Chile – Salesian schools move forward together in Integral Ecology

(ANS – Santiago) – The first meeting of the year for the Integral Ecology Coordinators of the Salesian schools in the St Gabriel the Archangel Province of Chile (CIL) was held online on Tuesday 21 April.

 Attended by a large number of local representatives, the gathering served as an open forum to analyse the progress of the Salesian Integral Ecological Communities (CEIS), share best practices, and plan future actions in environmental management.

 Manuel Venegas, Coordinator of the Salesian Youth Movement sector, explained the importance that the SYM will have from now on within the environmental sphere of Salesian works, a collaboration that will enable the promotion of initiatives capable of establishing a union between integral ecology and pastoral education, “with an integral view of the person and society”.

 “In cases such as the Dominican Republic, where a pastoral proposal has been developed in dialogue with schools, we have achieved not only certifications and recognition but also concrete operational elements, such as the ‘(ecological) brigades’,” he stated, highlighting the path we intend to follow.

 This relationship will be fostered through cross-cutting formation and will reflect the true nature of the SYM, a leading movement comprising groups and associations that identify with Don Bosco’s preventive model.

 “The Salesian Youth Movement,” he added, “operates within a community framework, that of a group sharing elements of our Salesian spirituality, with an educational and pastoral focus so that young people may be protagonists of their own story and of their own human and Christian growth.”

 Favio Fatigante, coordinator of the Evangelisation, Catechesis and Liturgy sector, officially presented the First Camp of Ecological Communities, to be held at the Las Peñas retreat centre in the municipality of San Fernando from 12 to 15 November.

 During the meeting, he provided practical information regarding registration, the composition of delegations, transport, meals, accommodation, the programme of activities and relevant logistical details, so that schools can organise their participation in advance.

 The meeting was brought to a close by José Miguel Estay, a journalist from the Communications department, who offered advice on improving the visibility of ecological activities in schools, both locally and nationally, through initiatives such as the “green button” or the page dedicated to the environment in the institutional magazine of the Salesian Bulletin.

 Source: Salesian Bulletin of Chile