Thirty years ago, the Salesian Schools of America (known in Spanish as ESA) was founded, creating a collaborative network where priests, brothers, sisters, and lay people from across the Americas can connect, support each other, and collaborate on interprovincial initiatives. In that time, they have hosted five intercontinental conferences: Cumbayá, Ecuador, in 1994 and 2000; Brasilia, Brazil, in 2008; Medellín, Colombia, in 2017; and this May in Guadalajara, Mexico.
ESA v in Guadalajara brought together over 200 people from more than 40 provinces representing four different orders in the Salesian family. It was attended by five sisters from the Province of St. Joseph and the Province of Mary Immaculate: Sr. Katie Flanagan, Sr. Marisol Guzman, Sr. Isabelle Garza, Sr. Sydney Moss, and Sr. Cynthia Salas. Joining them were four lay people committed to Salesian education in FMA schools and works.
The motto of the conference was “Together for the present and the future of Salesian education.” It was opened by Mother Chiara Cazzuola as well as Fr. Miguel Ángel García Morcuende, SDB General Councilor for Youth Ministry: “It is not the youth who must change,” he stated, “the school must change.” This alone, however, is not a cause for concern. “The crisis only comes when an educational system stops dreaming. It can become a reactive, repetitive system.”
The conference events covered topics such as the importance of trust between teachers and students, how young people can find meaning in their lives in a rapidly changing world, the role that schools play in helping young people find that meaning, the importance of Salesian identity and the preventive system, and the importance of all members of a school having a shared vision for their community and their young people. The conference also explored how Pope Francis’s Global Compact on Education, Laudato Si’, and Fratelli Tutti can be implemented in Salesian schools to help young people of all ages grow stronger in their faith. The last day of the conference focused on “educommunication,” a concept that has been in development since the first ESA conference in 1994. The massive technological changes of the last thirty years have made it more relevant than ever before. As Dr. Ignacio Aguedad, from the University of Huelva in Spain, put it: “Educommunication is about knowing how to best control and utilize technology, and not letting it control you.”
Witnessing so many people from across the Americas come together to recommit themselves to Salesian education reminds us of Don Bosco’s important words: “Do you want to do a good deed? Teach the young! Do you want to perform a holy act? Teach the young! Do you want to do a holy thing? Teach the young! Truly, now and for the future, among holy things, this is the holiest.”