Our Real "Social" Networks

Jesuit Networking looks not only to the future, but also to the present. If you follow our blog you might have noticed that many good ideas and practices in Jesuit Networking come from the Social Apostolate. The social and educational works can really take advantage of the potentialities of operating through networks. The Social Apostolate tries to respond to the challenges that those most in need face everyday. Often its work lacks resources, but those involved show great commitment and creativity in their efforts to be close to the most vulnerable. Here we want to introduce you to some of the different networks that have emerged within the social apostolate. Let’s have a look at them:

•  There are several networks bringing together social centers: institutions responding to such challenges as poverty, exclusion, AIDS, migration, etc. One of these networks is the Red de Centros Sociales de América Latina. If you want to get to know some Jesuit social centers, you can visit UNIYA in Australia, JESC in Brussels, the Jesuit Social Center in Tokyo, or Hakimani in Eastern Africa.
• The Xavier Network links up various international NGOs and the Jesuit mission offices of Europe and Canada. Although the institutions are mostly in Europe, the network’s reach—thanks to the contact with Jesuit institutions worldwide—is global.
• The Jesuit Migrant Network in Latin America brings together agencies in different Latin American countries which try in different ways to address problems of migration. The hope is that the contact will enable more effective and creative responses.
• Fe y Alegría is a network originating in Latin America, and with some presence in Africa and Europe. Its aim is educational, and it concentrates particularly on disadvantaged students. It provides a model for networking because of its insertion into the Society’s governing structures, Fe y Alegría has developed a good institutional culture that can serve as model for elsewhere: good synergy with Jesuit government, a distinctive style of leadership; a strongly participative management; a skill in identifying common objectives and common programs of action across the network as a whole.
• The African Jesuits AIDS Network (AJAN) is a network of Jesuits and other co-workers in sub-Saharan Africa serving people affected in different ways by AIDS. They may also work in the area of HIV prevention.
• The Ignatian Solidarity Network is a hub for social justice leaders throughout the USA Ignatian family.
• The Global Ignatian Advocacy Network (GIAN)is a global organization bringing together Jesuit institutions in various fields (pastoral, educational, social, spiritual), with the hope of responding in more effective ways to issues in five different areas: migration; the right to education; ecology; the just administration of natural and mineral resources; and human rights.
• The Jesuit Refugee Service is primarily an institution that can nevertheless be viewed from the perspective of a global network within the social sector. It establishes fruitful relations with other apostolic sectors.

We all can learn a lot from these networks that are promoted by both Jesuits and lay people, working tirelessly for social justice. If you have experience working with these initiatives of the social apostolate, we invite you to contact us to share your insights into how these organizations are using networking and collaboration to better respond to the Jesuit Mission and to the needs of the most vulnerable in society. If you know of more networks that you think should be listed in this post, let us know and we will add them up!!

PHOTO: School of “Fe y Alegría” at Port au Prince – Haiti.