desire to take this important sector to a higher level in the provinces. These sharing was very useful and enriching to each other.
The meeting addressed the media challenges on the African continent. The richness of cultures and languages, as well as the youthfulness of the Church and the number of vocations offer great hope for evangelisation also in the media field. The Salesian Congregation is showing great initiative in this field, bringing a great many interesting media initiatives to the universal Church.
The last item was intervention by Fr. Maciej Makula from the office of Communication in Rome. He highlighted and gave a few very important initiatives of the Communication Sector of the congregation. They are the following:
Salesian Bulletin meeting 2023
A meeting of all Salesian Bulletin editors and directors will be held from 21 to 26 April 2023, in Valdocco. About 70 persons from all over the world are expected to participate in this important meeting, the focus of which will be the importance of the Salesian Bulletin in a changing world and to spread the Salesian Charism through this publication started by Don Bosco himself. The meeting will be in line with the Rector Major’s Programmatic Guidelines for the congregation given after the 28th General Chapter: living communication in an Evangelical, Synodal, Salesian, Convergent and Artistic way. Previously such a meeting was held in 2019.
The International Conference on Communication, UPS – August 2024
An international conference on Communication on the theme; “Communicating to grow together and become neighbor” will be held at the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS) in Rome, from 1 – 7 August 2024. Communication Delegates from all the regions of the Salesian world will be invited to attend. The main objective of this gathering is to broaden the view of communication in the society of profound social and cultural change.
The four thematic areas proposed are:
• Internal and external communication in the Church and Salesian Congregation
• Building the future with immigrants and refugees
• The Digital Environment
• The Communication of the encounter
Don Bosco Global Youth Film Festival (DBYFF)
DBGFF will be held in October 13-14, 2023, on the theme, “Love builds peace and solidarity.” The best film from each region will be screened. The first edition received over 1,600 films from 116 countries, which was a great success. The Sector for Social Communication of our Congregation is strongly convinced to make this initiative annual, as it would offer a golden opportunity: for our young people, to meet and express themselves; for our Salesians, to accompany, guide and motivate young people in their creative search; to bring together the members of the Salesian Family, and to make the name of Don Bosco and our mission for young people resound throughout the world.
