It is difficult to analyze the dynamics of
networking in the Society of Jesus in a systematic and progressive manner. Through
the Jesuit
Networking project, we have been working over the past 6 years trying to understand
and formulate how the Society of Jesus is advancing in this interesting way of
proceeding that allows us to progressively align and coordinate our mission in
an increasingly transversal and international way. Today, I would like to focus on the dynamic that we have been able to
see through the apostolic secretariats in Rome over the last 10 years.
It was the Secretariat for Social Justice and
Ecology that began using this dynamic with the Ignatian Advocacy encounter
in El Escorial (Madrid), in 2008. This meeting initiated a reflection on
concerted global action within the Social Sector and the creation of the Global
Ignatian Advocacy Networks (GIAN), and the progressive articulation of work in
networks of social centers at the conference level. From this meeting, four
GIANs were launched around priorities for global impact: GIAN Ecology (Ecojesuit), GIAN Education (Edujesuit), GIAN Migration and GIAN Management
of Natural Resources (Justice in Mining).
Since then, this secretariat has begun to work using a dual structure: a
hierarchical one (responsible for the social sectors at the conference and
province level) along with a wirearchy structure (leaders of the GIANs and the
networks of social centers). In 2014, a meeting of the Global Social Sector was
held, Networking for Justice, and all
the international networks of the Society’s social sector were convened in
Loyola. At present, the meetings of the Secretariat always take into account
these two levels.
In 2010, the Higher Education Sector launched
a reflection on global collaboration following its meeting in Mexico, entitled Networking for Jesuit Higher Education for
the Globalizing World, where Adolfo Nicolás offered his most programmatic speech
on international collaboration and networks. Since then, there have been
successive global meetings to engage with the theme: In 2015, in Melbourne,
entitled Expanding the Jesuit Higher
Education Network where the Jesuit
Digital Network platform was presented and last July 2018 in Bilbao, under
the title Transforming the world together
where the International
Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) network was launched. In this
sector, it is important to recognize the contributions of the Jesuit Commons Initiative, which back in
2010, was the first attempt at international collaboration at the global level within
the Society of Jesus. Today, the Jesuit
Worldwide Learning and Jesuit
Digital Network have gained inspiration from this initiative. We must also
add platforms such as IGNITED that emerged from the dynamics of the
international network of Jesuit Business Schools, which is also a catalyst for
the new international collaboration platform of universities, which has yet to
reach its one-year anniversary.
The launch of global networking through the Pre-Secondary
and Secondary Education Secretariat will be the year 2012 in Boston, with
the first international conference entitled The
world is our home. At this meeting, joint reflection on the worldwide
network of schools began, which gave rise to the Educate Magis platform,
through which the second international meeting was held in 2014 in Barcelona
(SIPEI) as an Ignatian pedagogical symposium, and proceeded to take the third
step two years ago in October, in Brazil, in a meeting of all education
delegates with the Father General entitled JESEDU. The next 2020 meeting in
Yogyakarta is already under preparation.
This rapid analysis leads to the recognition of a
repeated dynamic around each of the apostolic secretariats. Global meetings
have increasingly focused on issues of collaboration and networking, and in all
sectors has created one (or several) digital platforms for the management and
promotion of international collaboration. This is the origin of the projects edujesuit.org, ecojesuit.com, justiceinmining.com, educatemagis.org or the recently
launched iaju.org.
It is precisely this model of work that led us in
2012, under the umbrella of the Collaboration Secretariat, to create the Jesuit
Networking project, to have a space for dialogue and shared learning on
collaboration and networks. We have already held two international meetings on
networking (Boston
College 2012, Georgetown
University 2018) and we are preparing the third. It has been a few weeks
since we launched the new version of the Jesuit.network
platform, which we hope will be the meeting place for all of us who dream that
this emergence of networks in the Society can be accompanied, discerned and
designed in a way that best serves the mission that brings us together.
Jesuit in love with technology and networks as tools for change. Executive Vicepresidente at Entreculturas - Fe y Alegria Spain and Alboan. Coordinator of the Jesuit Network Project.
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