On Networking and Global Citizenship

We have already mention how the progressive articulation of our international apostolic body is opening up new opportunities to all apostolic sectors. Today I would like to focus on one of the new value added to our mission: our presence in so many places and cultures around the world give us the perfect framework for educational proposals that prepare our students to be men and women for others in this new global context

This is what we call educating people for global citizenship: being able to act and think locally and globally without dichotomies, respecting local particularities and cultures while making a clear commitment with the common good, recognizing others as equals in dignity and right, identifying themselves with something bigger than the self and recognizing diversity as a constitutive dimension of a full human life. Today there is no educational institution of the Society of Jesus that does not have this approach in its educational proposal, and that is not being enriched by our continuous efforts in the creation of international networks within the education sector.

International forums, opportunities workgroups on digital platforms, student and teacher exchanges, global awareness campaigns or regional and / or thematic training are just some of the examples of this interesting link that exists between our capacity for networking and the progressive enrichment of our proposals for global citizenship. At this moment, universities, secondary schools, NGOs and social works are working both in sectorial work teams and in joint initiatives around the issue of global citizenship.

We need to train students in the recognition of diverse cultures, ability to live in multicultural contexts while respecting diversity and engaging on a common building of just, peaceful and sustainable societies. In recent years, we are learning that the best way to do this is to fully exploit the possibilities offered by being an international and multicultural apostolic body, with a universal mission.