From 26th to 30th August, I had the opportunity to visit Argentina for the XXI International Week of Solidarity Learning and Service together with more than 600 people, 90 of whom were Champagnat Marists from Mexico, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina itself.
This event was organised by CLAYSS (Centro Latinoamericano de Aprendizaje y Servicio Solidario) and during the week we carried out various activities:
- Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 September: 26 Marist educators from the Province of México Central visited different social works and Marist schools, with the aim of sharing good practices and continuing to weave a network.
- Wednesday 28 September:
- AYSS and civil society organisations workshop.
- Meeting of people who carry out AYSS projects in Catholic institutions of higher education in the 5 continents. These institutions are grouped in the UNISERVITATE network . Meeting of the Ibero-American Network of Solidarity Learning and Service. VII Meeting of Solidarity Learning and Service in the Arts.
- Thursday 29th and Friday 30th September: 27th Congress of Solidarity Learning and Service at the Catholic University of Buenos Aires.
The Solidarity Learning and Service (AYSS) is a transformative pedagogical proposal thatallows children, adolescents and young people to develop their knowledge and skills through a community service practice.
AYSS projects are oriented towards solving real and heartfelt problems that affect the lives of communities. The understanding of these problems does not only arise from theoretical reflection in the context of the classroom or from the experience of a community centre, but above all from concrete interaction with the social environment, the territory, its demands and its actors.
Each of these spaces was marked by the joy of meeting and the impetus given by shared hope and commitment. AYSS is a way of managing educational processes by promoting three fundamental aspects of our Marist mission today: the continuous improvement of the quality of education and evangelisation, education in solidarity at different levels and the leading role of children and young people. AYSS also has other great coincidences with several points of our document ‘Marist Educational Mission: In the Footsteps of Marcellin Champagnat’: construction of Global Citizenship, use of methodologies that favour active participation, the desire that the education we offer be socially and culturally relevant in the long term, promotion of openness to the material and cultural needs of humanity, at the local and global level, involving our students in actions of service that put them in contact with local situations of poverty, construction of the encounter, incorporation of the Social Doctrine of the Church, etc.
Something that struck me was the diversity of teachers who attended the Congress , referring to educational levels: there were kindergarten teachers, primary school teachers, technical and pre-university secondary school teachers, university teachers, social work educators. It is possible to work with AYSS at all ages according to the development of children and young people. Some of them participated on their own initiative and others because AYSS is already institutionalised in their schools and institutions as part of their educational approach.
Academic research on AYSS is abundant and can be found on the CLAYSS and UNISERVITATE websites. If you are interested in the subject you can check these sites, or join the Learning and Service Group which is in AGORA on the website of the Champagnat Global Schools Network.
Br. José Sánchez Bravo – Director of the Education and Evangelisation Secretariat
If you would like to know more about A+S, don’t hesitate to join our AGORA group.