29 Apr The ACI Non-Formal Education Network continues to grow and strengthen
On Tuesday, April 23, a virtual meeting of the Global Network on Non-Formal Education (ACI) took place in order to exchange significant experiences, learn from them and outline, together, the objectives of the Network.
From the conviction that walking together is good for us and that “social problems are responded to with community networks” (Cfr LS 219), last Tuesday, April 23, it was possible to experience the power of this network of shared paths and learning that has been visualized and intuited since the calls of the PEG, the GC XXI and the first meeting in June 2023.
During the meeting, in which members from different countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, Portugal, India (Roha), East Timor, Vietnam, USA, Italy and Congo connected, an atmosphere of fraternity and universality was experienced through the exchange of two significant experiences: “Tales that Unite” (Southern Cone) and “Roha” (India).
After listening to and seeing what refers to these two experiences, we were able to reflect on these questions: What does this experience bring me? What lights or desires awaken in us? What could we replicate in our context/school and how?
In a subsequent group work, according to the language of the participants, it was possible to collect resonances and then share them on an interactive whiteboard.
We want to share, here, some of the phrases that left us in the resonances:
- Children as protagonists
- Importance of accompanying the protagonists in their development process.
- Wealth, sharing, learning from each other. Gratitude.
- Respond in NETWORK.
- Weaving a net involves stitching in and out.
- The creativity of stories that bring them together because they open frontiers for intercommunication and creativity.
- The importance of educating in values.
- Putting the person at the center
- We can repair by expressing our emotions through tales and stories that form the heart.
- Wealth of networking. Enthusiasm
- To receive with the heart, openness, to dignify… An act of hope.
To conclude, the objectives we dreamed of for this Network were shared and we were able to pray together.
Thank you to those who helped in the design of the meeting, to the volunteer translators, to those who shared their experiences and to all the participants. Let us continue to walk together towards a more fraternal and brotherly world.
Isabel Tresca
