With the aim of sharing experiences of student participation and leadership in the Cruz del Sur School and Community Education Centres, strengthening the role and function of adult promoters of leadership spaces, and creating a Network of Participation and Leadership Centres working on common projects, the third EPPE was held in Villa San José de Luján from 12 to 14 June, with young people playing a leading role.
The opening day was attended by all the Marist School Education Centres and five Community Education Centres from all corners of the province. The setting, decorated with flags from each place of origin, highlighted the value of their presence. A dynamic presentation allowed each of the participation spaces to place their centre on a chart of ideal types, grouping themselves by similar activities, gender, indigenous community and nationality, in order to begin to recognise each other in the richness of their diversity.
During the opening ceremony, after the welcome, an inspiring video of Pope Francis was shown, and Brother Marcelo de Brito, Director of the Mission Area, spoke to the young people about the animation of Marist Life and Mission in the Province and how it is reflected in the Educational Centres to which they belong. He then asked the young people to ask themselves, ‘Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we organise ourselves? And why?’ He invited them to share their dreams and desires for Cruz del Sur.
Another important moment of the first day was the presentation by the Marist Social Observatory, created at the Sagrado Corazón de San Francisco School in Córdoba, on the results of a survey conducted on spaces for student participation and leadership. At the end of the first day, all participants shared a moment of prayer in the Marist History Room and in the Chapel of Villa San José, led by the Vocation Department and the Marist Heritage Team.
During the second day, the boys and girls participated in training workshops with their promoters. There were five workshops related to political advocacy and student representation, the role of the delegate and the setting up of the Student Centre (Rights and Public Policy Team), solidarity projects (Solidarity and CEC Management Team), strengthening communication on social media, between centres, with management, and with the participation of the whole community (Provincial Communication Team), and the paradigm of care and good treatment (Vocational Area). In the afternoon, each representative worked in teams, gathering feedback from others and proposing specific initiatives that could emerge from what was shared to work on in the second half of the year.
The third and final day marked the end of an intense, profound and transformative experience for the young representatives of the Marist Educational Centres. At the beginning of the day, each group shared their learnings, insights and challenges. Then, the Mundo Juvenil team led a sending-off celebration and read the statement drafted by the promoters, a collective expression of the feelings and thoughts of this process.
There was also time to share new echoes, evaluate and give thanks. Before saying goodbye, each young person received a scarf with the logo of the III EPPE as a souvenir, but also as a gift for their colleagues in their Centres, as a symbol of their collective participation in the Meeting.
Discover the complete photo gallery HERE
Cruz del Sur Communication