Rome (Italy). On 5 October 2023, online meetings were held for the Referents for University Pastoral Care of the Salesian Institutions of Higher Education (ISS-FMA) and of the Residences for young university students, workers, and professionals, managed by the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, with the presence of many Provincial Coordinators of Youth Ministry, on the theme, “Salesian Volunteering”.
The objective of the meeting was to promote youth empowerment through volunteering, so that young people can be active agents in decision-making processes (local, national, and international), act in favor of the care of creation, and be builders of relationships of peace aimed at social justice.
The meetings by linguistic areas, in English in the morning and in Italian in the afternoon, with translation into Spanish, Portuguese, and French, were organized by the Youth Ministry Sector and coordinated by Sister Ivone Goulart. The interventions were translated by: Sister Lolia Annie (English), Sister Herlinda Palomino (Spanish), Sister Alice Demarchi (Portuguese), and Sister Hortense Kimono Katapala (French).
In all, 69 people participated, from 24 countries on 4 continents.
The speaker was Sister Annecie Audate, General Director of VIDES – International Women’s Volunteering Education Development – Association founded on 30 November 1987, included in the Youth Pastoral Area of the FMA Institute and recognized as an international Association since 1991. Sister Annecie explained the mission and aims of the Association:
The mission of VIDES is to promote youth volunteering as a space for forming young people in the Salesian style, for the construction of a fraternal and supportive society respectful of Human Rights and the common good in favor of sustainable development.
The Association is engaged in International Relations: promotion of human rights, development projects and micro-projects, distance support, local and international volunteering. The action of volunteers promotes a culture of solidarity and prevention, for the promotion of the Right to Education. It also builds bridges of solidarity between supporters, local Salesian communities, and children.
The young person is the center of its work, so that young people may be happy, sowers of hope. Volunteering is in fact understood as a ‘right’ of all young people, that is, universal, open to all without distinction of sex, religion, culture, social status, level of study. It is youth volunteering of an educational nature, since VIDES promotes the Right to Education and to Human Rights Education.
The Salesian educational proposal is integral; it responds to the most authentic aspirations of the person. At the center of educational action are children, adolescents, and young people, especially the poorest, so that they “may have life in abundance” and mature in all dimensions of their personality according to God’s plan, in Christ, and in docility to the Spirit.
Addressing the Referents of the University Pastoral of the Salesian Institutions of Higher Education (ISS-FMA) and of the Residences for young university students, workers, and professionals, managed by the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the Pastoral Coordinators, Sister Annecie spoke of a journey that also reaches young adults that are not in environments linked to the FMA. This gives a new impetus and opening of horizons to young animators of the oratories and youth centers, and to the members of the Salesian Youth Movement the possibility of a concrete missionary commitment.
In fact, VIDES offers young people a response to their search for meaning; the need to give of themselves, to question themselves, to compare themselves with other cultures, to feel like protagonists in the construction of a new world, the need for transcendence. The experience of volunteering accompanies them to become participatory, co-responsible citizens in society, committed to the defense of human rights for the construction of justice and peace.
