EAO, 4 December 2023, Zoom -- On December 1, 2023, 15 musicians and composers from the East Asia-Oceania region gathered together in a virtual meeting through Zoom. The meeting was called by the Social Communications Sector in order to animate, collaborate, network, and share resources among the different Salesians and members of the Salesian Family who use music in their ministry of education and evangelization.
Fr. Gildasio Mendes, SDB, the General Councillor for Social Communications, welcomed the participants. Present in the meeting were not only the Salesians and the Social Communication delegates but also Lay collaborators. Fr. Mendes encouraged the participants in their creative use of music to spread the story of St. John Bosco and the Gospel. He encouraged them to help further the Salesian Youth Ministry through the use of the arts, dance and music.
The musicians and composers reviewed the results of the online survey on music ministry in the region. After which, they shared their own musical works and experiences. Fr. Mendes thanked them for their efforts and expressed his amazement at the richness of the ministry in the EAO region.
In his closing remarks, Fr. Mendes expressed his dream of gathering 200 or more musicians and composers all over the world by next year, and challenged the participants to loop in young people who are also interested and involved in music ministry. He invited them to produce music that will involve everyone in the group. The meeting ended with some steps for the participants to deepen their communication and networking.
