On the occasion of the 10th ASSEDIL Formation Program for Directors of Lasallian Institutions in RELEM, being held at the Generalate from 2 to 7 October 2022, we had the opportunity to delve into some important topics addressed by the working group of about 40 directors of educational centres from different educational institutions in the RELEM Region.
Marta Martinez, President of ASSEDIL since 2018, guided us to some of the issues that, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, are most in need of discussion and investigation.
The President explains that the themes of formation have not changed much in the last two years “The new Directors of the various Lasallian educational centres must always be guided in understanding the internationality of the group, the concept of animation, the response to the major social issues, addressed and deepened in the school environment at all levels, the knowledge of the Generalate, the Region and conscious leadership”.
Compared to before the pandemic, however, there is more willingness to discuss and share. ‘In ASSEDIL, we have not had any in-person gatherings for three years,’ says Marta. ‘The challenges of an increasingly secular society is an urgent issue at the moment. The ASSEDIL group is now moving in this direction’.
The social issues of bullying and war also do not escape the attention of the various educational institutions for which the directors are meeting in Rome. “In Spain, prevention and mediation have always been strong and pursued themes. Videos uploaded online just to discredit religious or cultural minorities, verbal violence, lack of assistance to those in need. All this has to be monitored and followed’. Marta continues – “In almost all the educational centres we currently have refugees from both Ukraine and Russia (the latter arriving because, as we know, they do not want to take part in the war). Even before this period, however, Spain was an entry point for many African migrants heading south. The two realities are now overlapping and must be approached with maturity. One has to dialogue with the students in a period of great migratory ‘movement’. For example, from my own experience, I can say that in Arlep (District) we already have a page dealing specifically with the ‘reflection of the day’ (https://reflexiondeldia.eu/es/). The theme of refugees is recurring, precisely to prevent our young people from marginalising minorities in the area, and not only that’.
From the 1st ASSEDIL Congress held in 1996 up to the last one in 2021 held online, instead of the in-person one that was to be held in Gdansk, Poland, the topics of the formation and pedagogical and pastoral role of school educators have always been addressed. “With regard to the future,” Marta Martinez emphasises, “it would be very important to recover the theme of the exchange between students and teachers, without forgetting the legal implication of the issue. These exchanges went very well before the pandemic, but we should resume them”
See you then at the next congress scheduled in Rome from 3 to 6 May 2023!
Interview conducted by Ilaria Idaleuca
Communications Office – Rome
*Association of Directors of Lasallian Institutes
