By Lucy Napitalai (PGS)

Rome, Italy, 12 August 2024 -- Nearly all Salesian Social Communication delegates and laypeople from the East Asia-Oceania region joined their counterparts from other regions for the worldwide Salesian Communication Conference. The theme of the conference was "Shaping Tomorrow." Planned by the General Councillor for Social Communication, Fr. Gildásio Mendez, SDB, the conference was entrusted to Fr Macije Matia Makula, who with a team of dedicated collaborators, organized the event. The Conference was held at the Università Pontificia Salesiana, Rome, Italy, from August 1 to August 7, 2024.

The conference aimed to build bridges for the future within the Church and the Salesian family, ensuring that actions and the use of digital technologies help shape young people into "Good Christians and Honest Citizens." Participants from EAO provinces included representatives from Indonesia, Myanmar, Korea, China, the Philippines, Cambodia, Mongolia, Timor-Leste, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, and the vice-province of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands (PGS).

The program began on the first day with a meet-and-greet followed by a welcome dinner for all the participants. The following six days included informative sessions on topics such as epochal changes, digital culture and artificial intelligence, communication with migrants and refugees, evangelization practices on social media, and communication with the new generation. Each day included Mass for spiritual nourishment, while coffee breaks and meal times provided opportunities for participants to interact and share experiences. Additionally, there was a day tour of several sites in the Eternal City of Rome.

The PGS vice-province was represented by Fr. Ambrose Pereira, SDB, social communication delegate and coordinator for the EAO region, together with Lucy Napitalai, a lay volunteer person. They were challenged to be more present in the digital space and use it creatively to evangelize to young people in their digital playground. "We must be creative and innovative while maintaining our Salesian identity," remarked the conference coordinator, Fr. Maciej Makula, SDB, in his final address to the participants. The PGS participants are enthusiastic about bringing back what they learned to their province, especially in terms of communicating with new technologies, engaging with the new generation, and becoming digital missionaries. They realize the need for dynamic players in Social Communications and are focused on adding value to young people in the digital space while keeping in mind that the human person is at the heart of communication.

In his final address, the General Councillor for Social Communication thanked and reminded everyone that their presence was a true message of communication, considering the hardships they endured to attend the conference. He added that social communication should prioritize three aspects: human relationships and networking, formation and management, and digital transformation. He also extended his gratitude to the coordinators of each region.

"When you go back to your province, try to organize what you can do practically, concretely, and step by step, implement what you have reflected on and proposed in this conference with two or three projects," stated Fr. Gildásio. This takeaway challenge encourages social communication efforts in the EAO region to work at their different levels of communication and embrace the diversity within each province. The PGS vice-province looks forward to educating our young people to use their digital devices and be as active as Don Bosco. They plan to focus on the poor and the young and encourage them to be ‘Digital Missionaries”.

At the end of the Conference under the leadership of Fr Harris Pakham, the delegates from South Asia and the EAO Region were privileged to visit the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican City. This was followed by a trip to Castel Gandolfo which served for centuries as the summer residence of the Holy Father. The next day, the group joined Fr Gildásio in a thanksgiving Eucharist at the Sacred Heart Basilica, Rome. The participants then prayed at the chapel of the Word and the chapel of the relics of Don Bosco. They were also shown the different offices that are at the heart of the congregation. An evaluation and planning for the regions then followed.

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