Global Companionship – "education for all" campaign in Jesuit Schools Network

Friends of Fe y Alegría in the United States—a joint venture between the International Federation of Fe y Alegría (FIFyA) and MAGIS Americas that aims to create strategic alliances with U.S.-based institutions and Latino communities, as well as raise awareness about the importance of defending the right to a quality education—recently launched its “La Silla Roja” (The Red Chair) global education campaign.
The campaign—which educates participants on the shared and universal responsibility to defend the right to education—uses a red chair to represent the importance of quality and inclusive education and the right that we all have—including the 263 million children and youth currently out of school worldwide—to learn, to be different and to go to school. While La Silla Roja started in 2012 as an advocacy and mobilization campaign by our partners at Entreculturas – Fe y Alegría Spain—and has since expanded to Chad, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile—this marks the first time the campaign has been used in an English-speaking country.

To this end, Friends of Fe y Alegría is currently a member of the Jesuit Schools Network’s “Hemispheres” initiative, which aims to bring together programs from Jesuit organizations to provide participating schools “a unique, but related opportunity” to offer their students with global education initiatives.
On its behalf, Jesuit Schools Network initiates programs and provides services that enable its member schools to sustain their Ignatian vision and Jesuit mission of educational excellence in the formation of young men and women of competence, conscience and compassion. Dr. Timothy Sassen, Director of Global Partnerships and Communication at Jesuit Schools Network, hopes that this new a JSN ‘global companionship’ initiative will allow organizations like Friends of Fe y Alegría to “share stories, efforts and events related to the theme of global companionship” with partnering JSN schools throughout the 2016-2017 school year.

La Silla Roja is one of the six programs from six Jesuit organizations from around the world. Each provides a unique, but related opportunity for participation by Jesuit schools:

• Educate Magis invites schools and organisations to print and hang the printable global map on their walls and integrate the Online Map into their websites. These maps, linking schools on both the geographic and spiritual hemispheres, show the diversity of our network and create a sense of belonging to the global Jesuit family.
• The Ignatian Carbon Challenge, powered by Ignatian Solidarity Network, invites both individuals and institutions to address climate change and environmental justice through a series of monthly challenges.
• Jesuit Refugee Service/USA  provides individuals and communities with an opportunity to pause and experience through a Refugee Simulation, the frustrations, disappointments and hopes that refugees around the world face.
• FLACSI,  the network of Jesuit Schools in Latin America invites to join an exclusive online conversation in Educate Magis, where students share ideas regarding political and social issues that shape Latin American societies: human rights, education, ecology, corruption, poverty, elections, among others.
•  The Hyde Center for Global Education at Boston College High School is committed to developing a comprehensive global education program that serves all members of the BC High community and invites to visit and join their initiatives for collaboration.