Bogotá (Colombia). On January 8-9, 2018, the XX encounter of the Region CIMAC/ NAC-MESOAMERICA was held at “Lione XIII” Salesian School in Bogotá, Colombia. The 23 participants responsible for Province Instruction in Central America from Mexico, the Antilles, and North America represented 14 Provinces of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the Salesians of Don Bosco, and the Daughters of the Divine Savior, the other group of the Salesian Family present in Central America. The encounter wanted to represent the thirteen Countries in which the Salesian presence animates hundreds of educational centers which form children adolescents, and adults.
The goal of the meeting was to continue to be aware of the identity of the SALESIAN SCHOOLS NETWORK, in which religious and laity share a charism and a style of management with projects, processes, and programs that come from the convergence of work areas for the future years in this Region of the American continent.
Fr. Jaime Morales, Provincial of Bogotá, opened with prayer and welcomed everyone. The Reference persons of the American Salesian School (ESA): Fr. René Antonio Santos (YP Dicastery) and Sr. Ivone Goulart Lopes (YP Sector) coordinated this formation meeting.
The work was carried out with the presentation of the evaluation of ESA IV and the success obtained from the first Cumbayá until ESA IV, last May 2017. The enlightenment and the enrichment obtained through the sharing of experiences and good practices of ESA IV guided the identification of guidelines for action in the Region to respond to the principle educational needs of the continent.
Fr. Hector Ugarte and Sr. Arelys Paulino, Reference Persons for the Region CIMAC/NAC-MESOAMERICA, presented the work method and the journey taken by the central commission, organized in three work areas or action guidelines. The commission work of the different Provinces aimed at: analyzing what has already been done in each Province to respond to the challenges and established objectives; to present some proposals on what is still to be done to fully satisfy the challenges and established objectives. These responses are at the basis of the elaboration of a regional work plan for the animation of processes to develop in the field of education.
The participants discussed the processes to implement in the next four years on the basis of the guidelines of ESA IV: the work program: the objectives to reach, and the calendar for the next regional meetings were elaborated.
All the participants at the CIMAC/NAC-MESOAMERICA encounter will participate at the XXV Interamerican Congress on Catholic Education organized by CIEC that will be held in Bogotá.
