Advocacy: Strengthening the Global Salesian Voice

The morning opened with a powerful session led by Fr Antoine Farrugia and Sara Sechi from Don Bosco International (DBI), focusing on how advocacy transforms grassroots vocational experiences into credible input for global policy. DBI’s presence at UN hubs in New York, Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi, as well as at the European Union in Brussels, ensures that the voice of the Salesian world contributes to international dialogue on youth, work, and education.

Emphasizing the importance of data, Sara Sechi reminded participants that reliable, up-to-date information from training centres strengthens the network’s credibility in global forums. A pilot digital data collection system is now being designed to guarantee consistent and comparable reporting across all regions.

Regional coordinators then shared the impressive scope of the Don Bosco Tech mission:

• India: Over 485,000 youth trained through 740 centres across 28 states, partnering with 28,000 employers and reaching 48% female participation.
• Africa: 190 centres in 35 countries, training 45,000 students annually and more than 600,000 since 2014, including through the innovative Virtual Training Institute.
• ASEAN Region: 36 centres in 8 countries, with 15,000 graduates between 2022 and 2024, 71% of whom secured employment.
• Europe: 211 centres in 22 countries, actively collaborating with DBI on EU-level vocational advocacy.

As the EU prepares to launch a new Vocational Education and Training (VET) strategy in June 2026 — expected to emphasize modernization and inclusion — DBI aims to ensure that Don Bosco’s holistic approach to education, understood as empowerment and social transformation, remains at the heart of these conversations.

Shaping a Global Framework for the Future

The day’s second major session was dedicated to refining the Don Bosco Tech World Vision Framework, which will guide the network’s global direction through 2030. Participants revisited the six proposed strategic pillars: Identity; Scalability and Advocacy; Social Impact and Transformation; Governance; Data Management and Quality Assurance; and Sustainability.

Discussions focused on making the framework more action-oriented by consolidating overlapping areas and embedding key Salesian standards — child protection, gender equity, and safeguarding — as non-negotiable elements across all centres. A proposed star-rating system will help measure performance, transparency, and consistency of quality.

“The identity of Don Bosco Tech is its heart and soul,” one participant said, highlighting how fidelity to the Salesian charism must remain central even as the network modernizes. The framework’s ultimate goal is clear and practical: a coherent, data-informed, mission-driven TVET ecosystem by 2030.

Innovation at San Callisto: Tradition meets the Future

In the afternoon, participants visited CNS-FAP at San Callisto, a setting rich with historical symbolism for the Salesian mission. There they met Fr Giuliano Giacomazzi and Fr Mario Tonini, who guided an engaging session on collaboration with industry, sustainability, and innovation — including the use of Artificial Intelligence in vocational training.

A highlight was the presentation of a pilot system for dual certification supporting Filipino workers in Italy. After placing over 700 workers last year and expecting nearly 900 this year, this initiative demonstrates how shared recognition of skills can ease mobility and reduce costly retraining across nations. Plans are underway to formalize partnerships with Italian Salesian VET schools to scale this model across Europe.

Fr Giuliano also shared encouraging results from an AI integration project implemented across 26 Salesian schools, involving 700 teachers and 9,000 students, and developed in collaboration with Google for Education and universities in Venice. Educators reported a 30% savings in preparation time and a 40% increase in personalised learning experiences. A national ethical AI framework is being developed to ensure that technology remains a tool for human development rather than a replacement for authentic learning.

One Mission, One Global Family

Day 3 reaffirmed the spirit uniting Don Bosco Tech worldwide — a network rich in diversity yet anchored in a single mission: to foster dignity, opportunity, and transformation through education and work. From advocacy meetings at the United Nations to AI experimentation in classrooms, each initiative points to a shared purpose: preparing young people not just for jobs, but for life.

Esquiline Antony Raji Niveditha
Don Bosco Tech India

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